Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV
The relative lack of depth at wide receiver for Georgia Tech since 2001 made me wanna look into receiver depth across the ACC. I particularly wanted to investigate the production of #2 receivers across the ACC and how different offenses utilize the #2 receiver. I wanted to answer questions about passing balance and utilization in this piece. First is a break down of the #2 receivers across the ACC. Please note we are at the bottom of every passing stat FOREVER:
It's pretty apparent across the board that the #2 ACC receivers are big play guys. They average around 14.2 yards per catch, which is about 2 yards higher than the ACC average yardage per completion. The interesting difference between #2 receivers and #1's, however, is the goal line looks. The #2 receivers move the chains while the #1's get the TD's. #2 receivers average a touchdown every 13.1 plays. The ACC average is a touchdown for every 11.9 completions.
Concerning offensive balance, I have devised a spreadsheet to show which teams displayed the most balance between their #1 and #2 receivers. Basically, the following chart will show the net difference in receptions, yards, and touchdowns as a percentage of each offense's total output compared to the #1 receiver.
For example, the #1 receiver caught 10 passes and 2 TD's. The #2 receiver caught 5 passes and 1 TD. Let's say the total output of our hypothetical offense was 20 completions and 4 TD's. The #2's net difference for receptions would be (5 #2 receptions - 10 #1 receptions)/20 total completions = -25%. The #2 caught 25% less of the completions than the #1 receiver.
The top teams at distributing passes amongst their receivers are pass-happy Duke, NC State, FSU, etc.. Run-first teams have less balance as they're using less multiple wide receiver sets and more one-read pass plays. Injuries explain some of the teams lack of distribution as well (Wake/UNC).
The relative lack of depth at wide receiver for Georgia Tech since 2001 made me wanna look into receiver depth across the ACC. I particularly wanted to investigate the production of #2 receivers across the ACC and how different offenses utilize the #2 receiver. I wanted to answer questions about passing balance and utilization in this piece. First is a break down of the #2 receivers across the ACC. Please note we are at the bottom of every passing stat FOREVER:
It's pretty apparent across the board that the #2 ACC receivers are big play guys. They average around 14.2 yards per catch, which is about 2 yards higher than the ACC average yardage per completion. The interesting difference between #2 receivers and #1's, however, is the goal line looks. The #2 receivers move the chains while the #1's get the TD's. #2 receivers average a touchdown every 13.1 plays. The ACC average is a touchdown for every 11.9 completions.
Concerning offensive balance, I have devised a spreadsheet to show which teams displayed the most balance between their #1 and #2 receivers. Basically, the following chart will show the net difference in receptions, yards, and touchdowns as a percentage of each offense's total output compared to the #1 receiver.
For example, the #1 receiver caught 10 passes and 2 TD's. The #2 receiver caught 5 passes and 1 TD. Let's say the total output of our hypothetical offense was 20 completions and 4 TD's. The #2's net difference for receptions would be (5 #2 receptions - 10 #1 receptions)/20 total completions = -25%. The #2 caught 25% less of the completions than the #1 receiver.
The top teams at distributing passes amongst their receivers are pass-happy Duke, NC State, FSU, etc.. Run-first teams have less balance as they're using less multiple wide receiver sets and more one-read pass plays. Injuries explain some of the teams lack of distribution as well (Wake/UNC).