Most midseason NFL reviews focus on such things as which players or coaches project to earn individual awards, or which simply would deserve them if the season hypothetically ended after eight games. Others endeavor to extrapolate based on half a season’s action which teams will flourish and falter in the second half and which are most likely to hoist the Lombardi trophy in early February.
The Hot Read: Drama! Parity! Officiating! Assessing The NFL’s Big Picture At Midseason
Putting the standings and the individual awards aside, Michael Tunison takes a look at how the NFL as a whole is performing through the first half of the season.
But how has the sport as a whole been doing? Without looking at the standings, what is the gestalt when a fan disregards just individual or team performance? Each season is itself a unique beast, but there are a few criteria with which we can assess how the 2010 season stacks up. Of course, my rulings are as arbitrary and unscientific as any other, but that’s never stopped anyone else on the Internet from opining.
Quality of Drama
With the ever-present threat of a lockout in the off-season, there already a looming sense of tension overlaid the 2010 season. The prospect that there might not be football next year should already make the action we experience now all the more precious and enticing. Of course, that doesn’t mean the drama can’t be ratcheted up even further with scads of controversy and compelling storylines. And there have been no shortage of them.
To name a few: T.O. joins Ochocinco, Darrelle Revis' holdout, Vincent Jackson's holdout, yet another Brett Favre post-preseason comeback, Albert Haynesworth calling himself a slave, Calvin Johnson's game-winning touchdown denied, Michael Vick taking over as the Eagles starter, the Ines Sainz locker room scandal, Braylon Edwards' DWI, the Cowboys collapse, the Vikings collapse, HelmetShotGate, James Harrison threatening to retire over fines, Donovan McNabb being benched with two minutes left in a one-score game, the Randy Moss trade, the Randy Moss release, the Randy Moss waiver claim, Moss this Moss that Moss this Moss that.
All in all, it’s been a pretty good year to be a talking head.
Rating: 10 ESPN Logos (out of 10)
Officiating
A thoroughgoing analysis of league-wide referee performance would require film review and statistical analysis that I have neither the time nor the resources to conduct. Not to mention the inclination. It strikes me as a bit tedious. The truth remains that referees in the NFL have an exceedingly difficult job and experience intense scrutiny, especially in a time when replay is not only readily available, but also home DVRs and HD reception.
The officials certainly make mistakes, some of which are deservedly glaring. In other cases, such as the overturned Calvin Johnson touchdown in Week 1 and the review of the Ben Roethlisberger goal line fumble in Miami in Week 7, that referees correctly applied the language of what are flawed rules.
In the end, I'm forced to base my ruling on examples where the officials unfortunately likely played a role in the outcome of a contest, such as the premature touchdown signal by Gene Steratore in the Pittsburgh/Miami game, the phantom pass interference call on Brandon Flowers in the Chiefs/Texans game and the multiple errors that cost in the Vikings on the SNF game in Lambeau Field. As you can see, there have been more than a few. It's going to happen as long as don't have robot refs, but that's still more than you'd like to see.
Rating: Five Indignant Fans
Parity
Whether this is an entirely great thing is up to some debate. In fact, it’s a fundamental philosophical question for the sport. Is the league more entertaining when there are a large handful of good but flawed teams competing for a championship or a couple dominant teams running roughshod over the competition until the later stages of the postseason? The idea of parity keeps more fans invested in their team’s success longer, as more clubs have a chance at a title, but casual fans often want one juggernaut to establish itself as an overwhelming favorite.
From there, the fan, depending on how likable the standout team, decides whether they want to see them finish their grand sacking of the league, or, as was the case with the '07 Patriots, be subject to a monumental upset somewhere down the line. There obviously is no such hard-charging squad so far this year, as there was in '07 or even last season with the Colts. This season is quite different. In fact, even perennial doormat teams are proving not to be an easy out. Just last weekend, the Browns had their way with the Patriots and Lions very nearly took a win from the Jets. Not only is there a teeming pack of teams that have a legitimate chance at a Super Bowl title, but even the bottom dwellers have a passable chance for victory every time they take the field.
Rating: Nine Ginger Hammers
Stickiness of Receiver Gloves
Okay, this doesn’t have much of a bearing on how enjoyable this NFL season has been, but I can’t shake the feeling there have been more outrageous one-handed grabs by receivers than usual this season and in almost every case, the receivers have been wearing what we can only presume are some sticky, technologically advanced gloves. Just take a look at these two plays and tell me these receivers could have bare-handed these catches.
Granted, these are amazing athletes, but catches such as these are becoming too common an occurrence for me to think it’s just the NFL have a bunch of web-handed receivers. According to the NFL rules, there are gloves deemed illegal by the league, but it is up to the umpire working the game to make the determination. I’m not saying the gloves either Garcon or Amendola wore were illegal ones. There’s no way for me to know that. I would just like more information about the types currently being used by receivers and how much of a benefit they provide.
Not saying it’s the budding controversy ready to erupt in the second half of the season, but it’s a subject certainly worthy of exploration. Not that there won’t be a host of other stories to take its place if that doesn’t happen.
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