Adjusting Plus-Minus For Team, Part I
by Bill Barnwell
Just like any other receiving statistic, catch rate is dramatically affected by both the scheme a receiver plays in and the quarterback throwing him passes. Even our new plus-minus statistic isn't immune; in the second part of our introduction to plus-minus last year, we noted how the plus-minus of receivers on a given team tends to flock together. That suggests that quarterbacks are the dominant factor in determining the catch rate of most players.
To get a true glimpse into which players are catching passes at a rate above or below expectation, then, we need to add another layer of adjustments to the process. Accounting for pass distance and the yards needed for a first down -- as we do in Football Outsiders Almanac 2010 -- isn't enough; we also need to account for the laundry a player's wearing. In this piece, I'll explain my methodology for doing so, and in Part II of our team analysis (or Part V of the ever-expanding plus-minus trilogy), I'll analyze what it tells us about the past few seasons and the upcoming 2010 campaign.
(Right about now, you might be asking why this research wasn't included in the numbers you've seen/will see in Football Outsiders Almanac 2010; the answer is that, unfortunately, ideas and research times don't always coincide with book schedules. The idea for how to perform the adjustments, as simple as it is, didn't actually come to me until the book was all but done.)
The process of getting the team-adjusted figures is actually reasonably simple. With plus-minus calculated for each player already, it's a few short steps:
1. Divide the player's plus-minus by his target total to get a per-play figure
2. Divide the combined plus-minus of every other player on the team by their target total to get a team per-play figure
3. Find the difference between the two figures
4. Multiply the difference by the player's target total to get a re-constituted, team-adjusted plus-minus
As an example, let's use a player whose figure is heavily affected by context: the Colts' Austin Collie.
After stripping out plays defined as uncatchable, our database figures that Collie caught 60 of the 86 targets thrown to him last year, which yields a catch rate of just under 70 percent. Plus-minus suggests that he caught 3.4 more passes than an average receiver would, given the raw distance of his routes as well as the relative down and distance they came on. Divide that on a per-target basis, and Collie was just about 0.04 catches above average each time he was thrown the ball.
Of course, Collie doesn't play in an average offense; he plays for the Colts, and he has Peyton Manning throwing him the ball. There were 465 qualifying targets thrown to the remainder of the Colts' players. On those plays, the rest of the team accrued 33.7 catches above expectation. On a per-play basis, that's 0.07 catches above average; because that's higher than Collie's average, it means that Collie was worse than his teammates.
Subtract the difference and multiply it by Collie's 86 targets and you'll find that the tune of his numbers has changed. While Collie was catching passes at an above-average rate according to both catch rate and plus-minus, adjusting the figure for his team context produces a plus-minus figure of -2.8, a figure below what his Colts teammates were producing.
Below, we've provided a table with these statistics for every Colts player in 2009 (except for Hank Baskett, whose numbers are a little more complicated because he played for two teams). As you might expect, the overall success of the offense drags each individual receiver's plus-minus down.
