Mikie2times

Good post. I agree that this factor does influence the data, but I don't feel as if it explains the data. If you wanted to remove these factors in the rushing stats you could by using rushing yards per attempt for offense, but that would inevitably lead to more problems with the data. For example Philadelphia last year was tied for 16th in rushing yards per attempt, but that's only because they had teams playing the pass so often. In actual rushing yardage they ranked 28th near the bottom of the league. It's clear that rushing success on offense is not only about averages but repetition. Repetition wears down defenses, and it allows the offense a chance to move the ball with little chance of a turnover. A team like Philadelphia runs the ball as a way to keep teams from dropping everybody, but when they need to run they don't do a very good job at it. Last years top 10 rushing teams included Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, NY Giants, Washington, Chicago, San Diego and Jacksonville. Just about everybody on that list is known for running the ball, and they do it well. The vast majority of these teams win because they run; they don't run because they're winning. The passing yardage correlation is heavily influenced by the type of behavior you speak of thus it has no correlation. But passing yards per attempt is not influenced by much, if anything. So it should be at least somewhat surprising that correlation difference of this stat varies so much from offense to defense. As for your 3rd down stat request hear it is based on 04 and 05 Offense .4761 Defense -.1021

I got a pretty healthy database built up which allows be to confirm the obvious. I also hear smoking is bad for you.

I do a lot of football research and I pass some of the stuff I find interesting along. What I did this time was run a Pearson linear correlation test with several different NFL stats and compared the relationship they have to win%. For those a little fuzzy on correlation methods all you really need to know is the closer the correlation is to 1 the stronger the relationship between the two variables is. The closer the correlation is to -1 the stronger the inverse relationship of the varibles are. Here are some of the most obvious correlations I found based on the 2005 and 2004 seasons. Offense Rush Attempts per Game .6305 -Playoff teams in the top 10) 2005:6....2004:5 Rushing Yards Per Game .6308- Playoff teams in the top 10) 2005:7....2004:8 Passing Yards Per Attempt .5859- Playoff teams in the top 10) 2005:7....2004:8 Conclusions- Rushing Yards Per Attempt had a moderate correlation at .4054, while passing yards per game had practically no correlation at .1871. If you pass for a lot of yards it most likely means you’re playing from behind or lack balance. Either way this shows no evidence that lots of passing yards will win you games. What it does show is if you pass with efficiency, and a higher yard average per attempt the passing game will matter on offense. In 2005 Buffalo ranked 20th in rushing attempts, 20th in yards rushing per game, and 27th in yards per pass attempt. Defense Rush Attempts Per Game -.7077- Playoff teams in the top 10) 2005:6....2004:6 Rushing Yards Per Game -.6372- Playoff teams in the top 10) 2005:6....2004:6 Conclusions- The importance of Passing Yards Per Attempt dropped off substantially on the defensive side of the ball. On offense it nearly had a .60 correlation, on defense only a -.30. Like offense, passing yardage also didn’t show a strong correlation with win% at -.1143. In 2005 Buffalo ranked 25th in Rush Attempts per Game on defense, and 31st in rushing yards per game allowed. This evidence suggests stopping the run is the most important aspect of football. Second to that is being able to run the football yourself, and finally being able to pass efficiently also plays a strong role. Now obviously football is not as cut and dry as that, but what this does show is that making the playoffs and being successful is most attainable by being good in these areas.

I bet he has no problem opening up a pickle jar

I'm not going to get in a debate about stats, or anything else. It's silly to argue a future event, time will tell.

Awhile back I got in this argument with LaDarius over the future of Geisinger. He says he went to Vanderbilt and watched him play for 4 years. Now what I find odd is Vanderbilt's in the South, yet Nance went to a school with that little (OH) after the Miami. He also played at a school that saw little TV exposure. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating I tried to dig up the old thread. Unfortunately I couldn't find it, but I did find him say he went to Vanderbilt. Turns out he also went to last year’s Senior Bowl and Hula Bowl. Maybe he's a professional scout, or maybe he's FOS. Hot Air

Would you trade Ronnie Brown for Willis MaGahee? Who would actually say no to that deal?

Personally I hope he gets the boot. We come here to talk football, and life. He comes here to post his thoughts and smear everybody that doesn’t' agree with them. You can't reason with somebody like that. I'm sure he'll realize soon enough that this board isn't a democracy. Just ask ICE...... Hell he probably is ICE

That might just say something about the talent we've had

At least his sister will have financial security.

