10-14-2017, 10:53 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-15-2017, 07:09 PM by cosbornballboy.)
So, @manicmav36 recently expressed confusion at my support for Connor Tanner as a Pro Bowl TE this season, and I don't blame him. While I can't say I'd given it a ton of thought, a recent presser brought the question to mind. Unsurprisingly, the question was asked by @Keyg_an (Tanner's user) was the one who introduced the question. As a result, I looked at all the stats, put them in context, and named Tanner as one of my picks.
For easy reference, here were Tanner's stats:
35 catches, 315 yards, 5 TDs, 17 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed.
That's not bad, but with the exception of TDs and sacks allowed, nothing really jumps out.
I think volume is given too much attention for awards. That's not just a sim league issue, by the way. Last year, Farlane was crowned a god at the awards ceremony for having the most rushing yards, despite being a fumbling machine and just also having a shit ton of carries. Tweed was more efficient behind a worse line, but because the passing game sucked, he got fewer opportunities.
Tanner is the kind of player bound to get overlooked if not given the attention. Here's why:
1) The Legion suck, and players on shitty teams ROUTINELY get overlooked (especially in the NFL)
2) Tanner only played 9 NSFL games this year, resulting in lower volume
3) The sim index lists Tanner as having played in TEN games, meaning even fair people will fail to properly account for loss of opportunity.
4) The Legion offense is worse than almost anyone knows.
5) The impact made by Tanner is only somewhat appreciated.
Regarding point 1, how exceptional can ANY player be if their team only won 2 games? With 23 starters, ONE player just doesn't make that big a difference, especially a TE. It's shitty logic, but it had to be addressed.
Okay, regarding points 2 and 3. In Week 5, Tanner had been called up, and was on the roster, but didn't get loaded into the sim's depth chart. It was a simple mistake, but Tenzini was the starter, and Larsendorf the #2. Tanner only played 9 games. So when looking at his stats, try multiplying all of them by 1.55. Doing so gives you the following:
Tanner: 54.3 catches, 488.3 yards, 7.8 TDs, 26.4 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed*
Law: 61 catches, 576 yards, 6 TDs, 32 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
Wright: 86 catches, 599 yards, 4 TDs, 38 pancakes, 1 sack allowed
Looking at those numbers, I think most would agree that all three warrant consideration. Let's move on to point 4.
The Legion offense combined for 4,232 yards and 21 TDs. By comparison, the Outlaws offense combined for 5,277 yards and 40 TDs. The Otters? 5,577 yards and 46 TDs. These teams were NOT close in offensive talent.
Let's look at each player's contribution as a percentage of team production. (For this I will use Tanner's REAL stats, not projected, as if Tanner had played all 14 games, the team's numbers would likely be a bit higher)
Tanner: 7.44% of yards, 23.81% of TDs
Law: 10.92% of yards, 15.00% of TDs
Wright: 10.74% of yards, 8.70% of TDs
Now, notice that Tanner, despite only playing 60% of the season, was FAR more important to his team's scoring than Law and Wright. For comparison's sake, let's look at ONLY the 9 games Tanner played. In those games, the Legion had a combined 2,630 offensive yards and 16 TDs. The TE match up NOW looks like this:
Tanner: 11.98% of yards, 31.25% of TDs
Law: 10.92% of yards, 15.00% of TDs
Wright: 10.74% of yards, 8.70% of TDs
Looking at that, TRY to make an argument that either of those TEs were more important than Tanner to their respective offenses.
Finally, point 5, a point already made much better by @adam2552 in two quotes from his last article:
and
As someone who was watching the Legion games with a bit more than casual interest, I can say that Tanner's addition turned the team around, both with on-field play and motivation/coaching. I can say with complete confidence that replacing Wright or Law with a 50 TPE inactive would not greatly affect either team. Tanner, on the other hand, was a difference-maker.
(*the 0 sacks allowed is unlikely given the 5 teams played while Tanner was in DSFL. 1 sack allowed seems the fairest assumption)
Pay 40% to Keyg_an for asking me to look into this and alerting me of the DC issue. 40% to adam2552 for the two quotes above.
GRADED
For easy reference, here were Tanner's stats:
35 catches, 315 yards, 5 TDs, 17 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed.
