FanPost

Should the Colts really be passing more?





We've all heard the criticism that the Colts coaching staff is focusing to heavily on rushing the football. People say the approach is out-dated, and won't work in today's NFL. Not so fast I say. I recently read an article by Sports Illustrated's Greg Bedard that seems to show that teams may actually be passing the ball so often that it's hurting their chances of winning. By comparing a team's number of rushing attempts per game from last season, to the first 5 games of this year we can see that the teams rushing the ball more per game have improved the likelihood of winning compared to last season. The Colts have improved their overall DVOA by over 40% by running the ball an average of 5.8 times more per game this year.The Colts are one of 7 teams to average over 3 more attempts per game, and of those 7 teams, only 1 has a lower DVOA year over year. Meanwhile, the teams that have thrown the ball more this season have actually hurt their DVOA. I found it really fascinating. We all know the league can be cyclical, and I believe we are seeing a return to more of a traditional style offense as defenses invest heavily in stopping the pass. At the very least, it shows the value of a balanced attack. Here's a link to the original article: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/10/04/pass-rush-balance-notes/

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.