To run people over requires:
Physical play
Patience and ability in coaching
A tough mentality
Dedicated OL who work hard in the weight room and on their blocking assignments
Tough runners, FB "types" that need to be developed in the off-season
TE "types" that need to be developed in teh off-season
All of these things are going away because they are not easy to establish and develop. Developing good OL takes TIME and lots of coaching ability. It requires dedication on the part of the athlete to be in the weight room and doing their footwork agility work in the winter and pre-season. It takes a ton of patience and creativity to develop sound blocking schemes and rules against multiple fronts.
Since all of this takes such time and effort, in most coach's minds, the reward is not worth it. Why would I spend all that time and energy developing OL or FB "types" when I can line up with 4 WR's who are already natural athletes and don't need that much coaching or work and just dink and dunk down the field? Then in my run game, I just put Joe Superstar at QB and run 3 rushing plays (usually Inside Zone, Outside Zone, and "Dart" whatever the heck that is) and let them go wild like they did in the backyard when they were kids! Yay, now everyone is having fun!
I think it's an "economy of time and skills" issue here. The trend is going away from physical schemes because those are tough things to teach, and it's tough to find those types of kids. So, rather than putting all the time and effort into developing FOOTBALL PLAYERS, we are taking athletes from basketball or vollyball or wherever and adapting our coaching philosophy and style to them.
I also think it has to do with perception (what parents and administrators think). If you line up and pound on people, everyone accuses you of being boring and unimaginative, but if you run around people and throw the ball all over the field, you are a "risk taker" and "immaginative" on offense...and hey...at least it looks like you're trying.
So, what liberalhater said is right...it's not EASY to run over people...and we don't like stuff that is not EASY!
I, for one, like to develop these attributes and have a mentality that we ARE going to run people over. I've always believed firmly what my HS coach used to tell us: "Football is NOT for everyone! It takes a special person to be a football player!" I think the sport gotten away from that (just look at the A-11 or the 4-and-5 wide gun offenses), and we are trying to make football for "everyone." And, when you make football a sport for everyone, you water down what makes it special and unique from sports like basketball and soccer. If I wanted to coach basketball or soccer players, I'd coach basketball or soccer!! But I want to coach FOOTBALL players. I want ape-like FB's and big nasy puking offensive tackles and TE's who block unselfishly, etc. etc. and I want to win because we are tougher and more physical than you.
And if that means that we don't get Johnny Hoops out who only wants to play so he can stay in shape for basketball and catch 55 passes a season, then I personally am okay with that.
But, I think you will find that my opinion is deeply in the minority for all of the reasons listed above. And that's okay too, because it's just an opinion...and everyone has their own philosophy on how things should be done. I respect them all, I just don't LIKE them all!
;D