Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



QUARTERBACKS 1997

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 12/18/2009

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.

  • Passes total includes sacks and aborted snaps. Both count against a quarterback's value.
  • Fumbles count the same whether lost to the defense or retained by the offense.

PASSING: Minimum 100 passes, 47 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C%
D.Marino MIA 1,022 1 982 4 17.5% 7 16.3% 582 3,818 4,266 16 3 4 11 58.5%
M.Brunell JAC 998 2 1,031 1 22.1% 5 23.2% 469 3,207 3,774 18 2 1 7 61.3%
S.Young SF 967 3 996 2 28.1% 2 29.3% 394 2,794 3,296 19 4 0 6 68.5%
B.Favre GB 936 4 984 3 14.5% 9 15.8% 552 3,866 4,217 35 4 3 16 59.4%
B.Johnson MIN 837 5 724 8 15.9% 8 12.2% 481 2,991 3,648 20 3 1 12 61.4%
B.Esiason CIN 819 6 832 5 53.6% 1 54.6% 197 1,507 2,134 13 1 0 2 63.4%
J.Elway DEN 739 7 831 6 10.2% 10 12.8% 550 3,648 3,798 27 1 7 11 56.7%
C.Chandler ATL 725 8 627 10 20.2% 6 16.0% 391 2,471 2,856 20 3 5 7 59.2%
W.Moon SEA 719 9 680 9 9.3% 12 8.2% 570 3,642 3,812 25 4 3 16 59.5%
D.Bledsoe NE 660 10 725 7 7.3% 13 9.1% 560 3,533 3,775 28 3 1 14 60.4%
J.George OAK 516 11 607 11 3.6% 15 6.2% 586 3,540 3,511 29 3 3 8 56.3%
G.Frerotte WAS 429 12 430 12 4.9% 14 5.0% 437 2,682 2,730 17 4 1 12 51.0%
T.Aikman DAL 411 13 326 14 0.4% 19 -2.0% 559 3,139 3,433 19 1 4 12 57.0%
T.Dilfer TB 346 14 297 17 1.5% 16 -0.3% 427 2,506 2,663 21 6 1 11 56.8%
K.Stewart PIT 339 15 385 13 0.9% 18 2.6% 460 2,902 2,716 21 2 1 17 54.0%
E.Kramer CHI 337 16 282 18 -0.7% 21 -2.4% 511 2,981 3,050 14 3 5 14 57.8%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C%
P.Justin IND 331 17 313 16 25.9% 3 23.8% 152 1,028 1,163 5 0 1 3 59.7%
E.Grbac KC 255 18 318 15 1.0% 17 4.0% 333 1,828 2,035 11 1 0 5 57.9%
J.Harbaugh IND 232 19 228 22 0.0% 20 -0.2% 352 1,816 1,989 10 1 2 4 62.2%
G.Foley NYJ 221 20 278 19 25.6% 4 35.1% 100 691 784 3 0 1 1 59.6%
S.Mitchell DET 221 21 227 23 -4.6% 25 -4.4% 551 3,192 3,033 19 9 4 13 58.6%
S.Beuerlein CAR 215 22 229 21 9.5% 11 10.9% 173 974 1,137 6 0 1 2 58.6%
T.Banks STL 182 23 106 27 -5.5% 26 -7.8% 542 3,049 2,833 14 5 5 13 52.2%
V.Testaverde BAL 158 24 223 24 -6.2% 28 -4.2% 498 2,912 2,806 18 7 3 13 57.8%
S.McNair TEN 156 25 233 20 -5.5% 27 -2.7% 453 2,643 2,444 14 8 4 12 52.6%
R.Gannon KC 115 26 159 26 -1.8% 22 1.7% 194 1,174 1,156 7 2 3 3 56.6%
D.Brown NYG 99 27 88 29 -2.9% 24 -3.8% 199 1,043 1,102 5 0 1 3 52.5%
E.Zeier BAL 68 28 166 25 -2.6% 23 9.8% 135 880 731 7 0 2 1 57.8%
T.Detmer PHI 47 29 34 31 -8.2% 29 -9.0% 264 1,479 1,368 7 5 1 6 55.6%
J.Blake CIN 40 30 38 30 -9.3% 30 -9.4% 361 2,003 1,851 8 2 4 7 58.4%
B.Hoying PHI 13 31 -37 35 -10.3% 32 -13.5% 254 1,456 1,270 11 2 5 6 57.1%
B.Tolliver ATL 9 32 -13 33 -10.0% 31 -12.9% 133 589 636 5 6 0 1 55.7%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C%
K.Graham ARI -25 33 20 32 -12.6% 33 -9.9% 269 1,348 1,292 4 1 4 4 52.2%
N.O'Donnell NYJ -50 34 88 28 -12.7% 34 -8.3% 514 2,658 2,446 17 3 6 7 56.8%
R.Peete PHI -51 35 -27 34 -17.1% 36 -14.3% 134 786 619 4 3 2 4 59.1%
J.Hostetler WAS -74 36 -170 38 -18.6% 38 -28.2% 157 890 698 5 1 1 9 54.9%
B.Hobert BUF -75 37 -108 37 -18.3% 37 -21.4% 168 991 743 6 2 1 10 49.4%
D.Kanell NYG -75 38 -84 36 -15.0% 35 -15.5% 325 1,727 1,459 11 2 4 8 53.6%
J.Plummer ARI -213 39 -278 40 -21.3% 39 -24.4% 352 1,986 1,402 15 1 5 14 53.8%
D.Wuerffel NO -272 40 -303 41 -52.8% 45 -57.5% 113 470 156 4 1 1 7 46.2%
A.Van Pelt BUF -315 41 -361 42 -49.1% 44 -54.5% 133 775 241 2 2 1 10 49.2%
S.Humphries SD -319 42 -191 39 -31.4% 41 -23.3% 247 1,339 833 5 2 5 6 54.0%
R.Mirer CHI -420 43 -454 44 -64.7% 47 -69.1% 121 329 59 0 2 2 5 51.5%
K.Collins CAR -500 44 -638 47 -30.0% 40 -35.2% 412 1,942 1,452 11 4 4 20 53.2%
C.Whelihan SD -505 45 -512 45 -42.2% 43 -42.6% 263 1,187 621 6 3 3 10 49.8%
H.Shuler NO -574 46 -568 46 -54.8% 46 -54.4% 229 1,176 277 2 2 4 14 52.7%
T.Collins BUF -581 47 -436 43 -32.1% 42 -26.9% 438 2,267 1,456 12 6 2 13 55.1%

