Polian says league is changing

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky Bill Polian had a chance to watch a day of NFL football not involving his Colts Sunday, and he came away with some interesting thoughts. Thanks to colts.com for the quality interview.
Polian said he sees the league changing, and it's moving in a direction away from what Indianapolis does.

"We have become a power-running, play-action passing, defensive-oriented league, really," he said. "That's pretty much a sea change from the days of the Greatest Show on Turf and the West Coast offense of Bill Walsh, although they [the San Francisco 49ers] had a great defense to go along with it -- the exception probably being [the] Dallas [Cowboys] and maybe the [New York] Giants in the sense that they're a little more wide-open offense, and of course the [New England] Patriots last year, although they have reverted this year. No one seems to know what the [New York] Jets are right now. They haven't really hit their stride yet, but clearly in the NFC and in our division it's power-running football and defense and kicking game. Not that we can't adjust to it. We can. I don't know if that's a good trend for the league or not. I guess the fans will tell us."
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Polian also said he was surprised at how little commentators on pregame shows really know about what is going on. Responding to a question about Tennessee, he gave a candid assessment of both the TV people and Vince Young.

"That's shocking when you hear some of the statements that are made, particularly from ex-players," he said. "You don't get an accurate picture in virtually any situation. Those that know football know Tennessee had a very good team last year. They were hamstrung by inefficiency at the quarterback position."
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Polian also discusses the offensive line's health, the defensive tackle imports, a new practice squad quarterback (David Greene), officiating in the Colts-Jaguars game and a Monday memo from the commissioner reminding everyone that conversations about officiating are confidential.
A must read.


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