Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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Innovative Statistics

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QUARTERBACKS 2012

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 12/31/2012

Quarterbacks are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the quarterback 's performance compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The other statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average quarterback in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. Negative DVOA represents below-average offense. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The simple version: DYAR means a quarterback with more total value. DVOA means a quarterback with more value per play.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

Total QBR (listed as just QBR) is a metric created by the ESPN Stats & Information group. Total QBR is based on the expected points added by the quarterback on each play, then adjusts the numbers to a scale of 0-100. There are five main differences between Total QBR and Football Outsiders' DVOA metric (with further explanation here):

  • Total QBR incorporates information from game charting, such as passes dropped or thrown away on purpose.
  • Total QBR splits responsibility on plays between the quarterback, his receivers, and his blockers. Drops, for example, are more on the receiver, as are yards after the catch, and some sacks are more on the offensive line than others.
  • Total QBR has a clutch factor which adds (or subtracts) value for quarterbacks who perform best (or worst) in high-leverage situations.
  • Total QBR combines passing and rushing value into one number and differentiates between scrambles and planned runs.
  • Total QBR is not adjusted for strength of opponent.

Further information about the table below:

  • Passes total includes sacks and aborted snaps. Both count against a quarterback's value.
  • Intentional clock-stopping spikes are not counted as passes, which may cause completion rate to be different from official NFL stats.
  • Fumbles count the same whether lost to the defense or retained by the offense.
  • DPI lists the number of plays and yards where the quarterback drew Defensive Pass Interference. These plays are incorporated into DVOA, DYAR, and Total QBR, but are not included in the totals for Passes or Yards.

Clicking on a player's name will bring you to his FO player page with advanced stats through the most recent season.

