Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics

QUARTERBACKS 2008

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 9/11/2012

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, 41 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rk Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
D.Brees NO 1,694 1 1,565 1 28.6% 3 25.5% 64.4 10 645 4,933 5,738 34 3 1 16 65.8% 2/29
P.Manning IND 1,554 2 1,552 2 30.0% 2 29.9% 79.8 1 567 3,916 5,155 27 0 0 11 67.1% 5/51
P.Rivers SD 1,347 3 1,444 3 30.3% 1 33.3% 68.1 6 503 3,850 4,453 34 2 4 11 65.5% 7/143
J.Cutler DEN 1,172 4 1,292 4 17.0% 7 19.9% 72.3 4 626 4,438 4,956 25 3 0 18 62.9% 4/92
K.Warner ARI 1,160 5 1,199 6 16.5% 8 17.5% 69.8 5 625 4,379 4,954 30 4 7 12 67.8% 7/98
C.Pennington MIA 1,030 6 1,254 5 21.1% 5 28.1% 74.6 2 502 3,553 3,975 19 2 1 7 67.7% 1/28
M.Ryan ATL 1,012 7 875 7 25.3% 4 20.3% 74.1 3 451 3,330 3,609 16 3 1 11 61.3% 4/89
E.Manning NYG 840 8 749 9 14.0% 9 11.2% 62.6 13 505 3,048 3,838 21 3 2 9 60.6% 10/134
D.McNabb PHI 817 9 847 8 9.7% 13 10.4% 51.6 21 590 3,734 4,273 23 0 4 11 61.2% 5/76
M.Schaub HOU 767 10 586 12 18.0% 6 11.1% 68.0 7 400 2,860 3,163 15 4 4 10 67.5% 7/77
T.Romo DAL 713 11 568 15 12.9% 11 8.0% 48.4 23 473 3,265 3,354 26 4 6 14 61.9% 2/25
A.Rodgers GB 708 12 746 10 8.5% 14 9.6% 66.9 8  569 3,775 3,859 28 6 3 13 64.5% 2/32
J.Delhomme CAR 696 13 685 11 13.2% 10 12.9% 62.6 12 436 3,188 3,249 15 1 3 12 59.8% 4/37
K.Collins TEN 585 14 557 16 9.8% 12 8.8% 57.9 16 426 2,612 3,044 12 4 1 7 58.6% 4/100
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rk Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
D.Garrard JAC 567 15 481 17 4.1% 17 1.8% 53.1 19 575 3,337 3,764 15 3 3 11 63.0% 6/122
J.Garcia TB 467 16 568 14 6.9% 15 10.8% 66.0 9 396 2,591 2,721 12 3 2 6 66.0% 0/0
J.Campbell WAS 462 17 389 18 2.6% 18 0.4% 56.4 17 541 2,985 3,346 13 5 1 5 62.6% 1/21
M.Cassel NE 458 18 585 13 1.1% 20 4.5% 63.2 11 564 3,468 3,654 21 3 4 11 63.9% 2/32
J.Flacco BAL 232 19 133 25 -3.0% 22 -6.5% 43.2 29 461 2,729 2,606 14 5 2 11 60.4% 3/57
S.Wallace SEA 203 20 195 21 1.6% 19 1.1% 55.3 18 255 1,458 1,561 11 1 3 3 58.8% 3/24
T.Jackson MIN 166 21 157 23 4.8% 16 3.9% 42.5 30 161 976 1,062 9 1 2 2 59.9% 3/76
K.Orton CHI 161 22 152 24 -6.2% 25 -6.5% 45.5 27 491 2,792 2,836 18 1 3 12 58.9% 4/83
T.Edwards BUF 137 23 331 19 -5.8% 24 1.8% 51.9 20 397 2,554 2,254 11 3 4 10 65.9% 3/38
S.Rosenfels HOU 131 24 84 27 -0.7% 21 -4.4% 60.6 14 184 1,381 1,195 6 2 1 10 67.8% 2/16
D.Orlovsky DET 110 25 71 28 -4.8% 23 -7.0% 48.0 24 270 1,510 1,544 8 3 0 7 56.5% 3/42
B.Roethlisberger PIT 97 26 29 29 -8.1% 27 -10.2% 46.8 26 516 3,025 2,734 17 7 5 13 60.7% 3/93
B.Favre NYJ 95 27 320 20 -8.6% 28 -2.6% 44.4 28 550 3,246 3,136 22 5 2 21 66.3% 10/107
S.Hill SF 65 28 193 22 -8.0% 26 -1.7% 59.1 15 310 1,887 1,740 13 6 1 8 63.7% 3/25
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA QBR Rk Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
T.Thigpen KC 35 29 106 26 -9.9% 29 -7.5% 47.7 25 442 2,444 2,418 18 2 0 11 55.3% 5/56
C.Palmer CIN -6 30 -117 32 -11.8% 30 -24.1% 48.6 22 141 662 717 3 2 0 4 60.0% 3/26
B.Griese TB -79 31 -83 30 -17.7% 33 -18.0% 40.2 32 192 995 868 5 0 1 7 60.4% 1/33
G.Frerotte MIN -112 32 -98 31 -16.4% 31 -15.8% 42.3 31 331 1,991 1,555 12 3 1 15 59.3% 6/143
J.Kitna DET -120 33 -163 34 -25.0% 37 -30.1% 11.0 41 135 663 530 5 2 1 5 57.1% 2/35
D.Anderson CLE -123 34 -254 35 -17.5% 32 -24.4% 30.4 37 300 1,519 1,379 9 6 1 8 50.2% 2/8
D.Culpepper DET -226 35 -336 39 -39.4% 39 -53.1% 18.1 40 128 687 334 4 3 1 6 53.5% 0/0
J.Russell OAK -265 36 -149 33 -21.6% 34 -17.0% 35.3 34 400 2,217 1,678 13 4 7 8 54.3% 4/98
R.Fitzpatrick CIN -315 37 -457 41 -22.9% 35 -28.1% 38.1 33 408 1,707 1,736 8 4 4 8 59.7% 3/55
J.P.Losman BUF -357 38 -328 37 -62.3% 41 -58.1% 21.9 39 116 465 78 2 2 3 4 63.0% 0/0
M.Hasselbeck SEA -402 39 -328 38 -38.9% 38 -33.8% 30.9 36 228 1,086 619 5 1 0 10 52.4% 2/30
M.Bulger STL -406 40 -296 36 -24.7% 36 -21.0% 32.7 35 482 2,483 1,867 11 1 4 12 57.3% 5/78
J.T.O'Sullivan SF -509 41 -387 40 -43.4% 40 -35.6% 22.9 38 252 1,493 578 8 4 6 11 58.4% 5/101

