NorthHawk wrote:So we have instances of players who don't do well on these types of evaluations then get cut or traded or go into FA and suddenly they do quite well (or the opposite).
Does this mean that they've suddenly become better players or responded to new or better coaching? Probably not, but in different situations with better players around them, they can sometimes excel.
Maybe what it does do is show how suited a player is within the team and the scheme it runs, to properly use their talents. But even that's a bit of a stretch. So we would expect to see lower ranked players on poorly performing teams.
What you say is true. The other thing that can't be quantified is the game situation, and two games from this weekend stick out in my mind. One is at the end of the first half of the Giants-Bills game when with 8 seconds left and no timeouts, the Giants ran a running play that got stuffed and time ran out before they could like up and spike the ball. Just looking at QB Tyrod Taylor's pointing to his head and Daboll's reaction, it was obvious that Taylor checked out of the play that was called, a horrible decision given the game situation. But we don't know that for sure, and it's impossible to put a number on such a decision.
The other play was in the Eagles-Jets game when on 3-and-9, under 2 minutes to play, and leading by 2 with the ball at midfield, Jalen Hurts throws an unforced interception that was returned to inside the Eagles' 10. To me, that's a mistake that should cancel out nearly all of the positive plays that Hurts made during the game, but that's a purely subjective thought of which there's no way to put a number on it.
But for what they are tasked with, ie an objective, raw analysis of player performance and its effect on the outcome of the game, PFF does a very good job of putting a number and ranking on such performances. For example, they have Geno ranked 9th Russell Wilson 16th in quarterbacking performance, which is about what I would rank them.