NFL Stats Per Possession 2010-11 - Preview

When evaluating NFL teams, many of our team stats come on a per game basis. Since each team plays 16 games, it seems like the right way to compare teams. Stats such as yards per game and points per game are often looked at as the best evaluator for a certain team's offense and defense.

In basketball, we often evaluate teams on a per possession basis. This is a good idea because some teams play at a much faster pace than others and certain teams can average over 30 more possessions a game than others. In football, the number of possessions teams have are much closer together. However, we can see certain teams average 3 more possessions a game than others. That totals to 48 possessions. Obviously, in terms of points per game and yards per game, the team with 48 more possessions has an advantage offensively and disadvantage defensively. 48 possessions can be a huge difference when comparing teams. So this is why I am going to be calculating NFL team stats on a per possession basis. I'll explain my stats here:

Offensively
Possessions per game: The amount of possessions a team averages per game
Yards per possession: The amount of yards a team averages per possession
Points per possession: The average amount of points a team scores per possession
Touchdown %: Percent of possessions a team scores a TD
FG %: Percent of possessions a team scores a FG
Punt %: Percent of possessions a team punts the football
Turnover %: Percent of possessions a team turns the football over

Defensively
Possessions per game: The amount of possessions the opposing team averages per game
Yards per possession: The amount of yards the opposing team averages per possession
Points per possession: The average amount of points the opposing team scores per possession
Touchdown %: Percent of possessions the opposing team scores a TD
FG %: Percent of possessions the opposing team scores a FG
Punt %: Percent of possessions the opposing team punts the football
Turnover %: Percent of possessions the opposing team turns the football over

So there you have it. I'll have each these stats posted for all 32 teams, for both their offense and defense, in just a short couple days.