Truly impressive what the Texans have done especially with the loss of Schaub, Williams, and I...

Truly impressive what the Texans have done especially with the loss of Schaub, Williams, and I guess the fact that rookie Yates is starting, and winning!

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5 months ago David Fung 21 comments 1 recs |

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This. Is. Awesome.

Thanks for doing it, David.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Dec 16, 2011 11:43 AM CST reply actions

I’m truly impressed they’ve been holding strong in rushing passing defense. I was reading on Football Outsiders that maybe not as surprising to Texans fans that watch week to week, Ben Tate has been MORE productive than Arian Foster this year, at least in teams of value per play:

Tate: 21.3% DVOA (He’s the league leader!)
Foster: 0.9% DVOA

http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/rb

by David Fung on Dec 16, 2011 12:02 PM CST up reply actions

My question is

Does DVOA weigh lost fumbles for ‘criticalness?’ From what I’ve seen, Tate’s had more lost fumbles this season, and they’ve come at bad times, i.e. inside opponents’ red zones.

by Spektr6 on Dec 16, 2011 12:09 PM CST up reply actions

I'm not sure if it weighs in fumbles.

It looks like he has 4 fumbles, but I think his high DVOA is due to his 5.6 YDS/ATT (League Leader) and the fact that with only 146 ATTS, he has 820 YDS rushing.

Foster weighs in 4.0 YDS/ATT, 239 ATTS, 957 YDS rushing.

by David Fung on Dec 16, 2011 1:10 PM CST up reply actions

Besides the fumbles, some of us are also under the believe that Ben Tate does better simply because opponents scheme to stop Foster, and the same scheme does not work for Tate.

by jkcheng122 on Dec 16, 2011 1:07 PM CST up reply actions

That's what I think

They aren’t carbon copies of each other. It should be hard to stop both, and Foster is the starter and gets the most carries, so the natural inclination should be to plan for him.

Dallas Cowboys, all hat and no cattle since 1996.

"Will it never be noon?" Duke of Orleans to the Dauphin and Constable of France every Sunday before the Texans play.

by Jonathan Fosburgh on Dec 16, 2011 1:49 PM CST up reply actions

Net result is that the whole (Texans' rushing attack) is greater than the sum of the parts.

by Spektr6 on Dec 16, 2011 4:41 PM CST up reply actions

That is likely part of it

but Tate is a talented back on his own also

Watch me all in flames, on a butterfly I ride

by nolander on Dec 16, 2011 3:27 PM CST up reply actions

I think that Tate is a talented back,

which was demonstrated during the first few games when Arian Foster was out with his hamstring injury.

Off the top of my head, I can’t remember what his yards per carry were when he was the starter, but I believe that they increased significantly when Arian Foster returned to the starting lineup.

So Ben Tate is a talented running back, and would probably be an above average to good starting running back all by himself, but he ends up with better stats than he would otherwise have because defenses have difficulty adjusting to his running style after playing against Arian Foster

by Tailgate Andy on Dec 16, 2011 4:26 PM CST up reply actions

its really a great tandem

and teamed with our great line… so good

Watch me all in flames, on a butterfly I ride

by nolander on Dec 17, 2011 1:14 AM CST up reply actions

The other thing, when they are shuffling in and out

this keeps them both fresh. Busting a big run on fresh legs is a lot easier if you aren’t carry the rock every time.

"All our lives we're taught to get in line. The ones who conform never discover." - Undrafted Free Agent and NFL Rushing Leader Arian Foster

by Rip Jersey on Dec 17, 2011 7:17 AM CST up reply actions

This (and your other fungraphs) is awesome

Nice work. What do you use to design these if you don’t mind me asking? I love the look/feel of all of them

by Jason Brown on Dec 16, 2011 12:27 PM CST reply actions

Thanks Jason!

Hope you keep following my stuff. =) I usually gather the data in Google Spreadsheet or Excel and refine the visuals in Adobe Illustrator.

by David Fung on Dec 16, 2011 1:11 PM CST up reply actions

great info.

thanks for providing it in such a non boring way.

- Feeling the five stages of grief since 2002.

"It's either gonna make you a man or a coward. One of the two. I'm a be a man. I ain't never seen a coward, heard a coward, coward not in ma vocabulary." - Lawrence Vickers

by NoSafetiesNeeded on Dec 16, 2011 1:20 PM CST reply actions

Barian Fostate + ??? = Profit

"Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!" - George S. Patton

by chilam balam on Dec 16, 2011 1:21 PM CST reply actions

"Matt Schwab"

…Charles’ long lost brother?

by Karsh on Dec 16, 2011 5:18 PM CST reply actions

I saw a guy selling Jerseys the other day

When he told me he had a Schwab I had to see it. It was just a Schaub Jersey though. I told him"I thought you had a Schwab." He just kind of stared and blinked… kind of like there was nothing behind those eyes.

"The greatest danger in planning for tomorrow is using yesterdays logic."
Marc Kahlberg

"Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them." - George Orwell

I think we will learn that the Bo$$man was right

by Barryfromtexas on Dec 16, 2011 7:27 PM CST up reply actions

Nice graphical representation

Though I think being graphic here now is “pushing the envelope”

"The greatest danger in planning for tomorrow is using yesterdays logic."
Marc Kahlberg

"Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them." - George Orwell

I think we will learn that the Bo$$man was right

by Barryfromtexas on Dec 16, 2011 7:28 PM CST reply actions

Those circles do look a lot like boobs.

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

-Orwell, Politics and the English Language

www.battleredblog.com

by tehGrindCrusher on Dec 17, 2011 9:23 AM CST via mobile up reply actions