PASSING: Minimum 100 passes, 39 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rank Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
T.Brady NE 2,035 1 1,928 2 35.1% 1 32.3% 77.1 2 662 4,623 6,311 34 2 0 8 63.5% 14/220
P.Manning DEN 1,800 2 1,970 1 32.7% 2 36.5% 84.1 1 602 4,526 5,744 37 0 2 11 69.0% 11/177
D.Brees NO 1,444 3 1,414 3 19.9% 5 18.8% 67.9 9 693 4,914 5,716 43 3 1 18 63.7% 4/50
A.Rodgers GB 1,395 4 1,292 5 23.3% 4 20.4% 72.5 5 602 4,016 5,156 39 1 4 8 67.7% 9/178
M.Ryan ATL 1,216 5 1,359 4 17.0% 7 19.8% 74.5 4 644 4,502 5,131 32 1 2 14 68.6% 6/60
T.Romo DAL 1,187 6 1,084 6 15.5% 9 12.8% 62.7 13 683 4,635 5,188 28 1 3 19 66.1% 7/124
M.Stafford DET 1,148 7 890 8 11.9% 12 6.3% 58.9 15 755 4,769 5,568 20 1 4 17 60.2% 7/140
R.Wilson SEA 867 8 745 12 19.7% 6 14.9% 69.6 8 429 2,915 3,443 26 3 3 9 64.4% 6/122
E.Manning NYG 770 9 811 10 9.5% 13 10.2% 67.4 10 555 3,785 4,056 26 2 1 15 60.1% 12/232
B.Roethlisberger PIT 757 10 774 11 13.1% 11 13.3% 62.8 12 473 3,068 3,553 25 1 2 8 64.3% 4/41
R.Griffin WAS 729 11 824 9 16.7% 8 19.9% 71.4 6 424 2,959 3,100 20 2 0 5 66.5% 5/91
M.Schaub HOU 695 12 899 7 7.4% 14 12.4% 62.6 14 572 3,811 3,956 22 4 0 12 64.3% 7/121
C.Kaepernick SF 553 13 472 13 25.7% 3 19.6% 76.8 3 234 1,687 1,955 10 2 0 3 62.7% 2/43
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rank Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
C.Newton CAR 422 14 435 15 2.0% 15 1.9% 54.2 16 521 3,621 3,185 19 5 1 12 58.1% 6/43
A.Smith SF 420 15 371 18 14.9% 10 11.5% 70.1 7 243 1,610 1,868 13 0 1 5 70.3% 4/35
S.Bradford STL 372 16 241 20 -1.2% 16 -5.1% 51.6 21 579 3,457 3,517 21 5 1 12 60.4% 3/59
J.Flacco BAL 354 17 418 16 -1.4% 17 -0.1% 46.8 25 566 3,589 3,414 22 2 3 10 59.7% 9/119
C.Palmer OAK 334 18 463 14 -2.4% 18 0.5% 44.7 29 592 3,820 3,526 22 2 5 14 61.7% 9/158
A.Luck IND 255 19 386 17 -5.2% 19 -2.6% 65.0 11 662 4,089 3,790 23 5 5 17 55.0% 14/250
A.Dalton CIN 192 20 351 19 -5.9% 20 -2.0% 50.7 22 571 3,422 3,233 27 0 4 15 62.8% 5/85
C.Ponder MIN 175 21 82 25 -6.1% 21 -9.2% 53.8 17 516 2,747 3,014 18 1 4 12 62.2% 7/143
P.Rivers SD 138 22 140 23 -7.3% 22 -7.7% 40.6 31 576 3,266 3,122 26 7 7 14 64.7% 5/78
J.Freeman TB 115 23 218 21 -8.1% 24 -5.8% 53.1 18 583 3,897 3,174 27 7 2 17 55.1% 5/68
R.Fitzpatrick BUF 114 24 174 22 -7.8% 23 -6.5% 45.8 27 533 3,235 2,908 24 2 6 16 60.8% 5/82
R.Tannehill MIA 37 25 97 24 -10.0% 25 -8.6% 52.3 19 517 3,069 2,691 12 2 3 13 58.5% 12/198
M.Hasselbeck TEN -4 26 26 26 -11.4% 26 -9.9% 48.5 23 236 1,268 1,207 7 2 1 5 62.4% 2/31
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rank Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
J.Cutler CHI -73 27 -21 27 -13.6% 27 -12.3% 51.9 20 473 2,789 2,325 19 4 4 14 58.8% 10/144
M.Vick PHI -82 28 -98 29 -14.5% 28 -15.7% 46.0 26 380 2,173 1,828 12 5 2 10 58.6% 3/63
K.Kolb ARI -155 29 -82 28 -23.2% 31 -18.0% 38.0 32 210 1,008 825 8 0 2 3 59.6% 2/29
N.Foles PHI -166 30 -149 30 -20.4% 30 -20.0% 45.3 28 286 1,550 1,217 6 5 2 5 61.8% 2/71
J.Locker TEN -267 31 -190 32 -23.7% 32 -20.5% 48.1 24 341 2,004 1,345 10 0 3 10 56.9% 3/26
B.Gabbert JAC -269 32 -302 35 -25.3% 34 -27.5% 40.9 30 301 1,491 1,162 9 2 3 6 58.3% 2/29
C.Henne JAC -287 33 -162 31 -24.6% 33 -19.2% 29.9 34 334 1,912 1,332 11 0 2 10 54.4% 6/80
B.Weeden CLE -290 34 -198 33 -19.4% 29 -17.1% 26.6 36 546 3,185 2,429 14 3 1 17 57.8% 1/7
J.Skelton ARI -323 35 -421 36 -34.9% 37 -42.6% 13.9 38 216 1,034 653 2 2 2 8 54.5% 1/12
M.Cassel KC -354 36 -268 34 -30.5% 36 -26.2% 36.5 33 291 1,668 994 6 2 6 11 59.9% 5/80
B.Quinn KC -442 37 -442 37 -43.9% 38 -44.4% 27.4 35 219 1,018 487 2 1 0 7 57.1% 2/51
R.Lindley ARI -482 38 -596 39 -55.8% 39 -66.9% 9.8 39 184 646 214 0 1 2 7 52.0% 2/33
M.Sanchez NYJ -611 39 -486 38 -29.9% 35 -26.4% 23.4 37 488 2,681 1,793 13 3 7 18 54.6% 10/101

PASSING, OTHERS: 10-99 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA QBR Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
S.Hill DET 128 138 136.3% 146.8% 76.8 12 172 245 2 0 0 0 83.3% 0/0
K.Orton DAL 95 80 111.0% 90.1% 99.4 10 89 193 1 0 0 0 90.0% 0/0
K.Cousins WAS 58 55 6.0% 5.0% 72.7 51 429 351 4 1 0 3 70.2% 1/7
T.Lewis CLE 42 47 6.6% 8.5% 58.6 35 190 247 1 0 0 1 68.8% 1/35
M.Moore MIA 39 31 15.4% 9.6% 59.7 21 122 173 1 0 0 0 57.9% 0/0
C.McCoy CLE 10 -22 -2.6% -30.1% 13.1 21 54 116 1 0 0 0 52.9% 1/19
T.Pryor OAK 9 23 -6.5% 0.5% 59.7 30 155 168 2 0 0 1 46.7% 0/0
B.Leftwich PIT -1 -5 -11.5% -12.7% 34.0 56 248 283 1 0 0 1 47.2% 2/64
B.Gradkowski CIN -3 -8 -14.8% -21.4% 54.7 12 60 60 0 1 0 0 45.5% 1/21
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA QBR Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
C.Batch PIT -9 -12 -13.0% -14.2% 34.8 74 469 359 1 0 0 4 64.8% 1/25
T.Tebow NYJ -9 -12 -24.2% -29.5% 17.6 10 32 45 0 0 0 0 75.0% 0/0
T.Taylor BAL -36 -55 -29.3% -39.8% 45.0 32 149 110 0 0 0 1 58.6% 1/25
B.Hoyer ARI -60 -118 -26.4% -41.6% 37.7 57 300 234 1 1 0 2 56.6% 0/0
M.Leinart OAK -76 -104 -51.1% -66.1% 11.3 34 106 50 0 0 0 1 48.5% 0/0
G.McElroy NYJ -83 -84 -44.8% -45.5% 45.2 42 146 85 1 0 1 1 61.3% 1/22
T.J.Yates HOU -85 -89 -128.2% -133.4% 2.1 11 34 -57 0 0 1 1 40.0% 0/0
J.Campbell CHI -130 -163 -50.3% -61.2% 23.5 57 216 103 2 2 0 2 62.7% 1/9

