In an effort to separate the value brought to his team by each NFL Quarterback from the value of his surrounding teammates, I took a look at the statistics of each Quarterback who had taken at least 300 snaps under center, and I calculated how many net forward yards we could attribute directly to each. Then I ranked the Quarterbacks according to the average number of “Net Yards per Snap”. The formula I used to calculate those net yards was NYpS is = Yards Passing – Receiver YAC + Yards Rushing – Yards Sacked – (30x turnovers) / Snaps under center. In simple terms, I gave each QB credit for the yards produced by his legs or his arm, independent of any yards passing he accumulated because of his receivers running after they caught the ball. I then deducted yardage from each QB for every thrown interception, lost fumble, or sack taken. It is estimated that every turnover costs a team on average 30 yards of net field position, so every turnover deducted 30 yards.
By that standard, here is the way the NFL Quarterbacks performed in the 2011 season:
| QBs | Snaps | Yd Creds | Ycred/Snap |
| Rodgers | 988 | 2308 | 2.33 |
| Vick | 787 | 1834 | 2.33 |
| Brees | 1117 | 2420 | 2.16 |
| Henne | 236 | 496 | 2.09 |
| E Manning | 1028 | 1974 | 1.92 |
| Newton | 999 | 1919 | 1.92 |
| Brady | 1082 | 2047 | 1.89 |
| Ryan | 1022 | 1871 | 1.83 |
| Romo | 925 | 1656 | 1.79 |
| Stafford | 1058 | 1856 | 1.75 |
| Tebow | 641 | 1115 | 1.74 |
| Palmer | 635 | 1003 | 1.58 |
| Schaub | 648 | 1020 | 1.57 |
| Rivers | 1048 | 1552 | 1.48 |
| Cutler | 645 | 957 | 1.48 |
| Roethlisberger | 954 | 1378 | 1.44 |
| Dalton | 1015 | 1445 | 1.42 |
| A Smith | 993 | 1368 | 1.38 |
| McCoy | 850 | 1192 | 1.39 |
| Young | 207 | 275 | 1.33 |
| McNabb | 308 | 409 | 1.32 |
| Hasselbeck | 876 | 1104 | 1.26 |
| Moore | 742 | 909 | 1.22 |
| Freeman | 918 | 1115 | 1.21 |
| Orton | 580 | 681 | 1.17 |
| Flacco | 1036 | 1193 | 1.15 |
| Fitzpatrick | 992 | 1141 | 1.15 |
| Kolb | 587 | 529 | 1.11 |
| Ponder | 574 | 620 | 1.08 |
| Painter | 532 | 553 | 1.04 |
| Jackson | 913 | 953 | 1.04 |
| Cassell | 574 | 563 | 0.98 |
| Grossman | 794 | 781 | 0.98 |
| Bradford | 658 | 594 | 0.89 |
| Skelton | 411 | 462 | 0.89 |
| Sanchez | 1030 | 856 | 0.83 |
| Orlovsky | 475 | 353 | 0.74 |
| Yates | 397 | 219 | 0.56 |
| Gabbert | 872 | 392 | 0.45 |
| Hanie | 215 | -11 | -0.05 |
| AVG | 1.34 |
OBSERVATIONS
1. Rodgers Still Better than Brees
If you go by the number of Yards attributable to each QB per snap taken, Aaron Rodgers still had a more valuable season for the Packers than Drew Brees had for the Saints. If you only use Net Yards attributable to the QB, then it was Brees by a little bit, but only because he took many more snaps.
2. The Value of Vick
We did not hear much about Philadelphia QB Michael Vick this season, but my numbers suggest that the Eagles probably would have made the play-offs had Vick not been injured. When Vick was under center, he was equal in Net Yards per Snap to Aaron Rodgers. By contrast, when the team turned to backup Vince Young for several games, Young produced a slightly below average 1.33 Yards per Snap (the NFL average this season was 1.34 YCpS)
3. Explaining Tebow
Net Yards Per Snap helps to explain the Tebow phenomenon. Most pundits considered Tebow a below average QB whose defense carried him to victories, mainly because Tebow completed a very low percentage of passes, and therefore he could not possibly be a valuable quarterback. However, when you consider the number of Net Yards directly attributable to him per snap, suddenly Tebow emerges as an above average QB. With his legs, his downfield passing, and his careful handling of the football, Tebow produced more Net Yards per Snap than big names like Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Schaub, Phillip Rivers, and Jay Cutler, and many more than his predecessor in Denver, Kyle Orton.
4. Eli Manning moves ahead of Brady
When you consider only Net Yards per Snap, Eli Manning produced more value for the Giants than Tom Brady produced for the New England Patriots. Manning is a very good Quarterback. As a Packer fan, I can attest to that. Another surprise finisher ahead of Brady was the maligned Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins. In fact, in limited work, Henne bested both Brady and Manning… something that I think would shock Dolphin fans.
5. Rams should not bank on Sam Bradford
The St Louis Rams have made it public that they will not select a Quarterback with their first round pick, opting instead to stay with Sam Bradford. Why? What has Bradford done to deserve this rythmn? Nothing. In his second season, he was the third worst full time Starting QB behind…
6. The Criticism of Sanchez well-deserved
New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez was the second least productive full time starting QB in the NFL last season. He was awful. Way too many turnovers, not enough yard sin the air, and too many sacks taken. The Jets really need to upgrade that position.
7. Caleb Hanie the worst starting QB of all time?
Why did the Chicago Bears season crater after Jay Cutler went down? Not because Cutler was anything great, it was because SOMEHOW backup QB Caleb Hanie managed post NEGATIVE net yardage during his stint. That is almost impossible to accomplish, yet Hanie was bad enough to do it. The 1985 Bears could not have won a game with that stiff under center.
8. Flacco the Second Coming of Dilfer
If the Baltimore Ravens get to the Super Bowl in two weeks, it will not be because of the play of QB Joe Flacco. Flacco is very unproductive, and in that sense he has carried on the Baltimore tradition borne after the City’s second arrival in the NFL. The Ravens won a Super Bowl early in the decade when their defense proved good enough to overcome the mediocre production of the now legendarily bad Trent Dilfer.
