Source: Windy City Gridiron
The economic principle I’m exploring is “Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.”
My research question to help me study the economic principle is “What is the most important position in the NFL? ”
The article Bucky Brooks published in NFL.com titled “Ranking each Position’s Importance from Quarterback to Returner” demonstrates this economic principle by showing offense players, defense players, and my overall opinion on what the most important position is.
First, The most important player is the quarterback. The whole offense builds off the quarterback, and the team is built to protect him and surround him with weapons. After the quarterback, the most important position is the left tackle because that is the quarterback’s blind side, where he can get injured the most. The quarterback is the manager of a business, and everyone else works for him. As shown in this article from the author stating, “ The quarterback is not only the team's biggest decision maker, but his ability to make timely plays and efficiently manage the game routinely determines which team lands in the winner's circle at the end of the season.” Overall though, a quarterback is very important but a quarterback cannot be great without having great players around them. For example, teams that win super bowls or that go far in the playoffs have one player who they can mismatch with on defense. The Patriots player that does this is Rob Gronkowski, a giant tight end who can go up and grab the ball over any defender.
Second, The defense is similarly built around the offense. The defense is built to stop the offense, and so to stop the offense you must be able to limit the quarterback’s success. The most effective way to do this is by having a devastating pass rusher, or defensive end to throw off the timing of a quarterback and make him feel nervous. This creates doubt and makes the quarterback rush throws. The author states, “Given the importance of the quarterback position on the outcome of games, every team must have a defensive playmaker along the front line with the potential to disrupt the timing and rhythm of the passing game. Sacks and quarterback pressures are coveted at a premium, making blind-side pass rushers hot commodities on the open market.” Once you are able to acquire one of these superstar players, a team builds around this player. A perfect example of showing how effective these pass rushers is Khalil Mack for the Chicago Bears. He changed the Bears defense in one season, making them a playoff contender and NFC North champion. Khalil Mack was able to destroy opposing teams offensive lines and make the quarterback worry about him every play. This came to light in the first game of the season when Khalil Mack was able to completely disrupt Aaron Rodgers and the loaded Packers offense.
Third, Players are great resources to have and they are very valuable and that is why you pay them a lot of money. Most importantly though, a team needs a good coach.. The players can have all the talent in the world but without the right coach they will never be able to be great. Great coaches make hall of fame players. Look at coaches like Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, both hall of fame coaches who have coached some of the greatest players of all time. Those players were great players, but the coaching staff is what made them elite. A perfect example of this is Lawrence Taylor, he was a phenomenal player but when he started working with Bill Belichick he became the greatest defensive player the league has ever seen. Without a good coach, the players will never develop to become the player they were supposed to be.
In my next blog post I will research the question: What is the most important asset to have in the NFL and how much is it worth?
No comments:
Post a Comment