It Started in 2007

[NorthCoast]

When did it become "a pass-happy league"?

Take a look:

YR #teams>4000 yds passing #Teams>2000 yds rushing

1997: 0 (0)---------------------------- 6
1998: 3 (2)---------------------------- 8
1999: 4 (5)---------------------------- 9
2000: 5 (3)---------------------------- 11
2001: 1 (2)---------------------------- 6
2002: 4 (4)---------------------------- 10
2003: 1 (2)---------------------------- 11
2004: 5 (5)---------------------------- 9
2005: 4 (4)---------------------------- 9
2006: 3 (5)---------------------------- 9
2007: 7 (7)---------------------------- 7
2008: 5 (6)---------------------------- 9
2009: 12 (10)--------------------------- 10

(In parentheses are the # of QBs that total >4000yds. The differences between the team and QB totals I think may be due to database squirreliness or maybe team yds and individual yds are accounted for differently.)

A few other interesting facts:

The average team rush totals have been nearly constant over this time period (2009-1867 yds, 1997-1808 yds).
The average team pass totals have risen roughly 10%. How can this be? Remember there was a rule change at one point that reduced the time between plays, so today's game has more total plays made.

The most telling stat but sometimes overlooked:

In the late '90s the good QBs had typical completion %s of about 60%.
In mid to late '00s the good QBs had typical completion %s of about 63-65% (and Brees this season had an incredible 70.6% completion rate). So either the talent level of the QB has greatly improved, or the rules have made it easier to make a completion. I tend to believe the latter, which means even average QBs can run a decent passing offense.

On a league basis, there has been no suffering of rushing totals in favor of passing. It is only our perception as Steeler fans because of the loss of Bettis and our emphasis on the pass. We have discussed the merits of this change ad nauseum here....

[TallyStiller]

The Steelers are changing their offensive approach to take advantage of the franchise QB and two Super Bowl MVP WR's on the current roster. All over the league, teams are throwing because they CAN... Manning, Brady, Favre, Warner, McNabb has been added to with Brees, Roethlisberger, Rivers, Rodgers, Romo to the point where the QB talent is unlike anything since the '80's with Marino, Elway, Kelly, Montana and that group. The available talent tends to dictate what teams do. I, for one, am going to sit back and enjoy watching, while hoping that the Steelers find a way to ramp up the pass rush next year to disrupt these passing attacks better.

[feltdizz]

Ben lobbied to keep Plex... asked for a big WR... I think he likes the versitility of Mend and throws to him thank goodness.

I doubt Ben is asking for a FB and a gangster OT... We go as Ben goes and I think it's foolish for fans to expect Ben to put his gun in the holster. I used to be a run run run fan as well. However, last year I realized it all on Ben. Hines will retire, Bettis did, FWP is hanging on...but the odd man out. We are getting what we wanted for years... a franchise QB. Enjoy! He still frustrates me at times though...LOL.

[Lonbull]

In the late '90s the good QBs had typical completion %s of about 60%.
In mid to late '00s the good QBs had typical completion %s of about 63-65% (and Brees this season had an incredible 70.6% completion rate). So either the talent level of the QB has greatly improved, or the rules have made it easier to make a completion. I tend to believe the latter, which means even average QBs can run a decent passing offense.

NorthCoast - I think the talent level at Quarterback HAS greatly improved.

I think a relatively large part of that is that Quarterbacks are staying healthy - moreso than they were in the mid to late 90's - and that's due to the rule changes. I don't necessarily like how extreme they are about "protecting" the QB - but the results do speak for themselves.

Personally this may be the greatest collective group of Quarterbacks I've seen in my lifetime.

Peyton Manning - still going strong after 11 Seasons.
Donovan McNabb - has been a staple in Philly for 10 years now.
Tom Brady - Came out of nowhere.
Kurt Warner - playing very well in his last few seasons.

The Big Three / Four

Rivers / Manning / Roethlisberger and Schaub - all came out of that great 2004 draft.

In 1998 -

Dan Marino, John Elway, Troy Aikman, Doug Flutie were on their last legs and (in my opinion) weren't playing as well as Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning are now. And the rules absolutely favor the latter players - but moreso because of the extended protection via the rules.

Especially when you consider that Chris Chandler played in the 98 Super Bowl - and maybe his career would have been much different had he been able to stay healthy.

IMO - across the board the level of players at Quarterback are greatly improved. Outside of protecting the QB's from injury - I don't think the rules have changed that much since the 90's.

L.B.

