Better Than Average (BTA) was developed to show which players were truly better than their peers when the advantage of the schedule was removed. . This is a true 1:1 measurement because it only considers how well players did against all others who faced a particular defense. It counts up three occurrences:
“8” – When a QB produced one of the top 8 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“4” – When a QB scored in the top 4 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“1” – Who had the best fantasy game against a defense over the past year. There could only by 32 such events since each defense can only allow one “best game”.
BTA – Simply adding up the 1, 4 and 8 values for a numerical expression of how effective a quarterback truly was last year against all other players in his position. The strength of schedule doesn’t matter. Only what a player produced against all other players in that position against that defense. It is a measurement of player ability against the others in his position.
| Multiple “Best Games” | |
|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers | 4 |
| Tony Romo | 4 |
| Drew Brees | 3 |
| Robert Griffin III | 3 |
| Andrew Luck | 3 |
| Tom Brady | 2 |
| Cam Newton | 2 |
| Russell Wilson | 2 |
| Matt Schaub | 2 |
This has more surprises than expected. Sure, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were tops at hurting defenses but Tony Romo was just as good. Shocking even more was that the three rookie quarterbacks not only recorded the best game that a defense allowed but they did it more than once. Even Russell Wilson had two games featuring the most points that a defense allowed a quarterback. Same as Tom Brady. Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan were both good last year, but neither were better than any other quarterback when facing the same defense. Manning was consistently very good and yet not once was he the best that a defense faced.
Robert Griffin showed up very well in this metric despite slowing down in the final month of the season when he was playing with injury. 2012 was truly a banner year for change in quarterbacks that typically only saw the most veteran players being elite. The NFL is all about the pass now and at least the younger quarterbacks are incorporating more running and scoring on the ground as well. More than anything, this review says Griffin and Luck have both earned their place as top quarterbacks in just one year.
| NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Brady | 25 | 2 | 10 | 13 | Carson Palmer | 14 | 0 | 6 | 8 | Philip Rivers | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Drew Brees | 24 | 3 | 8 | 13 | Ben Roethlisberger | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | Brandon Weeden | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 23 | 4 | 9 | 10 | Eli Manning | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Ryan Tannehill | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Tony Romo | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | Joe Flacco | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | Alex Smith | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Peyton Manning | 20 | 0 | 7 | 13 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Chad Henne | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Robert Griffin III | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 | Sam Bradford | 11 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Jake Locker | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Cam Newton | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | Josh Freeman | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | Matt Cassel | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Matthew Stafford | 18 | 1 | 5 | 12 | Colin Kaepernick | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | Kevin Kolb | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Ryan | 17 | 1 | 4 | 12 | Christian Ponder | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | Blaine Gabbert | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Andrew Luck | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | Jay Cutler | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | Mark Sanchez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Russell Wilson | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | Matt Schaub | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Matt Hasselbeck | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Andy Dalton | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | Michael Vick | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Nick Foles | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
