Bryan Knowles
@brykno
Writer/Editor of Lateral Thinking, a new subscriber-supported football blog. Contributing Writer, FTN/DVOA
I'm sorry, if you finish behind Daniel Jones in offensive DVOA last season, you can't use the "Greatest Offense There Is" moniker. I don't make the rules.
Man, the running back market increases faster than I can keep up with it.
Beginning working on the YAC+ article. Technically, if you lower the minimum targets to one, your YAC+ leader in 2025: Jameis Winston!
Myles Garrett says he wants to break Bruce Smith's all-time sack record. That's 200, so he's 74.5 away. Garret has the second-most sacks ever through his age 30 season, but Smith played until he was 40. Longevity helps. I give Garrett a 50/50 chance.
There are 99 days until the 2026 NFL season kicks off. Crazy! Last year, in the DVOA Discord and here on bluesky, I did a number of "best player to wear jersey X" numbers as a countdown. This year, instead... Here are some starters who either wore #99 or played in '99. How many do you know?
No, no. Jared Verse is very good, but not "him + one first rounder for Myles Garrett" good. Oh, Browns...
The worst single-season passing DVOAs of all time, minimum 100 dropbacks. Two 1977 Buccaneers in the top seven!
Worst career ANY/A since 1950, minimum of 50 pass attempts. Randy Hedberg has at least a case for Worst QB Ever.
Oh, good, Google AI. This is exactly what I was looking for, certainly not my article from 2024 about Saleh getting fired. Glad you're here.
That's how bad the 1977 Buccaneers were -- I can only really compare them to old timey teams with funny names who got crushed by ~other~ old timey teams with funny names. And those guys played two games each, as opposed to a full 14-game schedule.
The other team down there is the 1921 Louisville Brecks, who went 0-2 and also didn't score a single point all season, losing to the Evansville Crimson Giants and the Columbus Panhandles, two of the five-worst defenses in the league.
The 1921 Muncie Flyers went 0-2, losing each game 14-0. That's bad, but it doesn't sound all-time bad. Then you see that that one of their opponents, the Cincinnati Celts, gave up an average of 29.3 points per game -- which in 1921, was ~basically~ witchcraft.
And then my go-to for worst NFL team ever, the 1934 Reds. I bet league average is far too low for them to get first place, but they're the only team to finish a year with a passer rating of ZERO. 26-for-88 for 248 yards, 0 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. And that was one of their better skills!
Secondly, the 1949 Packers. This is still in the era where some teams are transitioning to full-time quarterbacks, but enough have that your baseline will be decently high. The Packers? No no. -0.5 adjusted net yards per attempt -- worst ever, and joining the 77 Bucs as the only teams below 0.
First up, the 1974 Falcons, with an outside shot of seeing their DVOA one of these days. Four touchdowns to 31 interceptions. 3.7 yards per attempt -- half a yard shorter than any other team and 2.1 yards shorter than league average. Took the most sacks in the league, too.
Doing some early work for the Colts chapter and man, according to Google, I remember less about the 2025 season than I thought I did.
'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and all through the kitchen I was trying to make dinner, and no one would pitch in The turkey was stuffed and was soaking in brine And I hoped that this year, it would turn out...well, fine.
Random table that may not make the FTN Almanac: the rookie receiving DVOA for every wide receiver drafted in the top 5 since 1978. Both a "this was not a good year for Travis Hunter" stat and a "oh, there's Larry Fitzgerald, maybe one year isn't everything" stat.
More research that might not make the 2026 FTN Almanac: The Patriots had the biggest offensive improvement in DVOA history that was not associated with a quarterback change, jumping up 35.0% between 2024 and 2025
Beginning to do some FTN Almanac work (available this summer!). Was digging up some historical Bears offensive futility numbers and, oh. Maybe this should go in the Jets chapter, instead.
It's the Report Card Report! Collating the instant draft grades in one place to see the best, worst, and most divisive drafts of the year Last year, the Seahawks and Patriots got the best grades, and they made the Super Bowl! I don't think that will happen this year. ftnfantasy.com/nfl/browns-r...
Romello Height is 6'3", 239 pounds. Here's the most career sacks for players at least 6'3" and under 240. One guy kinda worked out, I guess.
Meanwhile, the 49ers' War Room fires into action with their new assistant GM.
With Vrabel having an emergency press conference, the Patriots announce their acting head coach.