Scoring is down, running is up and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has had enough of it.
In an attempt to open up passing offenses, Kiper wants to outlaw what is known as “Cover Two” or “Two High” coverage, which features two safeties guarding over the top, roughly 10-15 yards from the line of scrimmage, while cornerbacks matchup with receivers.
“The NFL is being ruined by these two high safeties,” Kiper said on “Get Up.” “You think about those quarterbacks who would throw the ball down the field, what [Hall of Fame QB Terry] Bradshaw did with [receiver John] Stallworth and [Lynn] Swann, Roger Staubach. That’s what I want to see brought back.
“You got the five-yard rule with the cornerbacks right, the Mel Blount rule. Now with the push thing with Hurts, you gotta be a yard back now, so don’t tell me you can’t have those safeties closer to the line of scrimmage than they are.”
“We’ve gotta change this thing … ‘You’re too far back,’ you can warn them safeties, but you have to figure out, competition committee, somebody has to figure out what that depth is but it’s too far back; the NFL is being ruined by these two high safeties.”
This defensive scheme is nothing new, although cornerbacks are becoming better and better athletes.
The old saying that a cornerback would be a wide receiver if they could catch no longer rings true if you saw Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt make an insane one-handed interception against Patrick Mahomes this past Sunday.
Still, the NFL game has been littered with bubble screens and game managers under center who don’t push the ball downfield.
Scoring in the NFL peaked in 2019 when each game averaged an insane 49.6 points per game, although it has fallen each year since and is down to 43 points per game, the lowest since the early 2000s.
Running plays have occurred on an insane 47.6 percent of run plays in 2024, up from 44.3 percent last year.
