# "Long football drives are good because they wear out the defense" **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 11, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197 "2014-09-11T16:06:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/1 "2014-09-11T16:06:47Z")
You hear this often in football commentary…but don’t long offensive drives tire out the offense, too? The offense has to run, block, etc. as well. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/2 "2014-09-11T16:30:53Z")
The defense has to react to the offense – and I think the idea is that reacting takes just a little more energy then acting. Further, on a long drive, the defense is usually getting pushed and knocked over a lot. Getting pushed and knocked over (and having to get back up) takes more energy than pushing and knocking people over. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/3 "2014-09-11T16:39:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > The defense has to react to the offense – and I think the idea is that reacting takes just a little more energy then acting. Further, on a long drive, the defense is usually getting pushed and knocked over a lot. Getting pushed and knocked over (and having to get back up) takes more energy than pushing and knocking people over. You can see this effect in line play, a team will generally use the same 5 offensive linemen for a whole game, whereas defensive linemen are shuttled in and out continuously, in part for situational tactics, but also for rest. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/4 "2014-09-11T16:45:13Z")
Part of the strategy is to have offensive players take the defense on a joy ride away from the actual play. For the offense it’s just running, for the defense they’ll have to turn and follow (the reaction mentioned above), and then when they see what the play actually was they have to run towards where the ball actually is while the offensive player may just stop and watch (OK, they should keep up with the play also, but they already know what’s going on and don’t have to put as much effort into it). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/5 "2014-09-11T18:24:30Z")
In today’s football there’s also the issue of size. Offensive personnel are generally much larger than their defensive counterparts and pushing against that bulk is an energy sapping exercise. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/6 "2014-09-11T19:38:59Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > In today’s football there’s also the issue of size. Offensive personnel are generally much larger than their defensive counterparts and pushing against that bulk is an energy sapping exercise. I don’t know anything about football. Why is offensive personnel larger than defensive counterparts? What’s typical in terms of height and weight? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/7 "2014-09-11T20:02:35Z")
Defenders have to run a LOT more, because every defender is obligated to swarm to the ball at full speed, and offensive players are not. Watch a few plays and look away from the ball and you’ll see it clearly. Consider a running play off left tackle from midfield at the 20 yard line, that leads to the runner going out of bounds at the 30. Every guy on that defense will end up running as hard as they can (well … in theory), toward that spot. The nose tackle is supposed to fight through the blocks, and then sprint as hard as he can, chasing that little bastard from behind until someone makes the tackle, on the 5% chance he’ll catch the runner from behind (as he changes direction, jukes, etc.) The CB on the opposite side has to run all the way across the field. Guys who are knocked down need to get up and give chase. It’s exhausing. The non-ballcarriers on the offense will have a block, on or near the line of scrimmage, but once the ball moves past them, they’re mostly out of the play: blocking in the back is illegal, and there is usually no real possibility he’s going to race ahead, get in front of his man and block him _again_; once the ball is past them, they basically will just jog along semi-close in case there’s a fumble or something. The blockers on the right side of the line (assuming they aren’t pulling) just need to engage their man enough so he doesn’t come around the backside and catch the RB from behind. That accomplished, they’re done. The backside WR, hell, he can probably just stand there; all the action is going on off left tackle, which is 30 yards across the field. Your harder working WRs will throw a block or fake a pass route anyway, your Randy Moss types not so much. Thus; the design of the plays, and the fact that guys on offense know where the play is going, means they can go easier on plays where they aren’t involved. Defenders never know which plays will end up involving them, and so they must go full-bore every play (again … at least they’re _supposed_ to). Pass plays aren’t as dramatically different, but even there: it’s less work to keep someone from going through/around you than it is to get through/around someone else. Watch a dozen plays and look at the guys who are away from the ball, and you’ll see this. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/8 "2014-09-11T20:20:21Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I don’t know anything about football. Why is offensive personnel larger than defensive counterparts? What’s typical in terms of height and weight? In general, the job of an offensive lineman is to stand there and keep the defense from getting by them (on passing plays) or to push them aside (on running plays). If you’re big, you have an advantage – you can just get in the way of the defensive lineman to stop them. The defensive lineman have to get past the offensive lineman. A stalemate doesn’t help, so you need to be able to move quickly to get by the offensive player before he set up. Weight is good, but the more weight you carry, the slower you are. An offensive lineman also really doesn’t move all that much on most plays, so being slower isn’t a disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/9 "2014-09-11T20:59:27Z")