| Plus-Minus For The Indianapolis Colts, 2009 | |||||||||||
| Year | Name | Pos | Targets | Recepts | Raw +/- | Team Targets | Team +/- | Team +/-per | +/- per | Dif. | Team-Adj. +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Reggie Wayne | WR | 134 | 100 | 16.9 | 417 | 20.3 | 0.05 | 0.13 | 0.08 | 10.4 |
| 2009 | Dallas Clark | TE | 129 | 100 | 12.9 | 422 | 24.2 | 0.06 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 5.5 |
| 2009 | Joseph Addai | RB | 60 | 51 | 5.1 | 491 | 32.1 | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 1.1 |
| 2009 | Donald Brown | RB | 13 | 11 | 1.4 | 538 | 35.8 | 0.07 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 0.5 |
| 2009 | Tom Santi | TE | 11 | 8 | 1.1 | 540 | 36.0 | 0.07 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 0.4 |
| 2009 | Colin Cloherty | TE | 1 | 1 | 0.2 | 550 | 37.0 | 0.07 | 0.21 | 0.14 | 0.1 |
| 2009 | Mike Hart | RB | 6 | 5 | 0.4 | 545 | 36.7 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| 2009 | Chad Simpson | RB | 4 | 3 | -0.2 | 547 | 37.4 | 0.07 | -0.06 | -0.13 | -0.5 |
| 2009 | Sam Giguere | WR | 2 | 0 | -0.9 | 549 | 38.1 | 0.07 | -0.45 | -0.52 | -1.0 |
| 2009 | Gijon Robinson | TE | 13 | 9 | -0.5 | 538 | 37.7 | 0.07 | -0.04 | -0.11 | -1.4 |
| 2009 | Austin Collie | WR | 86 | 60 | 3.4 | 465 | 33.7 | 0.07 | 0.04 | -0.03 | -2.8 |
| 2009 | Jacob Tamme | TE | 9 | 3 | -2.7 | 542 | 39.9 | 0.07 | -0.30 | -0.38 | -3.4 |
| 2009 | Pierre Garcon | WR | 83 | 47 | 0.2 | 468 | 37.0 | 0.08 | 0.00 | -0.08 | -6.4 |
Pierre Garcon is another excellent example of how context can make a player with below-average hands look good. Garcon's plus-minus was about league-average relative to the distance and nature of his routes, but once you factor in the context of his offense, he was actually pretty mediocre at catching the ball in 2009. That blends well with DVOA, which saw Reggie Wayne and Collie well ahead of Garcon a year ago.
The change in Wayne's figures is also very interesting. Wayne led the league in raw plus-minus in 2009, but some of that is thanks to a high target total and the presence of Peyton Manning. He drops to the middle of the top ten in scaled plus-minus, and because a lot of the passes that weren't thrown to him were also completed, his team-adjusted plus-minus was only the league's sixth-best. (We'll cover the 2009 leaders in Part II of this piece.)
Team-adjusted plus-minus tells a distinct story for the 2009 Colts -- Wayne and Dallas Clark caught a lot of passes at a well-above-average level, and everyone else was average or worse -- but the team's statistical signature isn't always so similar. In 2008, for example, Wayne's raw numbers declined, and his plus-minus figures were no different. He had a raw plus-minus of 10.4 on 124 targets; adjust that for the team rate, though, and he was only at 2.1. Anthony Gonzalez led the team, with a team-adjusted plus-minus of 4.4 catches above average on 77 targets.
In Wayne's dominant 2007 season, well, he was a one-man wrecking crew. His 18.3 raw plus-minus was met with mostly mediocre performances by the rest of the offense, producing a team-adjusted plus-minus of 16.7 that led the league. It's the second-best figure of the four-year stretch we have plus-minus available for, having been narrowly beaten out (16.74 catches above average to Wayne's 16.72) by a receiver in 2009. One of the main reasons why Wayne's figure is so high is because the only other Colts receiver with more than 50 qualifying targets that year was Dallas Clark, who had a raw plus-minus of -5.6 on 94 targets. After adjusting that for the team context, Clark was at a very disappointing figure of -9.5 catches, the worst figure in the league that year.
2006, of course, was the last gasp of Wayne and Marvin Harrison as anything close to equals. It's borne out in their plus-minus figures. After adjusting their figures for the Colts offense, Wayne was at 7.9 catches above expectation on 128 targets, while Harrison was at 8.2. (Clark, in part of a two-year stretch with a strangely low raw catch rate, was at a dismal -8.7 catches on just 55 targets.)
In Part II, we'll expand the focus to the rest of the league, breaking down the most bizarre out-of-context performances from the past four seasons while providing the numbers on who did the best job, relative to their teammates, of catching passes.
As a teaser, here's a quick contest. The player with the biggest per-play difference between his personal plus-minus and the plus-minus of the rest of his teammates in a given season over the past four years is a running back. I'll give everyone a lone guess at who that back is; the first person to guess correctly gets a free PDF of FOA 2010.
Comments
162 comments, Last at 26 Jul 2010, 11:25pm
#1 by jbecks6779 // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:35pm
Who is Kevin Faulk?
