DEFENSIVE LINES 2007

Regular season totals, through Week 17

Revised as of 7/3/2009

Teams are ranked according to Adjusted Line Yards. Based on regression analysis, the Adjusted Line Yards formula takes all running back carries and assigns responsibility to the offensive line based on the following percentages:

Losses: 120% value
0-4 Yards: 100% value
5-10 Yards: 50% value
11+ Yards: 0% value

These numbers are then adjusted based on down, distance, situation, opponent, and the difference in rushing average between shotgun compared to standard formations. Finally, we normalize the numbers so that the league average for Adjusted Line Yards per carry is the same as the league average for RB yards per carry. Defensive line stats (more accurately, defensive front seven stats) represent the performance of offensive lines against each defense, adjusted for the quality of offensive opponents. These stats are explained further here [1].

The following stats are not adjusted for opponent:

RB Yards: Yards per carry by running backs against this defense, according to standard NFL numbers.
10+ Yards: Percentage of rushing yards against this team more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. Represents yardage not reflected in Adjusted Line Yards stat. Teams are ranked from smallest number of 10+ Yards (#1) to largest number of 10+ Yards (#32).
Power Success: Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown. Also includes runs on first-and-goal or second-and-goal from the two-yard line or closer. This is the only statistic on this page that includes quarterbacks. Teams are ranked from lowest power success percentage allowed (#1) to highest power success percentage allowed (#32).
Stuffed: Percentage of runs where the running back is tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage. Ranked from most stuffs (#1) to fewest stuffs (#32).

NFL averages for each stat given in red.

Why are these rankings different from the team defense [2] DVOA ratings for rushing? Among other reasons, they don't include quarterbacks or fumbles, long runs are truncated, and a different set of adjustments is used, attempting to isolate line play rather than total team defense.

A team with a high ranking in Adjusted Line Yards but a low ranking in 10+ Yards has a strong defensive line but its linebackers and secondary have difficulty in pursuit and tackling. A team with a low ranking in Adjusted Line Yards but a high ranking in 10+ Yards generally allows runners to get past the defensive line but the linebackers and secondary are good at pursuit and tackling. A low ranking in Adjusted Line Yards with a high ranking in 10+ Yards is often an indicator of a 3-4 defensive scheme, though there are exceptions.

Stats in blue represent pass rush. Teams are ranked according to adjusted sack rate, which gives sacks (plus intentional grounding penalties) per pass attempt adjusted for down, distance, and opponent. Pass rush stats are explained further here [3]. Our sack totals may differ slightly from official NFL totals depending on the league's retroactive statistical adjustments.

