08-26-2022, 10:01 PM
Some data connected to the recent themes.
First, msqueri listed various X ranked offense and defenses. I don't know exactly what rankings used there. While there is no such thing as a single number that can describe something as complex as how good an offense is, but I feel that the best attempt at such a thing is probably FEI, which is basically points per drive adjusted in complicated ways for strength of schedule and particularly bad things like turnovers.
So, under Shaw, Stanford's rankings in offense and defense FEI have been:
Year OFEI DFEI
2011 3 18
2012 46 7
2013 21 9
2014 45 8
2015 2 43
2016 65 15
2017 17 52
2018 37 42
2019 67 79
2020 21 111
2021 82 94
Some notes:
2012, 2014, 2016 were years the defense was significantly better than offense (by this rating).
2015, 2017, 2020, and borderline 2011 were years when the offense was significantly better than the defense.
Seven out of eleven years the offense was ranked better than the defense.
As an average, the offense ranked about 6.5 spots better than the defense.
I worry about arguments concerning out/under-performing talent because there is too much of a chicken/egg issue there.
Another comment above was Stanford playing a bend but don't break defense. At least for our best defensive years of this stretch, that wasn't the case. Stats that would indicate more of an attacking, don't bend, defense would be a low yards/play and lot of sacks and tackles for loss.
For Stanford, we had the following conference rankings for the defense:
Year yds/play allowed sacks TFL
2011 5th 2nd 3rd
2012 1st 1st 1st
2013 2nd 1st 1st
2014 1st 3rd 4th
2015 4th 5th 7th
2016 4th 3rd 4th
None of those look like a bend but don't break defense, and in the earlier years like a significantly aggressive defense.
But I don't think any of this matters to discussions of whether slow down was a good strategy or not. I don't see any particular logic that having a good defense, or an attacking defense, has anything to do with whether a slow-down strategy is a good idea.
Depth of the defense might. I don't remember the 2011-13 defenses being particularly thin. Starting in 2014 depth issues along the DL have been an almost constant concern. But that would be just one of many issues.
First, msqueri listed various X ranked offense and defenses. I don't know exactly what rankings used there. While there is no such thing as a single number that can describe something as complex as how good an offense is, but I feel that the best attempt at such a thing is probably FEI, which is basically points per drive adjusted in complicated ways for strength of schedule and particularly bad things like turnovers.
So, under Shaw, Stanford's rankings in offense and defense FEI have been:
Year OFEI DFEI
2011 3 18
2012 46 7
2013 21 9
2014 45 8
2015 2 43
2016 65 15
2017 17 52
2018 37 42
2019 67 79
2020 21 111
2021 82 94
Some notes:
2012, 2014, 2016 were years the defense was significantly better than offense (by this rating).
2015, 2017, 2020, and borderline 2011 were years when the offense was significantly better than the defense.
Seven out of eleven years the offense was ranked better than the defense.
As an average, the offense ranked about 6.5 spots better than the defense.
I worry about arguments concerning out/under-performing talent because there is too much of a chicken/egg issue there.
Another comment above was Stanford playing a bend but don't break defense. At least for our best defensive years of this stretch, that wasn't the case. Stats that would indicate more of an attacking, don't bend, defense would be a low yards/play and lot of sacks and tackles for loss.
For Stanford, we had the following conference rankings for the defense:
Year yds/play allowed sacks TFL
2011 5th 2nd 3rd
2012 1st 1st 1st
2013 2nd 1st 1st
2014 1st 3rd 4th
2015 4th 5th 7th
2016 4th 3rd 4th
None of those look like a bend but don't break defense, and in the earlier years like a significantly aggressive defense.
But I don't think any of this matters to discussions of whether slow down was a good strategy or not. I don't see any particular logic that having a good defense, or an attacking defense, has anything to do with whether a slow-down strategy is a good idea.
Depth of the defense might. I don't remember the 2011-13 defenses being particularly thin. Starting in 2014 depth issues along the DL have been an almost constant concern. But that would be just one of many issues.