by Aaron Schatz

Here's the moment that Washington Redskins fans have been waiting for -- at least, the Washington Redskins fans who read Football Outsiders. With the official unveiling of the 1991 DVOA ratings, the Redskins pass the 2007 Patriots as the highest-rated team in DVOA history.

Washington may have been the most well-rounded team in NFL history. We now have DVOA ratings for 645 teams, and in that whole group, the 1991 Redskins rank 17th in offense, 16th in defense, and 13th in special teams. They rank fifth all-time in pass offense and 11th in pass defense. They aren't ranked as highly on run offense and run defense, but were still among the top ten teams of 1991 in both ratings. The Redskins were the best defense and the third-best offense in the second half with the score within a touchdown, which helps make them the first team to ever hit 16.0 Estimated Wins.

BEST OVERALL DVOA, 1991-2011 TEAM YEAR W-L TOTAL

DVOA OFFENSE

DVOA OFFENSE

RANK IN YR DEFENSE

DVOA DEFENSE

RANK IN YR S.T.

DVOA ST. RANK

IN YR WAS 1991 14-2 56.9% 27.2% 1 -21.1% 3 8.6% 1 NE 2007 16-0 52.9% 43.5% 1 -5.8% 11 3.6% 7 NE 2010 14-2 44.6% 42.2% 1 2.3% 21 4.7% 8 GB 1996 13-3 42.0% 15.2% 3 -19.3% 1 7.4% 2 SF 1995 11-5 40.0% 18.6% 5 -23.7% 1 -2.2% 22 PIT 2004 15-1 37.6% 16.3% 8 -18.9% 3 2.4% 10 PIT 2010 12-4 35.4% 14.3% 5 -20.7% 1 0.4% 16 DAL 1992 13-3 35.1% 23.6% 2 -9.5% 5 1.9% 8 NE 2004 14-2 34.2% 23.3% 3 -10.7% 7 0.2% 16 STL 1999 13-3 34.0% 17.7% 4 -13.5% 3 2.8% 9

The ratings for past teams will look different from the ratings currently listed on our stats pages because they represent the new DVOA v7.0, and we haven't yet had time to get all the stats pages updated with the newer version of the stats. As I noted a week ago when the book came out, we'll get to that in the next couple of weeks and then run a few articles showing updated top-ten lists and how DVOA v7.0 has changed the historical rankings.

But I digress; back to the Redskins. A lot of the best teams in NFL history got a little extra boost by picking on an easy schedule, but not Washington. They had an average schedule, and a harder-than-average schedule of opposing defenses. One reason for that: 1991 was not only the year of the best overall team in DVOA history. It was also the year of the best defense in DVOA history, which showed up on Washington's schedule twice: the 1991 Philadelphia Eagles.

* * * * *

Here are the Football Outsiders team efficiency ratings for 1991, measured by our proprietary Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) system that breaks down every single play and compares a team's performance to the league averaged based on situation and opponent in order to determine value over average. (Explained further here.)

DVOA represents adjusted statistics. OFFENSE and DEFENSE DVOA are adjusted for opponent quality and to consider all fumbles, kept or lost, as equal value. SPECIAL TEAMS DVOA is adjusted for type of stadium (warm, cold, dome, Denver) and week of season. NON-ADJ TOTAL VOA does not include these adjustments. DVOA is a better indicator of team quality. VOA is a better indicator of actual wins. WEIGHTED DVOA gives a stronger consideration to games late in the season. Remember that, as always, defense is better when it is NEGATIVE.

TEAM TOTAL

DVOA NON-ADJ

TOT VOA W-L OFFENSE

DVOA OFF.

RANK DEFENSE

DVOA DEF.

RANK S.T.

DVOA S.T.

