Statistical oddities

If only statistics told the whole story, and I’m not getting detailed enough here to make a serious analysis, but here a few stats that seem kind of weird as we approach the midpoint of the season.

The Minnesota Vikings are 6-0 and the media darlings most likely to make it to the Super Bowl. The Packers on the other hand are generally perceived as not playing up to expectations and could be considered a disappointment  after five games because of their two losses. The Chicago Bears might also be disappointed in their 3-2 record. If you had to guess records based on stats alone you might think different.

Currently the Packers’ offense ranks 10th in the NFL, the Vikings are 13th and the Bears are 19th. Defensively the Packers are 8th, the Bears 13th and Vikings are 18th. Who is leading the division? The NFL has so many statistics and you can analyze them in so many ways that in this case the phrase “statistics don’t lie” can be thrown out. At least when at looking at won-loss records, as that is the only stat that counts.

When I look at these stats which show the Packers as the best offense and best defense in the NFC North Division I like to think it is a positive considering the way the season has played out. I mean it is not like the Packers are playing horrible football.

If the Packers continue to remain in the top ten on defense all season it will mean they are continuing to get better as the opposition gets stronger which will in turn lead to good things. Despite the problems on offense right now I think with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback the Packers will move the ball all season and will again rank in the top ten like they did last year when coming in sixth. Going into the season all we asked for really was a better defense, the problems on the offensive line came out of the blue for the most part but I think they can be fixed as the season progresses. It could be blind optimism but I’ve seen it before when an individual unit, be it the offensive line or defensive line or secondary, come together and even turn into a position of strength as the season wore on. It happened in Green Bay two years ago when Ryan Grant exploded for 900-some yards over the last seven games when the Packers couldn’t run a lick the first nine games.

I like to see the Packers ranked high in the stats and winning is the most important, but remember, if you are last in offense and defense you aren’t going to be winning many games. Moving the ball and stopping the opponent does help a little. My question to you is does the fact that the Vikings are not exactly statistical superstars against pretty much the same schedule the Packers have played give you any hope the Packers can catch the Vikings? It does me. At least a little bit. I think the Packers’ defense can get better, I think the Vikings are who they are. The Bears are the big unknown on both sides of the ball, but I get the feeling the Lovie Smith era in Chicago might be winding down. If you are going to have Jay Cutler at quarterback you can’t be a running offense. But that is another story.

It’s between the Packers and Vikings if you ask me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Oddball

    If Grant’s hands aren’t good enough for him to play the needed role in a West Coast offense, I think that’s a serious knock on the coaching stuff.

    Ok, we’re not all going to be Mr Stick-Um no matter how hard we practice, but an NFL running back with a couple years of experience behind him should be able to catch well enough to run an effective screen play and some basic short routes.

    On the Oline – maybe TT and MM are getting better as they go along in this regard. The first set of lineman, Klemm, Coston, Whittiker were awful. The next crop, Colledge, Spitz, Barbre are notably better. Perhaps there’s hope that Lang and Sitton will be solid once they get their time in.

    It’s just terrible watching our QB get beaten up like this – even acknowledging that he needs to do his part and get the ball out of there consistently. Patience may not be a virtue in this case.

  • Jordan Hayton

    Big Bro I see us winning at Arizona. I am still not a believer in that team… They are kind of the Bengals of the NFC they 9-7 one year and 2-14 the next. I do agree with you that we are likely to lose on Turkey Day though… smells like a trap game.

    I love it that in order to be considered a die-hard fan most people think you have to wear “rose-colored” glasses. I think that is complete and utter bullshit. Some of the most loyal fans I know see their team suck year after year and still unwaveringly cheer them on even if it is a lost cause (i.e. the Bears through the Shane Matthews years, the Lions through well since I can remember).

    One can be critical of a teams moves and still be a die-hard fan. I love the skill position talent we have right now, except for maybe running back. I think TT has done an admiral job in assembling the skill positions. Its the OL which someone must have been dreaming when they said TT is building an OL. The only reason he is having to rebuild on the fly like this is because he wasn’t prepared.

  • Matt Hayton

    LT-

    You can’t seriously think Barbre is the long-term answer at RT, can you? He’s had 5 games and has consistently been beaten. I liked him in camp for his nastiness, but it hasn’t translated. Tackle is one of the unique positions in the NFL, where you either can handle DE’s or you can’t. Rarely do you see a guy develop over time at the Tackle position, becasue it’s a skill position not technique, for the most part. Not to mention this guy has had 2 years to sit behind Tauscher and learn all the naunaces of the position. He isn’t the answer.

    The entire OL needs to be scrapped and reworked. None of those guys have been getting it done up front, they are ok, at best, which is probably Colledge. And, only Barbre and Sitton are first year starters. That OL has been our achilles heel ever since TT has been here. His pet projects haven’t worked and it’s time to move on, bring in a stud FA AND draft a couple high.

    They are the worst OL in the NFL and you are treating them, like they had one off game. No they have consistently been horrible this year! They weren’t good last year and they were the worst Line in football the 1st half of ’07, until Favre saved their asses by shredding defenses, in spite of them. Now he is gone and their true colors have been revealed.

