The NFL's tinkering with the game of football--apparently to promote more and more "exciting" passing TDs--is, IMO, converting games into basketball-like sporting events. Marketers, like Goodell, apparently believe that fans like more and more TDs, and by emphasizing some rules (defensive holding) and ignoring other "rules" (offensive holding), games now routinely end with 60 or 70 total points. In a goofy effort to make this basketball-type approach "more interesting," we witnessed the NFL experiment with making the 1-point conversion a mid-range field goal. Apparently, a game ending with a score of 42-41, lost because of missed extra point, is more fun to watch than an even higher-scoring OT.
How has Goodell effected this? The term "holding" has two radically different meanings depending on who's holding. Offensive holding is seldom called but occurs throughout the game. Only when a D-lineman falls, twists in an odd way, or is literally tackled does an official "infer" holding and enforce the rule. This non-enforcement approach protects QBs and insures many "exciting" passing TDs. It also explains the obsolescence of RBs.
Defensive holding is another animal altogether. Merely brushing an RB's, TE's, or WR's body constitutes holding, and is called routinely. This insures that offensive drives, particularly involving passes, continue.
I may be alone, but I think that this new game of football is less interesting. Unless it's a "modern" blowout (e.g., winner's 45 or 50 points against loser's 17-24 points), you can watch the last 5 minutes and see who wins.
Your*
Thanks for the idea. No response, however, to the substance of the statement.
But great post.