Statistical footnotes about running game

[Gent]

I've been sifting through the official play-by-play log of our first game and I've come across some stats that might be of minor interest to those who like numbers.

Some may remember that last year we were not good running to the right. We liked running left behind Allen and Flozell, and when we did not, we did poorly. (I don't have the numbers at hand, so somebody post them if I'm not correct about this.) Many blamed this discrepancy on the performance of Tucker and Gurode, so I thought it interesting to see if Rivera and Petitti are doing any better.

Using the play-by-play log I divided Julius's carries into RIGHT (right end & tackle), MIDDLE (right guard, middle, left guard), and LEFT (left tackle & end), and got the following numbers:

LEFT: 9 carries, 28 yards, 3.1 average
MIDDLE: 11 carries, 40 yards, 3.6 average
RIGHT: 7 carries, 27 yards, 3.9 average

So it seems we are not shying away from the right any more. We actually did slightly better in that direction that the others. It's also somewhat interesting that Anthony Thomas had one run in each of the three directions. Payton is definitely avoiding getting predictable with his run plays.

On this flip side, LaDainian Tomlinson numbers were

LEFT: 10 carries, 50 yards, 5.0 average
MIDDLE: 5 carries, 9 yards, 1.8 average
RIGHT: 4 carries, 13 yards, 3.3 average

San Diego found a soft spot in our run D and exploited it. That 5 yard average to the LEFT is solid, and not skewed by outliers. It may be that the Charges are simply really good on that side, but I suspect it is something to do with our personnel. Whatever it is, the Commanders have surely noticed it. So expect to see a lot of Portis running to the left come Monday night.

-Gent

 

[Nors]

I blew that up last year - we sucked running to the right last year.
Some resisted but gave way as facts reigned in. Rivera and Petitti are PURE upgrades.

I did a quck look at the stats after week 1 and it pointed that we were average running every side. But agreed thats an upgrade to last years right side.

I feel much better having Rivera, Petiit than Gurodabust and Tucker starting.

 

[Future]

MIDDLE: 5 carries, 9 yards, 1.8 average

Thats the best stat from all of that IMO. Guess Ferguson is doing his job and Dat held up well in the middle.

 

[Crown Royal]

On this flip side, LaDainian Tomlinson numbers were

LEFT: 10 carries, 50 yards, 5.0 average

Yeah - during that first quarter, someone decided (>cough< Marty >cough<) to pick on our rookie. Ware kept getting sucked in and LT would just bounce back out.

 

[AdamJT13]

STATS Inc. divides it up a different way. Here's what they have for Julius --

................ATT .. YDS .. AVG .. LONG

Left Sideline... 2 ... 17 ... 8.5 ... 12
Left Side...... 7 .... 12 ... 1.7 .... 9
Middle.......... 7 .... 37 ... 5.3 ... 13
Right Side..... 6 .... 7 .... 1.2 .... 4
Right Sideline.. 4 ... 20 ... 5.0 ... 12


And for Tomlinson --

................ATT .. YDS .. AVG .. LONG

Left Sideline... 5 ... 21 ... 4.2 ... 7
Left Side...... 6 .... 33 ... 5.5 ... 10
Middle.......... 4 ..... 5 ... 1.3 .... 4
Right Side..... 2 .... 5 .... 2.5 .... 5
Right Sideline.. 2 ... 8 ... 4.0 .... 7

 

[Ken]

Thats the best stat from all of that IMO. Guess Ferguson is doing his job and Dat held up well in the middle.

Looking at the film, he really did do a hell of a job.

He was consistently pushing the center or guard 2 yards into the backfield. Pushed both of them on several occasions. Also had some pressure up the middle of Brees. It was a big difference from when Glover played the nose. Seeme like Glover was fighting to maintain ground while Ferguson just overpowered them.

He is a great pick up.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

LT "LEFT: 10 carries, 50 yards, 5.0 average"

Ware's direction, don't worry, boy will get it down soon enough and learn not to overpursue inside too much

 

[bobtheflob]

I wonder what those stats look like after the 1st quarter. Ware seemed to calm down a bit and not get trapped as much as the game went on, the 1st was really the only time they seemed to be able to rush consistantly.

 

[burmafrd]

It would be much more informative if we could see how many run plays Glover was there vs Ferguson. But clearly both plugged the middle quite well. Glover played much more then Ferguson did.