Month: April 2019

(part 1 of this two-part season review can be found here)

While anterior-dominant wide receivers such as Emmanuel Sanders, Corey Davis, and Tyler Boyd bounced back from injury-induced inefficiency in recent seasons (and pretty much every anterior-dominant WR saw at least some boost in productivity), arguably the biggest beneficiary of recent rules changes has been pass-catching anterior-dominant RBs.  The combination of the rule banning tackling defenseless receivers with the rule removing the helmet tackle has made stopping these RBs (the most dominant being Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley) extremely difficult. In previous eras, these two RBs would likely have been confined to 3rd downs- their lacking posterior lumbar efficiency (run power) makes them ineffective at pushing the pile, and on short catches they would have absorbed many damaging hits.  However, first the removal of hits to defenseless receivers, and now the removal of the helmet tackle, has made these types of players extremely productive every-down players (and able to sustain the hits). While they may not push the pile or grind out consistent 4 yds gains, their short-area quickness and pass-catching versatility make them indispensable offensive playmakers in the post-2017 era.

Continue reading Large-Scale Trends and the 2018 Season (part 2)