Topic: Passing yards per attempt

[banker]

Made a post in the winning is all that matters thread and started wondering if my mind was remembering correctly, so I checked the stats.  Below is a list of multiple year starting QBs and their average yards per attempt for their career.

Litton - 6.86
Cato - 7.43
Anderson - 6.39
Morris - 6.75
Leftwich - 8.24
Pennington 8.51

To me, the number to strive for to have offensive effiency is 8.0 yards per attempt.  if you break down seasons and lump them by YPA ranges, you get this for W/L records

8.0 + YPA - 58-8, 5 seasons, 5 championships
7.00 - 7.99 YPA - 46-41, 7 seasons, 1 championship
6.99 - - 53-48, 9 seasons, 0 championships

The point to all this is that to average 8 yards per attempt you have to do one of two things, throw the ball downfield or complete a remarkably high percentage of your passes.  Pennington did both, Leftwich threw the ball downfield, and Cato had great short and intermediate accuracy.  Cato was at 8.65 his senior year, he threw for less yards, but was much more efficient. That compares favorable to Leftwich' senior year at 8.69 (jr year 8.79 for Lefty), but not quite other worldly Pennington at 9.5 his senior year.

In order for Litton to get to 8 YPA, in our offense, he needs to complete right at 70%. That's why our offense is not working efficiently.

[herdgameplan]

Get this to Doc and Legg!!!

[MicDrass1]

Made a post in the winning is all that matters thread and started wondering if my mind was remembering correctly, so I checked the stats.  Below is a list of multiple year starting QBs and their average yards per attempt for their career.

Litton - 6.86
Cato - 7.43
Anderson - 6.39
Morris - 6.75
Leftwich - 8.24


Pennington 8.51

To me, the number to strive for to have offensive effiency is 8.0 yards per attempt.  if you break down seasons and lump them by YPA ranges, you get this for W/L records

8.0 + YPA - 58-8, 5 seasons, 5 championships
7.00 - 7.99 YPA - 46-41, 7 seasons, 1 championship
6.99 - - 53-48, 9 seasons, 0 championships

The point to all this is that to average 8 yards per attempt you have to do one of two things, throw the ball downfield or complete a remarkably high percentage of your passes.  Pennington did both, Leftwich threw the ball downfield, and Cato had great short and intermediate accuracy.  Cato was at 8.65 his senior year, he threw for less yards, but was much more efficient. That compares favorable to Leftwich' senior year at 8.69 (jr year 8.79 for Lefty), but not quite other worldly Pennington at 9.5 his senior year.

In order for Litton to get to 8 YPA, in our offense, he needs to complete right at 70%. That's why our offense is not working efficiently.

Great post.  Really awesome stuff. 

Dink and dunk doesn't work unless you are in position for Yac and high completion percentage. 

[Apollo]

We can't get yac bc we try to run bubble screens without any bubble.

[The E-Man]

Banker, I'm anointing you as the Herd's official statistician!:)

[The E-Man]

We can't get yac bc we try to run bubble screens without any bubble.

Yeah, our bubble has busted in the seams, LOL, :)

[Herdalum83]

Made a post in the winning is all that matters thread and started wondering if my mind was remembering correctly, so I checked the stats.  Below is a list of multiple year starting QBs and their average yards per attempt for their career.

Litton - 6.86
Cato - 7.43
Anderson - 6.39
Morris - 6.75
Leftwich - 8.24
Pennington 8.51

To me, the number to strive for to have offensive effiency is 8.0 yards per attempt.  if you break down seasons and lump them by YPA ranges, you get this for W/L records

8.0 + YPA - 58-8, 5 seasons, 5 championships
7.00 - 7.99 YPA - 46-41, 7 seasons, 1 championship
6.99 - - 53-48, 9 seasons, 0 championships

The point to all this is that to average 8 yards per attempt you have to do one of two things, throw the ball downfield or complete a remarkably high percentage of your passes.  Pennington did both, Leftwich threw the ball downfield, and Cato had great short and intermediate accuracy.  Cato was at 8.65 his senior year, he threw for less yards, but was much more efficient. That compares favorable to Leftwich' senior year at 8.69 (jr year 8.79 for Lefty), but not quite other worldly Pennington at 9.5 his senior year.

