by Vincent Verhei

In last week's edition of Quick Reads, we explored a few different methods of calculating quarterback streakiness, then opened the floor for comments and further discussion. As it turns out, the most illuminating comment had nothing to do with calculation or methodology, but simply with the visual display of data we used in our charts:

Dr. Mooch: Streakiness: first a comment on the graphs. It's easy to see differential performance on the graphs of DYAR, but we should call attention to the fact that the "right now" performance is actually the slope of the graph. A more precise representation of differential performance would be a bar graph of the DYAR values for each individual play.

Which provoked similar sentiments from another reader:

nat: Good point about the graphs. Using a cumulative DYAR graph obscures the streaks rather than highlighting them.

These observations are both spot-on. Looking at each play one at a time, rather than their running DYAR total, makes it easier to spot the streaks in each quarterback's play. For example, here's the cumulative DYAR chart we ran last week for Matt McGloin, who was found to be one of the streaker quarterbacks of Week 4:

And here's the same data, presented with the DYAR for each individual play, one at a time, on a column graph:

This makes McGloin's streaks of good passes (those with positive DYAR) and bad passes (negative DYAR) really stand out. He had nine streaks in all:

One bad pass, which was followed by

One good one, then

Four bad

Three good

Two bad

Four good

One very bad

One very slightly good (a 4-yard gain on first-and-10 that was worth 0.4 DYAR)

And finally three bad ones.

And since we know McGloin had 20 dropbacks, we can say that his average streak lasted for (20 divided by 9 equals) 2.22 passes. Boom. Simple definition, logical calculation, can quickly be figured for any quarterback over any number of passes. We may want to do something where those close-to-zero plays don't end a good or bad streak, but this will certainly do for now.

Using this methodology, the streakiest starting passer of Week 5 was Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, who had six streaks in 20 dropbacks, for an average streak of 3.33 plays:

Other streaky starters included Andrew Luck (average streak: 2.78 plays):

and Brian Hoyer (average streak: 2.71 plays):

If we're including reserves, we should point out that Logan Thomas had three streaks in ten plays, so he was just as streaky as Rodgers. However, his graph is far more hilarious, and too funny not to share:

One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong.

On the other side of the spectrum we have Tom Brady, whose average streak against Cincinnati lasted just 1.54 plays:

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Is it good to have a streaky quarterback? The five streakiest starters of the week (Rodgers, Luck, Hoyer, Austin Davis, and Jay Cutler) went a combined 3-2 with 195 total DYAR. The five least streaky passers of the week (Brady, Joe Flacco, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, and Ryan Fitzpatrick) also went 3-2, with 109 DYAR between them. No strong correlation there, though it’s worth noting that there are some awfully good quarterbacks at either end of the spectrum.

We can also use this to measure the streakiest quarterbacks of the year. Among starters, that has been Hoyer; his average streak this season has lasted 2.47 plays. This makes sense when you consider the Browns’ penchant for late-game comebacks. Hoyer has -6 DYAR in the first half of games this year, but 254 DYAR after halftime, second only to Luck (352 DYAR). Here's what Hoyer has done each week so far this season:

Brian Hoyer's Streakiness By Week Week Opponent Plays Streaks Avg. Streak 1 PIT 34 10 3.40 2 NO 42 23 1.83 3 BAL 27 10 2.70 5 TEN 38 14 2.71 TOTAL 141 57 2.47

This is a bit of a data dump, so we'll save the deeper analysis for a later date, but I think this methodology gives us something concrete to measure down the road.

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Leading Rushers

Here are the leading running backs for Week 5, as measured by rushing DYAR only:

1. Eddie Lacy, GB: 13 carries, 105 yards, two touchdowns (48 DYAR)

13 carries, 105 yards, two touchdowns (48 DYAR) 2. Khiry Robinson, NO: 21-89-1 (41 DYAR)

21-89-1 (41 DYAR) 3. Arian Foster, HOU: 23-157-2 (41 DYAR)

23-157-2 (41 DYAR) 4. Ben Tate, CLE: 22-123-0 (40 DYAR)

22-123-0 (40 DYAR) 5. Benny Cunningham, STL: 7-47-1 (32 DYAR) (All of his carries gained positive yardage, three of them gained at least 11 yards)

