Bombs Away: A Pass-Happy League and Other Thoughts on Week 2 in The NFL

It's no secret that the NFL has become a passing league.  Rules favor the offense and defenders have become so strong and fast that teams have to spread the field to move the ball.  But what we're seeing from quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the 2011 season is nothing short of ridiculous.  I touched on this last week, but compared to the first two weeks of last season, pass production has skyrocketed.

NFL Passing Stats Through Week 2
	Comp (Avg)	Att (Avg)	Yards (Avg)	Yds/Att	TD (Total)	INT (Total)
2010	20	30	201	6.7	86	69
2011	21	35	246	7.0	108	57

So what's changed between this year and last year to account for such a difference?  Three things come to mind.

1) Worse field position - With the new kickoff rule bringing more touchbacks, offenses are starting closer to their own goal line.  Although that puts them farther away from the end zone, it tacks on extra yards to drives that end in success.  Now, a blown coverage ends up in a 73-yard touchdown instead of a 63 yarder.

2) Crackdown on defense - Over the offseason, the league ordered its referees to punish dangerous hits by defenders.  Like it or not, it's resulted in more penalties to extend drives.  After the first two weeks of 2010, according to TeamRankings.com, there were 85 penalties that resulted in a first down for the opponent.  This season, there have been 112.  Obviously, not all of those fouls were for illegal hits.  But a short leash for defenders is giving quarterbacks more chances than they've had before.

3) Secondary confusion - Coming into this season, everyone speculated that offenses would be hurt by the lack of practice time during the lockout.  After all, it's easier to tear something down than build it up.  However, quite the opposite has occurred.  It's the defenses have been slow to get on the same page, resulting in busted coverages and big plays for receivers.  Last year, there were 267 passing plays of 40+ yards.  After two weeks, we're on pace for 312.

Will quarterbacks keep up this blistering pace?  Probably not.  As the season progresses, defensive backs will develop chemistry and coverage schemes will tighten.  But the kickoff rule and defensive penalties are here to stay, and that's why I still expect us to see some historic numbers by the end of the year.  We've come a long way from three yards and a cloud of dust.

- Roger Goodell blew it.  Against the Eagles last year, Dunta Robinson stupidly launched himself head-first into DeSean Jackson, knocking them both out of the game.  On Sunday night, Robinson was in the same situation, against the same opponent, and he made the same reckless decision.  Despite all the warnings and fines from the league, Robinson clearly did not get the message, and was looking at a suspension.  And so Commissioner Goodell, with the perfect opportunity to send a message to the rest of the league and show that his policies have some teeth, slapped Robinson with...a $40,000 fine.  $40,000 is approximately 0.4% of the estimated $8.8 million that Robinson will make this year.  That's the equivalent of fining you or I $250.  So basically, endangering the health of a fellow player is about as bad as a speeding ticket.  Way to lay down the law, Roger.

- After watching him on Sunday, it looks like Albert Haynesworth still isn't giving all his effort.  Early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers faced second and goal on the Patriots three yard line.  After being blocked to the ground by an o-lineman, Haynesworth made no effort to get back up, even as Phillip Rivers scrambled for another three seconds.  You can see him do it again at the 2:05 mark of this video.  It's still early in the season, but it looks like this leopard isn't changing his spots.

- Is it too soon to say I was wrong about Cam Newton?  When he was drafted, I thought that Newton would become the next running QB to learn that he can't outrun or out-muscle linebackers in the NFL.  But his performance in his first two games has been nothing short of remarkable.  What's impressed me most is that after a 280/264 pass-to-run ratio in his last year at Auburn, Newton has thrown 83 times and run only 18 times so far.  In fact, his pace of 664 pass attempts would be the 3rd most ever in an NFL season.  When you start a rookie quarterback, you don't need him to win, but you do need him to show some glimpse of greatness.  Newton has certainly done that.

- As bush league as it was, I'm not sure what the NFL can do about teams like the Giants doing their best fainting goat impression. Soccer leagues give out penalties for flopping, but that's because a referee can see when a player falls without being touched.  In this case, there's no way for an official to tell if a player is truly injured when he collapses.  Until they find a solution, we'll just have to accept it as part of the game.

Image found here.