Most overated football statistic

[Typical TBD Guy]

The most overrated football statistic is the one that claims Robbery Johnson was a pretty good QB.

[34-78-83]

You're on opposite sides of the coin on this with Marv.

He says it's the most important statistic.

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I remember him saying this was important, but that Turnovers was the number one telling statistic.

[MDH]

No doubt in my mind it's sacks. QB rating will give you a pretty good indication of who is having a good year and who isn't at the QB position. Sacks aren't a good indicator of who is having a good year on the DL yet this is the stat that is used to send DEs to the Pro-Bowl. It doesn't take into account their ability to stop the run or how many times they get out of position trying to get to the QB. Also, QB pressures is a much more important stat than sacks as it gives you some indication of how consistently the player is getting to the QB. Too bad QB pressures isn't an official stat and teams pad those numbers for their stars.

[Pyrite Gal]

You're on opposite sides of the coin on this with Marv.

He says it's the most important statistic.

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The problem is that reality is also on opposite sides on this one. The fact is that while QB rating is a grossly inadequate measure for fully assessing QB performance it is also the BEST measure available.

 

It can be used for:

 

1. Reasonable comparative assessment of Qs in the same year.

2. To make a good ballpark assessment of who is good and who is less than good.

3. Identification of which specific area a player may have shortcomings.

 

However, one simply needs to be careful about looking at the internals as to why a particular QB excelled or did badly in the ratings (Dink and dunkers can look better than they are or high risk long passers whose long INTs are essentially punts but can devastate a rating look worse).

 

The rating is the best comprehensive rating of QBs going, but it is simply prone to a lot of overstatement as people attempt to use it to compare QB performance across years or even in different eras, or without looking at the specifics to note why a rating is good or not good.

[IDBillzFan]

I seem to be the only one who thinks Net Punting Average is worthless. It would be relevant if the idea was to have the longest punt every single attempt, but that is just not realistic. Especially when you find it necessary to punt from the 40. Drop it at the 10 for no return and it's a net 30-yard punt, but considered a decent punt.

 

The only caveat is that you now see more teams going for it on fourth-and-shorts inside the 40.