Philadelphia- McNabb was bothered by injury most of last season then was knocked out permanently towards the end of the year. Philadelphia lives and dies with McNabb, and I suspect when he's healthy they will improve. I also suspect Andy Read will place a greater emphasis on the running game, and the defense stills is pretty solid. The Eagle will be over .500 Giants- Statistically speaking the 3rd year is the most frequent year a QB breaks out, and with the gradual progression last season I so no reasons why Eli won't break out this year. He has weapons, and when a QB goes from average to dominant the team usually sees a dramatic benefit. Washington- Gibbs is starting to show his mark with this team but Brunnell will likely not repeat last year’s success. Many of their players are also approaching over the hill status making them even more difficult to predict. Dallas- TO will make a huge difference. He made Garcia, gave McNabb his best season ever, and will probably give Drew one of his top seasons. They have balance and talent, but they will falter sometime before the NFC championship. Bledsoe's fumble and turnover averages are so consistently bad that they will not be able to overcome it against a team that can defense Bledsoe. Expect Greggo from Washington to become the new Belichick nemeses with old Drew.

I have no problem with you being right in this thread

Preach on. But I'm still concerned that some of those are real. I mean when in your life have you ever seen a butt like that with ZERO dimples. Good god it would be amazing if it were true, but I just can't imagine.

True, but Buffalo has struggled covering TE's the last few years. Time will tell if that was more of the system or the players. This Cover 2 philosophy couldn't be more of a drastic change from last season, but London has played this defense so we should know if he can do this successfully almost immediately. The only thing that makes me suspect it won’t be London is that fact that this position would be open to a situational role. London obvious strength is run stopping, and in obvious passing situations it would make sense to put the best coverage linebacker in.

Thanks a lot man. Seriously. I'll have my Mom mail you my baby blanket if you wanna steal that from me to. Goodbye Vida

WOOSH

You should know, didn’t you scout Kent State as part of your amateur MAC scouting package

As people have pointed out he did play in the cover 2 in St Louis but that was a long time ago, and nothing I've witnessed the last few years makes me think he can retreat 30 yards downfield and cover some of the athletic TE's like NE has.

I agree, look at Antonio Gates. I think Nance will struggle to adjust to a full time receiver because he does have problems separating, but what Ladarius fails to understand is just because he can't do something’s doesn't mean he can't do others. Just like Wolford and his massive drop%. Wolford’s role was almost exclusively to run fade patterns. Over half the balls his way were jump ball situations that naturally led to a lot of drops. But what matters most is points, and Wilford gave the Jaguars a ton of production. With nothing but small quick WR's Nance could fined a nitch with this team, and that type of player would be even more important to a developing QB.

Let's clear something up. You’re not an idiot because we disagree. You’re an idiot because whoever doesn't have YOUR opinion is an idiot. You know absolutely nothing about me, or anybody else, yet you assume some sort of superiority of knowledge. It's truly laughable. The insanity of it is accurately captured in the Wilford thread. But I guess that’s up to others to judge for themselves. By the way how many times have you watched Nance in person? I've watched him 4 times in three different stadiums. Who's really the parrot here?

Not about to post links but most amateur surfers could probably find the pictures. For those that walked to school in 10 feet of snow the actual issue should be out soon. If you forgot about her this is Vida

Stop it. Ladairis is an amateur SEC scout with extensive experience in the Midwest. His specialty is in obscure WR's from the MAC, and his opinions are exclusively formed by the sound and impartial judgment he's displayed as a poster. I would rather questions Marv Levy. Squawk.

Was waiting for the thrilling insights of scout Ladarius. I got news for everybody; unfortunately Nance can't separate. Even worse is he has no skills. In fact if his only job on earth was to catch footballs thrown above the height of the average man he would fail. If you don't believe me just read the posts of wall member 6,151. Trust me, this guy is not just a fan, he knows his football. But more importantly, he knows Martin Nance.

Possible update on the original post. This is from Chris Browns inside the Bills blog on the Bills main site. It's based on the recent mini camps the Bills have held. Bills Blog Watson got some reps right away today. Not surprised to see him get some second team reps. What was interesting was he was sent what they call "down the pipe" a few times on a couple of defensive calls. It's when the MLB runs 30-40 yards downfield to cover the deep third of the field. I wonder if the coaching staff was doing that just to see how athletic Watson is. He did okay, but wasn't exactly fluid. What struck me was I haven't seen Liam Ezekiel or Greg Carothers cover the deep third at all this spring. Perhaps Watson's athletic ability could provide Buffalo's defense with more options.