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Healthy QBs big reason behind NFL scoring

Teams handling blitzes better, though some teams just inexplicably better

Image: McNabbGetty Images
Donovan McNabb picked apart the Lions' defense on Sunday for four touchdown passes.

Read these scores carefully: 56-21. 51-45.

No, these aren’t results from the Arena Football League. They’re also not college-basketball scores from the pre-shot clock era. You’re talking about a couple of games this season from the NFL. Or maybe we should call it the NFFL.

The National Fantasy Football League.

The 2007 season is only three weeks old, but there’s a jumping-off-the-page trend that must be bringing smiles to the suits in the league office. The offenses are dominating, resulting in a mad, mad, mad, mad September.

It’s a fantasy owner’s delight, and great for TV ratings, right?

The Eagles, who scored one offensive touchdown in their first two games, stamped a 56-21 score Sunday on the foreheads of the Lions. A week ago, the Browns — the BROWNS! — outscored the Bengals, 51-45. Did the Browns total 51 points the entire 2006 season?

These are tough times for defenses in the NFL. Somewhere, the ’85 Bears must be growling.

So far, the most famous “stop” has come from a fellow by the name of Steve Yarnall, the Jets’ security chief. He’s the man who busted the Patriots’ video man spying from the sideline in the season opener, sparking the nationwide SpyGate scandal.

Some of this is hard to figure. I mean, after three games, the Steelers have racked up 97 points under new coach Mike Tomlin, who cut his teeth as a defensive coach. What happened to the methodical, smashmouth Steelers of the Bill Cowher era?

Look at the Browns. Their 105 points have come under another defensive-minded coach, Romeo Crennel.

Why is this happening?

Some experts might look for an Xs-and-Os explanation, theorizing that offenses have caught up with the various defensive wrinkles. Indeed, some teams are handling the blitz better than in the past, using maximum-protection packages. That has enabled the quarterbacks to stay healthy — always good for the league — and it has enabled the quarterbacks to stage firework shows.

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But that alone can’t be the reason for the league-wide trend. Sometimes it comes down to having good pitchers and catchers. Take the Patriots, for instance.

At their current pace, the Tom Brady-to-Randy Moss connection is headed for the record books. Moss already has five touchdown catches and 403 yards, becoming the first receiver in NFL history to record at least 100 yards in each of his first three games with a new team.

The Patriots have a .38 caliber offense, having scoring 38, 38 and 38 in their first three games.

“He’s a mismatch every time,” Brady said after their 38-7 win over the Bills. “My job’s easy. I’ve just got to throw it up there.”

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Bills coach Dick Jauron said, “They’re a team with no weaknesses.”

The same may apply to the Cowboys, who, after a 34-10 win over the Bears, lead the league in scoring. Dallas’ 116 points through Week 3 is the most since the 2000 St. Louis Rams, which ended the season as the second-highest scoring team in the Super Bowl era.

In Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb doesn’t have a big-time wide receiver, but yet he still was able to pass for 381 yards and four touchdowns. No doubt, it had to be a satisfying performance for McNabb, who was widely criticized for his controversial remarks last week about being an African-American quarterback in the NFL. With McNabb making all the right moves, the Eagles scored on their first five possessions, set a franchise record with 42 points in the first half and finished with their most points since a 56-17 rout of the Chicago Cardinals in 1953.


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