Greatest QB of All Time: Consensus (2018)

GOAT, Quarterbacks April 13, 2018 Adam Steele Leave a comment

Last year I attempted to distill the public opinion of quarterback greatness into a mathematical formula, but I left out active players which made the ranking feel incomplete (ok, it was incomplete). In this post I’m going to update the list with a new formula and active QB’s included. I have two main purposes for this exercise: 1) To provide a baseline of the general consensus to measure other ranking systems against, and 2) I love to create rankings and look for any excuse to…

GridFe Hall of Fame Centers

Hall of Fame, Offensive Line April 10, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

Today’s GridFe Hall of Fame post focuses on arguably the most dangerous position in football, the center. The man in the middle: he touches the ball on every play, usually directs the line, protects against inside penetration, and serves as the pivot man in the run game. He also takes repetitive head shots on every down and doesn’t just put his body on the line; he literally puts his mind on the line for the team. We honor those men for their sacrifice on the…

GridFe Hall of Fame Offensive Guards

Hall of Fame, Offensive Line March 28, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

When it came to selecting guards for the GridFe Hall of Fame, voters tended to go with mauling run blockers who also happened to have the ability to protect quarterbacks. This makes sense, as for most of football history coaches have devoted more attention to power in the middle and finesse on the edges. However, it is clear that guards of the future will have to be able to prioritize mitigating interior pressure while also providing a push in the rushing attack. With the continuing…

GridFe Hall of Fame Offensive Tackles

Hall of Fame, Offensive Line March 20, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

The ability to protect the quarterback is paramount in the modern game, but it is a mistake to assume it wasn’t always important. While a Sandra Bullock voiceover may proclaim a sea change occurred in 1985, keeping legendary passers like Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr upright was just as important to the Colts and Packers title teams as clearing lanes for their versatile ball carriers. In reality, the infamous Joe Theismann injury only elevated the esteem and paycheck of the position. It seems the GridFe…

GridFe Hall of Fame Tight Ends

Hall of Fame, Tight Ends March 14, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

With just eight inductees, tight end is by far the most underrepresented fantasy position in the initial class of the GridFe Hall of Fame. Of those eight, one played primarily in the 1960s, two in the 80s, one in the 90s, four since the turn of the century, and none in the dead ball era of the 70s. It may reflect some recency bias in our committee that we could only agree upon one tight end who started his career prior to the Mel Blount…

GridFe Hall of Fame Wide Receivers

Hall of Fame, Receiving March 9, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

Wide receiver was possibly the most vexing position for GridFe Hall of Fame voters. With the explosion of the passing game, modern players boast numbers that tower over those of players even as recently as the 1990s. Context is key, and it seems we may have been particularly cautious when considering receiving credentials. The committee ended up electing only twelve men at the position. Given the number of receivers on the field at a given time, and given the importance of passing to winning games,…

GridFe Hall of Fame Running Backs

Hall of Fame, Running Backs March 7, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

When voting for the GrideFe Hall of Fame, it was important that we looked at players through the prism of their era and didn’t try to put modern restrictions on players operating in a different context than today’s. With rule changes and schematic shifts designed to increase the impact of the passing game, the role and impact of running backs has diminished in recent years. However, for much of NFL history, great backs have played pivotal roles on great offenses and championship teams. Whether they…

GridFe Hall of Fame Quarterbacks

Hall of Fame, Quarterbacks March 5, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

The aim of the GridFe Hall of Fame is to recognize the greatest and most important names in NFL history. When it comes to identifying greatness, some positions stand out more than others. The quarterback is the most important player in football and, arguably, the most important single position in major team sports. The value of the position is such that they are the only ones on the field who are assigned wins for their efforts. It should be no surprise, then, that of the…

GridFe Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame March 1, 2018 Bryan Frye Leave a comment

The Hall of Fame in any sport tends to be a source of controversy. The concept of a Hall of Fame means different things to different people, with their own unique biases and values. No set of beliefs is necessarily right or wrong, as they’re just opinions without prescriptive power. I have often lamented that the Pro Football Hall of Fame doesn’t match my personal vision. For most of my life, my grievances were met with puzzled looks from disinterested humanoids. However, thanks to the…

Why do NFL teams run so often? (no, seriously: why?)

Offense February 17, 2018 Ben Baldwin Leave a comment

Thanks to Yurko, Ventura, and Horowitz (2018), we now have reliable estimates for the expected points added (EPA) and win probability added (WPA) of every NFL play from 2009 through 2017. A consistent pattern that has emerged from this data is that on average, rushing lowers a team’s chance of scoring (as measured by EPA) and winning (as measured by WPA). And yet, on 1st and 10, NFL teams ran the ball 53 percent of the time in 2017. In order for rushing so frequently to…