ESPN's Quarterback Ratings are a joke

Headline: ESPN's Quarterback Ratings are a joke

Correct Headline: ESPN's a joke

This is no joke, it's just more evidence of the total absence of journalistic integrity at ESPN. They are so anxious to appease their Dark Lord Goodell that they are more than willing to bastardize their phony stats to make Brady look bad.

The unfortunate reality is that with the recent trend towards cord cutting, their survival depends upon retaining the right to air NFL games. It's really scary to think how powerful the NFL is right now. Goodell can get away with things that would destroy the careers of CEO's & politicians. He's walking proof of the old adage, "absolute power corrupts, absolutely".

Here are the season leaders



What kind of twisted math you need to do to make Ryan Fitzpatrick the 3rd best QB in the league?

Hoyer the 7th best? Over Brees, Rivers and others.

Cam at the bottom makes no sense either. He definitely hasn't been worse than Kaep, Stafford, Mallett or Peyton.

Let's see; let's compare the third and fourth ranked quarterbacks per this wonderful rating system.

Completion Percentage: ... QB3 61.9% (24th) ... QB4 66.2% (11th)
Passing Yards per Attempt: QB3 7.06 (21st) ... QB4 8.62 (3rd)
Touchdown Passes:............ QB3 11 (14th) ....... QB4 15 (5th)
Interceptions: .................... QB3 seven (10th).. QB4 4 (22nd)
Wins vs Losses ................... QB3 (4-3) ............. QB 4 (7-0)

Looks like "QB4" is a better quarterback than "QB3" by a landslide, right?

Yet per bspn's "QBR", QB3 (who plays for the Jets, btw) is the better quarterback.



Full of Fail.

I don't get all the uproar...I'd certainly take Blaine Gabbert over Brady...BUT...only if Johnny Manziel is unavailable

Is it possible this is "best facial hair" list? AR and TB got some good scruff going. Fitz with the Santa look. Dalton has the cool goatee.

Just spit-balling here.

"I crunched the numbers and...yes...it's very clear...Tom Brady is 33rd best QB in the league with Colin Kaepernik and Tyrod Taylor tied for first..."

sportnik said:

This is no joke, it's just more evidence of the total absence of journalistic integrity at ESPN. They are so anxious to appease their Dark Lord Goodell that they are more than willing to bastardize their phony stats to make Brady look bad.

The unfortunate reality is that with the recent trend towards cord cutting, their survival depends upon retaining the right to air NFL games. It's really scary to think how powerful the NFL is right now. Goodell can get away with things that would destroy the careers of CEO's & politicians. He's walking proof of the old adage, "absolute power corrupts, absolutely".

Click to expand...

Eh. I don't think there's a particular anti-Brady agenda driving this. For one thing, this goes back a few years, for another Brady isn't the only great QB their ratings make look pedestrian. Drew Brees had the 8th best performance in the league this week by throwing for 500+ yard and 7TDs, He was only two spots ahead of Geno ****ing Smith.

rochrist said:

Eh. I don't think there's a particular anti-Brady agenda driving this. For one thing, this goes back a few years, for another Brady isn't the only great QB their ratings make look pedestrian. Drew Brees had the 8th best performance in the league this week by throwing for 500+ yard and 7TDs, He was only two spots ahead of Geno ****ing Smith.

Click to expand...

There may be some bias involved however. ESPN refuses to divulge precisely how they calculate QBR, but it is not an entirely objective statistic. People are watching the games and determining various things subjectively, such as if the WR is to blame for a dropped pass of whatnot.

To be honest I can understand the rating. Its similar to my wifes " My husband is an ass" rating system.

I wake up one day and do some stuff and get complimented.

I wake up another day and do the same stuff and get my ass chewed.

I get it.

sportnik said:

This is no joke, it's just more evidence of the total absence of journalistic integrity at ESPN. They are so anxious to appease their Dark Lord Goodell that they are more than willing to bastardize their phony stats to make Brady look bad.

The unfortunate reality is that with the recent trend towards cord cutting, their survival depends upon retaining the right to air NFL games. It's really scary to think how powerful the NFL is right now. Goodell can get away with things that would destroy the careers of CEO's & politicians. He's walking proof of the old adage, "absolute power corrupts, absolutely".

Click to expand...

