Points per game over the last 40 years

[paulwoods13]

Considering how many defensive scores there were this year, an increase of four points per game does not signal that the recent offensive malaise is over, IMO.

[OV Argo]

Interesting data Ravi.

I am a fan of variety in football - like to see some high scoring games, some low scoring defensive battles and lots in between. Too much of one extreme or the other would lead to more boring football. I realize that a lot of fans think "exciting" football means high scoring shoot-outs with lots of TDs, but not me - except for when I see such a game where offences really earn their points with imaginative play-calling and lots of big plays - long bomb passes, RBs breaking some big gainers, QBs scrambling to extend plays or run for yardage; otherwise, a lot of high scoring football games are often the result of sloppy play, bad defence, kick cover teams that are useless, or offences giving the ball away with dumb, terrible turn-overs.

IMO - the biggest factor in more low scoring CFL games over the past number of years is the way CFL offences have all evolved to standard, simple same-old look and play-calling; all CFL offensive coaches are stuck in standard operating mode with QB always in shot-gun, same old 5 pack receiver look (with running start waggle off-sides galore), no real applied ground games and no real use of a fullback or tight end to help an offence = so little variety, so predictable and defences know what is coming. i get a kick out of some referring to more recent CFL offences as "complex" - they are anything but IMO, and that is totally by choice of the offensive "minds" who draw up play-books and call the plays now; but, to each his own opinion on what good offensive football can be.

The other factor is QBing - the most key position on offence; and when their are some CFL seasons that happen to feature some weak starting QBs or little QB depth (the injury to good starting QB factor can not be over-looked here - Durant, Ray, Reilly, Lulay, Collaros, Willy combined missed a huge chunk of the CFL season this year) = this is going to spell problems for offences; and especially when they are saddled with myopic, limited thinking dullards as offensive coaches - hoping a young and inexperienced QB can run your standard pass heavy offence just the same as a vet QB is stupid.

Anyhow - is what it is, and I'm still a huge CFL fan, but just wish we could see wayyyyyy more variety on offence; but the game evolves and the CFL is a small close knit league with a lot of copy-cat thinking IMO.

If I want to see more variety in Canadian football there is CIS ball: where most offences there have evolved to basically copy standard CFL pass look; but a lot teams still show quite a bit of variety on offence with some different looks, and particularly faith in a strong ground game. Just watched Guelph vs. Carleton this weekend and Guelph ran a what the announcers referred to a diamond backfield look with 3 RBs behind the QB; they rushed quite effectively out of this look with one powerful back doing most of the work, but the other backs got the ball some too; and they did not run this look the whole game - they also went with standard QB in shot-gun 5 pack look and passed well out of that at times. It was just an example of varied, diverse offence with multiple looks & formations that is just basically gone from the good ole CFL now. But a CFL offence could change to some different looks in the future - you never know I guess.

[ArgoRavi]

Considering how many defensive scores there were this year, an increase of four points per game does not signal that the recent offensive malaise is over, IMO.

Keep in mind that there were a lot of defensive scores last year too, Paul. I don't know if defensive scoring was up much this year over last year but I recall that defensive scoring was up considerably in 2014 vs. 2013. Having said all of this, yes, the offences aren't quite at the levels that they were back in the early 1990s but I do see more promising, young QBs today than I have seen in some time so I am hopeful that we will see an end to the "offensive malaise", as you refer to it, soon.

[ArgoRavi]

Considering how many defensive scores there were this year, an increase of four points per game does not signal that the recent offensive malaise is over, IMO.

We got a further breakdown today from Jeffrey Orridge, Paul. While defensive scoring did increase again, offensive scoring was up by the equivalent of a TD per game in 2015 compared to 2014. With all of the QB injuries, you have to wonder how much more scoring we would have seen if most teams had their starting QBs for most of the season. Bruce Arthur from the Star wrote a column about this issue on Friday: http://www.thestar.com/sports/footba...ks-arthur.html

This quote from Travis Lulay stood out for me: “I talked to some ex-quarterbacks who played even in the 1990s, and they said this game is completely different from the quarterback’s point of view, because back then there were three defences, and you knew it as soon as the ball was snapped,” says B.C.’s Travis Lulay. “Now, there’s a lot of creativity in defensive football.”