The least valuable rusher of the week was Chicago’s Matt Forte (17-61-0, -26 DYAR). Five of his carries were stuffed for no gain or a loss, and five more gained exactly 1 yard. A median gain of 1 yard is bad, very bad, and one of his “better” runs resulted in a lost fumble.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Tom Brady NE 24/35 292 2 0 147 154 -7 Brady tore up the middle of the Bengals' defense, going 8-of-11 for 134 yards with every completion gaining a first down, including a touchdown. He also had a 22-yard DPI. 2. Peyton Manning DEN 31/47 479 4 2 110 110 0 Feast or famine when throwing to his left. He went 11-of-19 for 243 yards, with one touchown and seven other first downs, but he also threw both of his picks to that side of the field. 3. Philip Rivers SD 20/28 288 3 1 99 99 1 Rivers was horrendous on first downs, going 2-of-6 for 14 yards with two sacks and an interception. He made up for it on third downs, though, going 11-of-14 for 211 yards with nine conversions, including a touchdown. 4. Austin Davis STL 29/49 375 3 0 94 85 9 Is Brian Schottenhimer changing his tendencies? Davis threw a league-high 14 deep balls this week, completing five of them for 152 yards and a touchdown. 5. Tony Romo DAL 29/41 324 2 1 88 88 0 Romo threw seven passes to receivers at least 18 yards downfield. Five were complete for a total of 160 yards and a touchdown. And of the two incompletions, one was a throwaway resulting in an intentional grounding. 6. Brian Hoyer CLE 21/37 292 3 1 81 79 2 Hoyer was nearly perfect between the 40s, going 5-of-6 for 88 yards, with every completion gaining a first down. 7. Andy Dalton CIN 15/24 204 2 0 71 65 6 Dalton had most of his success when the Bengals were trailing in the second half. In the first half, he went 6-of-11 for 63 yards with only one first down. 8. Russell Wilson SEA 18/24 201 2 0 62 4 58 Eleven carries for a career-best 122 yards, with one touchdown and six other first downs. 9. Aaron Rodgers GB 12/17 156 3 0 60 60 0 On first downs, Rodgers went 2-of-5 for 2 yards, with a sack for a 4-yard loss. Yes, that is a zero percent Success Rate and negative net yardage. 10. Jake Locker TEN 8/11 79 1 0 55 33 22 Locker was better as a runner than as a passer. He had four runs for 34 yards with three first downs, two of those converting third downs, one of those an 11-yard touchdown. 11. Kirk Cousins WAS 21/36 283 2 0 52 57 -5 12. Mike Glennon TB 19/32 249 2 1 45 45 0 On second downs in the first half, Glennon went 3-of-7 for 22 yards with no first downs and an interception. On second downs in the second half, he went 7-of-8 for 86 yards with six first downs, including a 34-yard gain on second-and-20 and a 9-yard touchdown. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 13. Matt Ryan ATL 29/44 316 1 1 44 44 0 Inside the Giants' 40, Ryan went 7-of-12 for 47 yards with no touchdowns, only three first downs, and only one other successful play. 14. Eli Manning NYG 19/30 200 2 0 42 42 0 On third downs, Manning went 8-of-10 for 110 yards with six conversions, including two touchdowns. He had 10-yard gains on third-and-11 and third-and-16. 15. Nick Foles PHI 24/37 208 2 1 38 48 -10 Man, a lot of quarterbacks struggled on first down this week. Foles went 11-of-18 for just 74 yards, with four first downs (including a touchdown) and one interception. 16. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 26/36 273 1 0 26 26 0 Inside Jacksonville's 20, Roethlisberger went 7-of-9, but only picked up one touchdown and one other first down, with 25 total yards. He was also sacked twice, fumbling once. 17. Colin Kaepernick SF 14/26 201 1 0 23 31 -8 Kaepernick ran seven times but only gained 21 yards, with no run longer than 9 yards. He ran for two first downs, but also lost yardage twice. 18. Jay Cutler CHI 28/36 289 2 2 19 1 18 Cutler only threw four deep passes against Carolina, completing more of them to Panthers defenders (two) than to Bears receivers (one, for 31 yards). 19. Charlie Whitehurst TEN 13/21 194 2 0 17 24 -7 Whitehurst's first three passes resulted in two completions for 86 yards and both of his touchdowns. That's 44 percent of his total yardage on two plays. He gained only five first downs the rest of the game. 20. Kyle Orton BUF 30/43 308 1 1 9 9 0 Inside the Detroit 40-yard line, Orton went 4-of-8 for 19 yards with only one first down, though that first down was a touchdown that tied the game (with the ensuing two-point conversion) in the fourth quarter. 21. Alex Smith KC 17/31 175 2 1 7 6 1 Hat tip to our old buddy Doug Farrar for pointing out Kansas City's weird short-yardage play-calling: The Chiefs had nine third-down plays with 5 yards or less to go for a first down, and they passed the ball on all nine of those plays. Smith converted the first four of those plays (all in the first quarter), but went 0-for-5 the rest of the game. Meanwhile, he converted third-and-12 and third-and-9. Go figure. 22. Cam Newton CAR 19/35 257 2 1 7 9 -2 It was a slow start for Newton. On Carolina's first five drives, he went 6-of-15 for 71 yards with four first downs, one interception, and one sack-fumble. Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 23. Drew Stanton ARI 11/26 118 0 0 -23 -23 0 Another passer who struggled on first down, Stanton went 3-of-9 for 19 yards. One of those completions gained a first down, one gained 5 yards on first-and-10, and one lost a yard on first-and-14. 24. Logan Thomas ARI 1/8 81 1 0 -24 -24 0 His nine plays, in order: two sacks; two incompletions; an 81-yard touchdown (with 64 YAC from Andre Ellington); five incompletions in a row. 25. Geno Smith NYJ 4/12 27 0 1 -30 -25 -5 Smith did not run a play from outside his own 39. None of his completions gained more than 9 yards. On third downs, he went 0-for-4 with an interception. He was not sacked, though. So, there's that. 26. Andrew Luck IND 32/49 313 1 2 -31 -29 -2 Inside Baltimore's 20, Luck went just 3-of-13. One of those completions was a 6-yard touchdown, but the other two were zero-yard gains. Meanwhile, he threw one interception, and was also sacked once. 27. Drew Brees NO 35/57 371 2 3 -34 -34 0 Inside the Tampa Bay 40, Brees went 12-of-20 for 78 yards with two touchdowns and two other first downs. 28. Ryan Fitzpatrick HOU 16/25 154 0 1 -53 -50 -3 Fitzpatrick only had seven first downs all game. Inside his own 20, he went 5-of-5 for 31 yards without picking up a first down, including a 13-yard gain on third-and-20 and a 3-yard gain on third-and-6. 29. Joe Flacco BAL 22/37 238 0 1 -59 -59 0 In the red zone, Flacco went 1-of-5 with a sack. His only completion was an 8-yard gain on first-and-10. 30. Michael Vick NYJ 9/19 47 0 0 -62 -61 -1 Vick played the entire second half. Virtually all of his productive plays came in the last two drives of the game. On his first four drives, he went 1-of-7 for 7 yards with two sacks and an intentional grounding. 31. Matthew Stafford DET 18/31 240 1 1 -100 -100 0 Stafford threw five deep passes against Buffalo. All were incomplete. He was sacked six times, fumbling twice. 32. Blake Bortles JAC 22/36 191 0 2 -123 -117 -6 On third downs, Bortles went 5-of-9 for 39 yards with only one first down. 33. Christian Ponder MIN 22/44 222 0 2 -142 -156 14 Ponder did not have a play on Green Bay's side of the field until the Vikings were down by 42 points in the fourth quarter. Up to that point, he had gone 10-of-23 for 83 yards with five first downs, one pick-six, one interception, and four sacks. The Packers sacked him six times in all.