#2 by Walsh (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:38pm
2006 LaDanian Tomlinson
#7 by Walsh (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:42pm
Oh I think I know who it really is, dammit.
#3 by Dan V (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:39pm
LdT
#4 by Exy (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:39pm
Erm... Ray Rice?
#5 by thermhere (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:40pm
Who is Brian Westbrook?
#6 by puffbronfman // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:41pm
Darren McFadden?
#8 by Karl Cuba // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:44pm
My guess is Brian Westbrook
This is a very interesting piece of research that seems to come very close to the holy grail of viewing individual performance independently of the team. As far as I can tell, teh only factor that is left out is how much of a spotlight a defense puts on a particular receiver, which is probably impossible to realise. Great stuff. (I still hate the name +/- though, surely there must be something more descriptive that gives nubes a better idea of what the stat represents.)
#10 by Karl Cuba // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:47pm
Aaaarrgghh! 7 new posts arrived since I started writing mine, and someone has stolen my guess, can I change to Frank Gore?
#9 by JP (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:46pm
I'm gonna guess MJD?
#31 by JP (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:17pm
I guess it must be 2006 MJD then.
#11 by Joey (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:47pm
Reggie Bush?
#12 by Salur (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:48pm
If the plan is to use team adjusted plus-minus to compare different wide receivers across the league (I don't have the book, so I don't know), doesn't that assume each team has the same type of receivers? That is, if one team had a wide receiver corps filled with guys who have great hands, and another team was filled with speedy guys that dropped every pass, all the players are going to be around 0 plus-minus. But that doesn't mean they all have the same catching ability.
Put another way, this doesn't tell us that Pierre Garcon had below average hands. It tells us that (last season, at least), Pierre Garcon had below average hands for a Colts receiver. It doesn't necessarily tell us how he stands in relation to the rest of the league.
I'm not trying to diminish the point of the article; it seems pretty obvious that having Peyton Manning as a QB is going to help a WR without reflecting his true skill, and I could well be missing something. But using this to compare across teams could be problematic if the teams are constructed differently.
#29 by Karl Cuba // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:14pm
The base +/- figure would be guilty of what you are saying, this helps to take the qb/system out of the equation, making comparisons more valid (I think.
#49 by Scott C // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:01pm
IMO I'm not sure it can be used to compare recievers across teams. It helps compare players within teams though -- quite a bit!
Imagine a team with 5 HOF recievers: Jerry Rice x 5.
Their stats might all be different, since JR1 and JR2 will be on the outside, JR3 in the slot, etc, but after these adjustments ideally they all end up at 0.0 team-adjusted +/-.
Now, you have another team, full of Heyward-Bey's. This team similarly will have a team-adjusted 0.0 for its WR's.
There is no way you could compare the two sets of team-adjusted numbers to each other and conclude that the players are equally skilled.
At least, that is what the math looks like to me.
#75 by Karl Cuba // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:21pm
But wouldn't the all-Rice team have a very high +/- to begin with. The team adjustments would hover around 0.0 (with some statistical noise) but the +/- would still be high. That's what I think is the case if +/- is what I think it is.
#151 by Scott C // Jul 25, 2010 - 2:12am
Maybe. But what if the team of JR's had Jamarcus Russel throwing to them and the team of HB's had Joe Montana?
I guess what I'm saying, is Its unclear to me how this disentangles QB from WR play. The average +/- of the players on the team is affected by BOTH the QB and the skill of the average receiver on the team.
How that affects one player is even affected by how good the QB is on different kinds of throws and the distribution of types of throws to said player.
#152 by Nathan // Jul 25, 2010 - 3:08am
Dumping the ball to the HB in the flats is a hell of a lot easier than throwing a deep out. For most QBs at least (I'm looking at you, Henne). The deep out is going to be on a rope, maybe behind or in front of the WR if the QB isn't so good. A check down is a check down.
#156 by mm (not verified) // Jul 25, 2010 - 9:12pm
But the numbers are given relative to league-average QB's. So if you're QB is average at throwing the ball to a HB in the flats but slightly better than average at the deep out, then your RBs will be undervalued by this measure, and your deep receiver will be overvalued.
