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BY THE NUMBERS
By ALLEN ST. JOHN
The Receiving End
October 12, 2007
In today's NFL, catching the football is important, but it's only half the battle. Modern pro offenses, especially the so-called West Coast offense, often use the pass as a means to an end, a way to get the ball to a receiver or a running back in a position to tack on yards after the completion.
Sometimes it's a three-yard dump-off to a running back, essentially just a long handoff. Other times, it's hitting a wide receiver in stride. Either way, adding yards after a catch is key to moving the football.
To determine which quarterbacks are best at hitting their receivers in stride, we devised Yards-After-Catch Average. It begins with total Yards After Catch, a stat compiled by Stats Inc. That total is then divided by a passer's completions to get Yards After Catch Average (YACA).
GOOD RECEPTIONS
The hallmark of a modern passing attack is throwing high-percentage passes that allow receivers to add yardage after catches. The standout in that category this season has been Green Bay's Brett Favre, who's receivers have added an average of more than six yards to the end of every completion.
Player Team Yards after Catch Completions Yards After Catch Avg.
Brett Favre Green Bay 853 141 6.05
Jeff Garcia Tampa Bay 446 76 5.87
Donovan McNabb Philadelphia 454 79 5.75
Trent Green Miami 472 85 5.55
Jason Campbell Washington 361 67 5.39
Jon Kitna Detroit 603 114 5.29
Joey Harrington Atlanta 541 105 5.15
Derek Anderson Cleveland 426 83 5.13
Tony Romo Dallas 494 101 4.89
Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh 393 81 4.85
A look at the leaderboard illustrates the effectiveness of ball-control passing attacks this season. The passers from the NFL's most surprising teams, especially those in the NFC, are disproportionately represented.
At the top of the list: Green Bay Packers veteran Brett Favre, with a 6.05 YACA. While Green Bay's running game has been almost nonexistent, Mr. Favre's receivers have compensated by moving the ball downfield effectively, adding an average of more than half a first down to the end of every catch.
Not only does the future Hall of Famer lead the NFL in total passing yards (1,527), but 853 of those yards have come after catches, dwarfing the 603 after-catch yards gained by second-place Jon Kitna of the Detroit Lions. Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Tony Romo, who ranks second in the league with 1,508 total yards, has only 494 after-catch yards. Plus, more than 55% of Mr. Favre's passing yards have come after the catch, also best in the NFL. Give the lion's share of credit to Mr. Favre himself; only one of his receivers, Donald Driver, who has 182 after-catch yards, eighth best in the NFL, ranks in the league's top 20.
Next on the YACA list is Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who sports a 5.87 YACA. However, his total of 446 yards is in the middle of the pack, and only 48.7% of his yards have been racked up after the ball has been caught. Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles ranks third with a 5.75 YACA. Mr. McNabb has taken full advantage of versatile running back Brian Westbrook, whose 236 after-catch yards place him third in the NFL.
A sure-handed running back isn't necessarily a guarantee of YACA success. LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers is second in the NFL with 248 yards, but his quarterback, Philip Rivers, has only 418 yards total, and a 4.10 YACA. Miami running back Ronnie Brown leads the NFL with 287 after-catch yards, which boosted Trent Green to a fourth-place 5.55 YACA before a concussion he suffered in Sunday's game against the Houston Texas sidelined him for the time being. The top wide receiver in after-catch yards is Detroit's Roy Williams, whose 208 yards rank just ahead of Steve Smith's 205.
Steve McNair of the Baltimore Ravens poses an interesting study. His total of 476 after-catch yards is rather low, as is his 4.53 YACA. But with a 50.7% mark, he joins Mr. Favre and Mr. Kitna as the only passers to accrue more than half of their yards after the catch.
While YACA is an important yardstick, it's certainly not the only route to success in the NFL. Two of the league's top passers, Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, both have less than half as many after-catch yards as Mr. Favre (381 and 397, respectively) and their respective YACAs of 3.77 and 3.45 are surprisingly low. That said, these numbers are really a reflection of the big-play orientation of the Bengals' and Colts' offenses, rather than a knock on these two quarterbacks.
So as you watch Sunday's games, pay special attention to what happens between the time the receivers catch the ball and the referees spot it. The quarterbacks who find their receivers with running room often are the ones smiling for the camera after the game.