RANK 1 WAS 56.9% 54.5% 14-2 27.2% 1 -21.1% 3 8.6% 1 2 SF 26.0% 22.0% 10-6 24.0% 2 -4.8% 8 -2.8% 22 3 NO 19.6% 18.8% 11-5 -1.7% 17 -24.5% 2 -3.2% 23 4 BUF 19.1% 28.0% 13-3 21.5% 3 2.1% 16 -0.2% 16 5 PHI 17.9% 18.1% 10-6 -24.6% 26 -42.4% 1 0.1% 14 6 KC 17.8% 17.1% 10-6 13.3% 5 -2.1% 9 2.5% 6 7 HOIL 11.8% 16.5% 11-5 9.2% 9 -5.8% 7 -3.2% 24 8 DAL 9.9% 3.4% 11-5 17.6% 4 11.4% 24 3.6% 2 9 CHI 7.3% 5.1% 11-5 5.3% 10 -7.7% 6 -5.7% 28 10 NYG 6.1% 0.5% 8-8 12.5% 6 7.0% 22 0.7% 12 11 ATL 5.8% -1.8% 10-6 3.5% 14 1.2% 15 3.6% 3 12 DEN 3.5% 9.0% 12-4 -1.8% 18 -10.2% 4 -4.9% 27 13 LARD 1.9% -3.5% 9-7 -0.9% 16 0.3% 12 3.2% 4 14 SD 1.6% -4.8% 4-12 4.7% 11 3.6% 17 0.5% 13 TEAM TOTAL

DVOA NON-ADJ

TOT VOA W-L OFFENSE

DVOA OFF.

RANK DEFENSE

DVOA DEF.

RANK S.T.

DVOA S.T.

RANK 15 CLE1 1.0% 3.3% 6-10 3.7% 13 1.1% 14 -1.7% 20 16 MIN 0.5% 6.5% 8-8 11.8% 8 10.6% 23 -0.7% 18 17 DET -1.2% 1.4% 12-4 -2.6% 19 0.9% 13 2.3% 8 18 MIA -1.3% 3.4% 8-8 12.2% 7 14.5% 28 0.9% 10 19 SEA -3.8% -5.8% 7-9 -14.9% 22 -8.2% 5 2.9% 5 20 NYJ -4.4% 2.4% 8-8 4.7% 12 5.2% 19 -3.9% 26 21 PIT -7.6% -7.5% 7-9 -8.6% 20 0.3% 11 1.3% 9 22 LARM -10.7% -24.1% 3-13 0.4% 15 13.5% 26 2.4% 7 23 GB -15.4% -11.2% 4-12 -15.9% 23 -0.8% 10 -0.2% 15 24 CIN -24.3% -29.0% 3-13 -9.8% 21 14.1% 27 -0.4% 17 25 PHX -24.3% -35.1% 4-12 -20.4% 24 4.6% 18 0.8% 11 26 NE -31.5% -28.4% 6-10 -23.7% 25 5.9% 20 -1.9% 21 27 TB -38.1% -41.3% 3-13 -28.4% 27 5.9% 21 -3.8% 25 28 IND -47.7% -40.1% 1-15 -32.8% 28 13.5% 25 -1.5% 19

ESTIMATED WINS uses a statistic known as "Forest Index" that emphasizes consistency as well as DVOA in the most important specific situations: red zone defense, first quarter offense, and performance in the second half when the score is close. It then projects a number of wins adjusted to a league-average schedule and a league-average rate of recovering fumbles.

uses a statistic known as "Forest Index" that emphasizes consistency as well as DVOA in the most important specific situations: red zone defense, first quarter offense, and performance in the second half when the score is close. It then projects a number of wins adjusted to a league-average schedule and a league-average rate of recovering fumbles. WEIGHTED DVOA is adjusted so that earlier games in the season become gradually less important. It better reflects how the team was playing at the end of the season.

is adjusted so that earlier games in the season become gradually less important. It better reflects how the team was playing at the end of the season. 1991 SCHEDULE lists average DVOA of opponents played this season, ranked from hardest schedule (#1, most positive) to easiest schedule (#28, most negative).

lists average DVOA of opponents played this season, ranked from hardest schedule (#1, most positive) to easiest schedule (#28, most negative). PYTHAGOREAN WINS represent a projection of the team's expected wins based solely on points scored and allowed.

represent a projection of the team's expected wins based solely on points scored and allowed. VARIANCE measures the statistical variance of the team's weekly DVOA performance. Teams are ranked from most consistent (#1, lowest variance) to least consistent (#28, highest variance).

