For those who are new here, you may not know about my general disdain towards Pro Football Focus. Cris Collinsworth’s analytics company has done more to confuse the sports world than just about anyone in the last 15 years. PFF and I have had our disagreements; most notably with Trey Flowers last season. However, it’s their 2019 QB rankings they’ve been updating that make me question their ability even more.
Now, being from New England, I tend to watch more than my fair share of Tom Brady. He’s been good this year, no doubt. The Patriots are 3-0 behind his 116.5 passer rating, 911 yards, 7 touchdowns, and no interceptions. However, they’ve also played three teams with a combined record of 0-9, and none of Brady’s stats (besides interceptions) rank in the top three so far. But, I get it. Having Brady at the top makes some sense. He hasn’t made any costly mistakes, and they keep winning. The real travesty comes later.
Patrick Mahomes being ranked as the SIXTH-best QB in the NFL through three weeks is insulting; not just to Mahomes but to us as well. The Chiefs have a 3-0 record. Their quarterback has thrown for 1,195 yards, 10 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 134.9 passer rating. Every single one of those statistics leads the league. On top of that, Kansas City has faced a tougher schedule, as their opponents have a combined 4-5 record. If these numbers were extrapolated to a full season, Mahomes will have thrown for a record 6,373 yards and the second-most touchdowns all-time (53).
How can you possibly say that Mahomes hasn’t been the best QB this far? He’s won and put up the stats.
PFF claims that his two fumbles and decision-making have brought him down this season. Mahomes is ranked 19th in their statistic for “negatively-graded throws,” which I guess would be because he’s taking a lot of deep shots and that extremely unnecessary no-look in Week 1.
This comes down to a couple factors. First, PFF has different people with different views and opinions grading games/players/plays. The graders are given a set of rules to follow to score the event, but one may see something different than another, resulting in a differing grade. So,Second, they take some strange factors into account, while disregarding the older statistics that have been around. This is common in baseball today with batting average not being used as a base metric for performance. Instead of watching the game and talking about yards, touchdowns, and wins, PFF is getting too deep into it. They’re more focused on their own definition of negative throws and big-time throw rate.
You may choose to listen to PFF, and that’s fine. Some of their statistics and date make sense. What I can’t stand behind, though, is this notion that Patrick Mahomes has been the SIXTH-best QB in the National Football League. I won’t do it.