Just for fun, I went back and looked at quarterback performance throughout NFL history. I was interested in identifying periods of quarterback dominance.
So I created a measure of quaterback performance that is in equal part based on effectiveness (yards/attempt, completion %, interception %), and pure production (passing yards, total touchdowns, and starts). Starts is because some statistics get scarce as we go backwards through time.
My measure ranks quarterbacks in each category, but it also accounts for their performance relative to other quarterbacks in the league. So for example, if a quarterback has a slightly higher interception percentage than the league average, but throws for far more yards, that quarterback will get a higher score.
I'll present a table to you of the top ten quarterbacks in the league in 2018, and I'll add to it by year as the offseason drags on. I'm hoping that it'll create some discussion.
So without further ado, here are the top ten rankings for 2018. It'll get more interesting as I add more years. [Reply]
What is notable here is that not a single quarterback was in the top 5 both years, and only six quarterbacks make the top ten both years. None of those six was in the top three in either year, which tells us that, based on our initial data, the truly outstanding years may be outliers.
Also, only one team had a top three quarterback both years, and you'll never guess which team.
Let's add 2016 now. At this point I'll start highlighting patterns whenever I find them interesting.
What we see here is that three quarterbacks have made the top ten all year. Kirk Cousins, interestingly, is one of them, though he's usually toward the bottom of the list. Phillip Rivers is consistently productive, and Drew Brees has consistently been in the top six quarterbacks in the league over the past three years.
Aaron Rodgers likely would have been the fourth quarterback on this list, but he got sidelined by injury in 2017. And Luck is oddly on the list twice even though I thought he'd been injured for about five years prior to 2018.
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
Let's add 2016 now. At this point I'll start highlighting patterns whenever I find them interesting.
What we see here is that three quarterbacks have made the top ten all year. Kirk Cousins, interestingly, is one of them, though he's usually toward the bottom of the list. Phillip Rivers is consistently productive, and Drew Brees has consistently been in the top six quarterbacks in the league over the past three years.
Aaron Rodgers likely would have been the fourth quarterback on this list, but he got sidelined by injury in 2017. And Luck is oddly on the list twice even though I thought he'd been injured for about five years prior to 2018.
I did a few quick changes to make it an easy image to view for those that can't download things at work.