PASSING, OTHERS: 10-99 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA QBR Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
B.Leftwich PIT 160 155 59.3% 57.2% 96.7 38 281 400 2 0 0 0 60.0% 0/0
D.Carr NYG 121 106 130.2% 112.7% 95.5 13 113 233 2 0 0 0 75.0% 1/24
J.Sorgi IND 98 53 33.7% 13.4% 73.2 30 178 309 0 0 0 0 73.3% 0/0
T.Brady NE 11 20 1.9% 13.9% 69.6 11 78 80 0 0 0 0 63.6% 0/0
B.Croyle KC 9 7 -6.5% -7.3% 37.3 30 141 169 0 0 0 0 69.0% 0/0
C.Henne MIA 5 13 -6.1% 3.9% 87.3 12 67 78 0 0 0 0 58.3% 0/0
D.Stanton DET -29 -18 -33.4% -25.2% 28.6 23 84 67 1 0 0 0 52.9% 0/0
M.Leinart ARI -39 -34 -30.5% -27.9% 54.2 31 248 109 1 1 1 1 51.7% 0/0
B.Bollinger DAL -60 -67 -62.5% -68.4% 21.3 20 49 12 1 0 0 1 58.8% 0/0
C.Frye SEA -65 -89 -50.8% -65.5% 9.8 26 64 44 2 0 0 2 52.2% 0/0
J.Palmer CIN -79 -94 -95.0% -110.3% 0.4 14 30 -32 0 0 0 1 58.3% 0/0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA QBR Passes Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
R.Grossman CHI -86 -107 -31.9% -36.9% 18.6 65 249 217 2 0 0 2 52.4% 0/0
B.Quinn CLE -101 -5 -28.8% -12.1% 43.2 90 509 322 2 0 0 2 50.6% 0/0
K.Kolb PHI -154 -191 -82.6% -99.5% 1.0 34 144 -36 0 0 0 4 50.0% 0/0
V.Young TEN -164 -135 -75.2% -63.8% 10.6 39 203 -17 1 2 0 2 61.1% 1/16
A.Walter OAK -227 -248 -82.3% -89.0% 1.9 53 163 -52 0 1 0 3 45.8% 0/0
B.Johnson DAL -231 -256 -55.3% -60.2% 14.9 87 358 106 2 1 0 5 52.6% 1/6
T.Green STL -233 -208 -58.8% -53.8% 12.2 78 467 76 0 0 0 6 52.8% 1/4
B.Gradkowski CLE -241 -276 -197.7% -224.3% 0.5 25 8 -224 0 0 0 3 33.3% 0/0
D.Huard KC -252 -241 -59.3% -57.3% 28.0 90 414 79 2 2 1 4 62.5% 0/0
K.Dorsey CLE -284 -380 -60.0% -76.6% 5.3 98 320 82 0 2 0 6 47.3% 1/29