TEAM TOTAL

DVOA W-L ESTIM.

WINS RANK WEIGHTED

DVOA RANK

1991

SCHED RANK PYTH

WINS RANK VAR. RANK 1 WAS 56.9% 14-2 16.0 1 52.4% 1 0.1% 17 13.9 1 12.6% 15 2 SF 26.0% 10-6 11.0 4 31.2% 2 3.3% 10 12.3 2 16.9% 21 3 NO 19.6% 11-5 10.2 7 14.6% 6 1.3% 12 12.0 3 15.8% 20 4 BUF 19.1% 13-3 11.2 2 21.1% 3 -14.3% 28 11.4 5 10.3% 11 5 PHI 17.9% 10-6 10.3 6 20.3% 4 4.4% 8 9.4 8 21.9% 27 6 KC 17.8% 10-6 11.1 3 12.4% 7 4.9% 6 10.2 7 8.8% 8 7 HOIL 11.8% 11-5 10.3 5 10.9% 9 0.9% 14 11.8 4 5.2% 2 8 DAL 9.9% 11-5 9.8 8 15.3% 5 6.4% 3 8.9 11 18.7% 24 9 CHI 7.3% 11-5 9.1 9 4.0% 14 1.0% 13 9.0 10 15.1% 17 10 NYG 6.1% 8-8 8.9 11 2.8% 16 5.4% 5 7.5 19 7.1% 4 11 ATL 5.8% 10-6 8.6 12 12.2% 8 4.8% 7 8.6 13 14.1% 16 12 DEN 3.5% 12-4 8.0 15 -1.8% 18 -4.4% 21 10.3 6 8.7% 7 13 LARD 1.9% 9-7 8.0 14 4.9% 12 2.4% 11 8.0 15 17.5% 22 14 SD 1.6% 4-12 7.7 16 5.2% 10 4.2% 9 5.9 22 4.9% 1 TEAM TOTAL

DVOA W-L ESTIM.

WINS RANK WEIGHTED

DVOA RANK

1991

SCHED RANK PYTH

WINS RANK VAR. RANK 15 CLE1 1.0% 6-10 7.4 18 -1.7% 17 -0.6% 19 7.8 17 7.9% 6 16 MIN 0.5% 8-8 8.5 13 4.1% 13 -8.2% 25 7.8 16 18.3% 23 17 DET -1.2% 12-4 8.9 10 3.5% 15 -2.7% 20 9.3 9 19.1% 25 18 MIA -1.3% 8-8 7.7 17 5.0% 11 -10.6% 27 7.8 18 7.8% 5 19 SEA -3.8% 7-9 7.2 20 -7.0% 20 0.4% 16 8.5 14 9.8% 10 20 NYJ -4.4% 8-8 7.4 19 -4.0% 19 -10.0% 26 8.7 12 10.9% 12 21 PIT -7.6% 7-9 7.2 21 -9.6% 21 0.6% 15 6.4 21 11.7% 14 22 LARM -10.7% 3-13 5.9 22 -10.6% 22 8.9% 2 3.6 24 6.6% 3 23 GB -15.4% 4-12 4.5 25 -10.8% 23 -4.7% 22 6.7 20 8.9% 9 24 CIN -24.3% 3-13 4.7 24 -24.0% 25 5.6% 4 3.6 25 20.0% 26 25 PHX -24.3% 4-12 4.9 23 -22.0% 24 12.2% 1 3.5 26 15.2% 18 26 NE -31.5% 6-10 4.2 26 -26.9% 26 -6.5% 24 4.8 23 15.5% 19 27 TB -38.1% 3-13 3.7 27 -46.1% 27 -0.2% 18 3.1 27 27.1% 28 28 IND -47.7% 1-15 0.0 28 -47.1% 28 -5.8% 23 1.6 28 11.4% 13

DVOA for 1991 is now listed in the stats pages:

Statistician Eddie Epstein wrote a book a few years ago called Dominance, about the best teams in NFL history. He chose the 1991 Redskins as the second-best team ever, behind only the 1985 Bears. Doing these ratings definitely has me thinking about just skipping the late '80s for now and going straight to 1985 so I can compare the Bears to both the Redskins (overall) and the Eagles (on defense).

