During the offseason the league informed all 32 teams that there would be stricter enforcement of certain penalties in 2014. For example, illegal contact beyond five yards of the line of scrimmage. The result? Yellow flags galore. I went to cbssports and viewed the statistics for every Week 1 preseason game and added up the total number of penalties called and yardage, and the numbers were staggering. Between the sixteen games that took place, there were 273 penalties called for 2,320 yards. The average number of penalties called per game was 17 for 145 yards. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find out the specifics, like how many of the penalties called were the result of illegal contact by a defensive player, but the league's modus operandi is blatantly obvious.
It's just like what happened a decade ago. In 2004 the NFL decided to more strictly enforce the rule prohibiting defensive backs from making contact with receivers more than five-yards past the line of scrimmage. What caused the change was the pure dominance of the New England Patriots' defense, particularly their secondary.
Fast forward a ten years, after the league's highest-scoring offense gets shut down by the league's best defense in the Super Bowl, and it seems that history is repeating itself.
It's important to understand that the NFL is a business, and that the most important thing to Roger Goodell and the team owners is money. And what draws in viewers? High scoring games. Hard core football fans, such as myself, appreciate good defense. But the more points that are scored, the more people tune in to the games. This is yet another example of Commissioner Roger Goodell's lack of integrity.
At this rate, the saying "defense wins championships" will no longer be reign true.
About Me
- Justin Sullivan
- Simply put, I am a football fanatic. I'm well-informed on the game- its players, statistics, history, rules, etc. I love the sport and I enjoy sharing my point of view.
