Draftsharks Blog

Lesser-known League Leaders

by Jared Smola

Check out the league leaders in some of the more "obscure" statistics. A few interesting names on the list (Ike Hilliard?!?).

Times sacked: Patriots QB Matt Cassel (47)

Red zone interceptions: Broncos QB Jay Cutler (4)

40+ yard runs: Texans RB Steve Slaton and Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams (5)

Percent of passes caught (WRs): Buccaneers WR Ike Hilliard (81%)

Kickoffs out of bounds: Cowboys K Nick Folk (5)

Passes defended: Bengals CB Leon Hall and Giants CB Corey Webster (27)

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posted @ Tuesday, January 06, 2009 10:49 AM | Feedback (1)

Running Efficiency

by Jared Smola

49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco posted some interesting stats on running efficiency from the Elias Sports Bureau. Each team's running plays are broken down by direction (left, right, and up the middle). From there, Elias breaks it down even further into plays off left end, left tackle, left guard, right guard, right tackle, and right end. Here are the best and worst teams (by yards per carry) at each spot:

Left end-  Best: Chiefs   Worst: Rams

Left tackle-  Best: Giants   Worst: Jets

Left guard-  Best: Giants   Worst: Cardinals

Up the middle-  Best:Giants   Worst: Cardinals

Right guard-  Best: Cowboys   Worst: Rams

Right tackle-  Best: Panthers   Worst: 49ers

Right end-  Best: Ravens   Worst: Colts

*** Some quick observations:

1. The Giants offensive line is a machine--especially that left side (LG Rich Seubert and LT David Diehl). In fact, they might be better than the Seahawks' much-renowned left side (LG Steve Hutchinson and LT Walter Jones) that paved the way for Shaun Alexander's 28-TD season back in 2005.

2. Cowboys RG Leonard Davis catches a lot of flack, but no team was more efficient running off right guard than Dallas.

3. Looking for a reason for Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams breakout season? Look no further than Panthers rookie RT Jeff Otah. He was a beast this year and should have received some consideration for Rookie of the Year.

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posted @ Monday, January 05, 2009 1:22 PM | Feedback (0)

Detroit always sniffs around the Heisman

by John Miller

I saw a piece at the Dallas Morning News about how many former Heisman winners have been picked by the Detroit Lions over the years. The Lions have selected a record 8 Heisman Trophy winners going back to 1942. They've also signed 4 other Heisman winners for a grand total of 12 winners in silver-and-blue. Then it got me thinking, how many Lions' picks won-or-almost-won the Heisman?  I checked back through the Heisman voting archives. There's 10 in just the last 23 years, and if they draft Sam Bradford it will be 11!

1986 QB Chuck Long / 2nd

1989 QB Rodney Peete / 2nd

1989 RB Barry Sanders / WON

1990 QB Andre Ware / WON

1991 WR Herman Moore / 6th

2002 QB Joey Harrington / 4th

2003 WR Charles Rogers / 10th

2005 WR Mike Williams / 8th

2007 WR Calvin Johnson / 10th

2008 RB Kevin Smith / 8th

2009 QB Sam Bradford (?) / WON 

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posted @ Monday, December 29, 2008 5:44 PM | Feedback (0)

DeAngelo & Jonathan: "Double Trouble"

by John Miller

DeAngelo Williams (1,636 total yards, 20 TDs) & Jonathan Stewart (883 total yards & 10 TDs) have been looking for a duo nickname after Titans RB LenDale White said they stole "Smash & Dash" from he and Chris Johnson. White called them "Identity & Theft" ... Well, the Panthers boys finally settled on a name (and designed a new website to announce it):  Double Trouble.

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posted @ Monday, December 29, 2008 2:37 PM | Feedback (0)

Draft Sharks Invitational Leagues FINAL

Lenny & Jared teamed up to win the Draft Sharks Invitational Leagues Title. Their team featured Jay Cutler, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Ronnie Brown, Andre Johnson, Wes Welker, Derrick Mason, and the Packers DEF/ST. They win a free seat at the 2009 WCOFF which they will be giving to DS customer Clayton Ward, who is currently stationed in Iraq. Clayton will be drafting for a shot at $300,000 in September!  Good luck buddy!

Also let's give a shout-out to Go Vikes, who had the 2nd-most points and was the highest scoring Draft Sharks customer in both leagues.

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posted @ Monday, December 29, 2008 2:02 PM | Feedback (0)

Quote of the Week

by John Miller

During the Jets/Seahawks game in week 16 CBS announcers Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker were discussing Mike Holmgren's legacy as he steps down in Seattle. Holmgren is one of 5 coaches to leads two different teams to a Super Bowl, along with Bill Parcells, Dick Vermeil, Don Shula, and Dan Reeves. He's been in the Super Bowl 3 times and won one in Green Bay. Holmgren has 8 career division titles and a .594 career winning percentage. "He's definitely one of the greatest coaches of all time," said Tasker.  "Yeah," said Johnson, "especially because he's one of the few coaches in NFL history to never get fired."

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posted @ Wednesday, December 24, 2008 3:55 PM | Feedback (0)

2009 Top 100 Free Agents

by John Miller

Click here for the Top 100 NFL Free Agents in 2009.

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posted @ Wednesday, December 24, 2008 1:40 PM | Feedback (0)

JUMbotron: Who are the most efficient RBs?

by John Miller

This is my favorite way to measure an RB's efficiency. How many 10-yard plays, rushing or receiving, has he generated per # of touches?  STATS Inc only records 10-yard runs so I go back and manually add in 10-yard catches by studying game logs.  Darren McFadden sneaks in there with a 10-yd play every 6.1 touches (!).

(Fresh legs obviously help, but production is production)

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posted @ Saturday, December 20, 2008 4:42 PM | Feedback (0)

JUMbotron: Keep digging deeper

by John U. Miller IV

I pulled more cool numbers off STATS Inc. thru Week 15. Some of them are surprising.

Passing Yards Lost to Penalties

1st Down Catches on 3rd Downs