The History of Rule Changes That Affected Passer Ratings

[Statman]

I'm not sure this really means anything about the difference in eras or is more about the difference in team philosophies,
but it was fun and interesting to look up.

Griese's playoff stats for the Dolphins 3 straight Super Bowl appearances.

67 comp 113 att 979 yds 5 TDS

Brady last year's playoffs

93 comp 135 att 921 yds 10 TDS

Interesting.

Of course, not as interesting as the sight of Tom Brady going back to pass under the same rules and conditions as Griese in the mid 70's........including a season ending injury in their 5th game of the undefeated 1972 season.

Deacon Jones broke his leg and dislocated his ankle. That's what "in the grasp" looked like back then. In case any of the younger guys don't know, Deacon jones would be recognized as the all time sack leader in NFL history if they had kept count back then. Why didn't they? Partly because Deacon Jones had yet to introduce the phrase "quarterback sack", which he personally coined. Today, the season sack leader receives the Deacon Jones Award.

And Griese still came back in time for the playoffs where he served as the backup throwing a total of 16 passes in that postseason.

Back to my point, this is why the numbers are so different. The second reason is that Griese didn't play in all three Super Bowls, he played in two. But notice that he had less attempts and completions but still topped Brady in yards. He averaged almost 5 yards more per completion. He was actually throwing to receivers, while Brady dumped of to one of his entourage of RB's and TE's despite the fact that D-linemen weren't allowed to use his facemask to rake the field.

Ask Joe Theisman if rule changes influenced a quarterback's productivity.

Under these same conditions Roger Staubach was the highest rated passer in a season......four times.....as he led the Cowboys to four Super Bowls and six conference championship games. No QB in history has been the #1 rated passer more, only two others have tied.

I'm not as sure about Staubach. He's my all time favorite Cowboys player, but he didn't show the consistently uncanny accuracy that Aikman did ... and it is uncanny accuracy that makes QBs excellent today. Staubach had all of the intangibles and he played in an era when that stuff seriously mattered (leadership, creativity, intuition, etc.). Much of Staubach's greatness was due to his ability to control games. The NFL is much more of a coach's league now. Coaches have much more control ... and that diminishes the importance of Staubach's traits in today's game.



For all quarterbacks that threw at least a thousand passes during the 70's, Roger Staubach had the highest passer rating. Only three fellow Hall of Famers had a higher completion percentage, despite having the second highest yards per attempt. Stabler beat him by four hundredths of a yard.

If a quarterback has one of the highest completion rates combined with highest average yards per throw then he's not padding his stats with dumpoffs, he's airing it out with a high success rate.....meaning.....Roger Staubach had a cannon and he could thread the needle with the best of them while dodging guys with a license to maim.

You don't lead a military academy to a national championship game while winning the Heisman Trophy with intangibles.

 

[ravidubey]

You don't lead a military academy to a national championship game while winning the Heisman Trophy with intangibles.

You tell 'em, Statman.

Staubach was awesome. When the pas rush was fierce, he got fiercer and was one of the few players I've seen who could will others up to his level.

He controlled the game with his arm, his legs, and most importantly his head. He was Roger the Dodger for a reason, but he always looked to pass the football. He believed he could win, and made everyone else believe too. This is the man who invented "Hail Mary"... he's a fricking legend. I can only imagine how good he'd be today.

I've seen Troy Aikman in a do-or-die situation on 4th down with the season on the line... roll out straight out of bounds for a loss. The man for all his great intermediate accuracy, toughness, and strong arm had little football sense. He didn't quite get the two-minute drill, but fortunately he was ahead often enough where the best two minute drill was to run the clock out.

And unless he was absolutely in a zone, Aikman also had trouble throwing deep.

 

[bbgun]

I've seen Troy Aikman in a do-or-die situation on 4th down with the season on the line... roll out straight out of bounds for a loss. The man for all his great intermediate accuracy, toughness, and strong arm had little football sense. He didn't quite get the two-minute drill, but fortunately he was ahead often enough where the best two minute drill was to run the clock out.

And unless he was absolutely in a zone, Aikman also had trouble throwing deep.

Dbair is cutting your car brakes as we speak.

 

[Dodger12]

Dbair is cutting your car brakes as we speak.

BTW, who the hell invited him back?