Perception vs. Statistics.

by timith on Dec 29, 2011 9:27 PM EST

A lot of pundits are talking about the new era of mobile quarterbacks, and they mention the same names over and over. Aaron Rodgers. Cam Newton. Drew Brees.

Wait a second. Drew Brees? Sure, he moves very well in the pocket, but look at his career stats for rushing yards (numbers are by totals per year.

Drew Brees: 18, 130, 84, 85, 49, 32, 52, -1, 33, -3, 81

That's a lot lower than I expected. -1 for the year? in 2008? Well what about another mobile QB that everyone loves to hate. Surely his numbers would be a little better:

Big Ben: 144, 69, 98, 204, 101, 82, 176, 70

Better, but not what I expected. Now Aaron Rodgers has 207 316 356 257, which sounds like what I'd expect.

Now look at these numbers and guess the QB:

43, 110, 63, 28, 89, 102, 98, 0 (did not play), 44, 30, 109.

Did you guess Tom Brady? Isn't it strange how similar his numbers are to Brees and Big Ben? I would never have guessed ole' Tom ran that much. Early in his career PEYTON MANNING, the statue had over 100 yards rushing for the year for 3 years straight.

Make of this stat what you will. Cam, Vick and Aaron Rodgers (oh and some guy named Tim) run a lot. But even the 'statue qb's' seem to get as many yards as some of the guys we consider to be mobile.

Go Skins!

(side note: most rushing yards by one Rex Grossman in a year? 48. This year he is credited with 11 yards and .9 yards per attempt. Some perceptions are absolutely true.)

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if you had to guess who do you think has scrambled more this year..Newton or Aaron Rodgers?

Thats right Aaron Rodgers.

Newton 42 scrambles out of 120 rushes
Rodgers 58 scrambes out of 60 rushes

So Aaron Rodgers appears to be more likely to take off and run during a pass play than Cam Newton. Perception meets those stats right?

by Shankdiddy on Dec 29, 2011 11:24 PM EST reply actions

perceptions are prone to error

which is why statistics were invented in the first place – so good article!

Personally I don’t want a scrambling QB and if he is good at it I want it to be his LAST option, not his default behavior.

by aFan4Life on Dec 30, 2011 8:48 AM EST reply actions

scrambling and running are not the same

i want a QB that’s not going to sit back and just takes whats given to them. this is why i personally don’t like sam bradford. i know his OL is crappy, but this guy can’t move at all. i don’t have to have a Cam or Vick. but at least don’t look like a deer in headlights every single play!

by alleykatt1000 on Dec 30, 2011 8:22 PM EST reply actions