Archive for the ‘Accuracy’ Category
Accuracy 101: Bradford vs. McCoy
Mack Brown and Longhorn fans are fond of calling UT's current QB, Colt McCoy, "the most accurate quarterback in college football history". One wonders what our bovine brethren mean by such lofty praise. Surely this is something more impressive than "Highest Passing Efficiency Rating Points – Game / Season / Career" — the somewhat less inspiring statistic selected by the official NCAA Records Book as the first and primary record for individual passing. No, Brown's praise commands our attention — how wonderful to live in an age when the most accurate QB of college football history can be seen dissecting defenses on any given Saturday in the Fall.
You want to talk accuracy?
The traditional definition of accuracy, when applied to a QB, inspires us to imagine a field general operating an offense with care and precision, free from error or defect in play selection, passing, and offensive management. So, how superior are Colt McCoy's statistics to his less praiseworthy competitors?
Let's compare Mr. McCoy with number 14 from the Sooners — Sam Bradford.
| metric | Colt McCoy | Sam Bradford |
|---|---|---|
| career attempts | 1175 | 824 |
| career completions | 825 | 565 |
| career interceptions | 33 | 16 |
| career percentage | 70.2% | 68.5% |
| career passing yds | 9732 | 7841 |
| career passing tds | 85 | 86 |
| completions per game | 21.1 | 20.2 |
| passing yds per game | 249.5 | 280.0 |
| passing tds per game | 2.18 | 3.08 |
| rush+pass yds per game | 280.9 | 282.0 |
| rush+pass tds per game | 2.61 | 3.25 |
| career QB rating | 158.0 | 179.1 |
| offensive production points per game |
38.5 | 46.5 |
Between the two, one emerges as the QB that performs with care and precision while operating the offense in a manner free from error or defect in play selection, passing, and offensive management. Here's the rub — the one who emerges as the most accurate QB is Bradford, not McCoy. While Mr. McCoy completes slightly more passes, the completions go for fewer yards and result in fewer touchdowns.
To be sure, the "dink & dunk" style of McCoy has achieved a notable level of success but the pass selection of Bradford is more productive, more effectual, more efficient.
I don't have a problem with calling McCoy the "Highest Percentage of Passes Completed – Season" holder. That's a fine accomplishment and a real NCAA tracked statistic, and one to be proud of. But the most accurate QB of all time? Please. Bradford is the QB more likely to lead his team to a touchdown, the more likely to attack all aspects of the defensive pass protection. McCoy, on the other hand, is the more likely to complete a dink & dunk pass, the more likely to throw an interception, the one with a lower QB rating, the one "less accurate".
