The Most Disruptive Players on the Cowboys Defense

[BobbyBelt]

Howdy gentlemen. My Maverick41 account apparently got locked in the move. I was gone too long to see a note that we needed to update things before the move apparently.

Anyway, I've been tracking a new statistic this season that I call "Disruptions." I've been tracking it across the NFL. The definition is below:

So with those definitions out of the way, here are the numbers for the Cowboys as they head into the final week of the season:

 

TOTAL DISRUPTIONS

DISRUPTION SCORE

DISRUPTIONS (Starter Pace)

DISRUPTION SCORE (Starter Pace)

 

[DaBoys]

Very interesting. Similar to the "playmaker %" I did a few years ago to scout DEs\DTs. It worked well in predicting solid prospects and predicting draft busts of the past. Then there was the "production ratio" that was being used. This seems different as it assigns more points for specific types of splash plays. More like a QBR for pass rushers. So obviously there will be some new\interesting results. But it also incorporates splash plays typically made by non pass rushers so you can compare a safety to a DE side by side. Very interesting

 I would like to see this applied to some of the college prospects coming out. 

 

Oh and uh, welcome to our new house, Mav.

[flyingmonkey30]

I've been following what you've done with this a bit on Twitter, really cool concept, @BobbyBelt. Interesting to see Anthony Brown so high up there. Would that be due to him being targeted more often than others, thus giving him more opportunities to make plays on the ball? I would imagine that DB's that are rarely targeted wouldn't appear anywhere high on this particular list.

[DaBoys]

1 hour ago, flyingmonkey30 said:

I've been following what you've done with this a bit on Twitter, really cool concept, @BobbyBelt. Interesting to see Anthony Brown so high up there. Would that be due to him being targeted more often than others, thus giving him more opportunities to make plays on the ball? I would imagine that DB's that are rarely targeted wouldn't appear anywhere high on this particular list.

If you look at his disruptions per snap he isn't as high. Through injuries and everything he was on the field way more than Lewis or Awuzie especially at the start of the year. And Scan got hurt as well. Nolan didn't last. Lewis kinda took over mid season and Awuzie near the end, but Brown was playing throughout. Still he is behind Awuzie in disruption score and .001 ahead of Lewis, with way more snaps. If you look at the # of snaps per disruption it's

 

#1. CB Awuzie 39

#2. CB Lewis 57

#3. CB Brown 61

#4. CB Woods 62

#5. CB Scandrick 76

 

[WizardHawk]

How did you come up with the stats? Stats fluctuate from site to site. 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/player-stat/defense-sacks 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/player-stat/defense-tackles-for-loss

TR site shows DLaw with 14.5 sacks (14.5 x 1.5) and 15 TFL (15 x 1.25). That comes to 40.5. Seems to me the number of disruptions and score are off for him. 

Maybe I'm just looking at it all wrong too.

Whatever the case, it's an interesting value chart. 

[The_Slamman]

It would be really nice to have Irving, Lawrence and Lee for a full 16 games next year.

[D82]

9 minutes ago, The_Slamman said:

It would be really nice to have Irving, Lawrence and Lee for a full 16 games next year.

That it would. Getting Gregory back for a full season would be fun as well, assuming he's in shape and can adjust to the game after being away for a season.

[D82]

Also, good to see ya back on the site @BobbyBelt

[resilient part 2]

2 hours ago, The_Slamman said:

It would be really nice to have Irving, Lawrence and Lee for a full 16 games next year.

Throw in RG AS WELL

[BobbyBelt]

14 hours ago, WizardHawk said:

How did you come up with the stats? Stats fluctuate from site to site. 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/player-stat/defense-sacks 

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/player-stat/defense-tackles-for-loss

TR site shows DLaw with 14.5 sacks (14.5 x 1.5) and 15 TFL (15 x 1.25). That comes to 40.5. Seems to me the number of disruptions and score are off for him. 

Maybe I'm just looking at it all wrong too.

Whatever the case, it's an interesting value chart. 

