Comments on: Return Touchdowns Were Way Down in 2016 http://www.footballperspective.com/return-touchdowns-were-way-down-in-2016/ NFL History and Stats Sun, 05 Nov 2017 21:02:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Jim Murray http://www.footballperspective.com/return-touchdowns-were-way-down-in-2016/#comment-329873 Sun, 05 Nov 2017 21:02:00 +0000 http://www.footballperspective.com/?p=32106#comment-329873 There are many reasons for this, to be sure, but the main reason is the same reason that all major sports are becoming more tedious and boring. Greed for excessive profits has made leagues of governors unwilling to change the game in any way that increases unpredictability, and therefore excitement. Sadly, this also limits the ability of naturally-gifted players to showcase their individual talents. The best example of this is the following: although players have increased in height and weight in the last 100 years, and especially in the last 30 (https://noahveltman.com/nflplayers/), and yet have become much faster than their smaller predecessors, the size of the field has not changed since the game was first formalized. Consequently, the first part of the game to suffer was the running game. While some teams are still successful each year at running the ball, the dominance of the running back has clearly faded. Historically, using the run to set up the pass has reversed. It is rare now to have backs that hit 100 yards on a game-by-game basis, let alone on a year-by-year basis. There is no way Barry Sanders would be as dominant or as consistent nowadays. This scenario has also affected the return runners, especially now that kickers are so much stronger and can put the returners in their own red zone, or out of the end of the red zone. How long did Tom Dempsey’s 65-yard field goal record stand? Now every kicker approaches it, so it is no problem to put the kickoff out of touch, or at least 5 yards in the end zone. The problem is just as bad in hockey, which has reduced the game to the pathetic clutch-and-grab style that is currently prevalent. In both cases, increasing the field or rink size is no option because it will impinge on the number of seats that bring in the owners’ beloved cash.

]]> By: Chase http://www.footballperspective.com/return-touchdowns-were-way-down-in-2016/#comment-322800 Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:25:00 +0000 http://www.footballperspective.com/?p=32106#comment-322800 In reply to Adam.

It’s pretty weird, tho.

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