If you look closely at the ratings, you can get a bit of a sense of how two units -- the Eagles' defense and the Redskins' special teams -- really overwhelmed the rest of the NFL in 1991. Remember, with the new version of DVOA, every year is normalized to average 0%, so there should generally be 14 teams above average and 14 teams below average. On defense, you'll notice there were only 10 teams above average in 1991, with 18 teams below average. And while special teams are split 14 and 14, the difference between the Redskins and second-place Dallas is bigger than the difference between Dallas and 18th-place Minnesota.

The Redskins might actually be even higher in DVOA if they had not rested their starters for most of their Week 17 game against Philadelphia. Backup quarterback Jeff Rutledge was 6-for-16 in that game, and the Eagles scored 17 points in the final quarter to beat the Redskins 24-22. Even with that fourth-quarter flop, the Redskins had a 49.9% DVOA for that loss. The Redskins didn't have a below-average DVOA in a single game all season. In fact, the Redskins only had DVOA below 20% for one game all year, a 17-13 win over the Giants in Week 9. Their DVOA for that game was 19.5%.

Washington started the season with a ridiculous 45-0 slaughter of a Detroit team that was missing Barry Sanders due to a rib injury. That's a team that eventually went 12-4. I know Barry Sanders was good, but the guy was not 45-points good. The Redskins' single-game DVOA of 149.6% sets a new record for the strongest game we've ever measured, passing the 1999 Steelers' dismantling of the debut expansion Browns and the 1994 Eagles' shocking upset of the eventual champion 49ers. The Redskins bookended their season by clobbering Detroit (this time with Sanders) 41-10 in the NFC Championship. I don't have DVOA for that one yet because I haven't had a chance to run all of the historical playoffs with the new formula; that's an August project.

The 1991 Redskins are also famous for Tony Kornheiser's "Bandwagon" columns that followed the team throughout the year, considered by some to be the best series ever written by a sports columnist. You can find those linked here.

As great as the Redskins were, the Eagles may have been even more interesting. The 1991 Eagles completely lap the field in terms of defensive DVOA. Only the 2002 Bucs had a better pass defense, and only the 2000 Ravens had a better run defense, and the Eagles were much more balanced than either of those teams.

BEST DEFENSIVE DVOA, 1991-2011 YEAR TEAM W-L DEFENSE

DVOA PASS

DEFENSE RANK

IN YR RUN

DEFENSE RANK

IN YR 1991 PHI 10-6 -42.4% -48.6% 1 -34.9% 1 2002 TB 12-4 -31.8% -51.9% 1 -8.8% 8 2008 PIT 12-4 -29.0% -32.8% 1 -24.2% 2 2004 BUF 9-7 -28.5% -34.7% 1 -21.9% 2 2008 BAL 11-5 -27.8% -27.1% 2 -28.6% 1 2009 NYJ 9-7 -25.5% -36.5% 1 -13.9% 7 2000 TEN 13-3 -25.0% -23.0% 2 -27.4% 2 2003 BAL 10-6 -25.0% -29.5% 1 -19.9% 3 1991 NO 11-5 -24.5% -33.1% 2 -12.3% 5 2000 BAL 12-4 -23.8% -14.8% 7 -36.6% 1

It probably seems strange that there are no teams from 1992-1999 on this list, but they do show up when we get into the teens, with teams like the 1995 49ers (11th) and 1998 Dolphins (14th).

