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Message: [QUOTE="nzm136, post: 1897727, member: 2531"] This forum uses that term as an insult, but I argue that the people who sling it around have no idea what they're talking about. An offense is tasked with doing 3 things: 1) Most imperatively, an offense has to get as many points as possible when they have the ball (points per drive) 2) It's important that an offense consistently hold on to the ball for an extended period of time to give the defense time to rest. This matters because playing defense is more physically demanding than playing offense. So, if your offense gets off the field quickly, your defense will wear down and their defense will stay fresh. Those trends will make it harder for your team to succeed over the course of the game. Also, slowing down the game makes it more likely for an upset to happen (small sample size variance), which helps the under dog win. 3) And finally, it's important to consistently gain yards on drives. This metric is often seen as a proxy for points scored (which I think is dumb), but I do think it's important because, like point #2, it speaks to the defense's ability to keep the other team from scoring. It's easier to defend a long field than a short one. 1} We are far too early in the DB era to say anything for sure, but at least so far, the offense is 7.5% WORSE at point #1 compared to last year's average (heading into today's game). 2} Also, our offense is very fast. We either score fast or give the ball up fast. That tires our defense out (a huge problem if you're thin at defensive positions or at a talent disadvantage) or causes injuries (sound familiar?). 3} I haven't looked into #3, but I suspect that we're doing better than last year. I'll fully admit that it's far too early to say anything for sure - other than that "this offense has yet to be a success" and that "it hasn't proven itself to be better than last year." It may improve (and I certainly hope that it does), but using meathead as an insulting way to refer to run-first/heavy schemes is very premature if you know good football when you see it. [/QUOTE]

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