Nice Troy Aikman Explanation

by UnBannedVikingholic on Oct 30, 2009 9:08 PM CDT Comment 20 comments

Despite a 6-1 record, neither the Minnesota Vikings offense nor the defense are ranked among the NFL's top 10.

But according to an elaborate formula devised by hall of fame quarterback Troy Aikman, the Vikings offense and defense are both top-five, championship-caliber units.

"I think they are a serious Super Bowl team," said Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who is Fox Sports' lead NFL analyst. "They've got so many great pieces in place."

Aikman long has taken exception to the NFL's standard for ranking offenses and defenses based purely on yardage. A six-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Aikman didn't have prolific passing numbers because the Cowboys were a run-first team, largely because of hall of fame running back Emmitt Smith.

"In Dallas, we were never going to have the No. 1 offense, because we didn't throw the ball a lot," Aikman said. "Just because a team has more yards, that shouldn't mean they're the best offense. There should be other criteria."

So Aikman established his own measure, similar to that of a quarterback's rating system. The five major categories: adjusted points, turnovers, red-zone efficiency, yards per play and first downs.

"A lot of people get caught up in the yardage that's given up," Aikman said of the Vikings defense. " 'Wow, they're the 17th-ranked defense in the NFL.' But, in the rankings I put together, they're fifth. They're doing a lot of things that are important, in my opinion, to win football games."

instance, the Vikings are seventh on third downs, are tied for seventh with 13 takeaways and No. 1 in red-zone defense.

Interestingly, the Aikman Efficiency Ratings are a good indicator of success — at least this season.

The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints are first and second, respectively, in offense, and the Denver Broncos and Saints are first and second, respectively, on defense.

Those three teams are the league's remaining undefeated teams.

On the flip side, the league's worst offense, according to the Aikman Efficiency Ratings, belongs to the 1-6 Cleveland Browns and the league's worst defense belongs to the 0-7 St. Louis Rams.

Aikman said the key for the Vikings is to stay healthy.

"But, beyond that, there's a lot of questions with so many teams," Aikman said.

Even in defeat, the Vikings impressed Aikman, going "toe to toe" with the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and earning a chance to win the game.

"They've played some good teams," Aikman said, "and have found ways to win games."

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.

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Comments

I didn’t know Aikman had that kind of system setup.

But I like it.

by Bjorno on Oct 30, 2009 9:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

A bird in the hand is worth about 10.99 at KFC and makes me lick my chops
Yummy!!!!!

by kdog69 on Oct 30, 2009 10:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Very Intereating +1

by lifelongvike on Oct 31, 2009 7:24 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I would like to see all the rankings for all 32 teams

by PurpleJesus on Oct 31, 2009 8:36 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Here they are...

Offense

Aik NFL Team AER
1 1 Saints (n) 96.2
2 13 Vikings (n) 92.5
3 4 Patriots (a) 90.5
4 7 Ravens (a) 90.1
5 3 Colts (a) 89.6
6 15 Dolphins (a) 87.6
7 5 Steelers (a) 86.6
8 6 Giants (n) 85.8
9 2 Cowboys (n) 84.4
10 18 Falcons (n) 83.2
11 9 Broncos (a) 82.6
12 10 Packers (n) 80.5
13 12 Eagles (n) 80.2
14 11 Jaguars (a) 79.2
15 17 Bengals (a) 76.6
16 20 Jets (a) 74.8
17 8 Texans (a) 74.5
18 29 49ers (n) 74.2
19 19 Bears (n) 73.8
20 14 Chargers (a) 73.5
21 30 Chiefs (a) 73.2
22 16 Cardinals (n) 72.1
23 22 Seahawks (n) 71.0
24 28 Buccaneers (n) 70.3
25 24 Lions (n) 70.3
26 21 Titans (a) 67.2
27 23 Redskins (n) 66.3
28 26 Panthers (n) 65.5
29 25 Bills (a) 61.0
30 27 Rams (n) 57.2
31 32 Raiders (a) 56.7
32 31 Browns (a) 55.4