You're dealing with such small sample sizes that it would make any results very questionable, but ideally you'd take every QB and find his unique rate for each type of pass, and then use that rate when calculating your plus-minus figure for each player on the team. This would then be used to compare teammates.
#161 by Nathan // Jul 26, 2010 - 11:24pm
Fair enough. Yet another example that I'm here for the discussion, not the stats. I always forget they're so adjusted.
#13 by mgrex03 (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:50pm
Chris Johnson
#19 by mgrex03 (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:55pm
2009 Chris Johnson
#14 by Never4getBrent // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:51pm
Chester Taylor
#15 by Brad Catlin (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:52pm
Matt Forte
#16 by Bill Barnwell // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:53pm
Hey -- not saying if any of the above answers are right or wrong, but:
a) You'll need to give a player and a season in question.
b) The only qualifying guess, 2006 LT, is wrong.
#17 by McC (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:53pm
Steven Jackson, come on down?
#18 by McC (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:55pm
2008 Steven Jackson, that is...
#20 by buzz // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:56pm
2006 Deangelo Williams
#26 by buzz // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:00pm
As for the article I think it highlights what a lot of people are missing about the colts for this season and are similar (although way more detailed) to the findings i came through going through play by play data. And that is that you can't forget about Anthony Gonzalez. Yes Collie and Garcon played well but if you take into consideration their situation they weren't all world beaters where as Gonzo was actually above average last year and still has an elite 1st round pedigree. Whether he is 100% healthy is another question and I am sure that will play a big factor in the whole process but to completely dismiss him like a lot of people have done may be a mistake.
#21 by thermhere (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:57pm
Brian Westbrook 2007
#22 by JasonG (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:57pm
Matt Forte
#24 by JasonG (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:58pm
2008 Matt Forte
#23 by Ben14 (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:57pm
Steven Jackson
#25 by Ben14 (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 1:59pm
2006
#27 by TheHerminator // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:07pm
A 73% catch rate on the team that led the league in drops? I'm going to go with 2009 Jamaal Charles.
#28 by Karl Cuba // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:11pm
Frank Gore 2007, the rest of the niners' receivers were garbage.
#30 by Bill Barnwell // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:16pm
I will say this much: No one has come even close yet. I wouldn't run a trivia contest where the answer was something as obvious as Chris Johnson or LaDainian Tomlinson.
#32 by Bill Barnwell // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:20pm
And for reference, I'll even give spots 2-5:
- 2: Brian Leonard, Bengals, 2009: +.11 plus-minus per pass vs. -.05 for rest of team
- 3: Ronnie Brown, Dolphins, 2006: +.10 plus-minus per pass vs. -.05 for rest of team
- 4: Chester Taylor, Vikings, 2008: +.11 plus-minus per pass vs. -.03 for rest of team
- 5: Jamal Lewis, Browns, 2007: +.08 plus-minus per pass vs. -.06 for rest of team
#50 by Dan // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:02pm
Shouldn't that be 2007 for Ronnie Brown?
#154 by T.A // Jul 25, 2010 - 8:06pm
wait I thought you need to have at least 50 targets to qualify?
#33 by Jovins // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:22pm
DeAngelo Williams in 2006?
#34 by dcaslin // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:24pm
Ray Rice, Ravens 2009
#35 by watyousay (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:26pm
2007 Kenton Keith
#36 by Jimmy // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:28pm
The original Adrian Peterson 2007 for the Bears.
#37 by Walsh (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:28pm
Think I finally figured it out, too bad I already guessed.
#38 by JP (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:29pm
Me too :(
#39 by jones007ben // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:33pm
i wonder if it could be.... Buckhalter '08
#40 by DZ (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:34pm
Great work. It's been hard to reign in the enthusiasm of Colts nation about Garcon and Collie because they had good playoff games, but both had critical mistakes in the Super Bowl that are largely forgotten.
Anthony Gonzalez, if healthy, is just a flat better player than either one.
#82 by Bobman // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:02pm
Thinking the same BBS-related thing.....
