Quote Originally Posted by pbmax View Post
I fully recognize that he isn't good, or even average by the 4QC measure. But the 4QC is not a measure solely within the control of the QB. Its very problematic to judge. So much depends on your coach, the defense and the special teams. The best that can be done within it is to find instances where the QB leads his team to a comeback 4QLead, and then determine if the rest of the team is able to hold onto it.

However, you seem to prefer to look at the last offensive possession to isolate the QB from the D and ST. Problem is, outside of going game by game like we have for 2008, we don't have that data for other QBs. Perfect example is Brady in the SB. He took a lead, but his defense had to make it stand up with a last second near-miracle.

So when, in your breakdown of his 2008 close games, there is a consistent failure to recognize where he had driven the team to a late lead. You recognize only one FG that was blocked as bad luck, the rest were not enough because they weren't determinative. So the 4QC info is telling us something about the Packers, but it may not be telling us something about Rodgers. You have data that is inextricably linked to the coach, the D and the ST and does not isolate the QB at all.

There are two areas that have been further pursued; one was 538 breaking down late INTs, as an estimate of risk taking late. The other was either Chase Stuart or Scott Kacsmar doing a breakdown of defensive breakdowns after its team (and its QB) had retaken the lead. Guess what? Rodgers was among the leaders in his defense giving up a lead. Both these sets of data are in threads on this site.

The conclusion I draw from this is that its a terrible stat to judge QBs on as is. It is by no means clear it can capture a finite quality or capability of a QB, and by no means is it good at distinguishing good QB play from excellent QB play.

No stat is perfect. I don't mean to diminish the role that coaching, defense, special teams play in all these things. But how a quarterback executes the offense late in close games is as pertinent as anything. You say it's a terrible stat, I disagree. In the 8 examples provided I would argue that all but one involved Aaron and the offense failing to put his team in a good position to win when the game was up for grabs. Or at the very least all but one, offered an example of a qb that could have done more to contribute to a victory when he had the opportunity.