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Soccer Style Stats
In soccer you'll sometimes see a statistic that shows what percentage of the game was played in each team's half of the field. Doing the same calculation for NFL action shows us that it's a pretty good measure of a team's success level.
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There are several "field position" stats you'll come across every once in a while, but typically they pertain to the starting point of a drive, and are less a reflection of the kind of "control" exerted by one team over another as you find with the soccer stats that tell you what percentage of the game was played in each half. In soccer of course a team can dominate possession, but lose due to an inability to score even with greater chances. Likewise in football, the scoring may come about from lightning strike big plays rather than medthodical drives down the field, but still the basic split as to in whose half the majority of the game was played should be revealing.
Only considering basic offensive plays and counting each play as being worth the same with no regards to the length of time the play lasted, here are the stats from last season:
2002 Regular Season Statistics
Percentage of game in Opponent's Half
| Team |
On Offense |
On Defense |
Overall |
| Philadelphia |
48.8% |
62.6% |
55.5% |
| Tampa Bay |
47.0% |
62.7% |
54.6% |
| Tennessee |
50.0% |
59.5% |
54.6% |
| Atlanta |
49.3% |
59.1% |
54.1% |
| New Orleans |
49.2% |
57.9% |
53.7% |
| Oakland |
53.2% |
52.4% |
52.8% |
| Green Bay |
48.2% |
56.4% |
52.2% |
| St.Louis |
48.7% |
55.8% |
52.1% |
| Miami |
49.5% |
54.7% |
52.0% |
| Denver |
50.7% |
53.1% |
51.8% |
| Pittsburgh |
50.3% |
52.6% |
51.4% |
| San Diego |
47.4% |
55.2% |
51.4% |
| New York Giants |
47.7% |
55.0% |
51.2% |
| Indianapolis |
50.0% |
51.7% |
50.8% |
| New York Jets |
48.8% |
52.0% |
50.5% |
| Minnesota |
48.4% |
52.5% |
50.3% |
| Kansas City |
51.2% |
49.3% |
50.2% |
| Seattle |
49.9% |
49.1% |
49.5% |
| Detroit |
43.7% |
54.3% |
49.4% |
| New England |
47.9% |
51.0% |
49.4% |
| San Francisco |
48.4% |
49.1% |
48.7% |
| Buffalo |
47.0% |
50.0% |
48.4% |
| Baltimore |
43.3% |
52.0% |
48.0% |
| Carolina |
37.8% |
57.2% |
47.9% |
| Jacksonville |
46.1% |
49.4% |
47.8% |
| Washington |
43.6% |
50.3% |
46.9% |
| Houston |
36.9% |
56.0% |
46.9% |
| Cincinnati |
44.3% |
48.2% |
46.2% |
| Cleveland |
42.3% |
49.5% |
45.9% |
| Arizona |
39.5% |
51.6% |
45.7% |
| Chicago |
39.1% |
51.1% |
45.5% |
| Dallas |
33.4% |
54.1% |
44.4% |
ANALYSIS:
Well, last season the "soccer stats" had Tampa Bay on top and the Super Bowl teams St. Louis and New England were ranked #8 and #19 (but in 2000 it nailed the two conference champions). This year obviously the four conference finalists are all in the top six teams, with Tampa Bay rated #1 on defense in percentage of the play in the opponent's half, and Oakland #1 on offense.
There's no denying the value of spending time in the opposition's half -- the top 5 teams have a combined 53-26-1 record, whereas the bottom 5 teams have an almost reversed 25-55 record.
Teams that are exceptions to the overall rule that "more time spent in the other end of the field leads to more wins than losses" include St. Louis (7-9 but #8 in the league at 52.1% in the opponent's half) and Minnesota (6-10 with 50.3%). Two of the three teams in this situation a year ago improved their win totals significantly in '02, so probably take it as a good sign if you are a Rams or Vikings fan.
On the other hand, Cleveland managed a 9-7 mark but were #29 in the league with only 45.9% of their action in their opponent's end of the field. San Francisco (10-6 but 48.7%) and New England (9-7 but 49.4%) also show winning records with below average field position stats. The teams in the past few years that fall into this category have not fared very well the following season, which considering the chaotic coaching situation in San Francisco, is not exactly promising news for the 49er faithful.
Also see: 2001 Soccer Style Stats,
2000 Soccer Style Stats.
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