DEFENSIVE LINES 2008

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 12/29/2008

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, and situation, and normalized so that the league average for Adjusted Line Yards per carry is the same as the league average for RB yards per carry (current baseline: 4.08). 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 that result in (on first down) zero or negative gain or (on second through fourth down) less than one-fourth the yards needed for another first down. 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 per pass attempt adjusted for opponent, down, and distance. 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	BAL	3.28	3.34	64%	14	19%	18	28%	3	DAL	1	59	9.8%
2	CHI	3.35	3.64	64%	11	23%	27	32%	1	MIN	2	45	9.0%
3	NYG	3.44	3.71	58%	6	22%	25	26%	8	PIT	3	51	8.6%
4	MIN	3.60	3.46	55%	2	16%	12	27%	6	PHI	4	48	8.4%
5	TEN	3.70	3.81	64%	13	21%	22	28%	2	CAR	5	37	7.4%
6	PHI	3.77	3.60	61%	9	15%	11	27%	5	NYG	6	43	7.3%
7	PIT	3.91	3.41	53%	1	9%	1	26%	9	OAK	7	32	7.3%
8	BUF	3.91	4.09	67%	18	21%	23	25%	12	TB	8	29	7.2%
9	NYJ	3.99	3.66	68%	19	13%	5	19%	30	DET	9	31	7.1%
10	JAC	4.05	4.03	57%	3	18%	16	27%	4	TEN	10	44	7.1%
11	TB	4.10	4.52	66%	15	23%	28	22%	23	ATL	11	34	6.9%
12	SF	4.12	3.89	70%	21	14%	9	22%	22	NYJ	12	41	6.9%
13	NE	4.18	4.08	67%	17	17%	13	18%	32	MIA	13	41	6.7%
14	MIA	4.23	4.06	71%	24	12%	4	23%	17	BAL	14	35	6.4%
15	CIN	4.25	3.85	64%	12	13%	6	25%	14	JAC	15	29	6.3%
16	ARI	4.25	3.94	70%	23	13%	7	25%	15	STL	16	30	6.2%
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	SEA	4.26	4.18	70%	22	19%	17	26%	7	NE	17	31	6.1%
18	NO	4.28	4.15	80%	31	14%	10	23%	19	SEA	18	35	6.0%
19	DAL	4.28	4.41	74%	26	23%	26	25%	10	DEN	19	26	5.8%
20	ATL	4.29	4.74	58%	5	22%	24	25%	11	SD	20	28	5.7%
21	IND	4.36	4.26	78%	30	18%	15	22%	25	GB	21	27	5.6%
22	DEN	4.36	5.12	63%	10	29%	32	24%	16	IND	22	30	5.5%
23	WAS	4.39	3.97	61%	7	11%	2	25%	13	ARI	23	31	5.4%
24	CAR	4.43	4.53	68%	20	19%	19	23%	20	HOU	24	25	5.4%
25	GB	4.53	4.56	74%	27	21%	21	19%	31	NO	25	28	5.1%
26	KC	4.55	5.16	81%	32	27%	30	22%	21	SF	26	30	5.1%
27	SD	4.57	4.13	61%	8	11%	3	21%	27	CHI	27	28	5.0%
28	OAK	4.58	4.65	75%	28	18%	14	20%	29	BUF	28	24	4.7%
29	DET	4.63	5.38	72%	25	28%	31	23%	18	WAS	29	24	4.6%
30	HOU	4.70	4.46	76%	29	13%	8	22%	24	CLE	30	18	4.4%
31	STL	4.78	5.23	66%	16	24%	29	22%	26	CIN	31	17	3.5%
32	CLE	4.79	4.68	58%	4	20%	20	20%	28	KC	32	10	2.9%
x	NFL	x	4.25	67%	x	19%	x	24%	x	NFL	x	33	6.3%

