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SUPER BOWL: Giants vs Patriots, QB Sacks

The NY Giants lead the league on opponent QB sacks dumping the opposing QG 3.19 times per game. The New England Patriots rank 2nd at 2.94.

The interesting side of the sack story is, the more sacks in a year the fewer interceptions stolen.

Since the sack is less important than the INT a question is raised: "Would football theory suggest we let the QB throw but under maximum pressure?"

Think about it.

The stat graphic below pictures the two teams' relative position on D sacks.

Opp QB Sacked

Percentile Chart

100=Stongest 50=Average 0=Weakest
Lines: Playoff Avg=62 SuperBowl Avg=83

Win Mrg Points Change

Winning Margin Points Change
Sorted by Points Change, 2006 to 2007

Rank	Team	Pctl	Stat Value	Points behind Leader	Win Mrg Pts Chg vs 2006	Games Won
1	NYG	100	3.19	0.00	3.84	10
2	N E	86	2.94	0.81	0.61	16
3	DAL	83	2.88	1.01	2.42	13
4	SEA	79	2.81	1.21	0.81	10
5	S D	72	2.69	1.62	-3.63	11
6	CHI	66	2.56	2.02	0.20	7
7	TEN	62	2.50	2.22	2.83	10
8	MIN	55	2.38	2.62	1.62	8
9	JAX	52	2.31	2.83	0.40	11
10	K C	52	2.31	2.83	1.01	4
11	DET	52	2.31	2.83	1.41	7
12	ARI	48	2.25	3.03	-0.40	8
13	PIT	48	2.25	3.03	-0.61	10
14	PHI	48	2.25	3.03	-0.81	8
15	G B	48	2.25	3.03	-2.02	13
16	DEN	38	2.06	3.63	-0.61	7
17	WAS	38	2.06	3.63	2.83	9
18	T B	38	2.06	3.63	1.62	9
19	BAL	34	2.00	3.84	-5.65	5
20	N O	34	2.00	3.84	-1.21	7
21	HOU	31	1.94	4.04	0.61	8
22	STL	31	1.94	4.04	-0.61	3
23	S F	31	1.94	4.04	-0.61	5
24	MIA	28	1.88	4.24	-3.43	1
25	NYJ	24	1.81	4.44	-1.21	4
26	CLE	21	1.75	4.64	0.00	10
27	IND	21	1.75	4.64	0.61	13
28	OAK	17	1.69	4.85	-1.41	4
29	BUF	14	1.63	5.05	-2.83	7
30	ATL	10	1.56	5.25	-2.42	4
31	CAR	3	1.44	5.65	-3.63	7
32	CIN	0	1.38	5.85	-2.62	7

2007 Season, YTD through Week 17

In season 2006 Giants ranked 23rd on Opp QB Sacked at 2.00.
In season 2007 they ranked 1st at 3.19, up 3.8 points per game on this one stat.
From 2006 to 2007 Giants improved by 1.8 points per game on Winning Margin.

The sack is an important stat, probably deserves more attention than it receives. Typically the sack loses 14 yards. When the sack leads to a punt (and the punt is a "give away") the drive is broken. Here is the stat graphic of the MATCHUP with the QB SACK points advantage.

Patriots on Offense

Offense/Defense	Independant	Offense	Defense	Advantage		Points
Matchup	Variable Name	N E	NYG	Patriots	Giants	Advantage
N E Off vs NYG Def	Yards per Pass Att - I	7.86	5.98			5.6 N E
N E Off vs NYG Def	Fum Lost This Year - I	0.33	0.58			3.8 N E
N E Off vs NYG Def	Passes Had Intercpted - I	0.67	1.05			3.6 N E
N E Off vs NYG Def	QB Sacks - I	1.33	2.84			0.5 N E
N E Off vs NYG Def	Yards per Touchdown - P	110.61	168.47			0.5 NYG
N E Off vs NYG Def	Total Rushing Plays - I	28.39	25.21			1.2 NYG

With Patriots on offense and Giants on defense the most important independant stat
is Yards per Pass Att where Patriots have an advantage of 5.6 points.

Offense/Defense Dependant Offense Defense Advantage Points

Matchup Variable Name N E NYG Patriots Giants Advantage

N E Off vs NYG Def Total Points Scored - D 35.61 21.16 9.7 N E

Patriots on Defense

Defense/Offense	Independant	Defense	Offense	Advantage		Points
Matchup	Variable Name	N E	NYG	Patriots	Giants	Advantage
N E Def vs NYG Off	Yards per Pass Att - I	5.57	5.65			3.1 N E
N E Def vs NYG Off	Total Rushing Plays - I	22.44	29.53			2.3 N E
N E Def vs NYG Off	QB Sacks - I	2.72	1.79			0.5 N E
N E Def vs NYG Off	Yards per Touchdown - P	156.59	171.25			0
N E Def vs NYG Off	Passes Had Intercpted - I	1.22	1.05			0.9 NYG
N E Def vs NYG Off	Fum Lost This Year - I	0.72	0.79			0.9 NYG

With Patriots on defense and Giants on offense the most important stat
is Yards per Pass Att where Patriots have an advantage of 3.1 points.

Offense/Defense Dependant Defense Offense Advantage Points

Matchup Variable Name N E NYG Patriots Giants Advantage

N E Def vs NYG Off Total Points Scored - D 17 23.21 6.8 N E

The stat graphics below picture the defense-offense matchtup showing Giants' relative position within their division and the Patriots' position in the AFC East.

Four sacks on offense spells loser.

Bud Goode