[TallyStiller]

L.B. - has enforcement changed, though? I remember that obscene gropefest that passed as a football game when the Cheats beat the Colts in the '03 playoffs as kind of a turning point in that regard... The Hoodie certainly saw the handwriting on the wall, to the point where he cranked up the pass all the time offense... but one could counterargue that he hasn't won a Lombardi since.

To me, though, the lesson to be taken is that since defense still wins titles, being able to play pass D has to be considered just as important now as stopping the run. If we are going to go ahead and try to get by with a bargain basement OL (with which I have no argument) and mediocre run game, we need to step up and get the personnel and schemes to stop these passing offenses if we're going to get #7, because they're not going anywhere.

[feltdizz]

L.B. - has enforcement changed, though? I remember that obscene gropefest that passed as a football game when the Cheats beat the Colts in the '03 playoffs as kind of a turning point in that regard... The Hoodie certainly saw the handwriting on the wall, to the point where he cranked up the pass all the time offense... but one could counterargue that he hasn't won a Lombardi since.

To me, though, the lesson to be taken is that since defense still wins titles, being able to play pass D has to be considered just as important now as stopping the run. If we are going to go ahead and try to get by with a bargain basement OL (with which I have no argument) and mediocre run game, we need to step up and get the personnel and schemes to stop these passing offenses if we're going to get #7, because they're not going anywhere.

D pressure kills any passing team... unfortunately, now we are seeing the dreaded "head to head, hand to face, low tackle, roughing the passer" calls to extend drives.

Does anyone really think Wes Welker keeps NE in that game vs the Rats? Not me...
We also saw it when we beat Peyton in 2005. If you go all out and get pressure on these great QB's most fold like cheap tents. We are lucky Ben is bigger than most LB's though... this is what separates him form the others.

Most QB's hate pressure..... Ben waits for it.

[Lonbull]

L.B. - has enforcement changed, though? I remember that obscene gropefest that passed as a football game when the Cheats beat the Colts in the '03 playoffs as kind of a turning point in that regard... The Hoodie certainly saw the handwriting on the wall, to the point where he cranked up the pass all the time offense... but one could counterargue that he hasn't won a Lombardi since.

TallyStiller - It's hard for me to be unbiased on this question - it seems rarely is there a game I watch where holding calls aren't unpredicable - or pass interference is completely unpredicable.

My more cynical side thinks that if the NFL wanted to fix the problem they could - are they hoping to help make games a little more exciting for their Networks by "not" calling certain plays....or by giving certain calls to certain teams??? I'd hate to think so - but the NFL is "entertainment" and there's a lot of money involved.

To me, though, the lesson to be taken is that since defense still wins titles, being able to play pass D has to be considered just as important now as stopping the run. If we are going to go ahead and try to get by with a bargain basement OL (with which I have no argument) and mediocre run game, we need to step up and get the personnel and schemes to stop these passing offenses if we're going to get #7, because they're not going anywhere.

I remember reading an article (back when people read magazines) about why the Run and Shoot offense (despite how effective it was) wouldn't help a team win a Super Bowl. Their arguement at the time was that the Run and Shoot either scored very quickly OR was usually 3 and out - and that the offense left their own defense on the losing side of the Time of Possession - so that by the 4th Quarter your guys are just spent. So if you're facing a team that "can" stop your high powered offense - you're usually in a lot of trouble.

Superior teams seem to be able to do the following, in this order:

Play solid defense
Run the Ball well -
And if you can't Run the ball against certain teams, pass the ball effectively.
Solid Special Teams (if not great special teams)!

Most teams that I know that have gone on to win the Super Bowl usually do well in these categories in this order - hence it does seem that "Defense" wins Championships.

When the Steelers have failed it's usually because one of these ingredients were missing - and in my opinion we either didn't or couldn't run the ball effectively - and our special teams were horrible.

With the coaches that have been fired Tomlin seems to be leaning in that direction as well - we need a better offensive line so that we can get the most effecient use of Ben and Mendenhall.

And we need our Special Teams to hold their end of the bargain.

L.B.

[feltdizz]

When the Steelers have failed it's usually because one of these ingredients were missing - and in my opinion we either didn't or couldn't run the ball effectively - and our special teams were horrible.

I guess we stole a SB last year. LOL!!!!

[Lonbull]

When the Steelers have failed it's usually because one of these ingredients were missing - and in my opinion we either didn't or couldn't run the ball effectively - and our special teams were horrible.

I guess we stole a SB last year. LOL!!!!

In a way - I guess we did - but I still maintain that Rule #1 was the difference - our defense played amazing football last year - this season they couldn't bail us out as much as they had the year before.

L.B.