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	BAL	3.41	6	3.61	7	3.23	1	3.04	2	3.31	12
2	CHI	2.14	1	3.14	4	3.69	3	4.20	17	2.48	1
3	NYG	3.26	4	3.40	5	3.37	2	4.07	14	3.17	9
4	MIN	3.61	8	4.03	10	3.76	5	3.52	5	2.65	4
5	TEN	2.60	2	2.72	1	3.94	7	3.38	4	5.51	30
6	PHI	3.30	5	3.11	3	4.29	17	4.37	23	3.06	7
7	PIT	4.39	21	4.90	29	3.75	4	4.10	15	2.87	6
8	BUF	4.30	18	4.46	19	3.84	6	3.62	6	3.11	8
9	NYJ	4.19	15	4.50	23	3.98	9	4.23	19	2.84	5
10	JAC	4.16	14	4.71	26	4.15	11	3.91	9	3.29	11
11	TB	4.21	16	4.51	24	4.25	12	3.91	10	2.51	2
12	SF	3.43	7	4.68	25	4.06	10	4.13	16	4.30	20
13	NE	4.35	20	3.01	2	4.27	15	4.31	21	4.49	24
14	MIA	3.78	9	3.92	8	4.41	19	4.39	24	3.21	10
15	CIN	5.20	30	4.02	9	4.58	26	4.05	13	2.63	3
16	ARI	4.96	27	4.12	13	4.70	29	2.85	1	4.25	19
		LEFT END		LEFT TACKLE		MID/GUARD		RIGHT TACKLE		RIGHT END
	TEAM	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank	ALY	Rank
17	SEA	4.23	17	4.48	21	4.28	16	3.95	11	4.30	21
18	NO	4.45	22	4.29	17	4.26	14	4.28	20	4.23	18
19	DAL	2.88	3	4.08	12	4.31	18	4.81	28	4.99	28
20	ATL	4.46	23	5.38	31	3.98	8	4.21	18	4.07	17
21	IND	3.86	10	4.15	14	4.63	27	4.32	22	3.58	13
22	DEN	3.94	12	4.50	22	4.54	24	4.57	25	3.84	14
23	WAS	4.35	19	4.25	16	4.66	28	3.83	8	4.42	23
24	CAR	4.92	24	4.48	20	4.75	31	3.05	3	4.01	16
25	GB	4.92	25	3.50	6	4.51	23	5.13	30	4.61	25
26	KC	5.10	29	4.32	18	4.49	22	4.98	29	3.99	15
27	SD	4.95	26	4.84	28	4.26	13	3.78	7	6.02	32
28	OAK	3.92	11	4.22	15	4.49	21	5.27	32	5.53	31
29	DET	4.12	13	5.16	30	5.08	32	3.96	12	4.37	22
30	HOU	5.06	28	5.46	32	4.48	20	4.71	27	4.70	26
31	STL	5.84	32	4.03	11	4.54	25	5.27	31	5.37	29
32	CLE	5.49	31	4.80	27	4.70	30	4.64	26	4.95	27
x	NFL	4.23	x	4.23	x	4.26	x	4.17	x	4.00	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	MIN	321	11%	11%	53%	12%	13%
2	BAL	323	8%	17%	47%	19%	9%
3	NYG	331	11%	13%	54%	12%	10%
4	WAS	343	16%	12%	39%	15%	17%
5	MIA	344	5%	16%	57%	16%	5%
6	DAL	354	11%	15%	45%	21%	8%
7	PIT	354	6%	11%	65%	11%	6%
8	TEN	359	9%	11%	57%	17%	7%
9	SD	360	11%	10%	52%	13%	14%
10	NYJ	368	6%	17%	51%	15%	11%
11	PHI	371	17%	14%	38%	15%	16%
12	ATL	373	16%	14%	44%	12%	14%
13	JAC	385	15%	7%	54%	10%	14%
14	NE	385	9%	10%	62%	11%	9%
15	CAR	386	12%	12%	51%	10%	14%
16	HOU	386	11%	10%	53%	15%	11%
	Team	RB Carries	LEFT END	LEFT TACKLE	MID/ GUARD	RIGHT TACKLE	RIGHT END
17	BUF	387	8%	16%	57%	14%	5%
18	TB	389	10%	15%	55%	12%	8%
19	ARI	393	12%	16%	46%	20%	7%
20	NO	398	14%	15%	49%	13%	10%
21	CHI	404	13%	18%	44%	16%	10%
22	SEA	409	9%	16%	48%	16%	10%
23	SF	409	10%	15%	54%	13%	9%
24	DEN	417	14%	16%	48%	13%	9%
25	GB	418	16%	13%	45%	13%	13%
26	IND	425	8%	13%	53%	17%	9%
27	CIN	434	11%	15%	49%	14%	11%
28	STL	441	11%	20%	42%	17%	10%
29	KC	444	14%	14%	45%	13%	14%
30	OAK	471	12%	16%	49%	12%	11%
31	DET	476	15%	19%	32%	18%	16%
32	CLE	486	9%	21%	52%	15%	4%
x	NFL	x	11%	14%	50%	14%	10%