The Quarterback Efficiency Rating Project, Part One

There has been a thought stuck in my head for months. This thought involves how quarterbacks are evaluated. Sure there’s QB rating, completion percentage, conversion rates, yada yada yada, and they are all well and good. But none of them focused on something I, as a fan and someone with (very, very, extremely minor) quarterbacking experience, find to be an extremely important factor in a quarterback’s play: time in the pocket and how they use it. With that in mind I set about trying to create a new statistic to measure quarterback efficiency, cleverly naming it Quarterback Efficiency Rating (QER). Now, I created a series of formulas to calculate different game situations that would assign a rating to every play where a quarterback dropped back with the intention of passing, but quickly found that attempting to time a football game with any semblance of accuracy without a DVR was impossible, so field testing couldn’t be done until I was home for break. Since coming home a few weeks ago I have tried the statistic on a very limited basis (6 total quarters of NFL football). So far it shows promise, but I know its not perfect by any stretch. There are certain situations that seem too lopsided one way or the other, certain factors in the scoring that are honestly random numbers I decided to assign certain events, and the formatting for the totals may be off-putting to some people. 

And We’re Back

Well, it seems my old gig, The Rookies (link in the blogroll), has officially decided to shut it down after the past few months of almost no postings, which is at least partly my fault. Anywhosen, that sort of motivated me to try 0ut the whole blogging thing on my own again so here we are, back at the old (but hardly used) stomping grounds. Should be fun.

Branching out again, shutting down too

Hey, quick announcement: I’ve been added to the roster of another sports blog, the baseball-centric 310 to Joba. What does this mean for this site? For now its being shut down. I’m keeping the domain name, and may start it up again, but for now my time is split between the new digs and The Rookies, and I’m not sure I can do all three justice. So check me out at either of those links, it should be fun.

Oh yeah, the new one is run by a bunch of Yankee fans, so I apologize in advance.

Branching Out

Hey world, I’m still going to be writing here, don’t worry, but I haven’t been around much recently because I’ve been involved in a new project. Its a site thats been up and running for about two weeks now, and I feel great about it. Its a blog written by mtself and about 15 other Deadspin commenters that are in college or under 21. Its called “The Rookies” and can be found here. I write under the handle “LittleWaynesBleedingHead”

I apologize in advance for the number one post right now, its really our first NSFW one, also, though we frown on profanity as a crutch,  occasionally it gets in there, sorry.

About those picks…

I was half right. Better than Simmons anyway.

I’ll try and put up at least two new posts later in the week.

In the meantime go Cardinals and may the Fitz be with you!

NFL Championship Weekend: Our Picks

NFC Match-up: Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals, the basis for the current Deadspin Civil War.

Arizona Cardinals: Typing the words “Arizona Cardinals” just now was one of the more surreal moments of my life. For years we’ve known there was talent on the Arizona roster, with the Dynamic Duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin catching passes from an aging, but still serviceable Kurt Warner. The problem had been a lack of defense and a solid running game, the latter of which was NOT solved by Edge James, but they have found a decent enough stable of running backs to keep defenses on their heels enough for the passing game to flourish. And while the defense isn’t going to set the world on fire, guys like Bertrand Berry, Karlos Dansby, Adrian Wilson, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie-Smithington-James III are all defensive playmakers that have stepped up so far in the playoffs (just ask Jake Delhomme). Throw Steve Breaston (do you realize he had over 1,000 receiving yards? One of 3 receivers on this squad that reached that number) and his kick-return prowess and this is a dangerous team that can score a lot of points really fast.

This actually exists…

Yep, thats my school right there. You stay classy, Peoria.

Could things get any worse for the Colts?

So yeah…it hasn’t been the best of weeks for Indy fans. To review:
1. Newly minted MVP Peyton Manning officially becomes more relevant because of his commercials than his play by leading the Colts to a 23-17 overtime loss to San Diego.
2. A second witness has spoken up in the Marvin Harrison shooting case.
3. Tony Dungy retires.

At this point one must ask what else could possibly go wrong? Reggie Wayne slips on a soup spoon and gets hit by a bus? Adam Vinatieri decides to live in isolation as a Buddhist monk? Bob Sanders becomes injury prone (wait a minute…)?

And its not like the Pacers are helping matters much.

But keep your chin up Indianapolis, it could always be worse, you could be Seattle.

Five Cent Head Crystal Ball: Early Draft Entries Edition

Well, Bowl Season is now officially over after Tim Tebow and the American sprint team defeated Oklahoma last night, which is also the end of the College Football season. That being said, I figured I’d come up with a post to celebrate. After wracking my brains for all of fifteen minutes I was finally struck by a flash of inspiration. And that leads us all to this: my predictions for the future of the big name underclassmen entering the NFL draft.

OU-Florida Title Game Live Blog

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