Breaking Down the NFC North, 2024

[Schultz]

It's a pretty weird conversation for sure IMO.

This season Love was:

#12 in "traditional" passer rating
#5 in QBR
#5 in ANY/A
#4 in NY/A
#10 in AY/A
#5 in Y/A
#4 in Y/C
#6 in TD percentage
#3 in sack percentage

And those are all very good, borderline ELITE numbers...

But, also...

#33 in completion percentage
#19 in yards
#11 in TDs
#13 in pass success rate
#16 in yards/game
Tied for 4th-most INT
And interestingly (to me) #31 in completions per game...and #30 in attempts per game. (Which is probably more of a coaching decision)

So it's actually really kind of hard for me to judge. The "bulk" stats (yards accumulated, total TDs and INTs) are honestly pretty middling. The advanced metrics are very, very good. I would think that with more passing volume it'd be reasonable to assume that the volume-based stats would go up, as well (i.e. if Love is generally a top-5 QB in yards per attempt and its various permutations, with more attempts you'd expect to see yardage go up exponentially).

With all that in mind then I guess my super quick surface-level/"gut" analysis of it would lead me to ask...why didn't we let Love loose a bit more?

Josh Jacobs.

 

[rmontro]

Well, the Bears got Ben Johnson, so they got their wish. This is bad because it makes the Bears better, but hopefully it signals the beginning of the breakup of the Lions.

 

[Sanguine camper]

It's a pretty weird conversation for sure IMO.

This season Love was:

#12 in "traditional" passer rating
#5 in QBR
#5 in ANY/A
#4 in NY/A
#10 in AY/A
#5 in Y/A
#4 in Y/C
#6 in TD percentage
#3 in sack percentage

And those are all very good, borderline ELITE numbers...

But, also...

#33 in completion percentage
#19 in yards
#11 in TDs
#13 in pass success rate
#16 in yards/game
Tied for 4th-most INT
And interestingly (to me) #31 in completions per game...and #30 in attempts per game. (Which is probably more of a coaching decision)

So it's actually really kind of hard for me to judge. The "bulk" stats (yards accumulated, total TDs and INTs) are honestly pretty middling. The advanced metrics are very, very good. I would think that with more passing volume it'd be reasonable to assume that the volume-based stats would go up, as well (i.e. if Love is generally a top-5 QB in yards per attempt and its various permutations, with more attempts you'd expect to see yardage go up exponentially).

With all that in mind then I guess my super quick surface-level/"gut" analysis of it would lead me to ask...why didn't we let Love loose a bit more?

I agree with you. I think the focus on the run game may have been too strong, limiting Love's involvement and diminishing the passing game. Don't forget the receivers dropped 30 passes in relatively few attempts (6.9%). That drop rate was crazy and it certainly decreased Love's productivity. I also think more passes needed to go to Kraft and Reed. Maybe he never felt all that comfortable with the injuries and MFL decided to put his eggs in the running game basket?

 

[Sanguine camper]

The Bears got Ben Johnson so there's going to be crowing by Bears fans that he should be penciled in for the HOF before his first season. His record at Detroit is tremendous but Detroit's offensive line would make any OC look good.

 

[rmontro]

The Packers finished 5th in yards and 8th in points, so it seems odd that we're on here complaining about the offense. Problem is, they just went dead at the wrong time, so maybe it looks worse than it is.

 

[pacmaniac]

Well, the Bears got Ben Johnson, so they got their wish. This is bad because it makes the Bears better, but hopefully it signals the beginning of the breakup of the Lions.

Hopefully he'll be another Josh McDaniels.