San Diego Chargers 2007 Season Stats Breakdown
Perhaps the best number the Chargers earned last year was the number 6, the amount of games they won in a row to close out the regular season. They then won two more in the playoffs, before putting up a valiant effort versus the then-perfect Pats. If we had to chose a favorite number, 6 would be it.
On offense, LaDainian was a one-stud wrecking crew, accounting for 15 of the team’s 19 total rushing touchdowns (those stats were the most for a single player and the second most as a team, respectively). The Chargers were also above the curve in total rushing yards (2,039) and yards per attempt (4.2). However, through the air the Chargers were a little less fantastic, though they didn’t try as hard to pass the ball as other teams. The Chargers were middle-of-the-pack in team passing touchdowns (22), interceptions (16) and yards per catch (6.1), so the air attack was at least pulling its own weight.
On defense the best stat available from the 2007 season is 30, the number of interceptions that the Chargers caught, ranking them first in the league in that statistic. You can probably thank Antonio Cromartie and his 10 picks for that nice season highlight. Considering how young Antonio is (24), it’s nice to know that in only his sophomore year in the league he’s the NFL leader in interceptions. He also can run with the ball well when he has it in his hands. He earned 144 yards and a couple of touchdowns off of takeaways.
One statistical area to note: Shawne Merriman had a slightly off year. He was sixth in the league in sacks with 12.5 on the season, which was a big slide from his fabulous 17-sack season in 2006. To get NFL tickets, go to StubHub.com.
New England Patriots 2007 Season Stats Breakdown
Probably the most memorable stat for the New England Patriots this past season was 18, the win total and the infamous chant of all the insanely happy anti-New England fans out there who reveled in the collapse of a perfect season on the biggest stage in sports. However, let’s move on to some of the better numbers that the Pats put up over the course of the year.
The New England offense gained 6,580 all-purpose yards and scored an amazing 589 points, both the best-in-class in the NFL. They were similarly number one in passing yards and passing touchdowns, thanks to record-breaking seasons by Randy Moss and Tom Brady. Rushing was not nearly as effective, although when you’re that good through the air, why bother handing it off? The Patriots were a mere 15th in the league in total rushing yards in 2007. They got things done in the red zone, though, accruing 17 rushing TDs, good for 5th in the NFL.
Defense was not the bright spot for the Pats, though they were certainly not miserable on that side of the ball. Two glaring stats stink up an otherwise excellent overall ranking list. The Patriots were ranked 18th in the NFL in allowing passing TDs (23 on the season) and they allowed 4.4 yards per carry on the ground, the 26th worst in the league. Blame it on the older linebackers?
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Chicago Bears 2007 Season Stats Breakdown
The Chicago Bears stats totals from 2007 prove that the Curse of the Super Bowl Losers lives on. They finished the season with a 7-9 overall record and allowed the Packers to gain control of the Frozen North in a year when they were supposed to be the class of the whole NFC.
On offense the Bears did better through the air than on the ground, though they were not helped by a quarterback situation that was less than ideal. Chicago ended the regular season with 3,362 passing yards, good for exactly 15th in the league. They were no slackers through the air, despite all the bad press. On the ground they only managed to record 1,330 total yards (30th in the league) and had the worst yards per carry average in the NFL (3.1). It seems like the bad running game didn’t help the passing game much, or vise versa.
Either way, the offense can always try to blame the defense for not giving the team much to work with. Despite being one of the best defensive units in the NFL just a year ago, the Bears allowed 3,708 total passing yards (27th in the league) and 1,967 rushing yards on the year (24th).
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Carolina Panthers 2007 Season Stats Breakdown
The end-all stat for any team is their overall record, so for the Panthers it was a 7-9 season, through and through. They started out with some good offensive flourishes, ran into some quarterback trouble and stumbled through the middle of the season, then steadied the ship and finished winning three out of the last five. Let’s see how the numbers broke down.
The worst Panthers stats were recorded by the passing game (though with all the switching at QB that might be expected). Carolina only managed to accrue 2,735 total passing yards in 2007, good for 29th in the league in that stat. Of course, after the passing game started to decline they turned up the rushing game. However, with only 7 total rushing TDs on the season (24th in the league), the Panthers still struggled to score points. On a positive note, Carolina was middle-of-the-pack in rushing yards per carry (4.0) thanks to DeAngelo Williams’ 5.0 Y/A.
On defense, the Panthers were slightly better at stopping the run than stopping the pass, but neither aspect of the defensive unit was particularly well-done. The Panthers kept their opponents to a measly 3.8 yards per attempt on the ground, which tied them in fourth place in the NFL as far as that stat goes. Chris Harris was a bright spot on the defense. He forced eight fumbles and had one interception, which helped the Panthers get a +1 giveaway/takeaway figure.
Steve Smith could not get back to the kind of numbers that he gave his fantasy football owners in 2005. He attained 1,002 receiving yards in 2007, and only had seven touchdowns, down from 9 in 2006 and 13 in 2005. Look for Smith to benefit from a more stable situation at the quarterback spot in 2008.
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Seattle Seahawks 2007 Season Stats Breakdown
Seattle finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 10-6, which was more than enough to get the playoff spot offered by the weak NFC West. Despite the lack of competition from their regular opponents, Seattle sometimes struggled to be as dominant as they had been in recent years, illustrated by the unimpressive-yet-solid numbers on offense.
