The NEW QB Rating System

[Jardo]

I saw this article and thought it was interesting. Looks like ESPN is trying to make the QB Rating actually MEAN something.

Mike Tirico lays it all out HERE.

Michael Vick led the NFL with 6.8 yards per rushing attempt last season, but the system the league uses to rate QBs gives him no credit for the 676 yards or nine TDs his legs generated. Conversely, Jay Cutler lost 352 yards on sacks, but Osi Umenyiora could still be planting Cutler near Jimmy Hoffa and passer rating wouldn't notice.

[Beau Petard]

jardo--
Interesting concept.

I found this link that gives some additional information, but I don't see any sources in my search which actually provide the entire specific algorithm/process/set of steps/whatever on how to calculate the QBR.

The other thing I think I understand is that some of the "values" used are subjective. If so, who's the final authority on stuff like the "clutch index"? That seems very subjective and open to debates on what's important and what's not during a game.

[HoustonRaven]

It's ESPN.

Of course it's subjective. They need to leave open the ability to jock Sanchez after a sub par game.

[Ravenswintitle]

Yeah they introduced this a couple weeks ago. Guess that resoloves all debate about Matt Ryan vs Flacco

[SteelFaninBMore]

No one's going to buy this "stat". Too many variables that we can't see or measure, and some parts are way too subjective. Who's measuring "clutchness"? Dilfer? Jaworski? Get out of here. That's not a stat, it's an opinion, and that makes it just as worthless as any other opinion, regardless of how they try to dress it up.

If anything, we should be trying to get rid of the passer rating stat we have now, not trying to make a new one.

Why do we need a rating to tell us if a QB is good or not? We don't have RB and WR ratings. We just know that if a guy is catching 100 balls for 1,400 yards and 12 TD, he's pretty good...and if he's running for 1,500 and catching another 500, he's pretty good.

Can't we do the same with QB? Just say that a guy who goes over 4k with 30 TD is pretty good? Why do we have to have some ridiculous improperly-weighted formula that results in weird numbers like 158.3, and then use that rating in debates and pretend it's some kind of end-all be-all on how good a QB is?

Get rid of both of them.

[SteelFaninBMore]

And lest anyone actually need proof that this ESPN rating is just as bad as the existing passer rating:

Vince Young's 2009 season (69.2 QBR) is ranked as better than Kurt Warner's 2008 season (66.5).

Vince Young 2009 started 10 games, threw for 1,879 yards with a 58.7% completion rate, a whopping 10 TD and 7 INT. He had another 281 yds and 2 TD rushing. He was managing the offense behind Chris Johnson, who ran for 2,000 yards that year.

Kurt Warner 2008 threw for 4,583 yards, 30 TD and 14 INT, with a 67.1% completion rate. He played on a team that had the WORST rushing offense in the league, a below average defense (19th), and put the team on his back, carried them to a Super Bowl, and was in a position to win it with 2 minutes left, before the Roethlisberger drive.

So why is Young's season better? I'd ask someone to explain it, but no one can because no one has any idea what the fuck ESPN is doing to formulate these ratings. And that makes them absolutely worthless.