RUSHING: Minimum 8 rushes, 36 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
C.Newton CAR 149 1 139 2 11.3% 17 9.6% 114 746 809 8 3
R.Wilson SEA 147 2 130 3 22.4% 10 18.3% 82 501 652 4 0
A.Luck IND 124 3 139 1 41.1% 3 47.6% 42 270 456 5 0
J.Cutler CHI 114 4 109 4 96.2% 1 91.5% 24 248 342 0 0
R.Griffin WAS 109 5 107 5 7.9% 19 7.4% 110 816 651 7 7
A.Rodgers GB 94 6 90 6 30.5% 6 28.8% 41 276 375 2 0
T.Brady NE 56 7 52 9 40.3% 4 36.1% 13 41 209 4 0
M.Ryan ATL 55 8 52 10 39.7% 5 36.7% 22 152 204 1 0
J.Locker TEN 54 9 58 7 20.3% 11 22.7% 39 292 245 1 1
A.Dalton CIN 53 10 54 8 18.9% 12 19.5% 29 137 247 4 0
K.Kolb ARI 49 11 48 11 80.5% 2 78.7% 12 103 153 1 0
S.Bradford STL 39 12 33 14 25.3% 8 20.1% 22 141 165 1 1
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
A.Smith SF 36 13 37 13 26.2% 7 27.2% 21 142 152 0 0
C.Ponder MIN 36 14 25 17 4.2% 21 -0.6% 44 271 241 2 2
M.Cassel KC 35 15 47 12 17.8% 13 27.8% 22 148 167 1 1
M.Stafford DET 34 16 26 16 7.4% 20 3.1% 29 128 203 4 1
C.Kaepernick SF 31 17 14 23 -1.5% 24 -7.6% 57 406 279 5 7
J.Freeman TB 26 18 25 18 3.7% 22 3.0% 29 159 180 0 1
B.Weeden CLE 24 19 29 15 8.0% 18 12.2% 21 116 144 0 0
C.Palmer OAK 23 20 24 19 17.1% 14 18.6% 11 40 111 1 0
R.Fitzpatrick BUF 22 21 18 21 0.5% 23 -1.8% 38 205 177 1 0
T.Pryor OAK 22 22 16 22 23.2% 9 13.5% 10 51 95 1 0
T.Taylor BAL 18 23 22 20 13.8% 15 19.6% 11 76 91 1 0
N.Foles PHI 11 24 11 25 11.7% 16 11.8% 9 38 57 1 1
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
B.Roethlisberger PIT 5 25 6 27 -6.3% 25 -5.5% 17 98 77 0 1
B.Gabbert JAC 5 26 8 26 -6.8% 26 -3.1% 15 58 76 0 0
M.Vick PHI 3 27 12 24 -11.1% 28 -7.8% 52 329 207 1 4
R.Tannehill MIA 2 28 0 30 -11.0% 27 -12.3% 33 226 143 2 4
T.Romo DAL -2 29 1 28 -14.8% 29 -11.0% 14 63 50 1 1
B.Quinn KC -4 30 0 29 -17.4% 30 -12.3% 15 69 44 0 0
E.Manning NYG -15 31 -18 32 -40.5% 34 -45.5% 10 41 3 0 1
C.Henne JAC -17 32 -16 31 -33.2% 32 -31.4% 15 67 39 1 1
P.Rivers SD -18 33 -19 33 -46.4% 35 -46.7% 11 56 -4 0 1
T.Tebow NYJ -27 34 -33 35 -26.2% 31 -29.6% 33 106 76 0 0
J.Flacco BAL -32 35 -31 34 -35.1% 33 -33.9% 18 30 27 3 3
M.Sanchez NYJ -52 36 -55 36 -71.9% 36 -75.4% 14 33 -58 0 2