It's crazy to imagine how few points the Eagles might have given up if they were playing with a halfway-decent offense instead of losing Randall Cunningham to a torn ACL in the first game of the season. The Eagles were stuck depending on an over-the-hill Jim McMahon for 11 starts, plus Jeff Kemp for two and Brad Goebel for two. McMahon actually wasn't half bad, with 6.9% passing DVOA, but the other two quarterbacks were awful, especially Goebel who had no touchdowns with six interceptions. And the running game was dreadful, with 3.1 yards per carry as a team.

Still, the Eagles were fifth in the league in points allowed, and first in yards allowed by nearly 400 yards -- and the team that was second in yards allowed is also on that top-ten defenses list, the 1991 New Orleans Saints. The Eagles allowed 3.9 yards per play, where no other team allowed fewer than 4.5. As bad as their running game was, their run defense was even better, allowing 3.0 yards per carry. Three-fourths of the starting defensive line was All-Pro (Reggie White, Jerome Brown, and Clyde Simmons). Linebacker Seth Joyner and cornerback Eric Allen made the Pro Bowl as well.

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The Saints and Redskins had really good defenses as well that year. The Saints of course were led by their linebackers, with Sam Mills, Vaughan Johnson, and Pat Swilling all making the Pro Bowl and Rickey Jackson being awesome without getting a trip to Hawaii. It wasn't really the easiest year to find space on the NFC Pro Bowl defense, was it? The Redskins only got two guys onto the Pro Bowl roster, defensive end Charles Mann and cornerback Darrell Green. That defense was also a source of future general managers, both good (cornerback Martin Mayhew) and not-so-good (Matt Millen).

You definitely see the NFC dominance in the DVOA ratings for 1991. Buffalo, the AFC Champion, ranks fourth, the highest AFC team and one of only three AFC teams in the top 11.

Three other teams stand out in 1991, for being overrated (Detroit), underrated (San Diego), and just plain dreadful (Indianapolis).

The Lions were one of the most inconsistent teams of the year, which is what happens when you win 12 games but lose 45-0 (to Washington) and 35-3 (to San Francisco). Otherwise, it's a little hard to tell why they ended up only 17th in DVOA. The Lions didn't have too many super-close victories, but did go 4-0 in games decided by a touchdown or less. They didn't particularly take advantage of long plays that are discounted by DVOA, with only four gains of 50 yards or more. They did benefit a little extra from fumbles on defense, recovering 15 of 23. They also benefitted from poor opponent special teams, ranking third in Hidden special teams value.

San Diego was the opposite, somehow going 4-12 despite being an average team by DVOA with the league's lowest variance. The Chargers went a horrifying 2-8 in games decided by a touchdown or less. (They were 2-1 in games decided by eight points, but in 1991 that didn't count as a touchdown or less because there was no two-point conversion.) They didn't have particualrly bad luck on fumbles, and their schedule was ninth in the league, so it wasn't all about opponent strength. They just kept losing close games. Part of San Diego's problem was a significantly unbalanced offense, which ranked second in rushing DVOA and 19th in passing DVOA. That made it tough for them to come back from a deficit, and they just happened to end up with more fourth-quarter deficits that needed erasing than fourth-quarter leads that needed protecting.

When San Diego went 11-5 the next season, it wouldn't have been a big surprise to Football Outsiders readers, if there had been Football Outsiders readers in 1991. Or if there had been an Internet. Or if I had not still been in high school (my 20th reunion is this Saturday).

Finally, to finish up discussion of teams: Yes, Indianapolis is listed there with 0.0 estimated wins, one of only two teams to hit that mark. The other was Detroit in 2009. It's the flipside of Washington; the Colts were the worst offense and defense in the league in the second half of close games, and the worst offense in the league in the first quarter. Their only win all season came by one point over the 8-8 Jets, and they scored more than a touchdown only five times. For this disaster, they won the right to draft Steve Emtman, whose career was derailed by injuries. The next season, they may have been the luckiest team in DVOA history, going 9-7 despite ranking 27th in a 28-team league in DVOA. In 1993, they were back to 4-12.