NFL Average 76.4

Defense

Aik NFL Team AER
1 2 Broncos (a) 90.6
2 9 Saints (n) 88.7
3 4 Eagles (n) 82.9
4 18 Vikings (n) 81.8
5 5 Redskins (n) 81.1
6 16 Cardinals (n) 80.9
7 24 Falcons (n) 80.4
8 11 Jets (a) 80.0
9 6 Patriots (a) 78.4
10 15 49ers (n) 77.6
11 7 Colts (a) 77.4
12 19 Bengals (a) 76.8
13 14 Seahawks (n) 76.7
14 3 Steelers (a) 76.5
15 8 Packers (n) 76.5
16 10 Dolphins (a) 75.4
17 17 Ravens (a) 74.9
18 13 Bears (n) 73.7
19 26 Raiders (a) 73.5
20 1 Giants (n) 72.1
21 22 Cowboys (n) 69.9
22 21 Bills (a) 68.8
23 12 Panthers (n) 68.8
24 25 Jaguars (a) 68.7
25 32 Browns (a) 67.8
26 29 Chiefs (a) 66.8
27 20 Texans (a) 65.7
28 27 Buccaneers (n) 64.2
29 30 Rams (n) 63.7
30 28 Lions (n) 61.6
31 31 Titans (a) 61.6
32 23 Chargers (a) 60.8

NFL Average 73.6

by PurpleJesus on Oct 31, 2009 9:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This can’t be Aikman’s ratings — read the article. He has Colts and Saints ranked 1-2 on offense, not Saints-Vikes like you have here

by puddnhead on Oct 31, 2009 11:46 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Clarification

I couldn’t find Week 8 ratings posted anywhere. These are Week 7’s.

by PurpleJesus on Oct 31, 2009 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Found them on his twitter page! Current ratings:

Offense

Aik NFL Team AER
1 4 Colts (a) 94.0
2 1 Saints (n) 94.0
3 5 Ravens (a) 90.1
4 3 Patriots (a) 88.9
5 12 Vikings (n) 87.3
6 15 Dolphins (a) 85.6
7 2 Cowboys (n) 85.1
8 8 Packers (n) 85.1
9 14 Bengals (a) 84.2
10 7 Steelers (a) 83.3
11 19 Falcons (n) 83.0
12 9 Broncos (a) 82.6
13 6 Giants (n) 82.0
14 17 Eagles (n) 79.7
15 16 Jets (a) 79.5
16 11 Jaguars (a) 79.2
17 13 Chargers (a) 76.4
18 10 Texans (a) 76.2
19 29 49ers (n) 75.3
20 18 Cardinals (n) 73.0
21 21 Bears (n) 71.6
22 30 Chiefs (a) 71.1
23 23 Seahawks (n) 71.0
24 25 Lions (n) 70.3
25 28 Buccaneers (n) 68.0
26 22 Titans (a) 67.2
27 24 Redskins (n) 65.7
28 20 Panthers (n) 63.8
29 27 Bills (a) 62.9
30 26 Rams (n) 56.2
31 32 Raiders (a) 54.1
32 31 Browns (a) 53.0

NFL Average 76.3

Defense

Aik NFL Team AER
1 2 Broncos (a) 90.6
2 11 Saints (n) 85.2
3 7 Eagles (n) 83.7
4 10 Jets (a) 83.5
5 17 Vikings (n) 82.8
6 15 Cardinals (n) 82.1
7 3 Packers (n) 81.8
8 6 Patriots (a) 81.1
9 9 Colts (a) 80.9
10 5 Redskins (n) 80.7
11 8 Steelers (a) 80.1
12 20 Bengals (a) 78.6
13 25 Falcons (n) 77.4
14 12 Seahawks (n) 76.7
15 19 Ravens (a) 74.9
16 14 49ers (n) 74.9
17 13 Dolphins (a) 73.0
18 24 Bills (a) 72.5
19 1 Giants (n) 72.4
20 4 Panthers (n) 70.9
21 22 Cowboys (n) 69.2
22 23 Jaguars (a) 68.7
23 28 Raiders (a) 68.4
24 29 Chiefs (a) 66.4
25 18 Chargers (a) 66.3
26 21 Texans (a) 66.0
27 27 Buccaneers (n) 65.2
28 16 Bears (n) 64.6
29 32 Browns (a) 64.4
30 26 Lions (n) 61.6
31 31 Titans (a) 61.6
32 30 Rams (n) 59.9