PASSING, OTHERS: 10-99 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C%
R.Johnson JAC 108 104 40.9% 38.8% 34 315 314 2 0 0 1 78.6%
S.Matthews JAC 107 69 30.4% 15.7% 42 274 353 0 0 1 0 65.0%
J.Kitna SEA 67 117 10.8% 27.1% 48 347 337 1 1 0 2 70.5%
M.Tomczak PIT 62 82 30.4% 44.1% 24 185 204 1 0 0 2 66.7%
B.Brister DEN 7 11 1.9% 9.7% 10 55 53 0 0 0 0 66.7%
M.Rypien STL -6 -22 -13.6% -19.8% 41 267 192 0 0 0 2 48.7%
J.Garrett DAL -18 -30 -30.8% -44.5% 16 38 49 0 0 0 0 71.4%
W.Wilson DAL -20 -35 -23.2% -32.2% 27 99 106 0 0 0 0 57.1%
R.Cunningham MIN -50 -115 -19.7% -30.7% 95 446 395 6 3 1 4 50.6%
S.Bono GB -52 -56 -103.9% -111.9% 11 14 -26 0 0 1 0 50.0%
C.Erickson MIA -56 -63 -41.7% -45.3% 32 131 71 0 2 0 1 46.4%
F.Reich DET -58 -72 -41.9% -49.5% 30 121 72 0 0 0 2 36.7%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C%
S.Stenstrom CHI -79 -85 -79.2% -84.4% 17 61 -14 0 0 1 1 57.1%
S.Walsh TB -85 -99 -83.6% -95.8% 18 58 -21 0 1 0 1 35.3%
T.Philcox SD -92 -126 -55.7% -72.4% 36 139 41 0 2 0 1 59.3%
T.Graziani ATL -111 -112 -90.2% -90.8% 24 34 -38 0 0 0 1 30.4%
S.Case ARI -119 -165 -44.1% -56.9% 65 245 128 0 1 2 1 52.7%
J.Brohm SF -127 -122 -77.2% -74.7% 29 126 -18 0 2 1 1 66.7%
J.Friesz SEA -127 -134 -67.0% -70.1% 38 125 10 0 1 0 2 42.9%
J.Everett SD -132 -152 -42.3% -47.1% 80 419 171 1 2 0 4 48.0%
D.Nussmeier NO -226 -219 -107.6% -104.5% 40 144 -117 0 0 1 3 56.3%
J.Druckenmiller SF -258 -257 -87.5% -87.4% 57 203 -79 1 0 0 4 40.4%
K.Holcomb IND -396 -354 -82.1% -74.4% 89 451 -90 1 1 3 7 61.6%