Now let's take a look at the best and worst players by position:

Quarterbacks: Mark Rypien, was you might expect, is the leading quarterback of 1991 in both DYAR and DVOA. Rypien had a season that was somewhat equivalent to the one Aaron Rodgers just had for the Packers; the passing game was so efficient and the team so good overall that Rypien didn't have to throw as many passes as the other top quarterbacks of his era. Rypien started all 16 games but had just 434 pass plays, including DPIs. Warren Moon is second in DYAR, and in the run 'n' shoot he had 686 pass plays. That's ridiculous in other direction. The average team in 1991 had 540 pass plays, including DPIs.

The top DVOA guys, other than Rypien, are generally guys who didn't play the whole season for one reason or another. Steve Young (second in DVOA) missed five games with injuries; when he was out, Steve Bono came in and was fourth in the league in DVOA. Troy Aikman (fifth in DVOA) missed four games; when he was out, Steve Beuerlein came in and was third in the league in DVOA.

The worst quarterback in the league, based on total value, was Jeff George, who was in his second year with the Colts. George comes out with -590 DYAR despite having an above-average completion rate: over 60 percent when the NFL average was 57.4 percent. The issue here wasn't really turnovers, as George threw only 12 picks. However, George was Captain Checkdown with a league-low 8.3 yards per completion, and he took a league-leading 56 sacks. He did this against one of the easiest defensive schedules in the league. Also having a really bad season was Tom Tupa of the Cardinals, in his only season as a regular starting quarterback. He was strictly a punter and third-string emergency quarterback from then on.

Finally, teaching a lesson in not getting roped in by small sample size, Todd Marinovich started the final game of the regular season for the Raiders and had 49.2% DVOA and 152 DYAR.

Running Backs: 1991 was the year of Thurman Thomas, who led the league in both rushing (306) and receiving (290) DYAR. He's seventh all-time in receiving DYAR for running backs, and tenth in combined rushing-receiving DYAR for one season. Emmitt Smith, in his second season, was second with 266 DYAR. He had strange receiving numbers, too. Emmitt Smith early on was much like LaDainian Tomlinson early on, with awful receiving DYAR because he was so often getting hopeless dumpoffs. Smith had -55 receiving DYAR despite an 82 percent catch rate, because he had just 5.3 yards per reception and fumbled three times on receptions for good measure.

Barry Sanders actually led the league in rushing YAR, but he drops to fifth in DYAR because of strength of schedule. It's a bit of an odd schedule; on the surface, it doesn't look like Detroit's schedule of opposing run defenses was that easy. The Lions missed the Eagles, but they did have to play six games against the teams ranked sixth through ninth in run defense DVOA: San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, and Green Bay. Except Sanders didn't play against Washington in Week 1, and he had only seven carries against San Francisco in Week 8. His two highest-carry games came against the two worst run defenses in the league, Miami and Indianapolis.

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Rod Bernstine of San Diego, a converted tight end, was third with 260 rushing DYAR and actually led the league in rushing DVOA.

The least valuable back in the league was rookie Leonard Russell of the Patriots. Man, was Leonard Russell bad. In 1991, the Pats made him the 14th overall pick out of Arizona State and gave him 266 carries at 3.6 yards per carry. They resisted the urge to throw him many passes, at least, just 26 of them. He caught 18 and had just 4.5 yards per reception. So that's -151 rushing DYAR and -47 receiving DYAR. The year after, 1992, Russell got another 123 carries at 3.2 yards per carry and was second-to-last in the league with -89 rushing DYAR. In a six-year career, Russell never averaged more than 3.6 yards per carry, although he at least had positive DYAR in 1993 and 1996.

Eric Dickerson was also near the bottom of the league with -124 rushing DYAR. 1991 was the year he finally fell off the cliff, with 3.2 yards per carry at age 31.

