This, this, this! Great work!
2 Likes
When Stafford is “on,” he’s top in the NFL level good. When he’s “off,” he’s a liability. He’s more “on” than “off” for his career. But when he is “off” we’re done. You cannot win consistently when this is the case. It would be nice when we get a lead, to be able to suffocate the other team with a punishing ground game, and a great defense that makes them work for every yard and shuts teams down in the redzone. He’s had a great defense once and a punishing ground game once and not at the same time.
The best the running game ever was in that span was 17th in 2013. That’s by yards, which I understand doesn’t tell the whole story, but what felt like “punishing” was merely average by comparison to the crud that we’ve become accustomed to.
1 Like
A few years ago on the 247 site I did a 10 year analysis of the top 10 rushing teams vs playoffs births and it was well into the 90 percentile that if you had a top 10 rushing offense you’d make the playoffs.
That’s why I’ve been saying for years. Give Stafford and run game and then let’s judge him.
4 Likes
Great data posted by the Op, been saying this for years. It’s the same thing with people screaming for a top RB. What the hell is a top RB supposed to do behind our O-line? Going to be both a waste of money and talent… This is happening at QB as well because our Defense can’t hold teams to under 30 points or come up with a stop when the game is on the line. Stafford is far from the reason this team blows on a yearly basis.
Another key data point to mention is turnover ratio. If you check this list you’ll see that 10 out of the top 11 teams made the playoffs this season and it makes total sense. It fluctuates a little bit each year but I feel that if you don’t have a positive ratio you really decrease your odds quite drastically.
1 Like