That's not bad, but with the exception of TDs and sacks allowed, nothing really jumps out.
I think volume is given too much attention for awards. That's not just a sim league issue, by the way. Last year, Farlane was crowned a god at the awards ceremony for having the most rushing yards, despite being a fumbling machine and just also having a shit ton of carries. Tweed was more efficient behind a worse line, but because the passing game sucked, he got fewer opportunities.
Tanner is the kind of player bound to get overlooked if not given the attention. Here's why:
1) The Legion suck, and players on shitty teams ROUTINELY get overlooked (especially in the NFL)
2) Tanner only played 9 NSFL games this year, resulting in lower volume
3) The sim index lists Tanner as having played in TEN games, meaning even fair people will fail to properly account for loss of opportunity.
4) The Legion offense is worse than almost anyone knows.
5) The impact made by Tanner is only somewhat appreciated.
Regarding point 1, how exceptional can ANY player be if their team only won 2 games? With 23 starters, ONE player just doesn't make that big a difference, especially a TE. It's shitty logic, but it had to be addressed.
Okay, regarding points 2 and 3. In Week 5, Tanner had been called up, and was on the roster, but didn't get loaded into the sim's depth chart. It was a simple mistake, but Tenzini was the starter, and Larsendorf the #2. Tanner only played 9 games. So when looking at his stats, try multiplying all of them by 1.55. Doing so gives you the following:
Tanner: 54.3 catches, 488.3 yards, 7.8 TDs, 26.4 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed*
Law: 61 catches, 576 yards, 6 TDs, 32 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
Wright: 86 catches, 599 yards, 4 TDs, 38 pancakes, 1 sack allowed
Looking at those numbers, I think most would agree that all three warrant consideration. Let's move on to point 4.
The Legion offense combined for 4,232 yards and 21 TDs. By comparison, the Outlaws offense combined for 5,277 yards and 40 TDs. The Otters? 5,577 yards and 46 TDs. These teams were NOT close in offensive talent.
Let's look at each player's contribution as a percentage of team production. (For this I will use Tanner's REAL stats, not projected, as if Tanner had played all 14 games, the team's numbers would likely be a bit higher)
Tanner: 7.44% of yards, 23.81% of TDs
Law: 10.92% of yards, 15.00% of TDs
Wright: 10.74% of yards, 8.70% of TDs
Now, notice that Tanner, despite only playing 60% of the season, was FAR more important to his team's scoring than Law and Wright. For comparison's sake, let's look at ONLY the 9 games Tanner played. In those games, the Legion had a combined 2,630 offensive yards and 16 TDs. The TE match up NOW looks like this:
Tanner: 11.98% of yards, 31.25% of TDs
Law: 10.92% of yards, 15.00% of TDs
Wright: 10.74% of yards, 8.70% of TDs
Looking at that, TRY to make an argument that either of those TEs were more important than Tanner to their respective offenses.
Finally, point 5, a point already made much better by @adam2552 in two quotes from his last article:
Quote:Both of the Legion’s wins came after TE Connor Tanner was called up. And he played a big role in each of those wins totaling 12 catches for 104 yards and 4 touchdowns
and
Quote:If Connor Tanner isn’t on the Legion, do they win those 2 games? In the Legion’s first win, at the Sabercats, Tanner had a late 4th quarter touchdown that ended up being the game-winning touchdown. In addition to that he had already scored a TD earlier in the game. In the Legion’s second win, versus the Yeti, Tanner scored the Legion’s only two touchdowns! The final score was 14-10, with Tanner opening the scoring in the first quarter and adding what ended up, again, being the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter.
As someone who was watching the Legion games with a bit more than casual interest, I can say that Tanner's addition turned the team around, both with on-field play and motivation/coaching. I can say with complete confidence that replacing Wright or Law with a 50 TPE inactive would not greatly affect either team. Tanner, on the other hand, was a difference-maker.
(*the 0 sacks allowed is unlikely given the 5 teams played while Tanner was in DSFL. 1 sack allowed seems the fairest assumption)
Pay 40% to Keyg_an for asking me to look into this and alerting me of the DC issue. 40% to adam2552 for the two quotes above.
GRADED
![[Image: BVsashy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/BVsashy.png)
