Cowher was rooting for old-school Jets
February, 5, 2010
2/05/10
10:51
AM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Once the season reached the conference championship games, Bill Cowher knew that he had to support one team particular.
"I was pulling for the Jets because that was old-time football," Cowher said. "That was run the ball, play defense."
Sounds downright archaic, doesn't it? Run, run, run. Tackle, tackle, tackle. Win a 17-14 game if you have to.
The NFL has evolved into a passing game. The best teams know how to throw the ball well and often. The Super Bowl features the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, the second- and fourth-ranked passing teams. The NFC Championship Game was a duel between the NFL's top two quarterbacks based on passer rating.
That's why Cowher was so sentimental about the ground-and-pound Jets.
"The game has changed," Cowher said. "It caters to throwing. Clearly, if you have a quarterback you can do so much more. It's a game that definitely has gone [against] the defense. Quarterbacks can't get hit. Receivers can't get hit. Anybody going over the middle can't get hit."
Cowher foresees a more balanced Jets offense next season. Behind backfield bulldozers Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene, they led the NFL in rushing at 172.2 yards a game, but they ranked 31st in passing at 148.8 yards a game.
No team threw fewer than the Jets did. The Buffalo Bills were closest, but threw 48 more times.
"What the Jets did with Mark Sanchez, they took a rookie quarterback and went pretty far with him," Cowher said. "Now they've got to expand that by throwing, but don't lose sight of the foundation."
"I was pulling for the Jets because that was old-time football," Cowher said. "That was run the ball, play defense."
Sounds downright archaic, doesn't it? Run, run, run. Tackle, tackle, tackle. Win a 17-14 game if you have to.
The NFL has evolved into a passing game. The best teams know how to throw the ball well and often. The Super Bowl features the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, the second- and fourth-ranked passing teams. The NFC Championship Game was a duel between the NFL's top two quarterbacks based on passer rating.
That's why Cowher was so sentimental about the ground-and-pound Jets.
"The game has changed," Cowher said. "It caters to throwing. Clearly, if you have a quarterback you can do so much more. It's a game that definitely has gone [against] the defense. Quarterbacks can't get hit. Receivers can't get hit. Anybody going over the middle can't get hit."
Cowher foresees a more balanced Jets offense next season. Behind backfield bulldozers Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene, they led the NFL in rushing at 172.2 yards a game, but they ranked 31st in passing at 148.8 yards a game.
No team threw fewer than the Jets did. The Buffalo Bills were closest, but threw 48 more times.
"What the Jets did with Mark Sanchez, they took a rookie quarterback and went pretty far with him," Cowher said. "Now they've got to expand that by throwing, but don't lose sight of the foundation."
ABOUT THIS BLOG
James Walker
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the NFL and NBA for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. He's a Temple graduate and Hyattsville, Md. native who lives in Miami.
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