Quote:3 points is massive given the amount of statistical data being covered. This is especially true if you can show that within the last decade a sharp spike occurred. For some clarity, I work with population data/stats every day.
Agreed. Scoring is way up across the board in the NFL when compared to 1976. This was a goal of the NFL. They wanted to make the game more exciting for fans. A 3 point increase in scoring average across the entire league is very relevant to the discussion when a comparison like this is being made. Good post.
Quote:A 17% increase over a 37 year span is not massive, no matter how you spin it. Also, there was no "sharp spike" that you refer to. Did you even look at the link I provided?
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/ye...coring.htm
Now we aren't discussing the NFL as a whole. We are discussing 1 team and how many points they are scoring. We are comparing the Jaguars POINTS PER GAME to teams of the past POINTS PER GAME. To account for offensive inflation, it would be more accurate to compare the PPGs in a ratio.
1976 Buccs PPG : 1976 league average PPG
2013 Jaguars PPG : 2013 league average PPG
I, too, have a background dealing with statistics. That really doesn't matter, though, this is a pretty simplistic set of data.
Bingo! That would be very interesting and fantastic data. This is a more "apples to apples" comparison. Yes... I "liked" this. Good post.
Here are the averages. I posted the numbers weekly for 1976 so that others could check my work to ensure accuracy. This is interesting. I want to make sure its right.
1976-Week 1:
Total points scored-565
Buccaneers-0
1976-Week 2:
Total points scored-486
Buccaneers-0
1976-Week 3:
Total points scored-541
Buccaneers-9
http://www.footballdb.com/scores.html?lg...e=reg&wk=3
Total points scored in 1976 Weeks 1-3... 1,592
Buccaneers total points scored.... 9
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AV. PPG 1976 NFL Weeks 1-3: 18.95
AV. PPG 1976 Buccaneers Weeks 1-3: 3.0
Difference:
15.95
AV. PPG 2013 NFL Weeks 1-3: 22.61
AV. PPG 2013 Jaguars Weeks 1-3: 9.3
Difference:
13.31
Wow! The difference is just 2.64 points per game in this more "apples to apples" comparison. Its less than a FG. And the 1976 Buccaneers were an expansion team regarded as perhaps the worst team in NFL history.
Just in case anyone is wondering, in week 4 of the 1976 NFL season, the Buccaneers has an offensive explosion and scored 17 points. That is just a number to keep in the back of your head for the Jaguars entering week 4, because this is
real close.
UPDATE:
1976-Week 4
Total points scored-604
Buccaneers 17
Total points scored 1976 weeks 1-4: 2,196
1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers weeks 1-4: 44
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers
AV. PPG NFL 1976 Weeks 1-4: 19.6
AV. PPG 1976 Buccaneers Weeks 1-4: 6.5
Difference: 13.1
Jacksonville Jaguars
AV. PPG NFL 2013 Weeks 1-4: 22.9
AV. PPG 2013 Jaguars Weeks 1-4: 7.8
Difference: 15.1
The 2013 Jaguars are only outscoring the 1976 Buccaneers by 1.3 points per game. We are in an offensive era of NFL football. When we compare the offensive output of each team to their yearly counterparts, the Jaguars trail the Buccaneers by 2 points per game. The 2013 Jaguars have an offense that through weeks 1-4 is worse than the 1976 Buccaneers.