Write to Allen St. John at allen.stjohn@wsj.com
BY THE NUMBERS
By ALLEN ST. JOHN
The Receiving End
October 12, 2007
In today's NFL, catching the football is important, but it's only half the battle. Modern pro offenses, especially the so-called West Coast offense, often use the pass as a means to an end, a way to get the ball to a receiver or a running back in a position to tack on yards after the completion.
Sometimes it's a three-yard dump-off to a running back, essentially just a long handoff. Other times, it's hitting a wide receiver in stride. Either way, adding yards after a catch is key to moving the football.
To determine which quarterbacks are best at hitting their receivers in stride, we devised Yards-After-Catch Average. It begins with total Yards After Catch, a stat compiled by Stats Inc. That total is then divided by a passer's completions to get Yards After Catch Average (YACA).
GOOD RECEPTIONS
The hallmark of a modern passing attack is throwing high-percentage passes that allow receivers to add yardage after catches. The standout in that category this season has been Green Bay's Brett Favre, who's receivers have added an average of more than six yards to the end of every completion.
Player Team Yards after Catch Completions Yards After Catch Avg.
Brett Favre Green Bay 853 141 6.05
Jeff Garcia Tampa Bay 446 76 5.87
Donovan McNabb Philadelphia 454 79 5.75
Trent Green Miami 472 85 5.55
Jason Campbell Washington 361 67 5.39
Jon Kitna Detroit 603 114 5.29
Joey Harrington Atlanta 541 105 5.15
Derek Anderson Cleveland 426 83 5.13
Tony Romo Dallas 494 101 4.89
Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh 393 81 4.85
A look at the leaderboard illustrates the effectiveness of ball-control passing attacks this season. The passers from the NFL's most surprising teams, especially those in the NFC, are disproportionately represented.
At the top of the list: Green Bay Packers veteran Brett Favre, with a 6.05 YACA. While Green Bay's running game has been almost nonexistent, Mr. Favre's receivers have compensated by moving the ball downfield effectively, adding an average of more than half a first down to the end of every catch.
Not only does the future Hall of Famer lead the NFL in total passing yards (1,527), but 853 of those yards have come after catches, dwarfing the 603 after-catch yards gained by second-place Jon Kitna of the Detroit Lions. Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Tony Romo, who ranks second in the league with 1,508 total yards, has only 494 after-catch yards. Plus, more than 55% of Mr. Favre's passing yards have come after the catch, also best in the NFL. Give the lion's share of credit to Mr. Favre himself; only one of his receivers, Donald Driver, who has 182 after-catch yards, eighth best in the NFL, ranks in the league's top 20.
Next on the YACA list is Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who sports a 5.87 YACA. However, his total of 446 yards is in the middle of the pack, and only 48.7% of his yards have been racked up after the ball has been caught. Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles ranks third with a 5.75 YACA. Mr. McNabb has taken full advantage of versatile running back Brian Westbrook, whose 236 after-catch yards place him third in the NFL.
A sure-handed running back isn't necessarily a guarantee of YACA success. LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers is second in the NFL with 248 yards, but his quarterback, Philip Rivers, has only 418 yards total, and a 4.10 YACA. Miami running back Ronnie Brown leads the NFL with 287 after-catch yards, which boosted Trent Green to a fourth-place 5.55 YACA before a concussion he suffered in Sunday's game against the Houston Texas sidelined him for the time being. The top wide receiver in after-catch yards is Detroit's Roy Williams, whose 208 yards rank just ahead of Steve Smith's 205.
Steve McNair of the Baltimore Ravens poses an interesting study. His total of 476 after-catch yards is rather low, as is his 4.53 YACA. But with a 50.7% mark, he joins Mr. Favre and Mr. Kitna as the only passers to accrue more than half of their yards after the catch.
While YACA is an important yardstick, it's certainly not the only route to success in the NFL. Two of the league's top passers, Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, both have less than half as many after-catch yards as Mr. Favre (381 and 397, respectively) and their respective YACAs of 3.77 and 3.45 are surprisingly low. That said, these numbers are really a reflection of the big-play orientation of the Bengals' and Colts' offenses, rather than a knock on these two quarterbacks.
So as you watch Sunday's games, pay special attention to what happens between the time the receivers catch the ball and the referees spot it. The quarterbacks who find their receivers with running room often are the ones smiling for the camera after the game.
Write to Allen St. John at allen.stjohn@wsj.com
