A look at our roster using Profootball Focus

[Krangodnzr]

Invest in the Football Outsiders' Annual when it comes out in July. It's the absolute best tool out there for actual statistical analysis. They admit it's impossible to break out OL play from the film that they have (something that PFF doesn't do), and they only work from game charting data. But they're a great read and while I don't always agree with their analysis, they tend to be right quite a bit.

I thought they were STUPID last year picking San Francisco to win the division, but here we are a year later.

Oh I will this year.

The big issue is that outside of FO and PFF, the rest of the analysis out there isn't too in-depth.)

 

[oaken1]

by this rating system I could take my oversized self on the field....sneak down the sidelines since nobody would bother covering me....catch me an 80 yard TD....never play again, and be the best WR of all time......sweet...........


As a couple have mentioned.... I prefer Smelly's analysis.....the people who frequent this board know Cardinal players better than the jokers at pff......... to grade an O-lineman, not only do you need to know what play was called, but also what assignment the particular player had on that play as well as whether or not they were expecting help from another, etc.....pff does not have a Cardinal playbook.....but I would guess one or two folks who stop by this site on occasion do have that playbook. Not to mention, we watch this team continually....not just when we happen to be unfortunate enough to have the Cardinals playing our home team...sports media...fornicate them in their ear....gimme fans any day....I can filter out the cool aid myself.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

So in other words their analysis is pretty much worthless. Kinda proves K9's point.

Worthlessness is not implied by what he wrote.

I think it's pretty interesting, although, even as kolb homer, there did not seem to me to be that big of a disparity in the QB play.

It gains credibility by agreeing with performances we all noticed, like dwash turning into a star, and levi picking it up in the last half of his contract year.

 

[Krangodnzr]

by this rating system I could take my oversized self on the field....sneak down the sidelines since nobody would bother covering me....catch me an 80 yard TD....never play again, and be the best WR of all time......sweet...........

Naw you'd get a +1.0 rating or so and wouldn't even be listed among the top players at WR. Snaps are important, which is why I had to go and find Quentin Groves. He wasn't listed on the OLB list because he didn't log enough snaps.

As a couple have mentioned.... I prefer Smelly's analysis.....the people who frequent this board know Cardinal players better than the jokers at pff......... to grade an O-lineman, not only do you need to know what play was called, but also what assignment the particular player had on that play as well as whether or not they were expecting help from another, etc.....pff does not have a Cardinal playbook.....but I would guess one or two folks who stop by this site on occasion do have that playbook. Not to mention, we watch this team continually....not just when we happen to be unfortunate enough to have the Cardinals playing our home team...sports media...fornicate them in their ear....gimme fans any day....I can filter out the cool aid myself.

And the fans who watch this team don't have a playbook either. The point is, it's a tool to be used, and it's far from perfect.

Below is an excerpt of what a report looks like. They were far from enthused about our OLB position; Acho's report isn't much better.

 

[Duckjake]

And the fans who watch this team don't have a playbook either. The point is, it's a tool to be used, and it's far from perfect.

Below is an excerpt of what a report looks like. They were far from enthused about our OLB position; Acho's report isn't much better.

So what are they looking for in a 3-4 OLB? What is their criteria? Do they rate OLB's in a 2-4-5, which the Cards played a lot, differently than a 4-3-4 or a 3-4-4? There are just too many variables for me to look at that chart and make a statement to the effect that someone needs to make gigantic leaps from last year to this year.

 

[Duckjake]

The numbers involved in what PFF is doing are mind boggling.

But please check my math.

2000 offensive/defensive plays per team per year X 32 teams X 11 starters = 704,000 plays to watch?

In 2011 Cards ran 993 offensive plays. Opponents ran 1095. So 2000 looked like a good round number.

If PFF spent just 1 minute on each guy on each play it would take over 11,500 hours to do the entire league. 479 days. And that's just doing the starters.

I would guess they have 32 people working. One assigned to each team? That would be more manageable. 125 plays X 11 = 1,375. Working 8 hour days you could do a game in about 3 days.

 

[Phrazbit]

Ignoring the pathetically inaccurate ratings attached to our RBs, to have graded the non-tackles of our O-Line so poorly is a joke, their pass-block ratings are more of a reflection on how awful the QBs were at getting rid of the ball in a timely manner (and staying within the protection scheme) than any weakness by the interior blocking.

Oh, and Todd Heap was our 2nd best offensive weapon last year? Thats gold. I can count all of the relevant moments Heap had on no hands.

 

[JeffGollin]

I still think our own individual eyeballs are the best gauge of judging performance, but the stat analyses by PFF and Outsiders helps keep us honest (because they document everything - fairly or unfairly) .

Kudos to PFF for trying.

(But that doesn't mean they're always - or even usually - right).

 

[kerouac9]

The numbers involved in what PFF is doing are mind boggling.

But please check my math.

2000 offensive/defensive plays per team per year X 32 teams X 11 starters = 704,000 plays to watch?

In 2011 Cards ran 993 offensive plays. Opponents ran 1095. So 2000 looked like a good round number.

If PFF spent just 1 minute on each guy on each play it would take over 11,500 hours to do the entire league. 479 days. And that's just doing the starters.

I would guess they have 32 people working. One assigned to each team? That would be more manageable. 125 plays X 11 = 1,375. Working 8 hour days you could do a game in about 3 days.

Right... but PFF doesn't have access to All-22 game film. So how do they grade a deep safety on a 3-yard inside run? Whether or not he runs into the frame by the time the announcers are ready to move on to the next play?

The closer you look at PFF's methodology, the flimsier it appears.

 

[Duckjake]

Right... but PFF doesn't have access to All-22 game film. So how do they grade a deep safety on a 3-yard inside run? Whether or not he runs into the frame by the time the announcers are ready to move on to the next play?

The closer you look at PFF's methodology, the flimsier it appears.

That is one of the points the guy I quoted back on page 1 made. Another thing that I question is even the ability to judge offensive line play. I have/had NFL rewind and will often watch the games focusing on one guy, say Sendlein for instance, and unless there is a replay there are often times I can't tell exactly what he did on a play even though I've watched it 4 or 5 times. Guys are often covered up by other players making it hard to tell who actually blocked who. It's especially tough when the lineman you are watching blocks away from the Camera toward the top of the screen as he gets lost behind the backside blockers and defenders. No way anyone could make accurate analysis of NFL play just from watching replays of TV broadcast. Good way to get fantasy football fanatics to send you money though.

One thing I do know from watching videos, DVR replays and internet replays is that Linebackers get a lot of credit for tackles that Defensive Linemen actually made.

 

[CardLogic]

RB-
Overall our top ranked RB was LSH. He carried a 4.5 rating, with his best performance a 2.1 against Dal. He generally performed well with 5 negatively rated games.

The numbers involved in what PFF is doing are mind boggling.

But please check my math.

I'd say let's check their (PFF's) math.

LSH's best performance was a 2.1, but his overall rating was a 4.5.