PFF IS GARBAGE FOR THIS

[horns96]

28 minutes ago, ArizonaLonghorn said:

I also wondered about the numbers, the sheer tonnage of data they collect and analyze in such a short time, so I dug into it a bit.  138 FBS teams and these are graded first.  So a max # of 138 games if each played the same day against a non-FBS team (which is unlikely, but a hard ceiling).  69 games if all 138 played other FBS teams but there are usually a few teams with bye weeks or the games are spread across different days.  And the games are spread across 3 or 4 viewing windows during the day so they can finish say an early game while the 2nd window game plays, then work on the evening game.  So probably need roughly half as many graders as games played on the busiest day.

You ask "Do they employ 1000+ skilled tape watchers?"  Check this PFF Player Grades link (free), scroll down to the "Who is doing the Grading?" block and it says they have "600 full or part-time analysts, but less than 10% of analysts are trained to the level that they can grade plays. "  So 60-ish graders and another 9-10 support guys per grader.  

What do the support guys do?  I guess they do the grunt work of chopping up the videos so the grader can simply grade, maybe IDing players and formations, breaking plays down into run vs pass etc.  I've exchanged messages with a guy who works part time for PFF and he said he was responsible for one task on every play - with multiple guys doing this it would free up a grader to simply evaluate by position.

How much actual time is taken up by active plays in a 60 minute game?  I've heard 12-15 minutes, surely less than 20 minutes.  So if the All-22 is broken down right they can probably grade two games a day.  You mention "100 total players in each game" but they would only do 22 per play and somewhere in that link I gave you it says most plays grade as neutral for most of the players so they can probably rip thru it pretty fast.

I was skeptical at first but I can see how they can pull it off.  

Hope this helps.  Not trying to carry water for PFF, just trying to understand it better.  This was something I dug into a little (I had the same concerns you raise) and now I can see how it makes sense that they could do it that quickly with 60 trained graders.  Whether you agree with their ranking results is a different topic.

@ArizonaLonghorn thanks, really appreciate the info.  The last time I tried to look up their methodology was a couple of years ago and I couldn't find anything (might have been behind a paywall at that point?).  I'm still skeptical how they can employ 600 quality analysts, but I'm encouraged they're being more transparent and appreciate you sharing that info 🤘

[horns96]

32 minutes ago, ArizonaLonghorn said:

I also wondered about the numbers, the sheer tonnage of data they collect and analyze in such a short time, so I dug into it a bit.  138 FBS teams and these are graded first.  So a max # of 138 games if each played the same day against a non-FBS team (which is unlikely, but a hard ceiling).  69 games if all 138 played other FBS teams but there are usually a few teams with bye weeks or the games are spread across different days.  And the games are spread across 3 or 4 viewing windows during the day so they can finish say an early game while the 2nd window game plays, then work on the evening game.  So probably need roughly half as many graders as games played on the busiest day.

You ask "Do they employ 1000+ skilled tape watchers?"  Check this PFF Player Grades link (free), scroll down to the "Who is doing the Grading?" block and it says they have "600 full or part-time analysts, but less than 10% of analysts are trained to the level that they can grade plays. "  So 60-ish graders and another 9-10 support guys per grader.  

What do the support guys do?  I guess they do the grunt work of chopping up the videos so the grader can simply grade, maybe IDing players and formations, breaking plays down into run vs pass etc.  I've exchanged messages with a guy who works part time for PFF and he said he was responsible for one task on every play - with multiple guys doing this it would free up a grader to simply evaluate by position.

How much actual time is taken up by active plays in a 60 minute game?  I've heard 12-15 minutes, surely less than 20 minutes.  So if the All-22 is broken down right they can probably grade two games a day.  You mention "100 total players in each game" but they would only do 22 per play and somewhere in that link I gave you it says most plays grade as neutral for most of the players so they can probably rip thru it pretty fast.

I was skeptical at first but I can see how they can pull it off.  

Hope this helps.  Not trying to carry water for PFF, just trying to understand it better.  This was something I dug into a little (I had the same concerns you raise) and now I can see how it makes sense that they could do it that quickly with 60 trained graders.  Whether you agree with their ranking results is a different topic.

also, how do apply?

[Here for the Wins]

3 hours ago, Nate C said:

It’s not a stat people have been using to judge the performance of Faizon. So when you look at “average time to throw” as a whole, without considering the above, it makes Faizon look worse than he really was. 

Stats/data all need to be taken in context.  In 2021 is when I became particularly intrigued with PFF.  I do feel as though I’ve gained some knowledge each year.  And often as I see one data point, it brings about a different question for me.  I never take one data point in isolation.

For average time to throw, the overall time has less value than the categorization of it.  For all of 2025, the QB with longest time to throw for the entire season was 2.86 seconds when kept clean.  Faizon’s was 3.27 seconds when kept clean.  His average depth of target on those throws was 7.8 yards.  Of 168 qualifying QBs, that ranks 101st in deepest down the field when kept clean.  Arch was 2.48 seconds and 8.6 yards down the field.  So about 8 tenths of a second faster at almost a yard further downfield.

Faizon was not good.  These numbers indicate that Faizon is not being decisive with the ball or that he’s waiting to attack downfield.  He held it too long for too little reward.

For 2025, the worst rate of pressures converted to sacks was 36%.  He was at 43%.  If you’d like to add a little context to that Arch was at 13.3% last year.  So not sure how you to spin that to say Faizon was not responsible for his share of the blame.

So rather than complaining about the information I made a concerted effort to understand it better.  I’d encourage others to do the same.  

 

[Nate C]

8 minutes ago, Here for the Wins said:

Stats/data all need to be taken in context.  In 2021 is when I became particularly intrigued with PFF.  I do feel as though I’ve gained some knowledge each year.  And often as I see one data point, it brings about a different question for me.  I never take one data point in isolation.

For average time to throw, the overall time has less value than the categorization of it.  For all of 2025, the QB with longest time to throw for the entire season was 2.86 seconds when kept clean.  Faizon’s was 3.27 seconds when kept clean.  His average depth of target on those throws was 7.8 yards.  Of 168 qualifying QBs, that ranks 101st in deepest down the field when kept clean.  Arch was 2.48 seconds and 8.6 yards down the field.  So about 8 tenths of a second faster at almost a yard further downfield.

Faizon was not good.  These numbers indicate that Faizon is not being decisive with the ball or that he’s waiting to attack downfield.  He held it too long for too little reward.

For 2025, the worst rate of pressures converted to sacks was 36%.  He was at 43%.  If you’d like to add a little context to that Arch was at 13.3% last year.  So not sure how you to spin that to say Faizon was not responsible for his share of the blame.

So rather than complaining about the information I made a concerted effort to understand it better.  I’d encourage others to do the same.  

 

While those stats tell a story, watching the actual game tells another. I’ve watched the tape at least 4 times now along with watching ball knowers like Film guy and Landon Tengwall, all agreeing that the constantly collapsing pocket and continuous pressure greatly affect the QBs ability to make the to made decisions. If you’ve played a meaningful snap of football , then you would know how those two factors affect your game. On top of that, I’m not even sure those statistics are remotely correct either. What, are they sitting there and calculating every single football game? Lastly, Watching the game back doesn’t tell me Faizon Brandon played bad. The tape tells me his offensive line was trash, he got hurt on a designed run, and was rattled the rest of the game. Give our defense credit, they made plays all day. PFF also rated the Tennessee Dline higher than Texas