#41 by joel.schopp // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:34pm
2008 Matt Forte caught a huge % of passes and had terrible receivers on his team.
#42 by Mountain Time … // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:42pm
2009 Ronnie Brown?
"Just look at that pumpkin."
-John Madden, looking at the moon.
#43 by Tim G (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:42pm
2009 Tomlinson
#44 by D // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:46pm
Chester Taylor in 2008?
#72 by D // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:00pm
Guess I should have checked comment #32 first. Damn it.
#45 by ChicagoRaider // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:50pm
Michael Bush, 2009 Oakland Raiders.
#46 by Deelron // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:53pm
Frank Gore, 2006.
#47 by Jon // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:56pm
Derrick Ward 2008
#48 by pudson (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 2:59pm
'09 Fred Jackson
#51 by BigDerf // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:05pm
Im going with 2009 Lex Hilliard. 100% catch rate. Closest player on Miami was Ronnie Browns 70% rate in the same amount of passes for less yards. I compared catch rates on teams and saw Lex's 30% difference and also saw that Lex was also about as good on a per play distance basis as Brian Leonard.
Hope I didn't blow my guess on a guy who doesn't qualify because of lack of targets.
#63 by Walsh (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:37pm
That would be my guess after Bill's statement if I hadn't blown my load on 06 LdT
#65 by BigDerf // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:42pm
Dont feel bad. I woulda blown my load on LDT or 08 Forte if I had gotten to the article sooner.
#83 by Bobman // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:04pm
Ick. What does Mister Tomlinson have to say about you, er... soiling him in that manner?
#135 by Walsh (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 12:59pm
He said, "sorry for not being the correct answer."
#52 by Martin Allard (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:09pm
Julius Jones 2007
#53 by fek9wnr (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:11pm
Patrick Cobbs?
#56 by fek9wnr (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:13pm
(2008 Patrick Cobbs, if year is needed)
#54 by DZ (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:12pm
Joe Addai 2007
#55 by Scott C // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:13pm
MJD, 2008 ? Not sure how bad the rest of the team was overall, but it wasn't pretty.
#57 by Scott C // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:16pm
Aw crap ... I think I should have looked at the question a little bit differently.
#58 by Andrew Potter // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:17pm
2007 Brandon Jacobs (He didn't say it was a positive difference.)
#68 by Shattenjager // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:49pm
I didn't want to submit a guess since I already bought the book, but that's what I would have guessed.
#59 by nycubd // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:26pm
Patrick Cobbs, 2008 Dolphins.
#60 by spenczar // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:28pm
Rock Cartwright, 2009 Redskins?
#61 by Ninja Warrior (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:30pm
Kenneth Darby, 2008 Rams.
90% catch rate at 9.6 yards/rec on a team with -26.1% DVOA passing.
#62 by Dan // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:36pm
Tatum Bell, 2006, Broncos.
#64 by speedegg // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:37pm
Who is Willie Parker, 2007 season....damn replies are coming fast and furious
#66 by learning to fly (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:46pm
2008 Michael Robinson
#67 by JonFromTX // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:47pm
Kevin Jones, 2006 Detroit
#69 by Boylan2 (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:50pm
2006 Tiki Barber. He was reliable with a likely high catch rate, while surrounded by a team of WRs that was always overthrown by a still-erratic Eli. Right?
#70 by Joey (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:56pm
2006 Brian Westbrook
#71 by Jimmy // Jul 23, 2010 - 3:59pm
Great research Bill.
If this had been around 15 years earlier it might have been in time to stop Dave Wanstedt from shelling out massive money to get Michael Timpson off the Bledsoe QBed Patriots. Then again Dave the Dunce would probably have ignored it.
#74 by fek9wnr (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:18pm
Now THAT's a grudge! Impressive work, sir.
#73 by Staubach12 // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:01pm
Frank Gore 2008
#76 by Staubach12 // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:25pm
Oops! Looks like I blew my wad on someone who was already picked...
#78 by billsfan // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:26pm
2008 Kevin Faulk
(I also like the Eagles)
P.S. I still hate the name +/- for this stat.