I suspect this is a general truism to be found in many sports. In hockey, defensive play is much more taxing than offensive play, and fatigue tends to lead to goals. In backetball, defensive play is exhausting. In baseball it’s very mentally taxing to play defense through long innings. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/10 "2014-09-11T22:04:29Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > What’s typical in terms of height and weight? For offense (on average): QB - 6’ to 6’4", 200 to 240 lbs RBs - 5’8 to 6’2, 180 to 230 lbs WRs - 5’10 to 6’5, 180 to 230 lbs TEs - 6’3 to 6’6, 230 to 260 lbs OLs - 6’3 to 6’7, 280 to 320 lbs For defense (again, on average): CBs - 5’9 to 6’1, 175 to 210 lbs Safeties - 5’11 to 6’2, 190 to 220 lbs LBs - 5’11 to 6’4, 230 to 270 lbs DL - 6’2 to 6’6, 260 to 320 lbs ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/11 "2014-09-11T22:45:00Z")
There is also the factor that a long successful drive now puts the other team in the hole score wise. So the team that is behind may find itself unable to grind out their own plays but go for quicker scores. Quicker more risky plays that don’t burn off a lot of time. So it starts a cycle of one defense being on the field for a much longer time. One long set of downs will not wear down a defense. But several long scoring drives start to tip the balance. That’s why probably the most consistently winning strategy is a great defense plus a great running game. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/12 "2014-09-11T23:40:38Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > For offense (on average): > > QB - 6’ to 6’4", 200 to 240 lbs > RBs - 5’8 to 6’2, 180 to 230 lbs > WRs - 5’10 to 6’5, 180 to 230 lbs > TEs - 6’3 to 6’6, 230 to 260 lbs > OLs - 6’3 to 6’7, 280 to 320 lbs > > For defense (again, on average): > > CBs - 5’9 to 6’1, 175 to 210 lbs > Safeties - 5’11 to 6’2, 190 to 220 lbs > LBs - 5’11 to 6’4, 230 to 270 lbs > DL - 6’2 to 6’6, 260 to 320 lbs Is it an average or a range? It can’t be both. An average, by definition, is a single number. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/13 "2014-09-12T00:38:45Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I don’t know anything about football. Why is offensive personnel larger than defensive counterparts? Just to add on to what’s been said: imagine you’re on offense, running downfield to catch the ball. And imagine I’m on defense, running downfield to stay near you. If you and I are equally fast, _you’re going to win,_ because you and the quarterback talked beforehand: you’ll run from Point A to Point B at top speed, and then diagonal _back_ at top speed to arrive right when the ball does; I ran from Point A through Point B and kept heading to Point C for a while because, hey, nobody told me the plan. If I’m a bit smaller and faster than you, then I can maybe still catch up to you in time. If I’m no faster than you, I _can’t_: you’re a good four steps ahead of me, and you’re going to _stay_ a good four steps ahead of me, because (a) we’re both moving at top speed and (b) that’s only good enough for one of us. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/14 "2014-09-12T03:18:59Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Is it an average or a range? It can’t be both. An average, by definition, is a single number. A standard deviation from the mean? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/15 "2014-09-12T03:26:46Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Is it an average or a range? It can’t be both. An average, by definition, is a single number. Are you really incapable of understanding, or are you just being pedantic? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/16 "2014-09-12T03:30:31Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Defenders have to run a LOT more, because every defender is obligated to swarm to the ball at full speed, and offensive players are not. Watch a few plays and look away from the ball and you’ll see it clearly. That’s it in a nutshell. Even your slowest and lowliest nose tackle is expected to haul ass downfield at the proper angle relative to his speed to hopefully intercept the ball carrier. By contrast, once the defense is in pursuit, the center’s not expected to really haul ass over for blocking. He’s expected to block pursuing players, but not to make some kind of play 20 yards downfield or on the sidelines, unlike the defensive guys. This wears out players very, very fast. As a sort of corollary, defensive players are supposed to participate in the group tackling as well, and at least in my experience, you get more beat up by your teammates in that exercise than by tackling the ball carrier. Offensive players don’t have any real corresponding thing- you block someone, but your own players aren’t generally crashing into you while you block as well. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/17 "2014-09-12T03:47:51Z")
In addition to everything else the offense controls the pace of the game. The defense doesn’t know when the offense will switch to hurry-up mode. They have to get back to the line quickly after a play. Timeouts to let the defense get set are frowned upon, and if a quarterback spots defenders out of position he’ll use that to gain yards and extend the drive. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/18 "2014-09-12T13:32:39Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Are you really incapable of understanding, or are you just being pedantic? Take 5 OL (based on your “average” they are 6’3 to 6’7, 280 to 320 lbs) LT - 6’4 - 280 LG - 6’5 - 310 C - 6’3 - 305 RG - 6’7’ - 320 RT - 6’5 - 310 Average: 6’4 - 305 DLs (6’2 to 6’6, 260 to 320 lbs) LE - 6’2 - 285 LT - 6’4 - 290 RT - 6’6 - 320 RE - 6’2 - 260 Average: 6’3 - 289 ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/19 "2014-09-12T14:06:10Z")
Since quality defensive linemen of size are among football’s rarest commodities, I would guess that the weight disparity between front fives or sevens would be even greater at the college level. It sure looks like that to me when I watch college football. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/20 "2014-09-12T17:41:57Z")
**Zakalwe** , you didn’t answer the question **furt** asked. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197.md?page=2)