RUN BLOCKING										PASS PROTECTION
	TEAM	Adj. Line Yards	RB Yards	Power Success	Power Rank	10+ Yards	10+ Rank	Stuffed	Stuffed Rank	TEAM	Sack Rank	Sacks	Adj. Sack Rate
1	MIN	3.26	3.23	54%	6	12%	5	25%	1	NYG	1	53	8.8%
2	BAL	3.30	3.03	56%	8	12%	6	23%	4	NE	2	47	8.4%
3	NYG	3.76	4.01	63%	17	20%	23	22%	6	KC	3	37	7.9%
4	SEA	3.77	4.11	60%	13	24%	30	22%	5	DAL	4	46	7.8%
5	CHI	3.84	4.55	57%	10	28%	32	23%	3	CHI	5	41	7.6%
6	PIT	3.85	3.84	55%	7	16%	13	20%	12	PHI	6	37	7.4%
7	TEN	3.86	4.11	78%	31	18%	21	20%	13	SEA	7	45	7.3%
8	DAL	3.87	4.01	67%	21	19%	22	21%	8	MIA	8	30	7.3%
9	CAR	3.90	3.85	53%	3	16%	14	21%	11	TEN	9	40	7.2%
10	ARI	3.91	3.86	78%	32	16%	15	18%	18	JAC	10	37	7.2%
11	IND	3.92	3.80	71%	26	11%	4	20%	14	PIT	11	36	7.2%
12	PHI	3.94	3.89	59%	11	18%	20	23%	2	TB	12	33	7.0%
13	KC	3.98	4.56	60%	14	22%	28	21%	10	SD	13	42	7.0%
14	SF	4.06	3.88	70%	25	14%	8	20%	15	BAL	14	32	6.9%
15	BUF	4.06	4.59	50%	2	21%	25	21%	7	NYJ	15	29	6.6%
16	NO	4.09	3.99	62%	16	15%	11	17%	25	DET	16	37	6.3%
RUN BLOCKING										PASS PROTECTION
	TEAM	Adj. Line Yards	RB Yards	Power Success	Power Rank	10+ Yards	10+ Rank	Stuffed	Stuffed Rank	TEAM	Sack Rank	Sacks	Adj. Sack Rate
17	WAS	4.09	3.67	65%	20	8%	1	18%	19	STL	17	31	6.2%
18	NE	4.11	4.40	68%	23	17%	17	18%	21	DEN	18	33	6.1%
19	GB	4.14	4.04	65%	18	15%	10	15%	29	IND	19	28	6.1%
20	CIN	4.14	4.49	54%	5	23%	29	18%	20	ARI	20	37	6.0%
21	STL	4.18	4.34	54%	4	21%	24	21%	9	ATL	21	25	6.0%
22	TB	4.24	3.88	73%	28	11%	3	14%	31	HOU	22	31	6.0%
23	DET	4.26	4.59	67%	22	21%	26	20%	16	GB	23	36	6.0%
24	JAC	4.26	4.20	57%	9	14%	7	19%	17	OAK	24	27	5.8%
25	HOU	4.32	4.33	76%	29	17%	18	16%	27	SF	25	31	5.7%
26	DEN	4.36	4.69	59%	12	21%	27	17%	24	WAS	26	33	5.7%
27	OAK	4.36	5.06	72%	27	25%	31	18%	22	NO	27	32	5.6%
28	ATL	4.44	4.40	62%	15	16%	16	17%	23	MIN	28	38	5.6%
29	SD	4.44	4.25	65%	19	16%	12	16%	28	CAR	29	23	4.8%
30	CLE	4.44	4.38	48%	1	15%	9	16%	26	CLE	30	28	4.8%
31	MIA	4.47	4.58	70%	24	18%	19	14%	30	BUF	31	26	4.7%
32	NYJ	4.85	4.32	78%	30	9%	2	11%	32	CIN	32	22	3.8%
x	NFL	x	4.17	63%	x	18%	x	19%	x	NFL	x	34	6.5%

This second table lists each team's Adjusted Line Yards in each direction listed in official NFL play-by-play, along with rank among the 32 teams. Only five directions are listed because research so far shows no statistically significant difference between how well a team performs on runs listed middle, left guard, and right guard. These runs are from the perspective of the OFFENSE, so a run listed as LEFT TACKLE is actually at the RIGHT defensive end.

