10-20-2021, 10:18 PM
(10-20-2021, 10:06 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I was specifically avoiding pass defense rankings because this early in the season one or two big games can skew the rankings greatly.
It's too early to tell if it is bad defenses or good passing offenses that cause the rankings. Meanwhile the Bengals and the Chargers are both 4-2, so it wouldn't skew the SoS comparisons since they both account for the same number of wins and losses to their opponents.
Theoretically... 5 games at 200 yards allowed (would be 3rd best) and then 1 game at 400 yards allowed (obviously 32nd) would average out to be 233 (13th). I would say that is a great passing defense that just had one terrible week, but the 13th rank would make it look like barely above average. I'm not saying that's what happened with the Bengals and Chargers so far, but just why I don't like looking at the ranks right now to compare two teams.
Chargers are the 7th ranked passing offense. Last year they were 6th. They're 12.2 yards per game better in 2021 than they were in 2020.
I feel ya, but I think 6 games is a decent sample size, and most of these defenses can't really blame one monster game for their pass ranking. Plus it evens out. Some teams could also give up 300 yards for 4 straight weeks, then have 2 "fluky" games where they only allow 150, and that bumps them up the ranking.
But yeah...this is another reason why I prefer "passer rating allowed" to judge pass defenses. It's going to factor everything, including INTs, comp %, etc. Plus it's a little less likely that an elite pass defense is going to have a terrible rank just because they allowed one big game.
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