49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Explains Why Scoring is Down in the NFL

"Defenses are less aggressive than they used to be. I think they're a little smarter in that way."

ORLANDO -- An interesting phenomenon is taking place in the NFL.

The NFL constantly changes its rules in an attempt to increase scoring, plus it has determined that Kyle Shanahan's offensive system is the best one in football, which is why we see more and more teams run it every year.

And yet, NFL offenses averaged fewer than 22 points per game each of the past two seasons, which means scoring is down. How could that be?

Shanahan answered that question this week at the NFL Annual meeting. Here's what he said.

Q: League-wide scoring has been down for a couple years, and he has mentioned as one possibility the increase of two-high-safety looks. Is that something as an offensive play caller that you've seen a lot more of the past few years?

SHANAHAN: "Yeah, I'd say so. A little bit more two-shell than in the past. That could be. I think defenses are less aggressive than they used to be. I think they're a little smarter in that way. It's a little bit more bend-but-don't-break. There are so many ways offenses can attack defenses now that I think guys can't take as many risks with all the jet sweeps and all that stuff. Zone pressures -- you have to be able to do them against so many different formations and motions now, so it's tougher, and guys play a little more conservatively, which in the long run leads to less scoring. The less aggressive they are, the harder it is to get explosives."