Wide Receivers: DVOA loves Michael Irvin. Just loves him. Michael Irvin finishes first in receiving DYAR for 1991, which means he now ranked first in four out of five seasons from 1991-1995. In the other season, 1994, he ranked second to Jerry Rice. Here's the rank of those seasons in all-time receiving DYAR according to the new formula, in order: 20th, 19th, 23rd, 42nd, and first. Wow. Irvin was also first in DVOA in both 1991 and 1992, ahead of the part-time receivers who make our rankings despite having only one-third as many passes. Wow.

Gary Clark of the Redskins finished second in the league in DYAR and fourth in DVOA. Art Monk was 15th, Ricky Sanders 21st. The Redskins had the best three-wide attack in the league, although other teams had more impressive duos. The Bills had Andre Reed (third) and James Lofton (fourth). The 49ers had Jerry Rice (10th) and John Taylor (seventh). And the Miami Dolphins had Mark Duper (eighth) and Mark Clayton (ninth).

The least valuable wideout in the league was a depth guy for the Houston run 'n' shoot named Tony Jones. He had -45.3% DVOA when no other receiver with at least 50 targets was below -27.7%.

Tight Ends: Tight ends just weren't a big part of offenses in 1991 when compared to 2001, or especially when compared to 2011. Eric Green of the Steelers led the league with 170 DYAR one year after he was taken 21st overall in the 1990 draft. (It's remarkable how few highly-drafted tight ends have been busts.) Green was one of only three tight ends with at least 100 DYAR. Last year, by comparison, there were 13 different tight ends with 100 DYAR.

A fairly obscure undrafted H-back out of Stanford named Jim Price led the league in receiving DVOA and was tied for second in DYAR. Here's an article about him for those curious. He eventually played limited time for the 1993 Cowboys Super Bowl team. He was tied with Ethan Horton of the Raiders. Jay Novacek was fourth and Steve Jordan (gratuitous Brown reference!) fifth. The least valuable tight end in the league was San Diego's Derrick Walker, who had a miserable 6.7 yards per reception and converted just one out of seven passes on third down.

Usually in these articles, I note the great players who show up in our play-by-play breakdowns for the first time, but there were surprisingly few great players whose careers ended in 1991. Players who appear in the DYAR/DVOA stats for the first time include Gerald Riggs and Mike Rozier, and a lot of ex-USFL guys including Marcus Dupree. A few coaches show up as players for the first time, including Gary Kubiak, Mike Mularkey, and Jimmy Raye.

(Correction: This Jimmy Raye is actually the son of Jimmy Raye the offensive coordinator. The younger Jimmy Raye is Director of Player Personnel in San Diego.)

The 1991 play-by-play is available almost entirely because of the work of one man, Jeremy Snyder. After using multiple volunteers for previous seasons, Jeremy ended up basically doing 1991 by himself, except for the game I had to transcribe myself off a DVD. (1991 was the first season where we couldn't find every single gamebook somewhere, but I found a Falcons DVD collector who was able to send me the missing Minnesota-Atlanta game, and I transcribed the play-by-play myself.) Jeremy has done a great job of translating the gamebooks for various teams whose official scorers were using non-standard play descriptions back in the pre-Internet Stone Age. He's already done most of 1990, too, but we're missing a few games from that season and I'm going to need to contact the teams looking for gamebooks, and after that NFL Films looking for any videotapes. For those curious, the list of missing 1990 games:

Week 3 WAS-DAL

Week 5 LARM-CIN

Week 7 LARM-ATL

Week 8 ATL-CIN

Week 11 LARM-DAL

Week 16 ATL-LARM

Week 17 ATL-DAL

Week 17 LARM-NO (second quarter only)

The 1991 stats are now available for both team and position stats page. The 1991 data is not yet in the premium database, because we need to get all the new DVOA v7.0 data in there. We'll be doing that soon. We also don't have the 1991 data on player pages yet, because of the player page permission issues we've been struggling with, as noted in this article. We'll work on getting that taken care of as soon as possible.