RUSHING: Minimum 8 rushes, 32 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
J.Campbell WAS 84 1 79 2 41.5% 2 38.7% 31 273 309 1 0
R.Fitzpatrick CIN 80 2 77 3 18.6% 6 17.3% 48 308 373 2 2
M.Cassel NE 72 3 70 5 12.5% 10 11.7% 50 291 382 2 0
D.Garrard JAC 72 4 75 4 7.4% 11 8.5% 64 328 434 2 1
T.Thigpen KC 71 5 80 1 12.7% 9 15.8% 56 386 375 3 2
A.Rodgers GB 65 6 60 6 13.1% 8 11.2% 42 211 338 4 0
S.Hill SF 36 7 39 7 22.2% 5 25.3% 17 117 159 2 1
J.P.Losman BUF 32 8 32 8 56.7% 1 56.0% 8 66 110 2 1
C.Pennington MIA 30 9 27 11 34.4% 4 29.8% 13 77 117 1 0
J.Russell OAK 27 10 31 9 14.8% 7 18.3% 15 129 137 1 1
M.Hasselbeck SEA 26 11 27 12 40.7% 3 42.6% 11 69 96 0 0
T.Edwards BUF 25 12 30 10 6.1% 14 9.5% 25 130 160 3 2
J.T.O'Sullivan SF 18 13 17 14 7.0% 13 6.0% 22 151 112 0 1
M.Schaub HOU 18 14 8 18 2.6% 15 -5.8% 21 76 129 2 2
J.Garcia TB 13 15 15 15 -4.7% 17 -3.3% 30 143 159 1 2
J.Cutler DEN 12 16 20 13 -5.8% 18 -1.9% 40 215 174 2 2
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
K.Collins TEN 9 17 12 16 7.3% 12 12.7% 8 61 55 0 0
S.Wallace SEA 7 18 8 17 -1.2% 16 0.8% 12 81 61 0 0
J.Flacco BAL 1 19 -4 22 -11.3% 19 -14.5% 32 189 129 2 4
T.Romo DAL -1 20 -6 23 -14.4% 21 -21.2% 11 58 43 0 1
P.Rivers SD -2 21 5 19 -13.7% 20 -8.3% 21 89 92 0 2
B.Roethlisberger PIT -6 22 -12 25 -16.7% 22 -21.3% 23 110 79 2 2
K.Orton CHI -6 23 3 20 -18.9% 24 -8.8% 15 54 54 3 2
T.Jackson MIN -7 24 1 21 -18.4% 23 -11.2% 21 136 68 0 2
D.Brees NO -8 25 -10 24 -25.8% 25 -28.8% 8 34 24 0 1
D.Culpepper DET -17 26 -25 26 -36.8% 28 -48.2% 12 24 11 1 1
P.Manning IND -22 27 -28 27 -37.7% 29 -45.0% 10 31 11 1 1
S.Rosenfels HOU -29 28 -30 28 -63.9% 31 -66.2% 9 38 -27 0 1
D.Anderson CLE -31 29 -40 31 -42.3% 30 -51.4% 18 52 3 0 2
D.McNabb PHI -40 30 -39 30 -32.3% 26 -31.7% 34 151 51 2 3
M.Ryan ATL -40 31 -33 29 -33.5% 27 -29.6% 31 126 43 1 2
B.Favre NYJ -42 32 -45 32 -71.9% 32 -76.6% 12 41 -47 1 3