#77 by Zieg (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:25pm
Cadillac Williams 2009.
Mediocre performance on a miserable team == success?
#79 by sfckoski // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:46pm
2008 - Brandon Jackson
#80 by zenbitz (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:58pm
2009 Gary Russell, Oakland
#81 by Bill Barnwell // Jul 23, 2010 - 4:59pm
There IS a 30-target minimum, so I'm going to let BigDerf pick again. No one has guessed correctly yet.
#84 by zenbitz (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:05pm
I wondered if there might be a minimum targets for this... can you tell me what Gary Russell's numbers were so I can see if my estimation is meaningful?
#85 by Shyam Sundararaman (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:08pm
2008 Fred Jackson
#86 by abernethyj // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:13pm
Willis McGahee, 2007.
#87 by sfckoski // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:14pm
2007 - All Day
backup guess
2008 - Jamaal Charles
#88 by Joe Kocour (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:15pm
07 Earnest Graham?
#89 by Mr. Housebroken // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:21pm
2009 Kevin Smith Detroit
#131 by dmb // Jul 24, 2010 - 10:30am
That would've been my first guess. My next would've been Jamal Lewis (2007), but then I saw that season at #5 on the list Bill posted...
#90 by Staubach12 // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:23pm
Since my first choice was already picked by someone else, can I pick Leon Washington 2008?
#91 by Sideshow Bob (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:26pm
How about the 2007 vintage of Leonard Weaver (SEA)?
#92 by zenbitz (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:32pm
Marion Barber, 2008 (Dallas)
#93 by billsfan // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:36pm
oooh, are we all forgetting some of the awful receiving on the Raiders lately?
(I also like the Eagles)
#94 by nycubd // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:41pm
My first guess was also picked by someone else 10 minutes prior, so I'm going to go again with some Justin Fargas, 2007.
#95 by ChicagoRaider // Jul 23, 2010 - 5:44pm
Despite the fact that I made a guess, whatever Raiderjoe comes up with wins, is my alternative bet.
#96 by Dan in DC (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 6:03pm
Jamal Charles, 2009.
#97 by D // Jul 23, 2010 - 6:24pm
I can't believe I wasted my guess on someone Bill had already said was wrong because I think found the answer and it was not someone I was expecting.
#98 by Nathan // Jul 23, 2010 - 6:37pm
mewelde moore, 2006 vikings
#99 by Mike H (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:06pm
Leonard Weaver, 2007 SEA
#100 by Hari-Kiri Beng… (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:20pm
Dammit, I was going to guess 2007 Fargas. But I'll say Cedric Benson, 2008.
#101 by Rhombus (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:24pm
Frank Gore, 2007
#102 by Rhombus (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:25pm
whoops just saw someone already guessed that.
#103 by Elroy (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:52pm
08 leron mcclain
#104 by Nathan // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:54pm
didn't have 30 receptions to qualify
#105 by dedkrikit // Jul 23, 2010 - 8:58pm
White 2007
#106 by MatMan // Jul 23, 2010 - 9:14pm
Ray Finkle, 1984. Soccer style kicker graduated from Cauler high June 1976, Stetson University honors graduate class of 1980, holds 2 NCAA division 1 records one for most points in a season, one for distance, former nickname "The Mule," The first and oly pro athlete to come out of Cauler County and one hell of a model American.
#116 by Jason // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:41pm
Are you one of those Hard Copy guys?
If I hit a grand slam on this hole-in-one the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.
#107 by prophetik (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 9:20pm
2009, marshawn lynch.
#108 by BigDerf // Jul 23, 2010 - 9:51pm
With my reguess I'm taking Lamont Jordan of the 07 Raiders. Similar numbers to Leonard and an absolutely horrible Oakland offense run by Culpepper Russel ad Josh McCown.
#129 by buzz // Jul 24, 2010 - 10:22am
That was my second guess - that team was pretty attrocious outside of Jordan - and even jordan was disapointing as I remember wasting a fantasy pick on him.
