PackerRat Rankings through Week 12

[Fosco33]

Well Rats - it's been awhile. Some of you liked seeing these rankings - others ridicule the 'complexity'.

Either way - thought it'd be interesting to see where the Pack and their peers ranked from a stat standpoint. Just picking the main Offensive/Defensive, Turnover Margin, Points Scored/Allowed wasn't enough this year.

The all important - yards/attempt differential. Historically this (along with Turnover Margin) are one of the more significant measures. And good news - the Pack is #2 in that one!

Enjoy-

[Cheesehead Craig]

I thought this was going to be a ranking of the PackerRats.

[Fritz]

Me too. I wondered who was going to be #1, and if I'd make the top ten.

[MJZiggy]

Me too. I wondered who was going to be #1, and if I'd make the top ten.

I'm #1. Let's just keep that straight.

[Joemailman]

Interesting stuff. The big anomaly here is Atlanta 16th. How to explain it? Two things which maybe need to be factored in are penalties and red zone efficiency.

[sheepshead]

I thought this was going to be a ranking of the PackerRats.

Yeah, really WTF...we can get this stuff anywhere

[pbmax]

Between this chart (Defenses' rank on 3rd down and yards per play) and my own list of stats for the Run Defense thread lead me to believe is that both the Packer Defense and the Special Teams are conspiring to hamper the Offense. The Packers are yielding more yards per play, more plays and more third down conversions this year. This obviously keeps opponents drives alive and allows them to get a FG (since they are getting fewer TDs this year) and kickoff or punt the Packers back behind their own 20.

I wonder if I can find the average drive start field position for teams and test this theory? Anyone know where that might be?

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

I would be funny to list the top 32 parkerrats posters lol. I'm sure I would not make that list, but would be a funny debate lol. I can't believe it has been almost five years since I joined. I was a 19 year old kid when I joined.

[Joemailman]

Well' here's the top 32 in terms of posts. I Have Fritz in my sights.

Here's the whole list. http://packerrats.com/memberlist.php...rt=posts&pp=30

1. MJZiggy 17,873
2. Bretsky 17,297
3. HarveyWallbangers 14,477
4. Harlan Huckleby 14,424
5. Scott Campbell 13,423
6. Rastak 11,538
7. JustinHarrell 11,354
8. BallHawk 11,087
9. pbmax 10,392
10. mraynrand 9,969
11. woodbuck27 9,474
12. SkinBasket 8,923
13. Patler 8,616
14. Freak Out 8,511
15. red 8,169
16. retailguy 7,939
17. Fritz 7,797
18. Joemailman 7,741
1i9. MadtownPacker 7,403
20. GrnBay007 7,111
21. Zool 7,077
22 GBRulz 6,945
23. Deputy Nutz 6,636
24. b bulldog 6,171
25. Lurker64 6,066
26. Tarlam! 6,039
27. The Leaper 5,452
28. gbgary 5,413
29. Fosco33 5,143
30. Brando19 5,043
31. Iron Mike 5,019
32. bobblehead 4,973

[pbmax]

OK. I haven't delved into the nitty gritty of this data, but from a cursory glance, it reports the average starting field position for all a team's drives in a current season.

For the GB offense, their Avg. Field Pos. is 29.55 yards, which ranks 17th in the league. Last year, it was 31.40 yards and ranked fifth. Those two yards every drive are killing the Packers and are costing the team about 4 points a game. You would think that would be enough objective data to justify sending Slocum to the Vikings.

However, the Special Teams, as bad as they are have not gotten worse this year. According to FO, they are the 27th best unit this year after being the 32nd best last year.

Its the defense, oddly enough, that is contributing to this dropoff. Meaning that your defense can actually get better at something (pass defense) that directly prevents scoring and still find a way to hamper your offense.

But Slocum and STs could be doing more, obviously. So he should still be sent to the Vikings.

[Joemailman]

Part of the drop in starting field position may be due to the fact that the Packers defense isn't forcing turnovers like they did last year. 40 last year in 16 games vs. 21 this year in 11 games. Does starting field position get better in cold weather since it's harder to punt the ball?

[Fosco33]

Interesting stuff. The big anomaly here is Atlanta 16th. How to explain it? Two things which maybe need to be factored in are penalties and red zone efficiency.

Falcons hurt themselves twice here - their D gives up a lot of yards/play (and thus their yards/pass attempt differential would also suck). And their D isn't solid on 3rd down.

Thought about penalties before - hidden negative yardage begs the question on average starting field position. RZ efficiency is interesting - but points are a big key there.