NFL stats and FA

I started thinking about Byron Jones today. He was one of the biggest shut down corners in the NFL while playing for the cowboys. He was kind of a bust in Miami and this got me thinking about the competition. Dallas has 8 games vs divisional opponents. Redskins, Giants, and Eagles. The Redskins and Giants have struggled with QB play and the Eagles have had some down seasons at the position. I'm wondering if Jones numbers were skewed because of the divisional rivalries?

I wonder if GM's look at the opponents of these FA players when evaluating the level of play?

Now THAT would be an approach based on both common sense and analytics (even if only in rudimentary form). Which is why I suspect the majority of NFL GMs would either openly reject it or never even think of it to begin with. The smart ones would, but there are only about 5 or 6 teams with smart GMs at any given time.

A bust? No way! Jones allowed less than 3 catches a game and had a huge impact on the success of the Miami D. His presence on the field is a big reason X had such a great year. Teams targeted X (90 targets) a lot more than they did Jones (60 targets).

Sure, you do want to see better tackling and more pass break-ups from Jones. But his impact was undeniable.

I wonder how PFF graded Jones?

Compare the Phins pass D the first few games without Jones versus the games with Jones on the field and i think his value (at least last year) was quite clear.

CarsonChris wrote:I wonder how PFF graded Jones?

When it comes to grading, PFF stands for Partially Factual Figures.