Quote:
Originally Posted by Giantone
Player A:
11,108 yards passing, 68 touchdowns and 45 interceptions.
Completion percentage: 59.6
Yards per attempt: 7
Yards gained per pass completion: 11.8
Player B:
11,049 yards passing, 67 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.
Completion percentage: 59.9
Yards per attempt: 7.1
Yards gained per pass completion: 11.8.
Player A is Freeman. Player B is Joe Flacco, who just signed a six-year, $120.6 million deal with more than $50 million guaranteed. Eli Manning, in that same time period as Freeman (his second, third and fourth seasons), threw for 10,342 yards, 71 touchdowns and 55 interceptions.
We're not suggesting Freeman, Flacco and Manning are interchangeable, but we are trying to take a look at the bigger picture here. According to the analytical site Pro Football Focus, he's between a 50-60 percent passer under pressure as a regular starter, which is no different than Andrew Luck's first two seasons (again, not suggesting they are the same player).
|
I'm not much of a numbers guy. Forget the numbers for a minute. Have you seen Freeman play in the last couple of years? Do you think that your team could win enough games with him under center to lead your team to the division title if Eli were to miss ten games, eight games, or six games? Bear in mind that the other teams in the division might be starting Romo, Foles, and RGIII over the same time period.
No team in the NFC East is dominant over the other three teams in the division. In most division games, there will come a time when a QB must make a play for his team to win. For example, fourth down in the Red Zone with his team trailing late in the 4th quarter. That type of play. I think Eli, Romo, Foles, and a healthy RGIII can make that play. I don't think that any of their backups can be expected to make that play. Therefore, I think that the health of their starting QB is critical to each of the teams' chances of winning the division.
Now, if you were to tell me that you think the Giants will completely dominate the division at the LOS and that they could win the division with any half-way decent QB, then that is another argument altogether.