[div align=\\\"center\\\"]A look at stat priorities for Linebackers.
Correlating attributes to results.[/div]
Hello again,
Today I'm going to be presenting data on linebackers. The main reason for this is I had a few PM's from last article and decided to spell it out.
Some things to note, again these correlations aren't perfect. Football is a game that has high variance. There is also not a ton of stats that I can use with only 14 games played. Use this information at your own risk.
Alright first up is the linebacker stats:
and then of course the linebacker attributes:
Again, we are going to be correlating both of these against each other.
First lets look at Tackling
The stats priority seems to be
Tackling > Speed > Strength > Agility > Intelligence > endurance.
This is pretty interesting. Why is this stat priority different from the defensive tackle position. I have some speculation on this. Linebackers make tackles past the line, so running backs have a time to get some momentum or a receiver is in motion. Maybe the tackling attribute has to do with being able to take them down and the current player movement factors in. Another factor could be weight. The defensive tackles and defensive ends are heavier so maybe that changes something. Also strength could be more important for linemen due to smashing through the OL and getting the tackle easily before the RB can get momentum.
Either way, this is pretty spread out and it seems like a lot of stats matter for LB making tackles.
Next up is tackle for loss:
Looks pretty similar. Speed is king and then agility. Same as the linemen.
Next up lets look at forced fumbles.
Priority:
Hands > Agility > Strength > Speed > Intelligence
Hands,apparently is the highest stat for this. Seems kind of strange because of how low it is for defensive linemen (literally the lowest stat). Again, I'll speculate for this. Maybe this has to do with a receiver making a catch and it being considered a catch. However the receiver doesn't put the ball in a safe position after catching, which allows the linebacker to knock it out or strip it. This is WILD SPECULATION SO BEWARE.
Agility beating out speed is kind of interesting, I really don't have a good answer for why this is.
Anyways, lets move on to sacks.
Priority:
Agility > Speed > Strength > Tackling
This makes sense, it's a bit different than what defensive linemen need for sacks but I think since linebackers aren't as big as defensive linemen, they need to be a little bit more elusive to get the sack. Again, tackling is kinda low which is probably because of QBs having low agility.
Now it's time for the new and interesting information.
Passes defended.
Speed > Agility >> Strength
This is interesting. I guess if you are covering a receiver, maybe the QB won't throw it to that receiver and it counts as a pass defended. This seems pretty crazy at how high speed and agility jacks up the passes defended stat. Hands and intelligence don't really have significant correlations, but judging solely based off of this, the negative correlation probably comes from the opportunity cost.
For example, you have 5 TPE to spend, if you spend it in hands, you aren't going to make your player worse. However, it is worse compared to spending it on a better attribute.
Again, with the amount of data I have and the amount of variables going in to LB, please take all of this with a grain of salt.
Finally lets get to interceptions.
Strength > Agility > ?
Alright, I honestly have no clue what's going on here. Strength and agility seem to have a decent positive correlation, but after that everything else just seems.... random. Time to speculate!
Agility could possibly be used to quickly position yourself to catch a ball that the QB didn't know you could intercept. Strength could have something to do with wrestling the ball away from a receiver. I really don't know and this just seems a bit crazy.
Anyways, There were not as many linebackers as there were defensive linemen so there was less data for this analysis. At some point in the future I'll probably do the same analysis for CB and Safeties.
So these findings feel kind of strange and probably a bit inconclusive. Linebackers need to be pretty versatile to do a lot of things. Use these stat priorities with caution.
If I were to make a linebacker based off of these correlation values, for every 15 TPE spent, I'd allocate 4 to agility, 3 on speed and strength, 2 on tackling, 2 on hands, 1 on intelligence, Or something like that.
If you have any questions, ask a linebacker that is doing well (Like Saint or Ernston).
Until next time.
Correlating attributes to results.[/div]
Hello again,
Today I'm going to be presenting data on linebackers. The main reason for this is I had a few PM's from last article and decided to spell it out.
Some things to note, again these correlations aren't perfect. Football is a game that has high variance. There is also not a ton of stats that I can use with only 14 games played. Use this information at your own risk.
Alright first up is the linebacker stats:
and then of course the linebacker attributes:
Again, we are going to be correlating both of these against each other.
First lets look at Tackling
The stats priority seems to be
Tackling > Speed > Strength > Agility > Intelligence > endurance.
This is pretty interesting. Why is this stat priority different from the defensive tackle position. I have some speculation on this. Linebackers make tackles past the line, so running backs have a time to get some momentum or a receiver is in motion. Maybe the tackling attribute has to do with being able to take them down and the current player movement factors in. Another factor could be weight. The defensive tackles and defensive ends are heavier so maybe that changes something. Also strength could be more important for linemen due to smashing through the OL and getting the tackle easily before the RB can get momentum.
Either way, this is pretty spread out and it seems like a lot of stats matter for LB making tackles.
Next up is tackle for loss:
Looks pretty similar. Speed is king and then agility. Same as the linemen.
Next up lets look at forced fumbles.
Priority:
Hands > Agility > Strength > Speed > Intelligence
Hands,apparently is the highest stat for this. Seems kind of strange because of how low it is for defensive linemen (literally the lowest stat). Again, I'll speculate for this. Maybe this has to do with a receiver making a catch and it being considered a catch. However the receiver doesn't put the ball in a safe position after catching, which allows the linebacker to knock it out or strip it. This is WILD SPECULATION SO BEWARE.
Agility beating out speed is kind of interesting, I really don't have a good answer for why this is.
Anyways, lets move on to sacks.
Priority:
Agility > Speed > Strength > Tackling
This makes sense, it's a bit different than what defensive linemen need for sacks but I think since linebackers aren't as big as defensive linemen, they need to be a little bit more elusive to get the sack. Again, tackling is kinda low which is probably because of QBs having low agility.
Now it's time for the new and interesting information.
Passes defended.
Speed > Agility >> Strength
This is interesting. I guess if you are covering a receiver, maybe the QB won't throw it to that receiver and it counts as a pass defended. This seems pretty crazy at how high speed and agility jacks up the passes defended stat. Hands and intelligence don't really have significant correlations, but judging solely based off of this, the negative correlation probably comes from the opportunity cost.
For example, you have 5 TPE to spend, if you spend it in hands, you aren't going to make your player worse. However, it is worse compared to spending it on a better attribute.
Again, with the amount of data I have and the amount of variables going in to LB, please take all of this with a grain of salt.
Finally lets get to interceptions.
Strength > Agility > ?
Alright, I honestly have no clue what's going on here. Strength and agility seem to have a decent positive correlation, but after that everything else just seems.... random. Time to speculate!
Agility could possibly be used to quickly position yourself to catch a ball that the QB didn't know you could intercept. Strength could have something to do with wrestling the ball away from a receiver. I really don't know and this just seems a bit crazy.
Anyways, There were not as many linebackers as there were defensive linemen so there was less data for this analysis. At some point in the future I'll probably do the same analysis for CB and Safeties.
So these findings feel kind of strange and probably a bit inconclusive. Linebackers need to be pretty versatile to do a lot of things. Use these stat priorities with caution.
If I were to make a linebacker based off of these correlation values, for every 15 TPE spent, I'd allocate 4 to agility, 3 on speed and strength, 2 on tackling, 2 on hands, 1 on intelligence, Or something like that.
If you have any questions, ask a linebacker that is doing well (Like Saint or Ernston).
Until next time.