The Seahawks were relying mostly on the arm of Matt Hasselbeck in 2007. He helped the Seahawks record 590 pass attempts, tied for the second most in the NFL. Yet the team was only able to come up with a total of 3,964 yards through the air- good for eighth place in the league. Of course, we’re being hard on the passing game when that was the best part of the offensive attack. The running game suffered because of Shaun Alexander’s decline in production. As a team Seattle only gained 3.8 yards per attempt on the ground, which is the 26th worst in the NFL. The best stat line for the Seahawks, though? How about the impressive job they did at keeping their opponents out of the end zone when the ball was in the air. The Seattle defense only allowed 15 passing touchdowns all season long- the best in the league. However, teams probably just knew the could pound it in when they were in the red zone. The Seahawks allowed 16 rushing TDs in 2007, the 27th worst in football.
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Arizona Cardinals 2007 Season Stats Breakdown
The Cardinals finished their season 8-8, which normally would be nothing heroic except that they are pulling themselves out of the depths of the NFC West, and they appear to be- for now- the heir apparent to the Seattle Seahawks in their division. The 49ers were supposed to be crawling to the top, but their quarterback troubles seemed to have cost them more. Moving on to the numbers.
The Cards were effective on offense, but the stats show that their defense was lackluster. Receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin helped to make the Cardinals the 7th best offense in the league, with 404 total points on the year. We can tell it wasn’t James and the rushing attack, because the ground game only gained a total of 1440 yards on the year, good for a No. 29 ranking in the NFL. However, the passing game was superb, if not for lack of trying. Three QBs (Rattay, Leinart and Warner) accounted for 590 attempts last season, the 2nd most in the league. They also scored 32 passing touchdowns, putting them at 4th in the NFL in that stat category.
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Going Through the Numbers: Team By Team
Since it’s over a month until the NFL Draft, and we’re getting antsy at the Super Bowl Blog, we are going to give ourselves a project. And a grand project at that. We’re going to spend the next month going over each and every NFL team, by the stats. That’s right. It’s going to be a month long run down of all the numbers and all the analysis that goes along with it. Player rushing yards per carry, third down conversion rate, the size of the quarterback’s shoe. Every number that’s meaningful will be broken down for you.
To accomplish this mean feat, we will turn to a trusty source. No, not ESPN or CBS, and certainly not FOX Sports. We’re going to the no-frills sports stats source, Pro-Football-Reference.com. We’re going to be adding the frills ourselves, thank you very much. Stay tuned. On Monday the number crunching begins.
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Colts Retain Johnson
When you’re a good team you like to keep it that way, right? Of course. So that’s why the Indianapolis Colts re-signed one of their key defensive players. The Colts have been making some real moves towards improving their defense over the past two years, and the results have paid off. They got a Super Bowl win a year ago, and they were one of the best teams in the league this past season as well. What I’m getting at is that the Colts offered a new contract to defensive end Josh Thomas yesterday. You can read the short blurb about the signing at CBSsports.com.
Basically, the story goes like this: Dwight Feeney was starting in the defensive secondary for the Colts until he injured his foot. Feeney was out for the season. So Johnson stepped up, filled in beautifully, and even excelled. Teams took notice of this guy, and he might have taken some good offers on the open market. However, the Colts know they have a good thing in Johnson, so they’re keeping him around a bit longer.
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Truth and Rumors around the NFL
Let’s face it; it’s March Madness right now, and there’s very little time to spend on the NFL, especially considering there are no games, and the NFL draft is the only thing to over analyze. Plus, sports fans have their eyes glued to their brackets because the NCAA Tournament is about to begin. But we must fight it. We must do some counter-broadcasting. For a juicy topic, let’s turn to fear. Fear is a good motivational tool, right? How would you like to know that not only do the ancient Mayan calendars predict he end of an age coming in 2012, but that the NFL players might strike in 2011?!?!
Well, for right now this story is pure speculation. In fact, it’s part of the Truth and Rumors section of Fan Nation at SportsIllustrated.com. There’s a lot that could happen between now and 2011 (besides ending the war, of course [today is the fifth anniversary of the beginning of military operations in the current Iraq conflict]) so we aren’t very positive that the players will strike. But given the current situation with the last negotiated deal between the NFL Players Association and the league, the current contract could break down in 2011, and the players would be likely to strike.
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49ers Bulk Up their Passing Game
The San Francisco 49ers have added another veteran wide receiver to their team. Bryant Jackson, who used to play for the Arizona Cardinals, is the newest Niner wideout. San Fran recently added Isaac Bruce from St. Louis, and dropped Darrell Jackson, who was of limited effectiveness in 2007. It appears that San Francisco is making some moves over the offseason to get their passing game in order for the new offensive coordinator in town, Mike Martz. Everybody knows that Martz came to San Francisco to make this team an exceptional passing team once again, and with some of the receivers he is picking up, the Niners could improve quickly.
Last year this team fell short of expectations when starting quarterback Alex Smith suffered an injury. His backup did fine until he, too, went out with an injury. This year, Smith and teammate Shaun Hill will vie for the starting job in the 49ers backfield. The receivers should be better this year, and with a new strategy, the 49ers could be moving the ball well through the air in 2008.
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