‘The defense can forfeit yards without giving up points, but the offense obviously can’t score without piling up gains first. Of course, defenders conceding huge territory portions to the opponent could indirectly result in the offense in turn being pinned close to the goal line, so they’re not completely off the hook; they could help their teammates more than they did in 2007. But the important thing is that a system designed to surrender yards in small portions in the name of preventing huge chunks did its job marginally well.’