Fiat Ruined Football
Everybody remembers the golden age of football - where defensive struggles and ground attacks determined who were the toughest men. Occasionally a super fast player who could stay on his feet would make a huge difference and dominate the game. But this era thrived in the 70s with the a Steelers and peaked in the 80s with the likes of the Redskins, Bears, and Giants being challenged by offensive upstarts like the Dolphins and 49ers.
Bill Parcells had a saying: There are 3 things that can happen when you throw the ball and 2 of them are bad. He was referring to the 1 good outcome of a lot of yards but the 2 bad outcomes were either an interception or a sack. Under such a risk assessment, it’s no wonder that Bill Parcells rarely let Phill Simms throw the ball and focused all his attention on his beastly offensive line.
Today the equation is different. Now there’s a good chance of a penalty being called on a pass play. Pass interference, defensive holding, roughing the passer - there are so many ways that teams can benefit from passing plays that the incentive is now to throw on every down. It’s convenient because it’s a version of the game that high-time preference fans seem to like more as well. It’s all in the name of protecting the players but as I remember, Joe Montana, John Elway, and even Phil Simms throwing every 3rd down into a blitz had long and satisfying careers. The big money is in football and they want big numbers, high scores, and Tom Brady protected at all costs.
Football became high-time preference. And it sucks now. Fiat ruined football.
Fundamentals /
npub12e…ky99g
2023-09-23 09:47:10
Author Public Key
npub12eml5kmtrjmdt0h8shgg32gye5yqsf2jha6a70jrqt82q9d960sspky99gPublished at
2023-09-23 09:47:10Event JSON
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"content": "Fiat Ruined Football\n\nEverybody remembers the golden age of football - where defensive struggles and ground attacks determined who were the toughest men. Occasionally a super fast player who could stay on his feet would make a huge difference and dominate the game. But this era thrived in the 70s with the a Steelers and peaked in the 80s with the likes of the Redskins, Bears, and Giants being challenged by offensive upstarts like the Dolphins and 49ers.\n\nBill Parcells had a saying: There are 3 things that can happen when you throw the ball and 2 of them are bad. He was referring to the 1 good outcome of a lot of yards but the 2 bad outcomes were either an interception or a sack. Under such a risk assessment, it’s no wonder that Bill Parcells rarely let Phill Simms throw the ball and focused all his attention on his beastly offensive line.\n\nToday the equation is different. Now there’s a good chance of a penalty being called on a pass play. Pass interference, defensive holding, roughing the passer - there are so many ways that teams can benefit from passing plays that the incentive is now to throw on every down. It’s convenient because it’s a version of the game that high-time preference fans seem to like more as well. It’s all in the name of protecting the players but as I remember, Joe Montana, John Elway, and even Phil Simms throwing every 3rd down into a blitz had long and satisfying careers. The big money is in football and they want big numbers, high scores, and Tom Brady protected at all costs.\n\nFootball became high-time preference. And it sucks now. Fiat ruined football.",
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