04-29-2021, 07:38 PM
(04-23-2021, 05:36 PM)CoachGeorge Wrote: Yes it is so. Today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, more dedicated, more technical and have advantages that players of old simply didn’t have. Training, nutrition, film study, etc. I’m an old guy but reality is reality. My all-time favorite guard (who was named to an All-Decade) team played at 6’2” 254 pounds. Different game today.
Lineman got bigger, yes. Weight training and nutrition vastly improved.
But the idea that players "evolved" as athletes in just 20-30 years is complete BS.
Plenty of guys were running 4.2 and 4.3 forties back in the day. Deion and Bo are still probably the 2 best athletes to ever lace them up.
Guys like Elway and Marino had better arms than 90% of today's QB's. Cunningham and Young were just as good at running the football as just about anyone playing now. People make the mistake of looking at the offensive explosions and thinking that = improved athletes. You have to account for all the rule changes. How good would the elite guys of yesteryear look now? Collinsworth was talking about the gloves receivers use now. It's basically like using stick-em.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
