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Two and two and third in the NFC East, that's where. Now that we have the most important stats out of the way, let's take a look at some of the other measuring sticks for this team, now that one-fourth of the season is in the books. You'd expect most of these numbers to either place the Cowboys in the middle of the pack, or at least balance out in that range, offensive stats with their defensive counterparts.
We'll take a quick look at the standard stats, as well as a couple of the leading advanced stats systems (with apologies to ANYPA).
Follow the jump for the charts.
Pertinent Offensive Stats (NFL rank in parenthesis) courtesy of NFL.com
| Offensive PPG | Completion % | Passing Yards/Gm | Passing TDs | Passing INTs | QB Rating | Rush Att/Gm | Yds/Rush | Rush Yds/Gm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24.8 (12th) | 64.8 (10th) | 331 (4th) | 8 (t6th) | 7(last) | 89.5(10) | 25.2(t20) | 3.4 (t25) | 86.8 (t25) |
Pertinent Defensive Stats (NFL rank in parenthesis) courtesy of NFL.com
| Defensive PPG | Yds/Gm | Penalties | 3rd Dwn % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25.2 (t9th) | 291.8 (4) | 19 (t3) | 38 (17) |
Pro Football Focus' Cumulative Game Grades courtesy of ProFootballFocus.com
The goal of our detailed grading process is to gauge how players execute their roles over the course of a game by looking at the performance of each individual on each play. We look beyond the stat sheet at game footage to try to gain an understanding of how well a lineman is blocking on a given play, how much space and help a runner is being given on a play, how effectively a pass rusher brings pressure or how well a defender covers a receiver.
.
We collect lots of extra statistics such as yards after catch, yards after contact, missed tackles, dropped passes etc., but our real focus is on grading individual performance on each play. Did an offensive lineman seal his block to spring the runner through a hole? Did a defensive lineman beat his block to force a runner to change the play direction in the backfield? Was the crucial third-down completion due to the quarterback beating the coverage or a breakdown in coverage?-- For a more detailed explanation of PFF's grading system, go here.
| Total Offense | Pass Grade | Rush Grade | Pass Block | Run Block | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3.6 (17th) | +17.2 (11) | -0.3 (25) | -1.5 (12) | -18.8 (25) | -0.2 (12) |
| Total Defense | Run Defense | Pass Rush | Pass Coverage | Penalty | Special Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 (4th) | +24.3 (6) | +16.8 (6) | -7.2 (19) | -1.9 (21) | +9.9 (7) |
Football Outsiders DVOA rankings, courtesy of FootballOutsiders.com
DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average): The main statistic used on Football Outsiders, DVOA breaks down the entire season play-by-play, comparing success on each play to the league average based on a number of variables including down, distance, location on field, current score gap, quarter, and opponent quality. While it can be used as a measure of total team performance, it differs from other power ratings found throughout the Web because it can be broken down to analyze team effectiveness in any number of ways: down, quarter, rushing vs. receiving, location on field, passes to backs vs. passes to receivers, and so on.
For more on their methods, go here.
*Note: Variance is FO's measure of week-to-week consistency.
| Offense DVOA | Pass O DVOA | Rush O DVOA | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7% (17th) | 33.1% (10) | -31.2% (32) | 1.8% (7) |
| Defense DVOA | Pass D DVOA | Rush D DVOA | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| -3.7% (7th) | 5.8% (9) | -21.2% (4) | 0.1% (1) |
| Total DVOA | Estimated Wins | Opp's DVOA | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6% (17th) | 2.2 (16) | 9.9% (7) | 0.9% (4) |