		LEFT END		LEFT TACKLE		MID/GUARD		RIGHT TACKLE		RIGHT END
	TEAM	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank
1	MIN	2.74	4	4.13	15	2.82	1	4.04	16	4.35	22
2	BAL	2.70	3	2.79	1	3.50	2	3.41	4	2.42	2
3	NYG	2.90	6	4.60	22	3.63	3	3.35	2	4.40	23
4	SEA	4.33	20	3.75	10	3.81	6	3.90	15	2.44	3
5	CHI	4.79	26	3.33	2	3.79	5	3.83	9	3.87	13
6	PIT	5.61	32	3.55	7	4.11	17	3.35	3	2.32	1
7	TEN	3.27	8	4.42	19	3.93	11	2.90	1	4.42	24
8	DAL	2.89	5	3.73	9	3.99	13	4.06	18	4.10	16
9	CAR	2.20	2	3.97	13	4.16	18	3.45	5	4.75	26
10	ARI	3.58	9	3.39	4	3.84	7	5.03	30	3.78	10
11	IND	3.78	14	3.38	3	4.04	14	4.68	27	3.27	7
12	PHI	3.77	13	3.53	6	4.16	21	3.87	13	4.01	14
13	KC	3.60	10	3.49	5	3.91	10	3.84	10	5.13	30
14	SF	3.71	12	3.90	11	4.39	29	4.04	17	2.73	5
15	BUF	1.47	1	3.94	12	4.08	15	4.35	22	5.68	32
16	NO	5.35	29	4.12	14	3.88	9	3.49	6	4.66	25
		LEFT END		LEFT TACKLE		MID/GUARD		RIGHT TACKLE		RIGHT END
	TEAM	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank
17	WAS	4.34	21	4.64	23	3.76	4	4.22	20	4.14	17
18	NE	4.12	17	4.16	17	4.16	20	4.67	26	2.63	4
19	GB	4.77	25	4.67	24	3.88	8	4.61	25	2.80	6
20	CIN	3.23	7	4.79	27	3.98	12	4.87	29	4.24	19
21	STL	3.65	11	4.15	16	4.28	23	3.86	12	5.13	31
22	TB	4.12	18	3.60	8	4.55	31	4.59	24	3.30	8
23	DET	4.02	16	4.38	18	4.99	32	4.19	19	3.66	9
24	JAC	4.00	15	4.42	20	4.36	25	4.69	28	3.86	12
25	HOU	4.47	24	4.73	26	4.36	26	3.64	7	4.24	18
26	DEN	4.41	22	4.43	21	4.09	16	5.22	31	4.03	15
27	OAK	4.42	23	5.02	28	4.38	28	3.85	11	4.25	20
28	ATL	4.97	27	4.72	25	4.38	27	3.90	14	4.87	28
29	SD	5.37	30	5.93	32	4.25	22	3.77	8	3.82	11
30	CLE	4.14	19	5.09	29	4.34	24	4.31	21	4.77	27
31	MIA	5.52	31	5.20	30	4.16	19	4.55	23	4.27	21
32	NYJ	5.09	28	5.32	31	4.50	30	5.25	32	4.91	29
x	NFL	3.99	x	4.26	x	4.09	x	4.14	x	4.03	x

The third table lists how often each team runs in each direction. These runs are from the perspective of the OFFENSE, so a run listed as LEFT TACKLE is actually at the RIGHT defensive end. Numbers may not add up to 100% due to carries listed without direction.

	Team	RB Carries	LEFT END	LEFT TACKLE	MID/ GUARD	RIGHT TACKLE	RIGHT END
1	PIT	320	4%	13%	63%	13%	8%
2	NE	324	12%	13%	57%	11%	7%
3	TEN	331	7%	11%	60%	12%	10%
4	WAS	332	20%	13%	44%	13%	11%
5	JAC	333	17%	7%	55%	7%	14%
6	MIN	335	16%	13%	47%	11%	13%
7	DAL	337	9%	17%	48%	19%	7%
8	NO	358	10%	16%	49%	13%	13%
9	NYG	358	13%	18%	44%	14%	11%
10	PHI	358	17%	14%	41%	14%	13%
11	ARI	359	10%	17%	52%	14%	6%
12	SEA	374	9%	19%	48%	17%	7%
13	HOU	376	11%	9%	59%	10%	11%
14	SD	386	10%	12%	50%	16%	12%
15	DET	389	21%	16%	30%	14%	19%
16	IND	397	12%	12%	53%	12%	12%
	Team	RB Carries	LEFT END	LEFT TACKLE	MID/ GUARD	RIGHT TACKLE	RIGHT END
17	CIN	399	10%	15%	54%	13%	8%
18	GB	399	17%	17%	40%	15%	12%
19	STL	403	12%	16%	48%	16%	7%
20	BAL	405	7%	10%	66%	11%	5%
21	BUF	407	5%	13%	62%	14%	6%
22	CHI	412	12%	17%	41%	17%	13%
23	TB	412	7%	9%	57%	13%	14%
24	CAR	416	10%	19%	46%	14%	12%
25	CLE	420	7%	16%	52%	19%	6%
26	KC	424	18%	13%	41%	13%	15%
27	DEN	425	11%	24%	40%	15%	11%
28	OAK	428	14%	11%	53%	11%	11%
29	ATL	434	10%	13%	49%	16%	12%
30	SF	449	10%	18%	51%	13%	8%
31	NYJ	473	7%	21%	49%	14%	8%
32	MIA	480	7%	13%	51%	20%	9%
x	NFL	x	11%	15%	50%	14%	10%