Preseason Numbers

[adam]

I know Preseason numbers mean next to nothing, but it is nice to see some stats like this:

 

Sack differential 14 - 4

Turnover Ratio +9

0 pts allowed in 2nd half (entire preseason)

6 straight shutout quarters to end preseason

 

I was actually surprised to see the Sacks differential and Turnover Ratios so positive, so I compared them to the last 5 years with regular season comparisons.

 

2014 Preseason:

Sacks 5 - 7

Turnover Ratio 0

for the season: 39 - 41 and -5

 

2013 Preseason:

Sacks 9 - 13

Turnover Ratio +5

for the season: 31 - 30 and +5

 

2012 Preseason:

Sacks 9 - 11

Turnover Ratio +2

for the season: 41 - 44 and +20

 

2011 Preseason:

Sacks 7 - 15

Turnover Ratio -2

for the season: 32 - 49 and +2

 

2010 Preseason:

Sacks 9 - 19

Turnover Ratio -1

for the season: 34 - 56 and +4

 

I was surprised to see the numbers were loosely correlated. Very bad sack differentials in 2010 and 2011 didn't change much during the season, and average sack numbers were relatively comparable for the regular season from 2012-2014. For Turnover ratio, the two most positive preseasons were followed by the most productive regular seasons (in terms of turnover ratio) in 2012 and 2013. The Bears, during the regular season have averaged 27 offensive turnovers a season (over the past 5 years) and have averaged 32 takeaways during that same span.

 

As bad as our offensive line has looked, giving up only 4 sacks for an entire preseason is pretty remarkable. The 14 sacks for the defense is also promising. If these numbers are at all an indication of the scheme, we might have a surprisingly efficient year. It might not correlate to points or wins, but the foundation looks like it is forming with Fox-Gase-Fangio.

 

Again, I know it is preseason, but interesting nonetheless.

[AZ54]

Great work to pull that together. I agree that there seems to be something at work with the schemes or coaching finally having some players in the right spot to make plays. Even Cutler has seemed at ease in the pocket despite the bad edge protection. We don't have the talent to compete at a high level but we might have the coaching in place to be competitive once again.

[adam]

Great work to pull that together. I agree that there seems to be something at work with the schemes or coaching finally having some players in the right spot to make plays. Even Cutler has seemed at ease in the pocket despite the bad edge protection. We don't have the talent to compete at a high level but we might have the coaching in place to be competitive once again.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to cherry pick stats, I just saw the sack totals and turnover ratio and was like "wow, that seems different", and sure enough, both were way better than anything we have seen in quite a while.

[bowlingtwig]

Yeah, I wasn't trying to cherry pick stats, I just saw the sack totals and turnover ratio and was like "wow, that seems different", and sure enough, both were way better than anything we have seen in quite a while.

 

Thanks for putting that together. I knew that Jay had zero turnovers and generally looked pretty good but didn't feel like saying anything because everyone crushing him. But the one thing that stood out to me during the preseason was the playcalling itself. We've all been crying to see bootlegs ever since we traded for Jay and we finally saw it. Some pretty good short and intermediate crossing routes as well. It seemed to put players in a better spot to succeed. Of course 1 glaring hole was the lack of receivers which hopefully we get alshon and co back to start the yr. Will this continue into the regular season? I sure hope so.