Say What?!?!?!

[YtownBacker]

Taking a quick look at week 5:

Buffalo ran the ball 35 times and passed it 27 times to beat the Eagles who ran it 19 times and threw it 40 times. Steelers ran 28 and threw 34 to beat Tenn who tried to throw it 49 times, reverse of what they did against the Browns. They threw ti because Pitts shut down their run game. Is it really a passing league or a league that takes advantage of what a defense give them. Seems like the teams that just air it out are doing so out of desperation because they can't run or the defense has made them one-dimensional.

How about a passing team? NE ran the ball ran the ball 35 times and passed it 33 times to beat the Jets in a good game because the Jets balanced their attack by going back to running the ball also. The difference Sanchez sucks especially with the receivers he has to throw to. But they were in the game because they could run the ball. SD runs the ball 42 times and passes 29 to beat Denver in a very close game because Denver ran the ball well also.

KC ran the ball 38 times and threw 29 times to beat Indy who for years proved to be the exception to the rule because they had one of the best QBs the NFL has ever seen. It's about balance a combo of running and passing and taking what the defense gives you or exploiting their weaknesses. Is it a throw the ball around the park type of Arena Football passing league.................Hell no here's some more from Sunday.

TB get's blown out by SF who ran the ball down their throat and Smith only had to pass 19 times. TB was outgained on the ground 213 to 86. AZ threw the ball 48 times against 24 runs and got blown out by Minn who ran 37 times and threw 21 times. Bengals about 50/50 run to pass. NO seems to be the only exception this week passing more then running but then again they end up barely beating a rebuilding team with a rookie QB because Carolina was able to shut down their run game and get after Brees.

Seems to me that balance wins and teams that can shut down another teams run game and make them one dimensional (pass only) have a good chance of winning. But this is just one week though I think the stats are telling. As has been said on here 100 times, a high QBR doesn't make it a passing league, it just means a QB was very efficient. And in a lot of cases it was because he could run the ball and keep a team off balance like Brady did to the Jets or Rivers did to Denver or the Bills did to the Eagles.

It is a passing league if you consider teams that are efficient passing win. Then again those teams run the ball to keep the defenses honest and off guard. It's called balance. Tom Brady in his interview last night said it's about calling the right play against the defense the other team shows you. If they go nickle with 7 in the box you check off to the run or if they load up the box and you have man coverage you check to a pass. If they line up to blitz you get it out quick to your hot read.

Does that sound like a passing league? Or does that sound like a league that has learned to pass the ball because defenses were taking the run away. But, I can see where people say it's a passing league because in order to win you have to be able to pass the ball when a defense tries to take away the run.

It isn't Arena Football as some want the term "Passing League" to indicate, it's about being able to effectively (QBR) pass the ball while still being a balanced team.

Then again, IMO, you don't win consistently if you can't play good defense....................but we all know that

So, bottom line the game is what it is................a team sport that requires you to run, pass and play solid defense and special teams...................I guess that makes it a passing league in some eyes. Even though teams pass at about only 56% to 58% and that is a bit skewed by the teams that throw 61 passes (the Browns) because they are getting blown out. Does throwing 61 times make the Browns a passing team.

There will always be that special guy like Manning who defies the norm. But when he won the super bowl they could run the ball and play good defense. Brady can do it all but he knows he has to be able to run the ball, like he said yesterday. When he won super bowls the Pats played excellent defense through out the entire season and could run the ball when they had to. Rogers took his team to the super bowl and won it. He threw the hell out of the ball and is one of those exceptions but remember they played some mean defense along the way. Pitts won all those Super Bowl by being able to play great defense (stop the run) and were able to run the ball on offense to balance out the passing.

Sometimes stats can skew the truth but the eye test tells me while I'm watching games that teams that play on both sides of the ball and can run and pass are teams built to win. I think the term "Passing League" was coined to mean you have to be able to pass to win and not that you can win by just passing. Thus it's a league where you no longer can just run to win, you need to be able to pass and run to win............................balance wins and I acknowledge exceptions like manning. But then again, the Colts run far more then you think with him under center and play good defense.

Then again, that's just my opinion on how you want to define what is meant by "Passing League".

[damajuki]

Great thread, when posts are about content, especially talking about Week 5.

My conclusions from games I watched in Week 5 as they relate to this thread:

Shep is correct in saying it's a pass-first league in that teams who CANNOT pass effectively or consistently WILL NOT WIN consistently.

CAR is case-in-point. Cam has been outstanding and they've moved the ball well in the air but the utter lack of a running game gives ZERO break to an injury-ravaged D. So last week they were brutalized on the ground by CHI (no passing needed for CHI last week) and then NO comes back yesterday, primarily with Brees, of course, but also with their THREE RBs, two of whom scored.

Conversely, BUF yesterday jumped out to a big lead and Fred Jackson is a big reason why they held off PHI. PHI, meanwhile, lost 5 TOs, two on WR fumbles, 3 on picks, which is precisely why pass-first and often won't win over the long-haul: too many variables and opportunities for mistakes.

No running game = no help for the QB/WR or the D.

Vegas is right in that teams with D's that can hang in there with the top passing teams are also the ones that dominate the poor passing teams.

BUF just had to survive PHI yesterday. NO just had to contain Cam long enough for the O to come back.

Shep is wrong in his de-valuation of the running back to an offense.

It's true a #1 RB is not necessary to winning consistently any more but I think Shep under-values what a top-level does for an offense, and a QB. NO, BUF absolutely needed their RBs to win and MIN rode AP yesterday. It became an impossible hill for Kolb and ARI to climb, despite a top 3 WR in Fitz.