ESPN is entertainment, nothing more. It's futile to be concerned with its lack of journalism or integrity. ESPN is nothing more than Keeping Up With The Kardashians with a football being tossed around in the background instead of Kim putting make up on with a high pressure sprayer. They are WWE wrestling without the Avalanche move creating that big mat slamming sound. When ESPN isn't broadcasting a sporting event or putting on a show that speaks specifically about the stats/workings of the game, ESPN is in business to make you feel the same things you feel when you go into a haunted house at Disneyworld, or get a bird's eye glimpse of the accident scene, or get that unintended glimpse of titillating behavior that goes on behind closed doors.

Most fans just don't seem to realize how powerful the NFL is. A thumbs down from Goodell/the NFL would be a major blow to ESPN. You think ESPN isn't going to think loooong and hard about going negative on the NFL? That they won't carry the water of whatever theme the NFL wants to push (polishing Goodell's apple)? Consider:

Disney losing the NFL is likely to result in losing billions in stock value and plummeting gross revenue at it's most valuable division, ESPN (along with lots of layoffs). That's not a sports fan's hot air, that is fact. And it means a man like Roger Goodell carries immense power. So do you think Disney's ESPN division and Disney's news division will avoid stories that jeopardize the NFL - Disney relationship if possible??. They don't care one iota if Brady is being railroaded. They have concerns that make that kind of story irrelevant. And that is case with, though not quite as acute as Disney, of Universal, Comcast, TimeWarner, FOX corp, Universal-NBC and a whole bunch of others who below the surface have a massive reach into all corners.

Just is what it is....only cutting the cord can really strike at the heart of ESPN-Goodell.

rochrist said:

Eh. I don't think there's a particular anti-Brady agenda driving this. For one thing, this goes back a few years, for another Brady isn't the only great QB their ratings make look pedestrian. Drew Brees had the 8th best performance in the league this week by throwing for 500+ yard and 7TDs, He was only two spots ahead of Geno ****ing Smith.

Click to expand...

I totally agree. That borders on silly. Like you I don't think there is an anti-Brady agenda fueling it. Just another stat that destroys ESPN's credibility, but really disappointed in how sports stats are being used in the wrong way to diminish the great QB’s. Bradys play should clearly have him at 1-2, but they cant figure out leadership and good play is stats.

Why, I don't know; it's their job, and most clearly suck at it.

Just like a QB passing to a WR right in his arms and they hit it into the air for the defenders to catch easy, is not an int or pick 6, but it goes on the QB's record. Silly.

As to Brees, he is pretty used to it. According to the NFL he's a midget with a weak arm, and they minimize him any chance they get. I've always thought the NFL doesn't know what to make of Brees. They always seem shocked when he plays well, because hes not a 6ft 4 physically gifted prototype. Really don't think Brees will get much love till he retires, except from true fans. Who know hes pretty damn good.

But he's taught me one thing by watching him play all these years, and I think it is his true testament.

If you really work hard, very hard, and are not gifted, but bust your ass, you can be a normal guy and make it in the NFL as a decent QB.

…and that I have no sympathy for the Cam’s, Cutlers, Kaepernick’s, Luck’s or, RG3’s that were handed the gift from birth and cant get off their lazy asses to work harder to be the best.
Brady has done everything right

EDIT: Disney losing the NFL is likely to result in losing billions in stock value and plummeting gross revenue at it's most valuable division, ESPN (along with lots of layoffs). That's not a sports fan's hot air, that is fact. And it means a man like Roger Goodell carries immense power. So do you think Disney's ESPN division and Disney's news division will avoid stories that jeopardize the NFL - Disney relationship if possible??. They don't care one iota if Brady(or the Saints) is being railroaded. They have concerns that make that kind of story irrelevant. And that is case with, though not quite as acute as Disney, of Universal, Comcast, TimeWarner, FOX corp, Universal-NBC and a whole bunch of others who below the surface have a massive reach into all corners.

Sorry for that oversight Pherein. I fixed it...

TheBostonStraggler said:

EDIT: Disney losing the NFL is likely to result in losing billions in stock value and plummeting gross revenue at it's most valuable division, ESPN (along with lots of layoffs). That's not a sports fan's hot air, that is fact. And it means a man like Roger Goodell carries immense power. So do you think Disney's ESPN division and Disney's news division will avoid stories that jeopardize the NFL - Disney relationship if possible??. They don't care one iota if Brady(or the Saints) is being railroaded. They have concerns that make that kind of story irrelevant. And that is case with, though not quite as acute as Disney, of Universal, Comcast, TimeWarner, FOX corp, Universal-NBC and a whole bunch of others who below the surface have a massive reach into all corners.

