I can’t do 2013 until I break it down game by game, which is something I can’t do for a little while. The problem with 2013 is that it’s Bradford v. Clemens, which intuitively I think might make a difference. Also, in 2013, they start Richardson for the 1st 4 games, and he was such a bust it tilted the run/pass ratios.
2012 is all Bradford; 2014 I don’t think the qb makes any difference; 2015 I don’t think the qb makes any difference…it’s certainly not like Bradford v. Clemens.
So this is how it goes.
2012: 59% passing/ 41% running
percentage passes per game, ranked 13th
percentage runs per game ranked 20th
2014: 58.7% passing/ 41.3% running
percentage passes per game, ranked 18th
percentage runs per game ranked 15th
2015: 53.4% passing/ 46.6% running
percentage passes per game, ranked 28th
percentage runs per game ranked 5th
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Now why is this significant? Because I see claims about what a Fisher offense “is.” The presumption is that it is always like 2015, meaning a low percentage of passes v. a high percentage of runs.
But what is the difference between 2012/2014 and 2015? The situation with the qbs, the back, the coordinator? Some of the above, all of the above, other?
I don’t think that’s clear.
Either way, Fisher did run a higher percentage of pass plays in 2012, so he has and will do it.
I would describe 2012/2014 as a balanced offense, certainly not pass heavy. By this definition pass heavy offenses throw 61% or more of the time. Run heavy offenses, in contrast, run 44% or more of the time. Balanced offenses, in this view, pass 60-57% of off the time, and run 40-43% of the time.
I base those numbers on looking at the rankings for run and pass percentages: https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/passing-play-pct?date=2016-02-08
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