In order for Litton to get to 8 YPA, in our offense, he needs to complete right at 70%. That's why our offense is not working efficiently.

This is fantastic information and the kind of stats within the stats that I love.. Great post!!

[biggreenarms]

Great stuff, I predict your stats will show up in a sports column. Just a hunch.

[MUonium]

good job.  interesting stat, i wouldn't have necessarily thought it would correlate to win-loss record.  now, i'm curious as to which downs saw the most pass plays and furthermore, what was the average to-go yardage.   

anyway, i think we have some speed at WR and that hopefully, we'll get better with technique and coaching routes--but opponents corners/secondaries will also get better.
a little surprising, Litton's had decent pass protection for the most part...but someone who watches replays might look at how long that protection is good before breaking down. 
they're holding their own on pass designed plays but why is the OL not getting enough push on run designed plays...inexperience, technique, size, level of athleticism??

people get a little tired of the sideline shorts, but i watched Temple throw the first intermediate over the middle last night and it got picked...but USF is pretty good

[elginherd]

Good job Banker...

YPA has been used in the NFL for years as a truer measure of passing efficiency, comparable to slugging percentage in baseball.

[QuickStrike]

Made a post in the winning is all that matters thread and started wondering if my mind was remembering correctly, so I checked the stats.  Below is a list of multiple year starting QBs and their average yards per attempt for their career.

Litton - 6.86
Cato - 7.43
Anderson - 6.39
Morris - 6.75
Leftwich - 8.24
Pennington 8.51

To me, the number to strive for to have offensive effiency is 8.0 yards per attempt.  if you break down seasons and lump them by YPA ranges, you get this for W/L records

8.0 + YPA - 58-8, 5 seasons, 5 championships
7.00 - 7.99 YPA - 46-41, 7 seasons, 1 championship
6.99 - - 53-48, 9 seasons, 0 championships

The point to all this is that to average 8 yards per attempt you have to do one of two things, throw the ball downfield or complete a remarkably high percentage of your passes.  Pennington did both, Leftwich threw the ball downfield, and Cato had great short and intermediate accuracy.  Cato was at 8.65 his senior year, he threw for less yards, but was much more efficient. That compares favorable to Leftwich' senior year at 8.69 (jr year 8.79 for Lefty), but not quite other worldly Pennington at 9.5 his senior year.

In order for Litton to get to 8 YPA, in our offense, he needs to complete right at 70%. That's why our offense is not working efficiently.

Great post.  Makes so much sense.  Hopefully, a light goes off in Legg's head.

[banker]

Just to add one more layer.  If the only stat I give you is YPA and you ignore defense, special teams, running game, everything else, I can pretty much tell you what your record looks like.  There will be a few exceptions, such as UMass, which has a 8+ YPA and a 0-4 record, but it is the best single indicator outside of maybe points allowed per game.

Here are the season results so far:

There are 11 teams that have a YPA of 10 yards plus currently. Those teams are a combined 29-2, 9 of the 11 are undefeated.

There are currently 10 teams that have a YPA between 9.0 and 9.99.  Those teams are a combined 21-8.

There are currently 20 teams that have a YPA of 8.0 to 8.99.  Those teams are a combined 40-19.

So if you add those up, teams with a YPA of 8 or greater are a combined 90-29. A winning percentage of 76%.

[sleeinwv]

How much would those averages drop if you got rid of the YAC numbers.   

[HERDFAN1999]

Great post.  Makes so much sense.  Hopefully, a light goes off in Legg's head.

I don't that will happen. A leopard can't change its spots.  He and Doc are as stubborn as they come. 

[clovenhoof]

Get this to Doc and Legg!!!

Wouldn't matter.

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