Why is The NFL so Mediocre?

I think we can all agree that the recent product that the NFL has been putting out has been below standard. The game has become soft, confusing, and predictable when it comes to big events. This AFC/NFC Championship was a big wake up call this year, with game changing calls, poor coaching, and confusing decision making. So what are the main issues? Why is this happening? Why haven't we seen a new team win the SuperBowl since the Rams or Bucs? Well, in my opinion there's a plethora of factors helping make the game worse but the main ones I believe are: 

Poor Coaching

The coaching and development in this league has fallen off a cliff in the past decade, there are a very few great all around head coaches and some also great offensive/defensive coordinators, but only a few seem to be able to win. Why is that? Well I believe that it is because coaches are so reliant on the Quarterbacks physical ability that they are not focused on the intangibles of being a Quarterback. Everyone can agree that the Quarterback position is the most important position on the team, he's the leader, the blame is on him and the credit usually gets given to him (a great quarterback will never accept that credit), but the position has changed in the last decade. The highlight nature of football has taken over, where players that show great physical abilities, overweighs an unathletic but vision based Quarterback. The greatest prospect is one that shows both knowledge and physical ability, but a Quarterback that's reliant on the QB run will never beat a Quarterback whose last option is to run. So why is this poor coaching? Because they are not teaching it, there is no reason for some of these decisions being made by QBS nowadays other than they don’t even know they're doing something wrong. Once again this is my belief but the development of a Qbs pass vision has been lost, you rarely see timing routes anymore, or the back shoulder fade, which I used to love. My biggest evidence to support this belief, is that there has still never been a Quarterback who relies on the run to win a SuperBowl, because a good coach knows how to contain a running Quarterback, like Andy Reid did to Allen on Sunday to the point where it causes more problems than profits for the team. The last 10 QBs who have won the Super Bowl are: Mahomes (3) Stafford (1) Brady (4) Manning (1) Wilson (1). All of those QBs, rely on the pass more and only use the run to escape of if its wide open. Even though many argue Mahomes and Wilson were/are running Qb’s, I argue they use that aspect of the game the same way the others do, if they need to. Mahomes and Wilson have far better vision than they do scramble ability, so they use the scramble to create space for a pass. That is only my speculation and thoughts on it, and my opinions ever changing when more context and criteria happens. For instance Jalen Hurts can prove this whole sentiment wrong this SuperBowl by showing out, but I think it will be Barkley that hopefully ends the Chiefs dominance. Therefore, one of the main issues with the product of the NFL is the coaches not properly developing Quarterbacks intangibles. 

Last 10 Superbowl Games

Confusing Rules/Standards (Aka Roger Goodell) 

Roger Goodell has created a masterclass of mess when it comes to the sport of Football, and why is he doing it? I don't know, but I can only speculate it's based on greed and legacy. The NFL in recent years has made no sense from a sports perspective. Changing the kickoff, opinionated refereeing decisions, practically ruining defenses physicality, which just doesn’t make any sense. They are using the mask of “its for safety” but that new kickoff is nowhere near as safe as the old one, if your return man gets that ball he is running either full speed into a wall, or full speed in another guy going full speed. It just doesn’t make sense to change such a big part of the game, I guarantee that the Lions would have run at least 5 surprise onside kicks this year, which is a part of the game that has been crucial in previous years. If it was really for safety, why is Metlife Field still allowed? That field takes a person out at least once a game, took out Rodgers for a full year, so bad to the point FIFA doesn’t allow for it to be played on. Why don’t they change the field?? It just makes no sense. Why are guardian caps optional? If Goodell really cared about safety, why isn't every player wearing a guardian cap, they have been proving to work and safety is such an important issue, that they’ll change a whole aspect of the game for it, then why is Tua being not being made to wear a guardian cap?? It just doesn't make any sense. Why does it seem like the Chiefs aren’t that great but winning every game, that's mostly due to Mahomes and Reid, but it doesn’t help when Roger Goodell helps them every step of the way with weird calls, and they just ignore it. The only explanation I have for all of these things, is that Roger Goodell doesn’t care about his sport, but more so the immediate profits/legacy he gets from changing the game. The XFL’s main attraction was its new kickoff rule so the NFL stole it, the surprise onside kick benefited underdog teams, so Goodell got rid of it, and to avoid any backlash on all of these issues, he masks it as safety. If the NFL ever wants to go back to the way it used to be, as a fair, gritty sport, as well as safe instead of a sport based on greed then Goodell has to go. 

The Media 

This is by far the worst thing about the NFL right now, and it's not even close. I truthfully do not think there is a single station or “journalist” that isn't being paid to promote a narrative. There's no such thing as an analyst anymore because the majority are lying through their teeth and have 0 regrets. Money is what makes the world go round, journalism and analysis used to be a profession based on pride and love, but then just like everything, companies realized they can loophole the system by instead of hiring people based on their knowledge, they hire based on control. Majority of sports journalists and analysts are now former players, which isn't a bad thing when they aren't being manipulated. Some of the only good journalists in sports right now are former players, and a lot of the bad ones have no clue about the sport, the common denominator in both of them is the stature they bring. A former player who keeps up to date and bases his research on evidence/actual experience and knowledge will always be better than a journalist who does the same but lacks that former player experience. However, a lot of these players who get hired aren’t doing their own research. Do we really think Gronk, the man who didn't even read the playbook, is doing analytical research? Like, come on, I don't know he might be, he's a smart guy, I've seen him destroy multiplication questions that the majority would need a calculator for, but just speculating based on prior evidence of Gronk, the conclusion I have is that he is not doing his own research. I love these former players, and I dont think it's their fault they are just trying to make money, and the company knows the best way to bring attention is by celebrities perpetrating terrible hot takes, that makes everyone lose their mind. There is no more hiring integrity in sports media, instead it's based on the potential attention and buzz you can bring/comes with your stature, the pride and truth of the information and research you are sharing means nothing anymore. 

The NFL is mediocre for a lot of reasons, but it’s not the players fault. The coaching and development of the game has been overshadowed by insane physical ability, when you need both to be successful. However, the game has been hard to coach in recent years when the refs and NFL in general are confused about the simple aspects of the game, like what a catch is or a first down, or any defensive physicality. Roger Goodell has created a sport where greed and legacy are the only things that matter, then masked it as safety to avoid backlash and nothing will change until he is out.

Goodell needs to retire