# "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:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**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 12, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/21 "2014-09-12T23:42:51Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Is it an average or a range? It can’t be both. An average, by definition, is a single number. It’s a range, and not even an exact one – there are a few exceptions to each position, I’m pretty sure. I was not using the mathematical definition of “average”. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/22 "2014-09-13T01:44:37Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Is it an average or a range? It can’t be both. An average, by definition, is a single number. **Zakalwe** , this is your lucky day because you are about to learn something. When a person says “on average” it means “usually” and “generally”, it’s not necessarily a single number. So it could approximate an average, but it would be valid to approximate it with a range. For example, this is from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): “a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean: Her golf average is in the 90s. My average in science has gone from B to C this semester.” You’ll notice the score is provided as a range “in the 90’s”. This is just one example of what we call a “phrase” in the English language. They can be pretty handy to use so I urge you to continue to learn at every opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/23 "2014-09-13T01:58:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > 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. Lots of good points here, but this one needs to be stressed. Clock management and play selection can determine the pace of the game and really tire out defenses, especially during long drives. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/24 "2014-09-14T00:58:43Z")
And here I thought that long drives were good because they put a lot of yards on the field and maybe ended with a score. I mean, given the choice between ending a drive and making it longer, you’re always going to want to make it longer, right? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197/25 "2014-09-14T01:48:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And here I thought that long drives were good because they put a lot of yards on the field and maybe ended with a score. I mean, given the choice between ending a drive and making it longer, you’re always going to want to make it longer, right? …with the side benefit of grinding down the defense in the process… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-football-drives-are-good-because-they-wear-out-the-defense/698197.md?page=1)