The big difference between football and basketball (or baseball) is the short season. Each game is equal to roughly 5 NBA games or 10 MLB games (a little less since they went to the 17 game schedule).
Stats become less instructive as sample sizes go down. Also, NFL teams don’t just go out and try to run up the scoreboard every time out - they become more conservative when they get a lead, they throw more when they fall behind, etc. A QB’s job isn’t to thrown for 400 yards/4 TDs; rather, it’s to put his team in a position to win. Sometimes that means a bunch of flashy stats, and sometimes that means hanging on to the ball and not taking risks.
While DVOA is helping to smooth out some of the challenges of comparing players in different contexts, the bottom line in the NFL is wins and losses, especially at the QB position, and it’s not entirely unfair to frame a QB’s performance in those terms for the reasons I mentioned here (among others).
The big difference between football and basketball (or baseball) is the short season. Each game is equal to roughly 5 NBA games or 10 MLB games (a little less since they went to the 17 game schedule).
Stats become less instructive as sample sizes go down. Also, NFL teams don’t just go out and try to run up the scoreboard every time out - they become more conservative when they get a lead, they throw more when they fall behind, etc. A QB’s job isn’t to thrown for 400 yards/4 TDs; rather, it’s to put his team in a position to win. Sometimes that means a bunch of flashy stats, and sometimes that means hanging on to the ball and not taking risks.
While DVOA is helping to smooth out some of the challenges of comparing players in different contexts, the bottom line in the NFL is wins and losses, especially at the QB position, and it’s not entirely unfair to frame a QB’s performance in those terms for the reasons I mentioned here (among others).