RUSHING: Minimum 8 rushes, 36 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
S.McNair TEN 172 1 173 1 21.5% 9 21.8% 87 677 768 8 5
K.Stewart PIT 142 2 142 2 16.9% 11 17.0% 79 486 707 11 3
M.Brunell JAC 90 3 88 3 37.4% 4 35.7% 37 264 345 2 2
E.Grbac KC 83 4 81 5 61.5% 1 59.5% 21 178 277 1 0
J.Blake CIN 77 5 83 4 26.1% 7 29.0% 39 240 327 3 1
R.Gannon KC 57 6 48 8 38.4% 3 30.5% 23 130 215 2 0
T.Dilfer TB 49 7 46 9 44.5% 2 41.3% 17 111 178 1 0
S.Young SF 48 8 57 6 15.3% 13 20.6% 35 212 239 3 0
J.Plummer ARI 45 9 48 7 11.8% 16 13.9% 36 220 238 2 0
B.Johnson MIN 36 10 40 10 12.8% 14 15.1% 24 149 191 0 0
N.O'Donnell NYJ 31 11 30 11 26.6% 6 26.0% 16 83 130 1 0
J.Harbaugh IND 30 12 28 13 7.5% 17 5.9% 33 209 182 0 1
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
D.Bledsoe NE 27 13 25 15 12.7% 15 10.5% 17 63 141 0 0
R.Cunningham MIN 27 14 26 14 23.3% 8 22.8% 15 137 117 0 0
B.Favre GB 26 15 28 12 0.7% 19 1.5% 36 210 212 1 1
J.Elway DEN 18 16 15 17 -2.4% 22 -4.0% 36 217 180 1 3
W.Moon SEA 18 17 17 16 33.7% 5 30.8% 8 48 69 1 0
T.Detmer PHI 16 18 15 20 18.6% 10 16.7% 9 49 74 1 0
K.Collins CAR 13 19 15 19 4.9% 18 7.4% 14 72 86 1 0
D.Brown NYG 12 20 13 22 15.4% 12 15.0% 9 36 64 1 0
V.Testaverde BAL 12 21 13 21 -3.4% 24 -1.6% 24 144 116 0 1
C.Chandler ATL 10 22 15 18 -5.4% 26 -2.3% 29 163 135 0 1
R.Mirer CHI 8 23 6 23 -3.9% 25 -6.0% 15 80 85 1 0
A.Van Pelt BUF 5 24 5 24 0.3% 20 -1.3% 8 34 43 1 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
C.Whelihan SD 4 25 -1 27 -3.0% 23 -14.8% 8 32 42 0 0
J.George OAK 4 26 4 25 -1.1% 21 -1.2% 9 52 33 0 0
B.Hoying PHI -2 27 0 26 -16.2% 28 -11.4% 13 82 40 0 0
S.Mitchell DET -3 28 -2 28 -14.5% 27 -13.4% 23 81 97 1 2
B.Hobert BUF -10 29 -8 29 -31.1% 31 -26.2% 10 46 15 0 0
E.Kramer CHI -16 30 -12 31 -23.3% 29 -20.9% 22 88 65 2 2
H.Shuler NO -16 31 -16 32 -33.8% 34 -32.5% 13 45 17 1 1
T.Aikman DAL -17 32 -12 30 -29.0% 30 -23.7% 20 79 35 0 1
K.Graham ARI -26 33 -17 33 -32.0% 33 -27.3% 13 23 31 2 0
T.Banks STL -31 34 -33 35 -31.8% 32 -33.1% 32 189 43 1 4
G.Frerotte WAS -32 35 -31 34 -41.9% 35 -41.1% 16 69 4 2 3
T.Collins BUF -51 36 -51 36 -64.8% 36 -65.1% 23 57 -48 0 2