2007 Scoreability Index

Cold, Hard Football Facts for Dec 30, 2007

(The Scoreability Index is a "Quality Stat" because it has a direct correlation to winning football games. Read more about this team-wide measure of scoring efficiency here.)

Remember, the Scoreability Index is a team-wide measurement, not just a measurement of offensive efficiency. It takes into account a variety of factors, such as the proficiency of defense and special teams, red zone defense and turnover differential.

The beauty of our Scoreability and Bendability Indices is that they take into consideration so many team-wide factors to give you an accurate look at how well, or how poorly, the various units of a team interact, and then boils all this information down into a single, easy-to-understand number. Other measures of offense, and offensive efficiency, look at the offensive unit in a vacuum. Out Quality Stats are not for the fantasy crowd. Instead, they give you insight into the many complex, interacting factors that go into team-wide success.

FINAL 2007 OVERVIEW

The final tally is in and the Patriots not only scored more points than any team in history (589). They also scored more efficiently than any team in football this year - or any team in any year since we introduced the Scoreability Index in 2004.

The Patriots needed a mere 11.17 Yards Per Point Scored on offense this year. That's the equivalent of a touchdown and extra point for every 78.2 yards of offense.

The previous best since 2004 was the 2006 Chargers,who needed 11.87 Yards Per Point Scored, or the equivalent of a touchdown and extra point for every of 83.1 yards of offense.

(We hope someday soon to have a historic database of our Quality Stats so that we can provide greater historical context of our data. We will be working on that project during the 2008 offseason).

As friends of the Cold, Hard Football Facts know, our Quality Stats have a direct correlation to winning football games. So, naturally, the top of the Scoreability rankings, as is the case with all our Quality Stats, are dominated by playoff teams. The top five teams on the list, and seven of the top eight, all reached the playoffs this year.

The lone interloper in the top eight is No. 6 Arizona. And that's great. After investing loads of money, draft picks and free agents on the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals have the No. 6 most efficient scoring machine in football this year ... and an 8-8 record ... and still two postseason wins in 88 years of NFL football.

Nice job, Arizona.

Ten of the 12 playoff teams rank in the top 13 in Scoreability. The least efficient scoring offenses among playoff teams belong to Washington (No. 19) and Tennessee (No. 20). Of course, these are the No. 6 seeds in their respective conferences and squeaked into the postseason in the last week of the regular season by beating teams (Dallas and Indy respectively) that had aleady clinched their playoff spots and did not field their full complement of competitors.

Enjoy your visit to the playoffs, Redskins and Titans. And, please, be sure to exit gracefully this weekend, as the Quality Stats dictate you will.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not pay homage to Herm Edwards, the Chiefs and the least efficient offense in football this year.

The Chiefs needed 19.60 Yards Per Point Scored, or 137.2 yards to score the equivalent of a TD and extra point. That's 59 yards more than the No. 1 Patriots needed to score seven points.

It's been quite a decline for the once-power Kansas City offense, a decline we boldly predicted the second the Chiefs hired Edwards to replace Dick Vermeil back in 2005. There was one transition year from 2005 to 2006 in which the Kansas City offense under Edwards declined only marginally. But this year it was a total free fall.

In 2004, under Vermeil, the Chiefs ranked No. 7 in Scoreability (13.86 YPPS)
In 2005, their last year under Vermeil, the Chiefs ranked No. 17 in Scoreability Index (15.36 YPPS)
In 2006, their first year under Edwards, the Chiefs ranked No. 17 in Scoreability (15.54 YPPS)
In 2007, their most recent year under Edwards, the Chiefs ranked No. 32 in Scoreability (19.6 YPPS)

Congratulations, Herm. And remember, when you play to win the game! it helps to put the ball in the end zone from time to time.

FINAL 2007 SCOREABILITY INDEX (playoff teams in italics)

	Team	Yards	Points	YPPS
1	New England	6580	589	11.17
2	San Diego	5044	412	12.24
3	Indianapolis	5739	450	12.75
4	Dallas	5851	455	12.86
5	Pittsburgh	5239	393	13.33
6	Arizona	5505	404	13.626
7	Green Bay	5931	435	13.634
8	Jacksonville	5719	411	13.91
9	Cleveland	5621	402	13.98
10	Chicago	4692	334	14.05
11	Houston	5337	379	14.08
12	Seattle	5583	393	14.206
13	NY Giants	5302	373	14.214
14	Cincinnati	5568	380	14.65
15	Minnesota	5379	365	14.74
16	Detroit	5166	346	14.93
17	New Orleans	5780	379	15.25
18	Tampa Bay	5229	334	15.66
19	Washington	5334	334	15.97
20	Tennessee	4987	301	16.57
21	Oakland	4717	283	16.67
22	Philadelphia	5729	336	17.05
23	Carolina	4559	267	17.07
24	Miami	4600	267	17.23
25	Denver	5541	320	17.32
26	San Francisco	3797	219	17.34
27	Baltimore	4832	275	17.57
28	NY Jets	4715	268	17.593
29	Buffalo	4434	252	17.595
30	St. Louis	4760	263	18.10
31	Atlanta	4816	259	18.59
32	Kansas City	4429	226	19.60

The Scoreability Index is obtained by dividing yards of offense by points scored. This calculation reveals Yards Per Point Scored (YPPS), the number of yards a team must generate for every point they score.

By Kerry Byrne

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