How does 24.88 compare to other teams? If the average is 26.15 then the difference would seem insignificant.
But it isnt the 20 vs the 30. Since you have the Pats # and ranking, please post the other numbers, such as average to add some perspective.
Oh, sorry, meant to re-post a link along with my comments. Any time I make reference to per-drive stats, the information is from
this page at football outsiders. (Drive stats are unrelated to FO's bread and butter metrics like DVOA and DYAR.)
Time of possession is a function of BOTH offense and defense. In this case it is very arguable that the stat you are trying to prove as more significant (yards allowed) is the exact reason this fact is skewed.
If the Patriots allow fewer drives because they are on the field longer by allowing more yards and first downs, then you cannot say that their points allowed have less value, because the way they play defense is a big reason they face fewer drives.
Thats not to say that allowing more yards is a positive, but its pretty easy to see that if you do allow more yards each possession will take up more clock and you will face fewer possessions.
This negates your implication that the yards per game is even worse because it is the exact reason they have faced fewer possessions.
First off, I'm not really arguing on behalf of yardage stats so much as I am pointing out that both yard and point stats have other factors one needs to take into account, and that neither can be said to really tell a whole yet unadulterated story.
Now, regarding your supposition of a "clock control" defense...
I see what you're saying about allowing more yards per possession leading to fewer possessions, and thus making it redundant to say that the Pats' yards allowed/game looks worse for having faced fewer drives.
That said, I think you can still very much discount the value of the Pats' points/allowed per game because of the fewer drives faced. If your team's style of play results in fewer drives per game, than you would naturally expect both your team and its opponents to score fewer than average points. Essentially, by making opportunities to score points - for both sides - more scarce, you are inflating the value of each point scored.
This is why per-drive stats are much more illuminating than per-game stats. Per-game stats contain an unknown variable that per-drive stats allows you to adjust for.
But again, if my defense allows 8 drives that average 4 minutes a piece and allows 21 points and 350 yards and yours allows 10 drives that average 3.2 minutes and you allow 21 points and 300 yards, points per drive isnt really relevant. My defense allowed 50 more yards that didnt result in points and took up 6.4 minutes extra on those drives while you cut the drives shorter and faced more drives.
Surely there may be other implications, but your stats are certainly conflicting with each other.
You can't say if one style of defense leaves you on the field longer results in fewer drives and the same number of points it should be compare per drive to a defense that faces more drives but allows just as many points.
Again, this is actually an argument against per-game stats and for per-drive stats. Per-game stats are hard to compare with one another because they are influenced by both team's style of play. Per drive stats are a simple metric that measures how effective your team was, on average, at stopping opponents from scoring during their possessions.
It doesn't matter if there were a lot of drives or a little, since teams alternate possessions, what you're able to do (or keep your opponent from doing) in the drives allotted is what counts.
