Is 'QB Hits' a New Official Box Score Stat?

[maverick4]

Check out this recent Dolphins v Falcons box score. It counts how many 'QB hits' each defensive player had. Is this a new official stat, and what is the definition of it?

Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons - Box Score - September 13, 2009 - ESPN

 

[jmt57]

From what I have read in other threads 'hits' is something that espn tracks on their own, and is not an official stat. I have no idea what their definition of a hits is: whether it is as simple as getting a hand on the QB's uniform, at minimum knocking him to the ground, or something in between. Another question would be do sacks count as hits, or are sacks in addition to hits? And if you knock the QB down but there was a penalty on the play, does that mean the hit never took place?

 

[maverick4]

I would imagine any time a QB fell to the ground from contact, including a sack, would be a 'hit'.

I don't know if it's just ESPN doing this, but they are listing this as an official stat along with every other recorded statistic in their box scores.

Incidentally, they had an article recently, controversial here, about which QB's took the most hits the past 3 years.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...tom-brady-most-hit-qb-league-2006-2007-a.html

 

[jmt57]

When I go through the stats of some of those week one games, I can't help but feel skeptical about the accuracy of that 'hits' stat. I found one game in which the two teams combined to have 16 hits, and another game where the two teams combined to have zero hits on the QB.

I don't see the stat recorded elsewhere (nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, etc.) so I'm not too sure that I want to use these numbers to form an opinion about a team or player's performance.

 

[maverick4]

In that zero hit game, were there any sacks on QB? Which game is this?

 

[jmt57]

In that zero hit game, were there any sacks on QB? Which game is this?

Lions-Saints

No sacks, two not-so-good defenses, and a high scoring game.

So though it is certainly possible, it does seem odd that neither quarterback was hit over the course of the entire game.

 

[unoriginal]

Lions-Saints

No sacks, two not-so-good defenses, and a high scoring game.

So though it is certainly possible, it does seem odd that neither quarterback was hit over the course of the entire game.

Stafford was under pressure all game and was hit quite a bit.

So it doesn't look like they track this stat consistently.

 

[efin98]

Stafford was under pressure all game and was hit quite a bit.

So it doesn't look like they track this stat consistently.

Which is why this has been disproven as a reliable stat on this board before...no criteria, no background information, no consistent use across the league by statisticians.