  • Pete H

    I think that is what many’s biggest problem with the way things have been run. This line has been getting tinkered with, toyed with, and “needed time to gel” for 4 years! I understand what you’re saying LarryTex, but you just get tired of seeing the same penalties and even less effectiveness on a year to year basis. I don’t even mind having the mindset that you’ve got the guys for the future. Lets just also have a backup plan in case they suck in the now. Levi Jones would have been a prime example. Maybe he’s not they’re style of guy, but he’s made an NFL block before. I’ve yet to see Barbre do that

  • Pack4life

    Clifton & Tauscher were healthy in 07 Guards can be disguised better. Lets Go back to the Draft of 1988 Bill Parcells Drafted Eric Moore T Indiana 1st Round & Jumbo Elliot 2nd Round (Both were top 10 picks in their respective rounds) Parcells declared ” You Can never have too many Tackles” That team won a Superbowl in 2 years. Eli Manning barley gets touched and throws to rookie WR, I could go on. Point is the game is won in the trenches. TT hasnt made the Oline a priorty and no one can deny that.

  • Pete H

    See now, I think he’s made it a priority, but he’s done a poor job of it. I think he just way overestimated what he had and his ability to get the right guys…or maybe he way overestimated Campen’s ability to get them NFL ready. He really has put a lot of picks into the line and even ventured early on into the market. Its just been a mostly miss scenario. Maybe I should be putting more on Campen because the penalties the last two years makes me want to vomit.

  • Pete H

    Hayton, I could see Barbre being a tackle…ala Wahle. Remember when he started at tackle….whiff whiff whiff. He was a hell of a guard though. Maybe Barbre just needs to be inside. Unfortunately, we have about nine damn guards right now and zero tackles

  • Pack4life

    Baltimore’s Michael Oher, who had many question his intelligence has lined up at RT and LT and has been very good at both. The whole mindset of TT & MM needs to change with respect to Oline. THe whole quicker athletic lineman has been proven to be crap. See GIants vs NE superbowl. Spitz,Colledge and Sitton are the only lineman on the roster that would make another team. Maybe Wells but he isnt big enough.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Wow, Pack4, while technically correct, thats quite an example. WHAT THE HELL DID PARCELLS NEED WITH THAT TEAM?

    Yeah, I think I could draft around the Taylor, Banks, Carson, Cooks, and Johnson D too!

    Oh, yeah, the Phil Simms led O. A lot of holes! Otis Anderson, Carthon, etc.

    Point is he wasn’t starting from scratch and TT had to use a lot of top picks for skills. I still maintain that if ’07 hadn’t been such a bust at the top things would be a lot different now. It happens! This teams problems, overall, come down to Harrell and Jackson, along with the inconsistancy of Grant. Time will tell who is right.

  • Pack4life

    Larry you obviously dont remember they were a non playoff team in 88. The entire gameplan vs. in the Super Bowl the Bills of holding the ball 3 yds cloud of dust not to mention blocking Cornelius Bennett and Bruce Smith. The Bills almost moved the ball at will but they could never get on the field.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Are you a life long Giants fan too, Pack4? He had (14) picks that year and went O with only (4) others. Who else, other than Elliott and Eric Moore do you even remember from that draft? Those two are the only ones who made an impression out of (14). I’d call it a bust draft except for an OG and an OT who ended up starting.

    Are you trying to tell me that those (2) picks made them a SB winner? My gosh, Ard, Morris, Fields, Bavaro, Burt, Ingram, Oats, Kinard, Marshall; quite a team I’d say. Maybe they were not a playoff team in ’88 was because their new OG and OT were not experienced enough. Or maybe they just didn’t have the luck with them that year, because they sure put it together down stream, didn’t they (along with a future HOF coach).

  • http://Orlando Mark

    4life, anytime you have the slightest criticism of TT you’re going to be called disloyal by Larry, Rocky and Al. You can get away with saying TT had bad luck, the players didn’t perform(even though TT brought them in) or it’s all#4′s fault. You might get away with criticizing a coach but that also might reflect poorly on TT so you’ve got to tread lightly there.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    I don’t think the Chinese Maoists were that slavish in their devotion to their leadership. It always gives me a good laugh.

  • Matt Hayton

    PeteH-
    totally agree with you…Barbe might be able to make it instead, but we are definitely overstocked with average guards, at this point…

  • Matt Hayton

    wish we would have brought in Jones. I’d feel better about our prospects of making the playoffs with another vet, in case Cliffy, just can’t get past these injuries…

  • Matt Hayton

    Larry-

    this “starting from scratch” bit is getting really old. 5 years ago we had 2 pro-bowl caliber tackles, 2 pro-bowl DEs, a pro-bowl corner, a HOF QB, a pro-bowl WR…geesh, we still have 7 starters that are from that era–5 years later!

  • Matt Hayton

    Reid-

    yes I would agree we have some young talent, too…it’s just an odditity that the Lions do, as well, so I thought I’d point it out.

  • Sammy

    The liberals say you are un-American if you oppose health care or anything that the god Obama stands for. Let that not happen here. Packer fans can be angry with incompetent general managers/coaches, etc., But they are still hardcore Packer fans. Possibly, the more upset, the more diehard one is. Think about that guys.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Good one, Big Hayton, some team – they went 4-12 and we got stuck w/ Sherman down here in Aggieland. Thanks!

    Please, please, don’t bring up Wahle, Rivera, and Sharper; we know. A pro-bowl WR who also walked, or do you think we had the $$ to keep those three and Walker too?

    Damn, (7) pro-bowl caliber players and they go 4-12! Don’t you dare talk about injuries, thats not allowed anymore.

  • Pack4life

    Giants are an example of quality OLine play, and the last team to defeat the Pack in in the Playoffs thats all

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