Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Something To Shoot For in 2009

Based on a complex statistical analysis, I have determined a guaranteed way for an NFL team to reach the conference championship game. It's quite simple, really.

  • Finish in the top 4 in the NFL in terms of defensive yards allowed / game; and
  • Finish in the top 4 in the NFL in terms of defensive points allowed / game; and
  • Finish in the top 4 in the NFL in terms of defensive rushing yards allowed /game.

Pittsburgh (#1/#1/#2), Baltimore (#2/#3/#3) and Philadelphia (#3/#4/#4) all meet these criteria.

Alternatively, if a team cannot meet these criteria, it will advance to the conference championship game by doing all of the following:

  • Finish in the top 4 in the NFL in terms of total offensive yards / game; and
  • Finish in the top 4 in the NFL in terms of points scored / game; and
  • Finish last in the NFL in rushing yards / game.

Arizona (#4/#3/#32) meets these criteria.

Get to work, Ted. The roadmap has been laid out for you. You're welcome.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Arizona was last in rushing yards? WTF?

Anonymous said...

Edge didn't come here to block.

Matt said...

Yeah, AZ was last in rushing at 73.6 yards per game - a solid 6 yards per game less than the 31st ranked team, the Colts.

I haven't gone back and checked to see if these criteria hold up in any prior years, but I'm almost positive that they do.