I'm not even sure how much the running clock really impacts the end result on the field (in terms of giving one team an advantage over another), anyway. I checked this quickly and came across some numbers on this:
1. The Houston Texans averaged 69.9 offensive plays per game this past season, the most in the NFL. The St. Louis Rams averaged the fewest (57.5). Neither team was terribly impressive.
2. The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers had the exact same average: 66.2 plays per game.
3. New England averaged 65.7 and Arizona averaged 64.7, for whatever that's worth.
4. For all their offensive plays, Houston only ranked #15 in possession time this season, at 30:29. Atlanta led the NFL at 32:11, while Philly was the worst at 25:51.
5. San Diego and Houston tied for the league lead in "play count differential," averaging 8.81 more offensive plays per game than their opponents. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between this figure and a team's success. Denver was +1.44 and Carolina was +0.13.
No it doesn’t, because that isn’t down time. As has already been pointed out. That “down” time is when a play succeeds or fails. And really not having the running clock wouldn’t get rid of that time people confuse with being down. That non-down times happens because the game is built around moments of planning and moments of execution, same reason that non-down time happens in baseball (also often confused by people who don’t actually understand the game). You could stop the clock after every play but you’ll still have that time of planning (play calling, adjustments) and the time of execution (snap to whistle). It’s the basic physical structure of the game.
The running clock impacts every single game. At some point every single game will experience at least 1 of: the come from behind attempt 2 minute drill, and/ or the protect the lead 4 minute drill. Those drives are often the drives that decide who wins the game. And of course it can also effect the game in being done poorly, just look at what happens when Andy Reid faces the Pats in the playoffs, hideous clock management both in this year’s Divisional Round and in the SB many years ago. Without the running clock Andy Reid doesn’t get those opportunities to prove he’s not as good a coach as his reputation.
Average plays is a very small fraction of how the running clock effects the game. You’re picking one slice. That slice still has to be coupled with execution. It’s one of the problems Chip Kelly has with the blur, because his Eagles don’t execute for crap his blur just puts his defense back on the field faster. But failure of the strategy is still part of having that strategy available.
One way or the other the running clock changes the most basic concepts of how football works. And for the better. The strategy of football becomes much less interesting if the teams don’t get to fight/ use the running clock.
Every year; it’s still the same:
Half of the teams are going to be playing below average.
This got sorted out last night.