#109 by Or (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 9:58pm
2008 Justin Fargas
#110 by Joseph // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:07pm
2006 Edge James, ARZ
#111 by hanjna // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:07pm
JERIOUS NORWOOD, 2007. already bought FOA 2010 and KUBIAK, but wouldnt mind reimbursement on the previous!!
#112 by Venger // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:14pm
2008 Matt Forte.
#113 by sanderrp@gmail.com // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:28pm
1996 Mike Alstott.
#114 by Jason // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:38pm
2006 Kevin Jones, Detroit Lions, Mike Martz Offense, FTW!
If I hit a grand slam on this hole-in-one the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.
#115 by Jason // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:39pm
Crap. Didn't see that someone had already guessed him.
If I hit a grand slam on this hole-in-one the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.
#117 by Yaxley // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:45pm
2008 Mewelde Moore?
#118 by Packfan6 // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:47pm
06 Ahman Green?
#119 by El Nino Meon (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 10:48pm
2007 Ryan Grant
#120 by Will S // Jul 23, 2010 - 11:06pm
2009 Ray Rice. Or was David Tyree catching all those passes?
#121 by RascalTutor (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 11:15pm
Felix Jones 2008
#122 by Hilario (not verified) // Jul 23, 2010 - 11:27pm
2009 Jerome Harrison
#123 by Anonymous Coward (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 1:38am
Justin Griffith 2006 falcons
#124 by Bill Barnwell // Jul 24, 2010 - 1:48am
No one has got it yet. I'll give one more big hint: One person actually named a different running back from the team and season of the player in question.
#125 by John (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 5:08am
2009- Ricky Williams
#126 by Subrata Sircar // Jul 24, 2010 - 6:23am
2009 Rashard Mendenhall.
#127 by weffy // Jul 24, 2010 - 6:55am
Rock Cartwright 2009
my bad - already picked
#128 by ukRaider (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 8:03am
Warrick Dunn 2007 (ATL)
#130 by dmb // Jul 24, 2010 - 10:22am
Thomas Jones, 2008, NYJ
#132 by Dales // Jul 24, 2010 - 11:43am
2009 Sproles?
#133 by RascalTutor (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 11:55am
2008 Marion Barber
#134 by Nathan // Jul 24, 2010 - 12:21pm
i already used up my guess but he said unexpected... so pick a back that isn't really really well known for being a great receiver on a team with shitty hands at receiver.
#136 by Scott C // Jul 24, 2010 - 12:59pm
Or the opposite, a RB -- with bad hands and poor open field ability on a team with a great passing game.
#137 by silkydiamonds (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 1:37pm
2006 Shaun Alexander
#138 by silkydiamonds (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 1:49pm
That should read 2005 Shaun Alexander
#139 by Dales // Jul 24, 2010 - 2:01pm
Seeing he said the last four years, you might want to rethink going with the 2005 version :-)
#140 by Zieg (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 2:51pm
2006 Michael Pittman
#141 by Peregrine // Jul 24, 2010 - 3:07pm
Noah Herron, 2006 Green Bay Packers
#143 by Bill Barnwell // Jul 24, 2010 - 3:22pm
WE HAVE A WINNER!
Noah Herron caught 93 percent of the qualifying passes thrown to him, 28 out of 30. That's a 93 percent catch rate, and a +/- of 4.58 on 30 targets. No other Packers receiver -- not even players with one target -- that year had a positive plus-minus; Brett Favre completed 56 percent of his passes.
I'm amazed that anyone got it. Peregrine, shoot me an e-mail at bill - at - footballoutsiders.com to arrange your prize.
#146 by Charles (not verified) // Jul 24, 2010 - 3:40pm
She wins the challenge on Work of Art AND the +/- contest. Peregrine is having a good week.
#159 by zenbitz (not verified) // Jul 26, 2010 - 12:01pm
93%?? I was going by catch rate... which for Herron in '06 was 77%. Well, at least I am glad to know it wasn't actually guessable from stats on this site!
#160 by Shattenjager // Jul 26, 2010 - 4:25pm
I believe the catch rate at which you were looking includes all passes while the catch rate Bill is quoting removes "thrown behind" and "overthrown" passes that are not considered "catchable."