Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen is in one of those coach modes, animated, lively, talking offensive football, his passion for the NFL game on full display as he goes from diagramming plays on the white board in his office to using the clicker in his hand to show a play on the big screen across from his desk. He is a mad scientist at work, trying to help me answer a question that has bothered me in a big way the past few years: What in the hell has happened to the NFL passing game? This was a league that once saw 5,000-yard passers, big downfield numbers, quarterbacks who let it fly, and coaches who weren't afraid to let them do it.
But last year, the average passing yards per game for NFL teams was the lowest since 2008. The days of three yards and a cloud of dust aren't quite back, but the bloated passing numbers of a decade ago are gone. In trying to find the answer, I spoke with a variety of offense-minded coaches and quarterbacks to understand why passing-game numbers have dropped over the past 10 years.
Think about this: NFL teams averaged just 209.7 passing yards per game last season, and just 10 years prior to that, teams averaged 243.8 yards per game. That's a significant drop. In 2015, the league averaged 10.8 yards per catch.
Last season, it was 10.2. "There are a lot of reasons," Coen said. "Teams aren't letting you just drop back and get the big plays.
Look at the Super Bowl teams that have won it the last two years, both Philly and Seattle. Those two teams play the highest amount of shell coverage, but what can they do? They can rush the passer, right?
So they can rush with four and play soft zone coverage. They play deep to short and don't let anything get over their heads. They limit the big plays." That is spreading throughout the league.
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