Why Detroit Lions Players Are Not PFF Fans
How NFL players are evaluated has been put into the spotlight this week.
One of the most popular player grading tools is Pro Football Focus. Their weekly grades are looked at by college football fans, NFL front offices and by a significant amount of NFL fans and pundits.
Several Detroit Lions players told Lions OnSI this week the weekly grades are not really indicative of how a player is performing. One called the graphics aired and what is put in them during player introductions simply "entertainment."
Former NFL offensive lineman Chris Long took offense to seeing PFF grades on the screen during Sunday Night Football and shared his reasoning on a recent episode of the "Green Light" podcast
“Get Mahomes quarterback 13 of 32 off my television screen. We’re talking about legislation, what our kids shouldn’t see at school, what they shouldn’t be learning about, should we have political ads on television. I want the PFF scores off the TV as bad as I want political ads off the television,” Long expressed. “God forbid there’s somebody watching the game who doesn’t know who f—ing Patrick Mahomes is. They’re going to be badly misguided, brother. Thirteenth best quarterback in the league? If I was (Derrick) Nnadi, and maybe he earned it this year, but I would f—ing sue. I would be in Cris Collinsworth’s backyard dude."
Collinsworth defended the platform this week, explaining anyone is free to come visit and see how the grades are curated.
“Thanks for the attention, you’re helping our sales,” Collinsworth said on “The Up & Adams Show," when asked about the increased scrutiny. "It’s easy to criticize if you haven’t seen how the potato chips are made, but an open invitation to all those guys. Anybody who wants to come in and take a look, debate, argue, sit down, pound the table. We’ve had a lot of people do it in the past, and we’ll have a lot of people do it in the future.”
Former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt told Pat McAfee this week, "I’ve had my issues with PFF for a very long time. The No. 1 issue with PFF by far, bar none, hands down is their player-grading system and the fact that they project it everywhere, including nationally televised games on Sunday night where everybody’s watching.
“I know defensive line play unbelievably well. I could not go and grade a game for a player and give him a definitive grade without speaking to him, his coach, learning the scheme, everything,” Watt added. “PFF has a ton of great stuff but player grading sucks. Stop putting it out.”
Linebacker Grant Stuard understands why fans put stock into the platform, but shared he only looks at PFF to see how many snaps he played at the end of the season.
"I just think it's strange," said linebacker Grant Stuard. "Like who said that PFF was the one that everybody is going off of or whatever? Sometimes you see PFF or even a reporter say something like, 'Alex Anzalone, he played the most nickel cornerback snaps.' No, he's just lined up in the apex. He might have been blitzing. So, if a fan is maybe putting some stock into it, because what else do they have to put stock into? I'm saying they don't know, really. Nobody knows what we're running but us. So, I can understand the value that it presents, but I don't think too much about it."
Cornerback Terrion Arnold indicated he will never accept PFF as a fair grading system, since those evaluating players do not even know what plays are being called or what scheme is actually being ran.
"I will never accept PFF, because they ain't even real," said Arnold. "If you go and look at it, it's saying in their database, the main people who grade it -- like I stopped checking when there was a play where I was in Cover 2 and it said I was actually in man-to-man. So, they don't really know the scheme.
"Then it was another thing, too. I went and looked at the touchdowns. When I go and look and it says I gave up this and this. I was the closest in the vicinity of the play, but that wasn't the play call," Arnold added. "So, when I go and look at it, PFF is not getting ready to get you paid, it's not ready to go out here and show the ins and outs of what's really going on. Because at the end of the day, those coaches who are designing those schemes aren't out there grading."
Amik Robertson stopped looking at PFF grades during his second NFL season. Even though rankings are aired publicly, the veteran defensive back is focused more on what he puts on film, where his coaches are actually aware of what his responsibilities are during a given play.
"PFF is just guys who never played the game. They do not even know what defense we are in. I stopped looking at PFF when I was in my second year in the league," said Robertson. "Man, I stopped worrying about PFF. You know, it's all good, but I stopped paying attention to PFF, man. I just go out there and perform. I know a lot a lot of guys think the same way, though. They don't really believe in PFF. Some guys do, though.
"I really don't give a f**k. I don't really care. I don't really care about rankings. I try to let my film speak for itself, man. Because at the end of the day, the eye in the sky don't lie," Robertson commented further. "Like I said, most of the time they don't know what defense we are running, they don't know this guy's job, they see who is in the vicinity of the ball getting thrown. That's all they see. So, I never really cared about it."
BREAKING: Christian McCaffrey puts himself on the podium for MVP in the 49ers win over the Falcons
The 49ers defense kept the team in the game, and Christian McCaffrey put the game away in the Niners win.
The San Francisco 49ers forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the game, thanks to a Robert Saleh blitz. The offense answered with a 9-play drive of their own with a couple of impressive rushes by Brian Robinson. However, Mac Jones couldn’t connect with Jauan Jennings on 3rd & 9.
