Its one of the few “reality” shows I’ve ever enjoyed. Helps that is it just 2 relatively short seasons so it’s very binge-able. If you like football that helps, though it is also likely to challenge your feelings about the sport since it lays bare both the good and bad of college football.

I should have also mentioned earlier: lineman like Lang should fucking love PFF and systems like it. He’s a 4th round draft pick from Eastern Michigan. Outside of Packer fans or now Lions fans, no one would have ever heard of him or known how good he was. But because sites like PFF and FO grade him so well a lot…

Any idiot who pancakes the wrong player every play won’t be on the field for long. The idea that a guy could or would consistently get a high PFF grade while actually secretly hurting his team is pretty out there.

And you know this... how? How could YOU possible know if you aren’t part of the team with access to inside info?

His “beef” was also that he thinks only people who have played O-line could possible grade O-lineman (his exact words).

How do scouts do it then? How can an NFL team ever grade a prospect based on his college film if they don’t know the exact plays that were called?

These same dumb arguments seem to happen anytime so called “outsider” stats are mentioned in football. Its sad that the same “nerds vs REAL players” arguments that took place in baseball are now taking place in here. So as both a former football player and long time nerd, let me pointlessly lecture everyone for a…

That is certainly possible.

As is the case with any such measurement system. Doesn’t make the system worthless. There are “unintentional biases” in PFF, just as there are in OPS, ERA, BA, FG%, LSAT, MCAT, and pretty much anything else you use to measure uncertain performances. Does that mean you would pick the .250 hitter with .750 OPS over…

As is the case with any such measurement system. Doesn’t make the system worthless. There are “unintentional biases” in PFF, just as there are in OPS, ERA, BA, FG%, LSAT, MCAT, and pretty much anything else you use to measure uncertain performances. Does that mean you would pick the .250 hitter with .750 OPS over…

There’s a lot more to line grading than just sacks. Pressures, hits and hurries are also accounted for, and in total with sacks they’ll give you a pretty decent idea of how a lineman is playing over the course of a game or a season (or, alternatively, how well a pass rusher is playing).

Is it? On probably 90+% of plays, the assignments are pretty obvious. Who did they attempt to block? Did they win? Did they lose? Grade accordingly. Repeat that 100 times and you’ll get a pretty good idea of how well a blocker is doing.

I’m sure they would use whatever method they could to short change a player. I just doubt they would need to rely on that by itself. If anything it would make them look dumb and weaken their bargaining position if they couldn’t just say “our scouts graded you and we think you are worth X” (even if it was a lie) and…

But they grade individual players. If his grade drops, its most likely because his blocking has gotten worse and he is getting beaten more often. Given that Rodgers often holds the ball for a week at a time, a move to Detroit may actually help his grade since he may not have to block as long.

Except PFF isn’t “advanced metrics”. Its just the same film grading that every scout from Pop Warner to the NFL uses.

No, not a “stupid, inaccurate” system. A system with some degree of natural variance, as is the case with most such systems. Over a large enough sample size you can hone in on an accurate reading.

Except the O-line player wouldnt’ be graded down for it, the RB would.

That uncertainty does introduce some variance in the grades. However, over the course of a game, 90%+ of plays for any lineman are pretty obvious and easy to grade. The ball was snapped, you engaged with this rusher. Who won? Did you stonewall him, or did he push you into the QB’s lap?

Except in this case your employer already has other employees who do the exact same grading of you, as do all your other potential employees. They may use PFF as an external validity check against their own methods, but by no means are they going to come into your next contract negotations with “well, PFF says you…

Which is why the Patriots famously drafted Antonio Brown, right?