The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
If you watch our high school and Lafayette College football games, you realize that my announcing analyst REALLY knows his football. Mike Joseph loves the game and is an avid fan of all levels, including the NFL. He is slowly becoming disenchanted with the professional game. I should let him explain:
“College offenses are ruining NFL football. If you’re a true fan of the NFL, there is no doubt that most offenses are struggling to move the football. Turnovers are up, penalties are up and there is a widening gap between the elite QBs in the NFL and the rest of the league. My advice is to enjoy the likes of Brady, Brees, Rodgers, and Roethlisberger as long as you can. These QBs have accounted for more playoff wins than all other QBs starting in the NFL combined. Mahomes, Wilson, Wentz, and Newton are the closest things to successful spread offense QBs because they have learned to throw first and run second. The majority of college QBs are ill-equipped to navigate treacherous NFL waters. The spread offense is in simplest terms, basketball on field turf. These no-huddle, up-tempo offenses are NOT training QBs to take snaps under center, read defenses properly, understand progressions, and have a full understanding of what it takes to succeed in the NFL. Most college offensive coordinators control every aspect of play calling up to the second the ball is snapped. Plays are so scripted that QBs are instructed to read one defender and place that defender in conflict based on the RPO (run, pass, option). This is becoming a common term amongst players, coaches and now even commentators. The RPO, along with the Zone Read, are major contributing factors to the inability of QBs to drop back and throw from the pocket, because they lack the training of reading basic coverages. “Get the ball out,” are common terms used by all coaches in today’s game. Thus the increase in teams throwing the ball sideways in lieu of pressing the ball down the field on intermediate routes. We have all heard the terms bubble screen, speed sweep, 3 over 2, the 50/50 ball, and of course the Zone Read option. Plain and simple, running QBs don’t last in the shark-infested waters of the NFL. Case in point: RG III, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Carson Wentz, Alex Smith, Teddy Bridgewater, and so many others have been victims of incredible, out of the pocket hits that led directly to injury.
Lasting offensive success in the NFL is and always will center on the ability of a quarterback to throw from the pocket. Developing the unique talent to obtain pre-snap reads and understanding the nuances of defenses, so complex nowadays, must become part of the learning curve for future QBs. Overall viewership of the NFL is down and in college football is up. Why? Because audiences want speed and tempo and scoring.
I love football and that will never change, however it is becoming increasingly boring for me. Show me all the Super Bowl trophies from Zone Read, Dual threat quarterbacks and tomorrow I will sell you a bridge leading to the Hall of Shame.” Who am I to disagree?
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
1. Joe Girardi should be a great fit for the Phillies. He won as a player, as a coach and as a manager. He has the perfect temperament for both the team and the town. Now, can he bring a championship to Philadelphia?
2. On Sunday, Tiger Woods tied Sam Snead for the most career PGA wins ever when he won in Japan. Both now have 82. You may be wondering who are the next three – #3 is Jack Nicklaus with 73; #4 is Ben Hogan with 64; and #5 is Arnold Palmer with 62. Byron Nelson (52) and Billy Casper (51) are the next two.
3. Penn State has jumped to #5 in the College Football rankings. The magical spot is to get to #4 or better. They might just get there with a win this week over undefeated Minnesota. Both teams are 8-0. Ohio State is #3 right now. Penn State plays them on November 23.
4. I had a good week with my picks, except for those darn Eagles. I only missed two games – the Bears and they missed an easy field goal to win the game at the end. I, once again, missed on the Eagles. I do not think I have made a correct pick on their game this year. They really looked good this week against the Bills after really looking awful the previous week against the Cowboys. I was wrong on both games.
5. Emmaus travels to Freedom on Friday to begin the District XI playoffs and RCN-TV will bring the game LIVE at 7:00PM. That game will be followed by the Easton-Northampton match-up at 9:30PM. It has been a long time
since Northampton has been in this position. They have won nine straight. Lafayette takes on Fordham on Saturday at 12:30PM.
GARY’S GUESSES (LAST WEEK – 13-2) (YEAR-TO-DATE) – 84-35-1 71%)
SAN FRANCISCO
HOUSTON
BUFFALO
CAROLINA
PHILADELPHIA
KANSAS CITY
JETS
INDIANAPOLIS
DETROIT
SEATTLE
DENVER
GREEN BAY
NEW ENGLAND
DALLAS