The Falcons hit a big play to Kyle Pitts for 28 yards, but a holding call negated the big gain. That did not prevent Atlanta from moving the ball into San Francisco’s territory. The defense got the Falcons in a 2nd & 18, but a Renardo Green and Marques Sigle illegal contact gave Atlanta a fresh set of downs.
By the time the first quarter had ended, Atlanta had a 15-play that had taken over eight minutes off the clock. To begin the second quarter, Renardo Green was in the blue tent, and Darrell Luter was on the field. Malik Mustapha also subbed in for Sigle.
On 3rd down, Sam Okuayionu sacked Michael Penix with some assistance from Bryce Huff to limit the Falcons to a field goal. So, a 19-play drive only gave Atlanta a three-point lead.
Christian McCaffrey got going a bit on the next drive with rushes of 7, 5, and a season-high 15. Jauan Jennings converted a 3rd & 2 for 13 yards. Unfortunately, Jennings looked like he gator-armed an attempt to catch a pass over the middle. So, instead of third and short in the red zone, the Falcons had the game’s first turnover.
To make matters worse, Renardo Green was questionable to return with a toe injury. Deomodore Lenoir was the victim of an awful defensive pass interference call. But a pair of blitzes got the Falcons off the field, as they didn’t gain much of anything after the penalty.
The offense took over, but center Jake Brendel was ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury. San Francisco answered with an 11-play drive that featured another 10-yard run by McCaffrey. The 49ers faced a third down right after the two-minute drill. Mac Jones used his legs to find McCaffrey for 13 yards. CMC would punch it in for the Niners’ second rushing touchdown in a row to take a 7-3 lead.
A stop by the defense would go a long way with the offense getting the ball to start the third quarter. They didn’t just get a stop. Bryce Huff had a sack and a forced fumble, and Alfred Collins pounced on the ball. Mac Jones almost fumbled away the possession. Thankfully, Eddy Piniero continued to be automatic from 50 yards out. Piniero was good from 55 to give the Niners a 10-3 lead.
Penix took advantage of Luter on the following drive. He connected on a 38-yarder. However, Penix made a rookie-esque mistake with an intentional grounding call just before the half. That led to a 10-second run-off and did not allow Atlanta to attempt a field goal.
To begin the half, Jones found Kendrick Bounre for a 10-yard gain on 3rd & 9. Skyy Moore had his first impact play after making a defender miss and gaining 15 yards to put the offense in Atlanta’s territory. Jennings couldn’t get two feet down on the ensuing third down, which meant Pinero would need to try from 43 yards. He was good, and the Niners had a little breathing room to begin the half with a 13-3 lead.
The kick coverage gave up a 45-yard return, and just like that, Atlanta was in San Francisco’s territory. A fake screen pass to Kyle Pitts for 17 yards put Atlanta in the red zone. Two plays later, they were in the end zone, and it was 13-10.
Christian McCaffrey gained nine yards, but stepped out of bounds. That meant a short-yardage situation, which was an area where San Francisco has struggled all season. But a Kyle Juszczyk carry was blown up in the backfield, and the offense would punt it right back to the Falcons.
Saleh’s defense got into a 3rd & 13 situation. But Darrell Luter gave up a first-down completion. A Chase Lucas blitz forced another third and long. A delay of game penalty made it 3rd & 14. Would the defense have better luck this time? The answer is yes, as Luter held up this time against Casey Washington to force a punt.
As we headed into the fourth quarter, the 49ers were averaging nearly five yards per carry. They had the lead and the ball. It had been a quiet night for George Kittle in the box score, but his presence was felt in the running game.
Mac Jones elected to go deep to Demarcus Robinson on 3rd & 3, despite a couple of underneath receivers being open. It didn’t work out, as Robinson dropped the pass. You can’t fault Jones for the decision. It was a game-changing drop. Instead of a field goal, at worst, San Francisco was forced to punt.
A Tatum Bethune tackle for loss didn’t matter after Kyle Pitts caught a back-shoulder fade over Malik Mustapha. Bijan Robinson took a short pass 15 yards as well. Chunk plays were the only way Atlanta would get over on the Niners. On 4th & 1, the Falcons took Bijan off the field and threw the ball. Chase Lucas jumped Drake London’s route, nearly coming up with the first interception of the season for the defense.
That meant the Niners’ offense could all but ice the game with a touchdown. The 49ers took over with just over eight minutes to play. The offense picked up four first downs to take over five minutes off the clock. That led to a 3rd & 13, and Jones went to the player who had come through for the offense all season. McCaffrey, lined up in the slot, caught a 17-yard pass to put the ball inside the five.
McCaffrey, with the help of Connor Colby and Matt Hennessy, was pulled into the end zone to give the Niners a commanding 20-10 lead. McCaffrey had nearly as many receiving yards (72) as the rest of the 49ers combined (80). It was an electric performance that produced 12 first downs and seven forced missed tackles.
The only thing left to cross off was the 49ers getting their first interception of the season.
