Through the midway point of the season, the Minnesota Grey Ducks are undoubtedly the worst passing team in the DSFL. Using a two-quarterback system with rookie Matt Peterson and veteran Sim SnowBow, the Grey Ducks have an abysmal 682 passing yards. That’s less than 100 yards a game! Myrtle Beach has the 2nd lowest passing yards with 853 yards, but one also must keep in mind they have the best rushing QB in the league. QB Holloway has 470 rushing yards, which makes their lack of passing yards more digestible. In comparison, Minnesota’s SnowBow has a pedestrian 169 yards, making his lack of passing yards inexcusable.
The Grey Ducks are a run-heavy team, having 1307 rushing yards on 257 attempts for a 5.1 average. A 5.1 rushing average makes them the third most efficient rushing team in the league. The Grey Ducks rushing attack isn’t only efficient, it’s also significantly more efficient than their passing attack. The Grey Ducks have attempted 172 passes for 682 yards, which is an average of 3.96 yards per attempt. This average certainly isn’t helped by the fact Minnesota’s QBs combined are only completing 44.2% of their passes. Overall, these passing marks are all the worst in the DSFL by a decent amount.
To put into context how bad Minnesota’s passing yardage is, let’s look at some past DSFL seasons. Over the past three DSFL seasons, not a single team averaged less than 100 passing yards per game. The closest team was the Dallas Birddogs in season 21 with 112 passing yards per game. However, the Birddogs passed relatively much more efficiently than Minnesota currently is (63.8 QB rating compared to 49.6). Obviously, this was over a 14-game season, and there’s still time for Minnesota to turn it around. Let’s examine what chances Minnesota have at improving their passing game.
In the offseason, the Grey Ducks were decimated by call-ups, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The Grey Ducks would need to draft all new wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. Considering this, the Minnesota GMs did an incredible job filling these positions through the draft. They drafted two excellent running backs, an incredible blocking tight end, and 4 new wide receivers. As these players earn more TPE, Minnesota’s passing game will improve. Although, even the most optimistic observer must admit Minnesota is destined to finish as the worst passing team this season. There’s just too much of a gap between them and the 2nd worst passing team in every passing stat. Still, even though right now Minnesota is averaging less than 100 yards passing per game, Minnesota should start passing at least a little better in the 2nd half of the season.
As previously mentioned, the Grey Ducks are a run-heavy team, with the third-most rushing attempts in the DSFL. In terms of passing, they have the third least attempts in the league. The only two teams with a lower number of passing attempts are the Seawolves and the Buccaneers. The Seawolves are on the opposite spectrum from Minnesota in terms of passing efficiency. The Seawolves have 1178 on 163 attempts, good for 7.23 yards per attempt. This is almost twice as much as Minnesota’s aforementioned 3.96 yards per attempt. This disparity is mind-blowing considering both teams have a max TPE QB.
An effective passing game needs good receivers to work. This is especially true in the DSFL where QBs can only earn 250TPE, which some believe is too low. Looking at Minnesota’s roster, their top receiver through 7 games is Killian Chambers (trash). Shockingly, Chambers only has 183 yards as the top receiver. That is 26 yards per game! By having all rookie receivers, Minnesota struggles to pull off big plays. Simply put, their receivers lack the speed that the top receivers in the DSFL have. This no doubt plays a significant role in their poor passing game. Not only does it limit their big-play potential, but it also results in Minnesota’s receivers struggling to get open. This plays a role in the mass number of pass breakups and incompletions one sees when they watch Minnesota play.
While the Grey Ducks certainly don’t have the pieces to be one of the top passing teams in the league, they have also been extraordinarily unlucky in their games. If you look back at their week 1 game against London, they had 7 drops. This is an insane number of drops in a game where they passed only 21 times. The Grey Ducks ended up losing this game 24-21. A few key completions in place of those drops would have likely won them the game. This bad luck has carried over to other games this season, with the Grey Ducks losing 3 of their 4 home games. In all these losses, the Grey Ducks passing attack was especially terrible. They failed to pass for over 100 yards in a single of these losses. The Grey Ducks aren’t just losing, they're doing so in games they should be winning.
So, will Minnesota’s passing attack improve, or will it continue to be by far the worst in the league? This is a difficult question to answer. If the Grey Ducks receivers continue to earn more TPE, and if their luck turns around, the Grey Ducks can perform much better in the passing game. Minnesota’s poor passing offense has been their weakness this season, but if they can improve it just a little bit they will start winning more games. In addition, their two rookie running backs will also improve, perhaps allowing them to pass even less than they currently are! Finally, rookie Matt Peterson could start seeing more playing time as the season progresses. All these factors could result in a midseason turnaround! Whether or not their passing game will be the cause of this turnaround doesn’t matter. Minnesota needs to start winning the games they are favored to win.
