The Andre thread has morphed at least in part into a discussion of the NFL and the Air Raid. That brings up the question....is it really the future of the NFL, as some have speculated?
I could buy the idea that some sort of modified air raid will become more prevalent over the next few years. It is already contributing to the need for edge rushers; last night's first round makes that pretty clear.
The relative lack of WR in the first round suggests that either this is a really down year for WR, or the NFL offenses don't see an air raid driven need to build up their WR corps, or maybe they think they can get the WR they need in later rounds. Not sure...maybe some of all of that. But I would submit that an NFL team that is committed to an air raid future would be adding WR in early rounds, and I didn't see evidence of that last night. Maybe the second round will be different.
There was a brief uptick in mobile QB offenses in the NFL, but that seems to have cooled as the QB's got injured due to their greater exposure. It is critical for an NFL team to keep the QB healthy. Is the air raid the sort of offense that prolongs a QB's career? Or shortens it? If there is a clear answer to that question, then I could see that being a factor in whether the air raid is a trend or just a blip for the NFL.
Finally, the truest measure will be whether pro teams are successful in running the air raid. The "conventional wisdom" has always been that the air raid allows a team to perform above its athletic talent level, which is relevant at the D1 level, but not relevant at the NFL where in theory all teams are on a relatively equal playing field from a talent availability perspective. I don't think that has really been tested one way or the other yet, and I am hoping that happens over the next couple of years...if for no other reason, then to maybe put the conventional wisdom to bed one way or the other.
What do you guys see in terms of NFL offenses for the next couple of years? Any air raid adoption at all? A little? A lot? Depending upon where the ball is on the field?
I could buy the idea that some sort of modified air raid will become more prevalent over the next few years. It is already contributing to the need for edge rushers; last night's first round makes that pretty clear.
The relative lack of WR in the first round suggests that either this is a really down year for WR, or the NFL offenses don't see an air raid driven need to build up their WR corps, or maybe they think they can get the WR they need in later rounds. Not sure...maybe some of all of that. But I would submit that an NFL team that is committed to an air raid future would be adding WR in early rounds, and I didn't see evidence of that last night. Maybe the second round will be different.
There was a brief uptick in mobile QB offenses in the NFL, but that seems to have cooled as the QB's got injured due to their greater exposure. It is critical for an NFL team to keep the QB healthy. Is the air raid the sort of offense that prolongs a QB's career? Or shortens it? If there is a clear answer to that question, then I could see that being a factor in whether the air raid is a trend or just a blip for the NFL.
Finally, the truest measure will be whether pro teams are successful in running the air raid. The "conventional wisdom" has always been that the air raid allows a team to perform above its athletic talent level, which is relevant at the D1 level, but not relevant at the NFL where in theory all teams are on a relatively equal playing field from a talent availability perspective. I don't think that has really been tested one way or the other yet, and I am hoping that happens over the next couple of years...if for no other reason, then to maybe put the conventional wisdom to bed one way or the other.
What do you guys see in terms of NFL offenses for the next couple of years? Any air raid adoption at all? A little? A lot? Depending upon where the ball is on the field?
