Football Outsiders has the ALEX stat to measure QBs
by G.K.Chesterton (2018-04-15 22:36:53)
Edited on 2018-04-15 22:38:06

In reply to: 10 bucks says Wimbush throws his first 10 yard flat to a rb  posted by DomerJon

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who consistently throw short of the first-down marker. See their site for details. ALEX is an acronym that stands for something but it was intentionally named after Alex Smith, legendary for throwing short of the marker.

For those new to this metric, it is called Air Less EXpected, or ALEX for short. ALEX measures the average difference between how far a quarterback threw a pass (air yards) and how many yards he needed for a first down. If a quarterback throws a pass to a receiver 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage on third-and-13, then that would be -17 ALEX. The most meaningful ALEX numbers come on third and fourth down, when it's really crucial to get 100 percent of the need yards to extend the drive.



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