Today's NFL: A Passing Fancy?

"Three yards and a cloud of dust."

Woody Hayes' mantra is moot in today's NFL. With the gunslinging New England Patriots chucking the pigskin up and down the field, a strong running game has become a complement, not a necessity. 

LaDainian Tomlinson, who ended up as the league's leading rusher, didn't even average 100 yards per game. Steeler scatback Willie Parker, at the time of his season-ending broken leg, was on pace to come close to that statistic. Even Rookie of the Year favorite Adrian Peterson of Minnesota only averaged 45 yards per game in his last seven outings.

Not since the "Greatest Show on Turf," the St. Louis Rams of 2003, has the NFL been dominated by a team who relied so heavily on their passing game. 

The Steelers were one of the most balanced teams with Parker rushing for 1400+ yards and Ben Roethlisberger throwing for a career-high 32 touchdowns. Indianapolis, Dallas and the Patriots' Super Bowl opponent, the New York Giants all could throw as well as run to earn playoff appearances. 

The Giants might not have made it to the big game had the Packers not abandoned the run against them, a week after Ryan Grant chewed up the Seahawks for over 200 yards.

New England has so many receiving weapons that a five yard pass to Wes Welker is just as effective as a Laurence Maroney run up the middle. 

One thing that the NFL does is adapt to current trends. Just as teams solved Buddy Ryan's 46 defense and Dick Vermeil's aerial show, the Patriots arsenal will be solved. 

Usually a team would need a running game to make play action passes work or to kill the clock when in the lead. The Patriots kept piling on the points and went for the kill week after week. Questions of running up the score abounded, but professional football players should have enough pride to stop another team from embarrassing them.

It will be interesting next season to see what offense du jour will wreak havoc on defenses. Defensive coordinators will have to be even more creative, otherwise teams will employ five wideouts on every down and score, score, score.