TupaTalk: The punt vs. the risk
Sports can be fascinating in watching trends arrive, play out their life and move on.
I recall when the Chicago Bears in the 1980s utilized a 46 defense — with dominant results.
The formation — developed and implemented by Chicago defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan — featured six linemen, including two linebackers, two linebackers at traditional depth, two cornerbacks and a safety.
Ryan constructed the 46 as a way to put more pressure on passers, sending anywhere from five to eight pass rushers/run stoppers on every play. Due to the way the players lined up, it made it more difficult for offensive linemen to block.
Of course, it wouldn’t have worked optimally without the optimal players, which the Bears possessed.
Other teams adopted it, or at least a hybrid, based on the Bears’ success, which included blasting to a 15-1 record in 1985 and cruising to the Super Bowl title.
But, offensive game planners adapted and the 46 became basically obsolete.
Basketball has seen so many changes in style — not so much evolution, as that word denotes irreversible transformations. Some great basketball minds brought about changes in team defense, in motion tweaks, in overload and backside positioning — things that worked for a while until other great minds figured out the antidotes.
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One of most interesting trends I observed this past season, anywhere from the high school to the NFL levels was choosing to run fourth-down plays in areas of the field which would have been anathema in the past.
I believe it was in the 1988 Orange Bowl when Miami coach Jimmy Johnson rolled the dice on a fourth-down play, converted and went on to beat Oklahoma.
But, at least to my mind, it seems fourth down tries exploded this past season, compared to the past.
If this true, some reasons might include a weakness in running games which made it more difficult for offenses to move the ball, a stronger defensive emphasis, particularly with officials seeming to be more reluctant and more technical in issuing pass interference penalties, the struggles teams had in flipping the field, coaches and quarterbacks making fourth-down plays a kind of test of character and a kind of impatience by coaches who want to make it happen right now.
Plus, going for it on fourth down seems to always be a fan booster.
However, according to some, the “go for it” trend might be pulling back a bit.
I guess we’ll find out more next season as to whether teams punt and kick more.
I don’t really have an opinion, other than I want to see the game played and coached 80% of the time at an intelligent level and 20% at an emotional level.
There’s something to be said for going most the time with the percentages, but also some times when daring and risk match the moment and the potential reward.
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This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Tupa: Are football teams going for it on fourth down more these days?
