The Day After....

I wasn't intending to write a blog covering Super Bowl 48.

While I was watching the game, I was angry.  After watching the game, I was angrier still.  Today, I feel a bit better, but the taint of that anger remains and will likely remain until the beginning of the 2014 season.

But here's the rub: should I even invest myself in the 2014 NFL season?

It is likely that I'll look like a reactionary to other observers (assuming any of them are even interested in reading this).  So I guess the way to interpret what I'm about to say is that I am a passionate person with strong feelings and this blog is an expression of those feelings first and foremost.

To that end, the answer to the question I posed regarding 2014 is a loud and resounding "no".

There are two things that I've heard about the NFL for years now.  1.) It's a copycat league.  2.) Defense wins championships.

Despite the efforts of the Commissioner and the competition committee to open up the game and allow for more passing, most of what we saw in 2013 was a regression toward running the ball and dominating defense.  In the regular season, it didn't always play out that way.  Witness how Denver and New England were able to put up more than 10 wins each despite not having what observers would call "dominant" defenses.  But really, they are the exceptions.  There was less emphasis on down-field passing and more short passes that just barely go past the line of scrimmage.

So when we're promised a "passing league" and get what we got yesterday, it naturally annoys me.  Also, given the copycat nature of the league, it is likely that more teams will seek to do what Seattle has done, which is to build their team around the running game and defense, and to have a QB that doesn't necessarily throw it down the field that often.

My contention is that the league will become more like what we saw yesterday, and it'll bore the shit out of me.  So my excitement for the 2014 season, as of today at least, is low.

By the time next season starts, maybe my feelings will have changed.  Right now, I doubt it.