NFL Parity

Do y'all remember the days in the NFL when the better team would win? It wasn't that long ago. But this year, it seems like the games are not decided by who plays better, but just by who plays less bad. Missed/blocked field goals, fumbles, bad passes, dropped passes, missed tackles, penalties, etc.

Take the Giants-Seahawks game. Seattle threw a pick on their first play. Eli threw 2 picks in the first quarter. Plaxico fumbled the ball, and turned a very catchable ball into another pick. It wasn't that Seattle played well, just that the Giants played so badly. 4 turnovers in the first half doomed then - and it wasn't even forced turnovers like big hits, it was mental mistakes. And then the Giants made a formidable comeback due to 3 turnovers by Seattle. Seattle only averaged 2.6 yards per carry, but because they were handed 4 turnovers, it became a blowout early.

Go back to week 2. The main reason the Giants came back to win was because of the poor play by Philly. They couldn't convert on some crucial 3rd and shorts, fumbled the ball, and dropped some passes, allowing the Gints to come all the way back.

Go back to week 1. Again, the Colts played bad, but the Giants worse. Peyton threw 1 int, but if not for several drops by Giant defenders, he'd have 4 in that game. And then Eli and Tiki fuck up a simple handoff, and the game is over.

I've seen more sloppy football this season than I can ever remember seeing in past seasons. I'm not just talking about the Giants, it's every team. Is there a reason for it? Is it too much media attention, aka pressure, is it fatigue, or over-complex playbooks, or big money/egos, or overhauled/no chemistry teams due to free agency? Maybe it's a combination of everything. Whatever it is, I hope we can watch crisp football the rest of the way.