I'm going to guess that it was the combination of the T-formation and the end of WWII.

The T-formation came on board in the NFL around 1939, but it took until 1953 until the Steelers finally gave up the single wing. So it came on slowly during that time period.

However, the full effects of the T formation were probably blunted by some degree due to WWII sucking a lot of talent away from football. Allow a year for the talent pool to recover from the war and for them to learn in intricacies of the T formation and boom, you get a step change in scoring and passing.

Is there a stat for total penalty yards awarded to Offense VS Defense each year, curious to see if they balance out.

It could be mined from pbp data but it isn't generally reported.

Great discussion.

I don't think it's about Peyton butthurt at all... it's been a steady decline for several years, but it's just that much more obvious and frustrating when a rival sets a record that highlights the main reason for the decline. There was the same discussion a few weeks ago with no need to talk about Denver.

About 6-7 years ago, I stopped watching every single Chiefs game (thanks, Herm), and shortly after that I started watching more college ball and not worrying so much about missing NFL games. Once a month or so there was some can't-miss game and mid-January football was still awesome, but like others have said, after a while all of those great games look exactly the same.

There are still some great games, but Rain Man has hit the nail on the head in several posts... the business of the NFL and their shortsightedness has ruined the game.

I don't watch much college football, but I did watch the SEC championship game. Same problem there but it was the Auburn running game that was unrecognizable as football. Didn't really spend time trying to figure out how an offense could be so dominant in a championship level game, but it didn't really compel me to want to watch more college ball.

I think we're seeing the effects of the strict rules against DBs... which is why I think tying up money is CBs is not a good idea. And now we've combined it with the lax practice rules... and this is what you get.

What's funny is the NFL set records for most points in a single week... and most TDs in a single week. And if I'm not mistaken, they were not the same week. The problem with all this scoring is you do become almost numb to it. Yeah scoring is fun to watch, but when everyone does it, it's not quite the same.

Just for reference... the top 5 passing seasons of all time now have all taken place in the last 3 seasons.

10 of the top 13 passing seasons all-time have taken place in the last 3 seasons.

11 of the top 12 seasons for completions have taken place in the last 4 seasons.

8 of the top 15 seasons for passing TDs have taken place in the last 3 seasons.

In terms of passing the football, we are essentially in what the steroid era was for baseball.

I disagree. When it happens now and goes our way it's more of a "well, that was BS but I'll take it" sort of feeling. That's not nearly as fun as it used to be when you'd make that play against a real defense.

It really is pathetic. You gotta love, too, when a play will happen and the announcers will start to say something like yeah that's how they want people doing it today, but then they still throw the flag, so announces back track and after looking at replays (which still clearly show a perfectly legal hit) they say oh yeah that's indeed why they called it. Total BS.

These

REP! So true, could't say is it ant better.

Yeah, that was kind of ridiculous. There may be a trend in college football to air it out, too, but there's still quite a bit of variety... from the Oregon type offenses to the Alabama/LSU defenses, etc. It's definitely not a football purist's heaven, but it's not even that I dislike the shootouts or whatever, I just don't get the feeling that every good CFB game is going to end the same way.

The NFL is so watered down these days, the only games that seem worth watching are Manning vs Brees or Rodgers vs another Manning, etc, since the most other games are more about bad offense than good defense.... and if the defense had some chance, they would be highly entertaining games, but after a while it's "oh, another 42-38 game."

I'll take the good with the bad when it comes to college sports, since it's not all about money and I don't get the feeling that it's manufactured.

Combination of the rules allowing the defense nothing and the referees being lax in never calling the illegal picks the Broncos receivers take advantage of. I had to laugh when I saw an ESPN analyst trying to argue Peyton had the statistically greatest season ever.

it's to the point now whenever there is a big hit downfield, the entire crowd, announcing crew, and even the ****ing camera man are waiting for the flag to come out.

that's how bad it's become. same with PI. anyone see the Brandon Marshall clear push off in the end zone this past week? no call. wtf.

Now it's like "Ohhhhhh. BIg hit. Here comes the flag". ....and there it is. I'm all for safety and all, but JFC. Don't want to get smashed over the middle? Tell your QB not to leave you hanging out to dry. That's how is used to be.

when a strip, fumble recovery for a TD doesn't even get reviewed, and two refs are six feet away from an illegal FG formation, that's not a game, nor competition.

It's a Vegas casino with refs as dealers..

cmon now... it only took Manning 15 years to throw 55TD's at 37 years old after having neck surgery...

LMAO