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. Branden Oliver SD 114 1 68 1 68 30 38 Oliver had 19 carries against New York, and every single one of them gained positive yardage. That's exceptional. Only two of his runs gained more than 6 yards, but one of those was a 15-yard touchdown on third-and-2, the other was a 52-yarder. And three of his shorter runs also gained first downs. Oh, and he caught each of the four passes thrown his way, including a 50-yard gain on third-and-17 and a 9-yard touchdown. 2. Pierre Thomas NO 35 1 77 1 58 22 37 Thomas had eight catches in ten targets for a team-high 77 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown on third-and-12 and three other first downs. He only ran the ball four times, but that included a 27-yard touchdown and a conversion on second-and-1. 3. Eddie Lacy GB 105 2 27 0 56 48 8 Twelve of Lacy's 13 carries gained at least 1 yard, and five of them gained 10 yards or more, including two touchdowns and a 29-yard gain. He caught each of the three passes thrown his way, including a 21-yard gain on third-and-10. 4. Shane Vereen NE 90 0 18 0 45 31 14 Eight of Vereen's nine carries gained at least 5 yards, five gained 10 yards or more. He had five first downs, with a median gain of 10 yards. He caught each of the three passes thrown his way for two more first downs, including a 7-yard gain on third-and-5. 5. Khiry Robinson NO 89 1 8 0 42 41 1 Robinson was stuffed for no gain or a loss six times in 21 carries, but he had eight first downs, including a game-winning 18-yard touchdown in overtime.

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. LeSean McCoy PHI 81 0 6 0 -31 -16 -15 McCoy was stuffed for no gain or a loss seven times in 24 carries, with only four first downs. He caught each of the four passes thrown his way, including a pair of first downs, but collectively they gained just 6 yards. One resulted in a 9-yard loss and a lost fumble.

Five most valuable wide receivers and tight ends Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR 1. Demaryius Thomas DEN 8 16 226 28.2 2 59 Seven of Thomas' receptions gained at least 13 yards and a first down, including touchdowns of 31 and 86 yards. 2. Alshon Jeffery CHI 6 7 97 16.2 1 51 Five of Jeffery's receptions produced first downs, with three gains of 20 yards or more, including a 25-yard touchdown. 3. Brian Quick STL 5 9 87 17.4 2 50 Quick had touchdowns of 8 and 5 yards, plus gains of 25 and 43 yards. 4. Golden Tate DET 7 9 134 19.1 1 50 Tate had four gains of 18 yards or more, including a 55-yarder. 5. Emmanuel Sanders DEN 7 9 101 14.4 0 41 Five of Sanders' receptions gained at least 11 yards, capped off by a 30-yarder.