These are select stats as of week 7, TNF may have shifted things slightly
TDs per game: lowest since 2001
Avg yards: lowest since 2008
Yards per play: lowest since 2007
Passing TDs per game: lowest since 2008
Net yards gained per pass attempt: lowest since 2007
Yards per reception: lowest EVER
Sacks per game: highest since 1997
Field goal attempts: highest since 1973
Kickoff returns per game: lowest ever (obviously new kick return rules)
Yardage per kick returned: lowest ever
All purpose yards per game: lowest since 1946 (passing+running+punt return+kick return+interception return+fumble return)
Source: pro football reference
I heard a mention on the radio that some offensive stats were trending quite low so decided to take a look. Found this pretty interesting considering all the rules that have been put in place to the benefit of offense.
What might explain this? Better defenses? Offenses/coaching worse? O-line depth? Younger, inexperienced QBs being thrown into the gauntlet- average QB age is probably the lowest it has ever been? Something else?
I been trying to tell people this for the last 2 years and no one gets it, yall just have to suffer through it. The game has gotten worse because of how much they're trying to inflate offenses. Today's offenses are all about the big play. But obviously defenses know that and they don't want to give up big plays, so they adjusted, which means ironically no more big plays. Everybody stopped blitzing, they just sit in coverage, give up short passes for free, and hope for an incomplete somewhere down the line to force a punt. It works, but it makes football so damn boring. All they're really doing is taking away all the big hits, sacks, turnovers, and touchdowns, so now we can enjoy all the incompletes and punts and fgs like we're in the 70s.
Offense and defense are both worse. Everything has a counterbalance. When you change the offense, defenses change to match. Big plays open up when defenses care more about defending the short passes. But now defenses are perfectly content to just sit back and wait, shut down all the big plays that offenses are designed around, and just let offenses kill their own drives with dumpoffs.
It’s just death by a thousand cuts, but I agree with what you said