It’s the Year of the Quarterback. We know this because ESPN has told us that it is. (Perhaps next year will be the Year of the Second String Long Snapper.)
As part of the Year of the Quarterback, ESPN has attempted to cure our reliance on the decades-old passer rating system with a new “Total QBR” number that supposedly incorporates everything that the most important player on the field does.
I’ve ignored it to date, for several reasons. First, I’ve got no problem with the passer rating system, especially if the NFL has no problem with it. Second, I prefer my measurables with non-metric scales. Water boils at 212 degrees, not 100. And a perfect showing for a quarterback gets a 158.3.
Third, I feel like ESPN is trying to force it down our throats.
I’ll unignore the Total QBR long enough to point out that I have found justification for ignoring it: Under the Total QBR, Tim Tebow performed better on Sunday than Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, whose Packers won at the Georgia Dome, completed 26 of 39 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns. His Total QBR was 82.1.
Tebow, whose Broncos lost at home to the Chargers, completed four of 10 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. And he ran the ball six times for 38 yards and a touchdown. And his Total QBR was 83.2.
So, yeah, I’ll continue to ignore ESPN’s Total QBR stat.