February 4th, 2012 
Walt J. 
There’s nothing that annoys me more as a sports fan than pointless statistics. Beginning in the 2011 season, ESPN began using a statistic called “Total Quarterback Rating” or QBR. The idea behind this is that the Worldwide Leader decided that the current NFL passer rating system was inefficient and didn’t capture all aspects of the Quarterback position. It factors in “clutchness”, down-and-distance, game situation, etc.
It’s no secret that ESPN thinks of itself as the czar of sports information. Hell, their motto is “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” There’s also nothing wrong with using information to analyze and better understand a situation, in this case, the quarterback position. However, taking the approach of force-feeding your viewers this unverifiable information that is CLEARLY flawed and telling us that this is the better option because you say so is just laughable. How is it Tim Tebow, who played the second half in Week 5 (4/10, 79 yards 1TD), had a higher QBR than Aaron Rodgers in the same week (26/39, 396 yards 2 TDs)? Why should Aaron Rodgers be penalized because he played the entire game? If Tom Brady blows out another team in the first half and leaves after the thrid quarter, he wouldn’t get as much credit?
The formula uses intangible unquantifiable aspects of the game and assigns them a quantity. It’s not listed anywhere on their NFL stats pages, and the only way to ever hear it referenced is on ESPN programming. ESPN’s latest show, Numbers Never Lie, is devoted to quoting endless statistics that may or may not have any real value. The first thing you learn in a collegiate statistics course is that they can be manipulated to say whatever you want. Anyone can quote stats, but what makes you a true analyst, whether in sports or even finance, is the ability to interpret, apply and effectively communicate your findings.
When I hear them peddling this tripe, it becomes empty rhetoric. It has no meaning, no significance, and they just expect fans to swallow this and say “Oh yeah he’s better, because ESPN said so.” Sorry, I am not a puppet! I do my own research and I think my own thoughts. Here’s a statistic for you, when this whole experiment fails miserably, how will this affect their OMIF percentage (Open Mouth, Insert Foot)?
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