Athlon Quarterback Rankings

Hans Gruber said:
You're not wrong, but I think a quarterback has less control over team points per play or team points per yard.

And honestly, while I get that those stats work, I don't have a baseline for what is good or bad with those outside of extreme outliers.

Kind of like 40-yard dash times. I know what's fast, what's slow, what's fast for specific positions etc. On the other hand, I have no clue what's good and bad in the three-cone drill or the shuttle run.
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I think you have a point, regardless. Total yards isn't the only thing to consider with a QB. I mean, Lawrence isn't top 10 in that category. I do think Martinez has more potential for improvement than Lawrence and a lot of other young QBs though. This was his first year in that system, same with the rest of the offense. (OTOH we're missing Morgan and Ozigbo, so we'll see). I'm sure Lawrence is a great player, but he also had the benefit of being placed into a machine of a program.

 
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Moiraine said:
Why does pace make total offense less relevant?
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I wouldn’t have worded it that way, but to answer the question: Because it’s an alternate possession game.

And because it’s an alternate possession game, efficiency and not counting stats are what really matter.

If comparing QBs a stat like Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A) is a better indicator that just total passing yards.

In college football, because of the enormous talent differentials, this is often a kinda moot argument because so many big plays get generated that a quarterback will often put up great stats in both categories.

Moiraine said:
But I would say points per play or points per yard are more relevant than total offense or yards per play.
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It depends on what and why you’re evaluating something. At the end of the day you’re looking to both move the ball and punch it in. Sometimes, though, you may be better or worse at one of those two things. Any of those metrics mentioned can help determine strengths/weaknesses. There are a lot of good metrics that are applicable in the right situation.

Finally, note that per play stats are not always what we are really after in football, they are just the most convenient stats to acquire. It is drive stats that are really what is important since the game is based on the number of possessions, not the number of plays.

 
Moiraine said:
I think you have a point, regardless. Total yards isn't the only thing to consider with a QB. I mean, Lawrence isn't top 10 in that category. I do think Martinez has more potential for improvement than Lawrence and a lot of other young QBs though. This was his first year in that system, same with the rest of the offense. (OTOH we're missing Morgan and Ozigbo, so we'll see). I'm sure Lawrence is a great player, but he also had the benefit of being placed into a machine of a program.
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Agreed. Martinez wasn't surrounded by top-three talent. Clemson, at worst, was the third or fourth most talented team last year.

And based on their record and national title, probably the most talented team.

 
How can they even rank some of these guys when they haven’t seen the field or have only seen it in mop up duty? I agree Fields has talent but needs to prove it. Patterson did well as Martinez last year and I think he was a bit hamstrung in the Harbaugh offense. That will change this year. Martinez was also playing injured last year.  lewerke had a bad year last year but could surprise this year. MSU QBs have a way of doing that. It will be interesting to see how Hunter Johnson does.

 
nic said:
How can they even rank some of these guys when they haven’t seen the field or have only seen it in mop up duty?
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Problematic, to be sure. IMO, you can’t in an era with so many transfers and underclassmen....but people love rankings.

 
brophog said:
Problematic, to be sure. IMO, you can’t in an era with so many transfers and underclassmen....but people love rankings.
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That's true.  It's a long summer and I guess we have to have something to talk about.  Just be thankful it's about something mundane and not about your star player being investigated for possible abuse of his girlfriend, etc.  

 
K9Buck said:
That's true.  It's a long summer and I guess we have to have something to talk about.  Just be thankful it's about something mundane and not about your star player being investigated for possible abuse of his girlfriend, etc.  
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But we have a star player under investigation for mistreating a former girlfriend...

 
K9Buck said:
Oh.  Sorry to hear that.  Who is it?
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Maurice Washington, who would be our starting running back. He has revenge porn and child porn charges pending against him relating to a video of his ex-girlfriend engaged in a threesome (of which he was not a part of). There's already lengthy thread on this board on the issue. 

 
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