Sorry for that oversight Pherein. I fixed it...

Click to expand...

lol thanks

pherein said:

lol thanks

Click to expand...

Being I'm a Patriots fan I'm sure you are not surprised I would be Patriot-centric in my thinking. So I simply assume what Goodell did to the Patriots was the worst ever. But the thing is when the hammer comes down in your own house it brings along a big wake up. Then I find out what Goodell really did to the Saints and I see it was unprecedented.
In effect he took away BB for the year, one or two assistants?, I think several players for a period, and he created the kind of rift that would be so encompassing that getting by it would be a mt Everest size hurdle. So despite the many legs Goodell has or tried to chop down from the Patriots, and in some ways it certainly is unprecedented, what happened to your boys was singular in its reach.

Hopefully Karma will eventually right some of the wrongs....

Makes sense. Tom Brady is a system QB. The system threw all those TDs, not Tom Brady.

pherein said:

I totally agree. That borders on silly. Like you I don't think theirs a anti Brady fueling it. Just another stat that destroys ESPN's credibility, but really disappointed in how sports stats are being used in the wrong way to diminish the great QB’s. Bradys play should clearly have him at 1-2, but they cant figure out leadership and good play is stats.
Why I don't know, its their job, and most clearly suck at it.
Just like a QB passing to a WR right in his arms and they hit it into the air for the defenders to catch easy, is not an int or pick 6, but it goes on the QB's record. silly

As to Brees, he is pretty used to it. According to the NFL he's a midget with a weak arm, and they minimize him any chance they get. Ive always thought the NFL doesn't know what to make of Brees. They always seem shocked when he plays well, because hes not a 6ft 4 physically gifted prototype. Really don't think Brees will get much love till he retires, except from true fans. Who know hes pretty damn good.
But hes taught me one thing by watching him play all these years, and I think its his true testament.

If you really work hard, very hard, and are not gifted, but bust your ass, you can be a normal guy and make it in the NFL as a decent QB.

…and that I have no sympathy for the Cam’s, Cutlers, kaepernick’s, Luck’s or, RG3’s that were handed the gift from birth and cant get off their lazy asses to work harder to be the best.
Brady has done everything right

Click to expand...

I'm not much of an ESPN watcher or stat follower. Turned off ESPN years ago except to watch NFL games and the occasional non football sporting event. I also come on this board -- that's about it. Stats I look up usually are in connection with a box score or for a thread on this board. I care very little about this QBR (and I'd bet the mortgage payment Brady does not care either). But even being ignorant of the stats I am surprised to hear Brees would be considered anything but a top level QB. The mark I usually look at for a QB: Does his team usually win? Is his team usually competing for playoffs, in the playoffs, or the SB? IMHO not much matters beyond that. Maybe the one stat that hits to the heart of QBing is TD total and the Int ratio. I'm guessing Brees is very good on that stat.

Take away Goodell's BS year and the Saints, to the best of my recollection, are almost always 10 wins or above and always in the conversation for the NFC championship. Certainly no patently losing seasons I believe. A team that hits that mark almost every year doesn't do it unless they have a top level QB. There's a reason why the Pats, Denver formally Indy, Pitt, GB etc are almost always in the think of it. The basic building block for a successful franchise is a QB who can get his job done well and consistently (and a HC -- though a not so great HC can get by if they have a top level QB, a good GM above him, some good assistants below him). Can't see why Brees isn't included in that small circle given the Saints are most often in the thick of it.

There were legitimate complaints about passer rating. One was that it didn't count rushing yards or TDs by a QB (it is however called PASSER rating). It also couldn't distinguish if a QB that went 25-35 led a comeback at the end or threw 10 straight incompletions in the fourth to lose.

How they managed to take that criticism and screw it up so bad I don't know. Sometimes adding more variable doesn't tell you more.

Anything ESPN is a joke

This seems to be more of a marketing tool to make the fans of the pyss poor franchises feel better about their organizations.. i.e. Chicago, Jets, Tampa and Oakland all have their kumbaya moment..

"You can fool most of the people some of time and some of the people all of the time".. I said that