The Take on Turnovers

You can’t win with sloppy play. This is a no-brainer, especially in football, where sloppy play is characterized by stupid penalties and turnovers. Turnovers are a huge factor in football. Offensively, it’s not easy to score points and teams practice for hours to get down timing and learning plays that will help them move the football down the field. However, what happens when a team marches down the field, then turns the ball over?

It not only gives the ball back to the opposition without a single point being scored, but many times can frustrate and even demoralize the team that turns it over. You see running backs who have just fumbled walking back to the sidelines angry with themselves or hanging their heads. They feel as though they let their whole team down. Quarterbacks that throw interceptions can experience this, too. I recall when rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger threw a pick in the AFC Championship game in January that Patriots defensive back Rodney Harrison ran back 84 yards for a touchdown. He was seen on the sidelines talking to a coach, and he threw his head back with a pained look, as if he realized how he threw to the wrong receiver on the play. He was clearly frustrated.

You also see how defenses that forces turnovers can pick up their whole team, even the offense, with a big play. It can reenergize a team. Take a look at the worst teams in the NFL last season in terms of negative takeaways: Rams, 49ers, Raiders, Dolphins, Cowboys, Packers, Browns and Bucs. Only two made the playoffs (Rams, Packers) and both exited long before the conference championships. Four of those teams (Dolphins, Raiders, Browns, Cowboys) were expected to be decent in 2004, yet suffered through disappointing seasons. Turnovers were a large part of their demise.

This season, here are the worst teams in that category: Saints, Rams, Redskins, Texans, Vikings, Ravens and 49ers. Only the Redskins have been good thus far, with the Saints, Texans, 49ers and Vikings suffering through miserable seasons. Take a look at the box score of when the Saints lost to the Packers 52-3. Green Bay really didn’t have a lot of yards that game, it’s just that the Saints were inept in the turnover department, handing the Packers a ton of TOs and points.

The Rams are unusual in that they always are one of the worst teams in the NFL of late in the turnover department. Rams coach Mike Martz has said that that’s okay, as the Rams have a wide-open offense and that more turnovers than normal are a part of this. I don’t buy that. The Rams are sloppy with the ball because the coaching staff doesn’t get through to the players how important it is to hold onto the ball, which is a cause in their annual playoff demises. When they got upset by the Patriots in the Super Bowl four years ago, they lost the turnover battle 3-0 in that game, and St. Louis lost as a 14-point favorite. Sloppy play via turnovers and penalties are never an excuse, and often the result of some kind of coaching deficiency. It’s also important when examining potential spread covers and possible upsets.

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