when did the nfl become more of a passing game? (1 Viewer)

[kdt]

so when did the rules adjust to make it more geared to passing over running? and what rules were implemented?

 

[karmarooster]

Well, there have been several rule changes, such as rules to 'protect' QBs and more strict DB engagement rules, but maybe you'll find this interesting from TMQ:

Maybe you think football has been revolutionized by the spread offense, that passing is at an all-time high, that scoring is off the charts in big-college football. The sports-talk world certainly seems to think these things -- but events are not as they appear.• NFL scoring is at or slightly below an average that has been remarkably consistent for 60 years.• Many games of the 1950s, when family cars had column-mounted stick shifts, featured about the same disparity of passing versus rushing as do NFL games today.• Half a century ago, NFL touchdowns were slightly more likely to come through the air than they are now.First, NFL scoring. Since the late 1940s, when Harry Truman was president and the tech rumor was that Blaupunkt was designing an FM radio for the dashboard of cars, NFL scoring has hovered between 21 and 22 points per team per game. Last season, the average was 22 points; in 2007, it was 21.7 points; in 1987, it was 21.6 points; in 1967, it was 21.8 points; in 1947, it was 22 points. So far this season, the average is 21.1. (Check any past year here.) The averages are so consistent it's almost spooky, as though there were a "power law" dictating an outcome of 21 to 22 points per team per NFL game. Offensive fads have come and gone: single wing, run and shoot, I backfield, full house, no huddle, double tight, the spread. Tactics change, scoring remains about the same.Is the real story that points are now being achieved through the air rather than on the ground? Last season, NFL teams averaged 1.3 receiving touchdowns per game; in 1958, when the world's attention was riveted on the Quemoy-Matsu crisis, the average was 1.5 receiving touchdowns per game. Like overall scoring, the share of scoring that comes via passing has changed surprisingly little for half a century.

Doesn't say anything about yardage, which suspect has changed significantly in terms of ratio of yards from run vs. pass, as well as run attempts per game vs. pass attempts per game.

 

[pizzatyme]

I think several things have contributed to the change:

Coaches have realized that with an effective short passing game you can hide a lot of weaknesses on your O-line.

Rules changes that allow WRs to play their position without being mugged at the LOS or downfield.

Cover 2 or soft zone Defensive schemes.

More specialized RBs who can catch.

More pass-catching TEs.