PFF Grading System

[VIKING '87]

Curious how those more involved in recruiting feel about the use of PFF Grades. Is it any better than the use of stars as a measure of talent/potential? (yes stars matter - just look at the top FBS rosters. Clearly a correlation). The reason I ask, is Feathers and Fieldgoals tracks the ins and outs, too, They list the PFF ratings for each player. I never thought Anwar O was top notch. Felt like plenty of sacks were on him. His grade is 67.2. I was surprised to see him hit the portal and to see Louisville pick him up. Someone obviously thinks his play is worthy of P4 and to paying more.

General PFF Grade Benchmarks for OL:
Below 60: Below Average/Struggling.
60-69: Average/Solid.
70-79: Good/Above Average.
80+: Very Good/Excellent (Elite performers often in this range).
90+: Elite/Rarely Achieved (Exceptional single-game or season performance).
Key Takeaways:
Team vs. Individual: A team average might be lower, but top players on that line can still have high grades (e.g., Iowa's O-line had all five starters above 80 in pass-blocking in one game).
Context Matters: A 70-grade tackle on a bad team is excellent, while a 70-grade tackle on a great team might be just solid, notes this PFF article.
Normalization: PFF normalizes grades, so the "average" is intended to be around 60 for any given position group, explains this Wikipedia article.

[UDHoops]

Thanks for shouting out the F&FG tracker.

For the original answer, I think it's an interesting metric. You explained a lot of background on how PFF grading is set. Each play, a player is graded on a -2 to +2 scale with 0 being the expected/average result.

My favorite part of PFF is to scrape snap count data: how many offensive/defensive snaps did they take place in? On the defensive side, were they in the box pre-snap? For DL, what gap were they rushing? There's a lot of fun individual metrics for passing, receiving, rushing, and blocking on offense, as well as run D, pass rush, and coverage on defense.

With that being said, it's not a perfect metric. I find myself disagreeing with their grades on a game-by-game basis at the NCAA level (136 FBS teams + a lot more FCS/D2/D3 schools that they share data for), as well as the NFL level (32). They place a score on someone in a quick one-to-two person watch within 24 hours, often where I feel misses some schematic and in-game context. For a 12-14 game sample size though, usually the grades turn out reasonable. It's one of the first places I go to when looking at an FBS/FCS offer Delaware has made to see their snap count #, where they were positionally (i.e. was this WR more outside or in the slot, was this safety more in coverage or in the box), and how they are rated in comparison to their respective teams' side of the ball. As much as I use it, I don't live by it.

But also, the star system is a broken one from my experience surrounding recruiting. There have been experiences where I've seen a 3-star commit to a P4 school, and within a week receive a bump to a 4-star. In contrast, I've seen recruits lose a star within a week of committing to a smaller school from their reported offers. The stars sometimes feel like a "market price" in terms of recruiting known to the public eye.

[Caribbean Hen]

Maybe they should use the magnitude scale to rate football players or even posters

The Magnitude scale measures Stars by how bright they are

UD Hoops,
I would have to rate you at -1.46

And I’m Sirius about that

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius

[UDHoops]

I can't lie, I had to look this one up LOL. Thank you very much, very clever

[Cluck U]

Good fun, CH.

Winter skies are great for stargazing. Less humidity = clear skies. Fewer tree leaves in the way, too...and the skywatching begins earlier with the longer nights. Bonus: grilling in winter is fun when you can also check out the sky.

Easy to learn the major constellations, planets and stars. Once you learn the basics, it makes evenings a bit of fun and tends to put life's little things into scale.

Orion (and Sirius) are easily visible in the Winter around Newark.

[Caribbean Hen]

I can't lie, I had to look this one up LOL. Thank you very much, very clever

You are certainly welcome!

I try to appear clever to cover up my blank stares

So for the Viking and youD Hoops, you’re telling me that people watch every play and evaluate every player in college football and come up with a rating? I assume these ratings are not really free of charge?

I can goggle with the best of em, but it’s much more fun to ask these questions to our knowledgeable Gohens posters …even those with positive magnitudes

[VIKING '87]

Thank you for your insights, Hoops.