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Denver's defense was still great at producing pass pressure, while two NFC East teams really improved over 2015. Also: pressure splits by number of rushers, and how sacks can be overrated. Just ask Brandon Graham (or Erik Walden).
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Let's go back in time 30 years, when a four-week player strike threw the entire league into turmoil. We've got advanced stats for both the regular players and the strikebreakers, plus a San Francisco 49ers team that led the league in both offense and defense but imploded in one of the greatest upsets in NFL postseason history.
The Patriots and Falcons each have a couple of high-quality receiving backs, but which defense is more likely to continue to struggle covering running backs in the passing game? Also: the greatness of the wheel route.
The Falcons and Patriots got to the Super Bowl thanks in part to the excellent play of their offensive lines -- but that doesn't mean they don't have flaws to exploit.
It was difficult to find New England's weaknesses this year, but Atlanta's best bet is likely to test the depth of the Patriots secondary.
Your Audibles crew discusses the second and third rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft.
In many ways, the National Championship game looked like many of Alabama's wins. In other ways it was like no game they had ever played before.
The dam never fully broke, but eventually Deshaun Watson and the Clemson offense wore down an incredible Crimson Tide defense because Alabama's offense couldn't stay on the field.
It's the rematch we all hoped for when Alabama narrowly beat Clemson in last year's National Championship. Can the Tide fend off Deshaun Watson and the Tigers once more?
Ditch Gus Bradley, then hand the division crown to the Texans while messing with your draft position. That was Jacksonville's plan on Sunday as the Titans stumbled even before Marcus Mariota got hurt.
What do NFL players do in their last few weeks before training camp? Apparently, a lot of them watch the playoffs in basketball or hockey.
Your Scramble writers are still trying to come to grips with what exactly happened Sunday night. Also: the most exciting Super Bowls in history, results of our various playoff contests, and a whole mess of commercials in the final Scramble for the 2016 season.
23 Jun 2017, 03:50pm by Aaron Schatz
The final part of this week's big 30-year DVOA retrospective is a look at the best individual seasons using DVOA (for quarterbacks) and DYAR (for running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends).
0 comments
22 Jun 2017, 04:43pm by Scott Kacsmar
Denver's defense was still great at producing pass pressure, while two NFC East teams really improved over 2015. Also: pressure splits by number of rushers, and how sacks can be overrated. Just ask Brandon Graham (or Erik Walden).
4 comments, Last at 24 Jun 2017, 8:49am by Whidbey Bronco
22 Jun 2017, 12:01pm by Aaron Schatz
If you are a regular Football Outsiders reader, you already know that the No. 1 team is the 1991 Washington Redskins, the only team to appear on all three of our previous top 30 lists. Adding the postseason to these ratings just increases their dominance. Including postseason DVOA also moves up the 1988 and 1989 49ers, 1992 Cowboys, and 2000 Ravens, while moving down great teams that suffered playoff upset losses such as the 1987 49ers and 2010 Patriots. The next challenge for the 1991 Redskins comes sometime in the next year or two, when we finish up DVOA for the 1984 49ers and 1985 Bears.
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21 Jun 2017, 12:23pm by Aaron Schatz
Part three of our feature on the greatest teams of the DVOA era looks at the best special teams units since 1987. Seven of the top 30 were coached in some way by Dave Toub, who worked for the Chicago Bears in the 2000s and works for the Kansas City Chiefs today. Other teams with multiple appearances on this list include New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Cleveland. Tomorrow, we'll look at the top 30 teams overall, and we finish up Friday with top individual seasons.
3 comments, Last at 22 Jun 2017, 6:30pm by Karl Cuba
20 Jun 2017, 04:07pm by Scott Kacsmar
A look at how passers did under pressure in 2016. Who extended the play the best: Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson? Is there any hope for Jared Goff after his rookie year? And does Ryan Tannehill consistently struggle with pressure more than his peers?
23 comments, Last at 23 Jun 2017, 4:48pm by Vincent Verhei
20 Jun 2017, 03:01pm by Aaron Schatz
Today we have part two of our weeklong feature looking at the best teams of the DVOA era, going back to 1987. This is our list of the top defenses, chock full of Ravens and Steelers teams but topped by the legendary -- especially to Football Outsiders readers -- 1991 Philadelphia Eagles.
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19 Jun 2017, 01:15pm by Aaron Schatz
We've got a huge historical feature on ESPN Insider all week: Football Outsiders' own version of "30 for 30." Since we now have 30 years of DVOA ratings, we can count down the top 30 teams in DVOA history. Today, we start things off with the top 30 offenses. That means a lot of Patriots, Colts, and 49ers teams... and more Chiefs than you expect. One big change with this countdown is that we've incorporated the playoffs, which will boost teams such as the 1989 49ers and 1990 Bills that went on big postseason runs against tough competition. (Click to read more.)
1 comment, Last at 20 Jun 2017, 1:07pm by crw78
15 Jun 2017, 12:16pm by Vincent Verhei
The absence of J.J. Watt allowed a very surprising name (and his equally surprising teammates) to make the most big defensive plays in the league last year.
31 comments, Last at 22 Jun 2017, 10:56am by Noah Arkadia
13 Jun 2017, 12:20pm by Guest
By almost any measure, Matt Ryan was the NFL's best passers last year, but Dak Prescott was nearly as effective despite being paid about 2 percent as much. Guest columnist Kevin Kolbe looks at the best values among quarterbacks in the last five years.
34 comments, Last at 20 Jun 2017, 10:32am by nat
08 Jun 2017, 04:24pm by Scott Kacsmar
Which players were truly best last year at gaining yards after the catch? Featuring surprising wide receivers and a dominant Gronk. Also: why does Bill O'Brien's Houston offense fail to produce YAC no matter which quarterback he starts?
13 comments, Last at 10 Jun 2017, 1:40pm by Vincent Verhei
07 Jun 2017, 01:21pm by Rivers McCown
A closer look at why FO's 2017 projections differ from Vegas over-unders for four teams: Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, and the Los Angeles Rams.
0 comments
05 Jun 2017, 02:18pm by Rob Eves
What do NFL players do in their last few weeks before training camp? Apparently, a lot of them watch the playoffs in basketball or hockey.
15 comments, Last at 07 Jun 2017, 4:08pm by Noah Arkadia
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