Why are players more athletic now than they were 20 years ago?

[SZ James (banned)]

one thing that hasn't been emphasized is that the broadcasting standards/technology/trends for football has evolved over 20 years

frame rate shutter speed and all that stuff is a lot different compared to nowadays

[Hoenheim]

Much more advanced sports science, medical knowledge lead to really precise and efficient nutrition and training plans to maximize a person's athletic potential 

[PantherBoy95]

I'm definitely surprised that equipment wasn't mentioned sooner. I saw a photo on IG once comparing old and new players. 

There was a photo of Deion Sanders in what looked like a sack of potatoes stuffed with boulders.
Then there was a photo of Jalen Ramsey in form fitting gear that made him look like a super soldier in comparison.

It actually made me wonder, if Jalen played in Deion's day with his current equipment...how much of an edge would he have had over him?

[bandu]

we will be fortunate

[R0CKnR0LLA]

HGH

[Malt Liquor]

Adderall and steriods is the reason.

[Fox007]

Training all year...

and of course...the blind eye the NFL has turned to steriod/HGH.

It's basically accepted even in HS...everyone knows it and you're a cute naive little lad if you think 90% of the NFL isn't on steroids. And don't you change either! society still needs those with their head in the sand.

Training Camp is called that for a reason and was called that for a reason...it used to be to train your body to get ready for the NFL when it wasn't even a full time job and most players had normal jobs between seasons....now you are expected to be ready before even showing up to camp,

[Saca312]

HGH. And the simple fact football is literally the lives of most of these players.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2602986-players-say-the-nfl-has-an-hgh-problem-even-if-peyton-manning-isnt-part-of-it

[MV%doe]

It is evolution, but not people per say.... Evolution of medicine, diet, and training. As a whole there have been LEAPs forward in each of these groups. I member one of the worlds best trainer said in 2010, that he learned more about athletic training this past year than he had in ten years prior. So much smarter than past years, plus there's far more money been invested. Analytics plays a huge role in ALL sports now. Basically we've found out the "why" on many unanswered questions. 

Even sleep, funny as that is. Military has done TONs of research and smart people have built off it. I even read interesting piece on yawning a few years ago. Simply put this is what happens when you start spending billions, add in brilliant minds, and that information gets shared.

[Bartin]

8 hours ago, Saca312 said:

HGH. And the simple fact football is literally the lives of most of these players.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2602986-players-say-the-nfl-has-an-hgh-problem-even-if-peyton-manning-isnt-part-of-it

In addition to better training methods but HGH is the main reason. I'd wager half the league is on it, Panthers included.

[*FreeFua*]

14 hours ago, Fox007 said:

Training all year...

and of course...the blind eye the NFL has turned to steriod/HGH.

It's basically accepted even in HS...everyone knows it and you're a cute naive little lad if you think 90% of the NFL isn't on steroids. And don't you change either! society still needs those with their head in the sand.

Training Camp is called that for a reason and was called that for a reason...it used to be to train your body to get ready for the NFL when it wasn't even a full time job and most players had normal jobs between seasons....now you are expected to be ready before even showing up to camp,

I'm not 100% certain but I believe the NFL allows up to a 4:1 T/E (Testosterone to Epitestosterone ratio).

For comparison the WWE allows 6:1 T/E ratio. 

So there is definitely some leeway there

[thefuzz]

Cameras

Training

Different Game/Size Required

Sports Science

[YourMomsLover]

I always thought camera technology made them APPEAR slower. 

[electro's horse]

as far as HGH, there are people that use it, but far less than you'd think. The average nfl career is under 3 years, so the vast majority of NFL players are under 25 and don't need to take HGH supplements. There are players like Tom Brady who are almost certainly cruising Test-E and HGH, but they're a minority, just because NFL is so self selective about who can survive in it. It's not like track and field or cycling or olympic weightlifting. 

As far as steroids, anabolic or otherwise, almost none are on them. It's really easy for people who aren't involved in athletics in any way to just attribute things to magical pills. You'll learn in high school that the kids that need steroids to play varsity don't have the natural talent to start in college. Kid that need it in college don't have it in them to play in the pros. And in the pros, everyone is so fuging naturally strong and fast already they don't need it.

I used to train a guy named Vince Vance who played tackle at UGA and was drafted by the bears. He went to one of those big SEC feeder high schools in south georgia. Everyone on the team was backsquatting 400 pounds the first time they got on the bar. It's just something they have in them. 

If someone talks about "steroids" in football it's a pretty clear indicator they don't know what the hell they're talking about.