Minnesota Grey Ducks Passing Stats Through 7 Games
Record 2-5
76 Completions 172 Attempts 682 Yards 44.2 Pct 31 Long 2 TD 4 INT 49.6 Rating.
The Grey Ducks are a run-heavy team, having 1307 rushing yards on 257 attempts for a 5.1 average. A 5.1 rushing average makes them the third most efficient rushing team in the league. The Grey Ducks rushing attack isn’t only efficient, it’s also significantly more efficient than their passing attack. The Grey Ducks have attempted 172 passes for 682 yards, which is an average of 3.96 yards per attempt. This average certainly isn’t helped by the fact Minnesota’s QBs combined are only completing 44.2% of their passes. Overall, these passing marks are all the worst in the DSFL by a decent amount.
To put into context how bad Minnesota’s passing yardage is, let’s look at some past DSFL seasons. Over the past three DSFL seasons, not a single team averaged less than 100 passing yards per game. The closest team was the Dallas Birddogs in season 21 with 112 passing yards per game. However, the Birddogs passed relatively much more efficiently than Minnesota currently is (63.8 QB rating compared to 49.6). Obviously, this was over a 14-game season, and there’s still time for Minnesota to turn it around. Let’s examine what chances Minnesota have at improving their passing game.
In the offseason, the Grey Ducks were decimated by call-ups, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The Grey Ducks would need to draft all new wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. Considering this, the Minnesota GMs did an incredible job filling these positions through the draft. They drafted two excellent running backs, an incredible blocking tight end, and 4 new wide receivers. As these players earn more TPE, Minnesota’s passing game will improve. Although, even the most optimistic observer must admit Minnesota is destined to finish as the worst passing team this season. There’s just too much of a gap between them and the 2nd worst passing team in every passing stat. Still, even though right now Minnesota is averaging less than 100 yards passing per game, Minnesota should start passing at least a little better in the 2nd half of the season.
As previously mentioned, the Grey Ducks are a run-heavy team, with the third-most rushing attempts in the DSFL. In terms of passing, they have the third least attempts in the league. The only two teams with a lower number of passing attempts are the Seawolves and the Buccaneers. The Seawolves are on the opposite spectrum from Minnesota in terms of passing efficiency. The Seawolves have 1178 on 163 attempts, good for 7.23 yards per attempt. This is almost twice as much as Minnesota’s aforementioned 3.96 yards per attempt. This disparity is mind-blowing considering both teams have a max TPE QB.
An effective passing game needs good receivers to work. This is especially true in the DSFL where QBs can only earn 250TPE, which some believe is too low. Looking at Minnesota’s roster, their top receiver through 7 games is Killian Chambers (trash). Shockingly, Chambers only has 183 yards as the top receiver. That is 26 yards per game! By having all rookie receivers, Minnesota struggles to pull off big plays. Simply put, their receivers lack the speed that the top receivers in the DSFL have. This no doubt plays a significant role in their poor passing game. Not only does it limit their big-play potential, but it also results in Minnesota’s receivers struggling to get open. This plays a role in the mass number of pass breakups and incompletions one sees when they watch Minnesota play.
While the Grey Ducks certainly don’t have the pieces to be one of the top passing teams in the league, they have also been extraordinarily unlucky in their games. If you look back at their week 1 game against London, they had 7 drops. This is an insane number of drops in a game where they passed only 21 times. The Grey Ducks ended up losing this game 24-21. A few key completions in place of those drops would have likely won them the game. This bad luck has carried over to other games this season, with the Grey Ducks losing 3 of their 4 home games. In all these losses, the Grey Ducks passing attack was especially terrible. They failed to pass for over 100 yards in a single of these losses. The Grey Ducks aren’t just losing, they're doing so in games they should be winning.
So, will Minnesota’s passing attack improve, or will it continue to be by far the worst in the league? This is a difficult question to answer. If the Grey Ducks receivers continue to earn more TPE, and if their luck turns around, the Grey Ducks can perform much better in the passing game. Minnesota’s poor passing offense has been their weakness this season, but if they can improve it just a little bit they will start winning more games. In addition, their two rookie running backs will also improve, perhaps allowing them to pass even less than they currently are! Finally, rookie Matt Peterson could start seeing more playing time as the season progresses. All these factors could result in a midseason turnaround! Whether or not their passing game will be the cause of this turnaround doesn’t matter. Minnesota needs to start winning the games they are favored to win.
Minnesota Grey Ducks Passing Stats Through 7 Games
Record 2-5
76 Completions 172 Attempts 682 Yards 44.2 Pct 31 Long 2 TD 4 INT 49.6 Rating.