By Jeff Moore
Saturday, October 19th, 2002
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Remember a few years ago the great debate that raged in baseball? With the
increasing number of homeruns and high-scoring games, some pointed to the
baseball being more lively or "juiced."
With Week 6 in the NFL now complete, there must be something about the football
this year. Every week seems to be filled with big plays, teams are scoring
loads of points, and both big-name players and unknowns are having huge games.
All aspects of the game from offense to special teams seem affected by the
new performance-enhancing ball. The proof is in the statistics and something
needs to be done to preserve the integrity of football.
Points Scored
Last season, the St. Louis Rams led the NFL in points scored per game
with 31.4. By all accounts, the Rams were a scoring machine, evidenced by
their 14-2 record. In order to aid the other teams to catch up to the Rams,
the NFL must have introduced the live football this year and the plan is
working.
After Week 6, four teams have a higher point per game average than last season's
Rams. The Raiders average 35.0 points per game, the Chiefs
34.2, the Eagles 33.0, and the Buffalo Bills 32.3. Compare
these same teams with last year's numbers to see the difference. The Raiders
scored 24.9 points per game, the Chiefs 20.0, the Eagles 21.4, and the Bills
a lowly 16.6. The improved ball is elevating the play of many offences and
turning them into the Rams.
In fact, the majority of the league seems to be scoring more points. In the
first six weeks of games, the winning team has scored an average points per
game of 29.1, 27.8, 28.0, 30.5, 28.8, and 25.3. All these are within striking
distance of the Rams numbers from last year.
Running Backs
The juiced ball seems to make running backs run faster and harder. The closer
they get to the goal line, the greater the effect seems to be. In fact, when
the running back gets one touchdown, the new ball seems to ensure at least
another. Sure, many running backs have rushed this year and last for 100
yards, but consider these games:
* Priest Holmes' 4 rushing TD against the Browns and 3 TD against
the Patriots.
* Travis Henry's 3 TD against the Jets.
* The biggest game for a running back so far must be Shaun Alexander
against the Vikings. Alexander set an NFL record with 5 TD in one
half. Alexander led the Seahawks to 31 points in the second quarter
to pillage the Vikings 48-23. Imagine what Walter Payton or Jim
Brown could have done today.
Quarterbacks
The effects of the live ball can be seen once it gets in the air. The ball
is obviously more accurate and adheres to a receiver's hands. The QBs in
the league are racking up yards and TDs almost at will. 300-yard games for
a QB at one time were considered a standard of excellence. Now, the losing
team can have 300-yard games almost as often as the winner.
* Drew Bledsoe and Daunte Culpepper combined for 6 TD and 744
yards in the Bills' win over the Vikings.
* Tom Brady threw 4 TD and 410 yards in a win over the Chiefs and
out-performed future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre's 3 TD and 357 yards
in a win over the Lions in the same week.
* Steve McNair and Rich Gannon pitched the ball around for
6 TD and 779 yards in the Raider 52-25 blowout over the Titans. (Someone
forgot to tell McNair that the new ball also sticks to the defender's hands,
as he threw 4 interceptions.)
* Bledsoe and Gannon lit up the skies with 5 TD and 774 yards (Bledsoe also
found out what McNair did with 3 picks.)
* Remember the classic Packers/Bears game with each team fighting
for every yard? How about Favre and Jim Miller each throwing over
350 yards and 3 TD? (Miller with 3 picks. See Bledsoe and McNair.)
First-Time Starter Quarterbacks
Before this year, there was never anything worse than your team announcing
that the QB for the next game will be making his first career start. Before
the new ball, that was an almost certain disaster. Not any more. The juiced
ball makes a first time starter smarter and allows him to avoid Ryan
Leaf-like games.
* Kelly Holcomb's 326 yards and 3 TD in a tight 40-39 loss to the
Chiefs.
* Partick Ramsay led the Redskins to a 31-14 win over the
Titans with 2 TD, 268 yards, and no interceptions. Is the ball the secret
to Steve Spurrier's Fun 'n Gun?