Actually really glad you asked, because I've been trying to clear up a misconception about the way the NFL tracks statistics for a while lol.

So, first off, I use NFL GSIS for the statistic tracking. That's the official stats provider for the NFL. It's the one websites use (other than the PFF types) to collect the majority of statistics. The second thing I want to bring attention to is the way that NFL GSIS can sometimes double or triple-dip on stats. Here is a breakdown...

- A player who intercepts a pass is credited with an interception AND a pass defended

- A player who sacks the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage is credited with a sack, tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit

- A player who sacks the quarterback at the line of scrimmage is credited with a sack and a quarterback hit

- A player who pushes or chases a quarterback out of bounds is credited with a sack and a tackle for loss

So while DeMarcus Lawrence has 14.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss on his ledger, he actually only has two tackles for loss on the year that were standalone plays. Those other 13 have come on sacks. So when you hear FOX or CBS talk about "Dak Prescott has been sacked 4 times today, and he's been hit 6" they're usually only talking about six individual plays and not ten. The way that I track the statistics is that a sack is a sack and there is no credit for other parts of the stat line (except a forced fumble of course).

Make sense?

[BobbyBelt]

14 hours ago, DaBoys said:

If you look at his disruptions per snap he isn't as high. Through injuries and everything he was on the field way more than Lewis or Awuzie especially at the start of the year. And Scan got hurt as well. Nolan didn't last. Lewis kinda took over mid season and Awuzie near the end, but Brown was playing throughout. Still he is behind Awuzie in disruption score and .001 ahead of Lewis, with way more snaps. If you look at the # of snaps per disruption it's

 

#1. CB Awuzie 39

#2. CB Lewis 57

#3. CB Brown 61

#4. CB Woods 62

#5. CB Scandrick 76

 

This is correct. Brown is so high on the list because he's played so many snaps. He is 6th in total disruptions, but he's 13th on the defense when everyone is paced to a starter's workload. His interceptions have also helped boost his score.

[WizardHawk]

2 hours ago, BobbyBelt said:

Actually really glad you asked, because I've been trying to clear up a misconception about the way the NFL tracks statistics for a while lol.

So, first off, I use NFL GSIS for the statistic tracking. That's the official stats provider for the NFL. It's the one websites use (other than the PFF types) to collect the majority of statistics. The second thing I want to bring attention to is the way that NFL GSIS can sometimes double or triple-dip on stats. Here is a breakdown...

- A player who intercepts a pass is credited with an interception AND a pass defended

- A player who sacks the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage is credited with a sack, tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit

- A player who sacks the quarterback at the line of scrimmage is credited with a sack and a quarterback hit

- A player who pushes or chases a quarterback out of bounds is credited with a sack and a tackle for loss

So while DeMarcus Lawrence has 14.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss on his ledger, he actually only has two tackles for loss on the year that were standalone plays. Those other 13 have come on sacks. So when you hear FOX or CBS talk about "Dak Prescott has been sacked 4 times today, and he's been hit 6" they're usually only talking about six individual plays and not ten. The way that I track the statistics is that a sack is a sack and there is no credit for other parts of the stat line (except a forced fumble of course).

Make sense?

Figured that was probably how it was broken down, but wanted clarification to be sure. 

[BobbyBelt]

Final numbers for your 2017 Dallas Cowboys...

TOTAL DISRUPTIONS

DISRUPTION SCORE

TOTAL DISRUPTIONS (STARTER PACE, MIN. 100 SNAPS)

DISRUPTION SCORE (STARTER PACE, MIN. 100 SNAPS)

 

To note: Datone Jones obviously has a very small sample size, but he was one of the most productive players for Dallas when he was on the field.

Also, David Irving's 49.75 Starter Pace Disruption Score is astronomically high. I'll have to verify where exactly it ranks him in the NFL after keying in league-wide data, but I'm fairly certain that is top 5 in the league.

[Texas_OutLaw7]

Mav, this is impressive work.

[D82]

1 hour ago, Texas_OutLaw7 said:

Mav, this is impressive work.

Very impressive and makes for a great read.