Mark Viviano: OMG The NFL Is Complicated!
Sports and politics are similar arenas in American culture: no matter who's performing in either arena, there are loud skeptics and critics who will boldly proclaim how that performer could or should improve (or be fired). Politics has pundits, sports has analysts. Politics has wonks, sports has fans. All of them are right and wrong at the same time which only increases the volume and angst of the arguments and debates. Politics govern lives and affect the health and well-being of a populace. Somehow, sports has become an arena that does so, too.
I've done years of sports talk radio and I know that nothing fuels the hot flames of opinion like a Ravens defeat. Winning is boring because it's assumed (by blindly ardent fans) that their team is supposed to win so it's not news when they do- just something to celebrate before beginning to worry about the next game they're supposed to win. The Ravens have lost three games in the 2011 regular season to this point (at Tennessee, at Jacksonville, at Seattle) and each defeat has brought out vocal cries aimed at the Baltimore offense- in particular, the play-calling. The hot button of this week is the run-pass ratio used against the Seahawks and the apparent sin of Ray Rice running the ball just five times the entire game in a 22-17 loss.
What's been interesting to hear this week is that while fans and analysts are assailing what they believe to be an obvious game planning error (the Ravens blew it by abandoning the running game too early), within the Ravens organization there is dispute as to how accurate and fair that criticism is. On Wednesday, while Rice spoke to the media about his expectation to touch the ball 20-to-25 times every game (an expectation that was later endorsed by team leader Ray Lewis), quarterback Joe Flacco stood patiently to the side and listened- and at times rolled his eyes and shook his head in clear disagreement. When he finally got his chance to speak, Flacco said (very pointedly for the otherwise understated QB): "It just doesn't make sense. Did you watch the game, or didn't you watch the game? I understand the way our running backs feel. I understand, because if we were throwing the ball 10 times, I would be a little upset that I didn't get to put my stamp on the game either. But, did you see how the game went?" In other words: we were losing, for God's sake, so we had to throw! And Flacco's opinion is backed by head coach John Harbaugh who said repeatedly that as much as they want to run, the circumstances of the Seattle game dictated more passes. Flacco was quick to point out that when the Ravens trailed Arizona two weeks prior, a comeback fueled by a pass-heavy attack led to a Ravens victory and no one complained then. You're on to something, Joe. The complaints come when you lose.
So, how complicated is football- especially NFL football? The answer: apparently it's very complicated. Here's a link to a in-depth piece written by Barry Svriuga of the Washington Post that chronicles the painstaking process of compiling an offensive play sheet for one game. The untold long hours of video study, coaches committee gatherings and debates, theory application and trend analysis is mind-numbing. If you ever thought play-calling was a simple process, read this!
Which leads me to one of my favorite Flacco quotes of all time. When pressed this week on the subject of what's wrong with the Ravens offense and the possible solutions, the QB said, "I think the answers can be pretty simple, but they can just be different than what you guys think."
posted by Mark Viviano