* Chad Pennington made his first start in three years and throws for
245 yards, 2 TD, and 1 INT and loses by four points to the Chiefs.
* The best case for the souped-up ball came in the
Steelers/Saints game. Tommy Maddox replaced Kordell
Stewart and throws for 3 TD and 268 yards and 1 interception. Maddox
was the MVP for the XFL in its only season. This was Maddox's first start
since 1992 and he had only appeared in 13 NFL games in his career, starting
four. Maddox had a 56.4 QB rating with only 5 TD to 9 interceptions. That
was BJB (Before Jacked-up Ball). Only a juiced ball could revive an ex-XFLer's
career.
Finally, the QB stats up to Week 6 reveal an interesting statistic. The top
two QBs in passing yards are Drew Bledsoe and then Tom Brady. Now, there
is no way that the top two QBs in the NFL were both playing quarterback for
the New England Patriots last year unless the ball is making it happen. (Or
the Patriots didn't fluke the Super Bowl win.)
Defense
Defensive backs are often receivers who don't catch as well. That's why they
play defense. But the new ball is closing the gap. The defense is intercepting
balls all over the place and scoring touchdowns on big plays.
* Victor Green made a 90-yard TD interception and teammate Tebuckey
Jones picks up a fumble and returns it 24 yards both for the Patriots
against the Jets.
* Raider Rod Woodson picked the ball off three times with one returned
for an 82-yard TD off an interception versus the Titans.
* Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilla (nicknamed the KGB in Green Bay) returned
an interception 72 yards for a TD off a Jim Miller pass.
* Ifeanyi Ohalete (Washington Redskin winner of the Most Vowels
in His First Name) added a 78-yard pick to the endzone against the Saints.
* Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned three
of the Bucs' four interceptions for touchdowns.
Special Teams
Any coach will tell you that there are three important phases in the game:
offence, defense, and special teams. The new ball has put the "special" back
in special teams.
* Chad Morton of the Jets beat the Bills by returning two kicks for
touchdowns of 96 and 98 yards.
* Charlie Rogers of the Bills returned the favor against the Vikings
on a kick going 90 yards to the house.
* Jacquez Green revived some Gator memories with Steve Spurrier
on a 90 yard TD punt return against the Eagles.
* Raiders Terry Kirby and Phillip Buchanan take their punt
returns 79 and 83 yards for their six points as the Titans watched.
* Steeler Antwaan Randle El in a year without the Super Ball would
have seen many have trouble besting his 99-yard kick return for a TD against
the Bengals.
* But this year, it is no problem to top a 99-yard return as Dallas
Cowboy Reggie Swinton's 100-yard kick return for a TD against
the Eagles showed. Who could beat that?
* Remember, this is the "Year of the Hopped-Up Ball" and Chris McAlister
of the Ravens returned a failed field goal attempt by the
Broncos 107 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the half to
help give Baltimore their first win over the then undefeated Broncos.
Further Evidence
Need more proof? How about 3 TD for a tight end? Certainly only a jacked-up
ball would allow a tight end 3 TD. Okay, the tight end was Tony Gonzalez
against the Dolphins, so maybe for Gonzalez, it isn't much of a stretch.
The final evidence must lie with the team that needed the help the most.
If there were a juiced ball in the NFL this year, even the most inept team
would take advantage of the help.
Last year, the Cincinnati Bengals were last in the NFL with an average of
14.1 points per game. With a new expansion team in the league and a ball
built for touchdowns, the Bengals should benefit from the grand NFL plan
of creating more points and exciting games and find themselves out of the
bottom of the stat pages.
A quick glance at the stats so far in the season shows that the Bengals are
... uh ... last in the NFL in scoring. Well, maybe they are last, but compared
to last year, their points per game is oh ... only 8.5 points per game and
oh ... ah ... 6 TD in six games. Well, that means that, er, um. Well, the
ball it is ....
Never mind.
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