NFL Average 73.7

by PurpleJesus on Oct 31, 2009 7:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Troy Aikman was a great player, and is a great analyst. This is another sign of his brilliance. He and Brian Billick (Fox-TOX rating) should get together.

by medicineball on Oct 31, 2009 9:51 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yardage Smartage

I have to agree with Aikman. The NFL uses yardage for offense & defense rankings.
So when you give up a bunch of yardage at the end of a game and the score is 30-10 its counts against you. You can move the ball up and down the field all day. If your not putting points on the board or if your having to settle for field goal tries over and over again its just inflating your ranking. Yardage is a good measure but giving or gaining it when the outcome of the game is already determined should be taken into account.
Points should be treated the same way. So called garbage points & yardage. The Steelers showed us last week they bent but didn’t break and it cost us the game.

by iowaron on Oct 31, 2009 10:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I Agree.....

we do give up a lot of yards between the 20s, but tighten up in the redzone. If our defense only gives up F.G.s or occasionaly gets a turnover while in the redzone, then the vikes should win most of their games.

by PurpleCrush on Oct 31, 2009 10:36 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Pretty Acurate

His ranking system seems to reflect the real standings in the league. I like this statement also;

“They’ve played some good teams,” Aikman said, “and have found ways to win games.”

When was the last time you could say that about a Viking team? Probably the ’98 Vikes. This team can beat anyone, anywhere at anytime. They ARE that good.

And this season we dont have to cringe when our QB needs to make some clutch throws & engineer a game winning drive under pressure. BEAT THE PECKERS!!!!!

by Viking64 on Oct 31, 2009 10:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Another plus

Is that this defense, which has started out sluggishly but seems to be improving, is by a far cry vastly superior to the torch thru butter D we had in 1998.

"That is the craziest sonofabitch I ever saw, how many more like him do you think are up there?"

by VikesFaninNM on Oct 31, 2009 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Any Championship team....

Has had rough spots in the season, whether slow styart, slow middle, or like the 16-0 Patriots, slow end. If people are thinking that at 6-1 that is still ironing out the kinks isnt all that great, what happens at the end of the season if we have all those kinks ironed out? What other excuses will they be making to exclude us? Of course, there are a few Steelers fans who still think it was a blow-out, which it wasent and a few Packers fans that think since we lost to a Superbowl defending team, just barely, that we are fake. And there are those out there, ESPN, SI and a few others that like to make the average Joe think that too.

Hat’s off to Troy, a QB I always respected even in his playing days and I still respect as an analyst.

"That is the craziest sonofabitch I ever saw, how many more like him do you think are up there?"

by VikesFaninNM on Oct 31, 2009 11:07 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for posting this

Very interesting. I think this is the original article?

link

I would like to see that when people post excerpts like this, they also post the link to the full article.

by puddnhead on Oct 31, 2009 11:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice System

A little bit of cross-checking on this shows that his ratings have not only been discussed on numerous different team blogs, but are also getting universal rave reviews. I’m glad it was finally brought up here so that we could check it out, thanks :)

I wasn’t able to find the exact formula he uses, only a general synopsis of the criteria, which is also interesting; apparently he’s holding on to this for himself. Not a criticism, just a theory.

I also agree that the Vikings haven’t gotten as good as they’re going to get yet, the team’s cohesion is still building and improving.

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Oct 31, 2009 11:54 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice post Vikingholic

In another note, Chris Collinsworth stated in the last Inside The NFL that the Saints and the Vikings were the 2 best teams in the NFL. Not that I believe everything HE says, but still felt good to hear.

"Skol pa fiskande"

by NobleSavage on Oct 31, 2009 6:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs