We are four weeks into the season, which leaves us with a fairly good sample to know what trends might stay this season. So far we’ve seen a number of players do exactly what we expect, some playing a lot better or worse than expected, and some rookies stepping up.
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Here we'll again take a quick look at some numbers that show bits of the good and bad and a few that are just interesting pieces of trivia to impress your friends with (but just your friends who like football …. other people might find it weird).
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AFC EAST
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Buffalo Bills: Running back Fred Jackson is dominating the Elusive Rating so far, with a rating of 97.8. The next highest is 59.9. If he keeps this up, it'll be the best we’ve seen.
Miami Dolphins: The league leader in kick return yards through four weeks is Clyde Gates with 332 yards. This total wasn’t helped by any extreme returns – his long is just 39 yards.
New England Patriots: Speaking of dominating a PFF Signature Stat, Wes Welker is at 4.05 Yards per Pass Route Run; the only pass-catcher in the game over 4 yards per.
New York Jets: Revis Island is as good as ever, allowing just 38 yards on 138 plays in coverage so far, which is just 0.275 yards per coverage snap.
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AFC NORTH
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Baltimore Ravens: Quarterback Joe Flacco has been one of the least-accurate quarterbacks on deep throws; only completing six of 26 passes beyond 20 yards. However five of those were touchdowns, which leads the league for deep passing.
Cincinnati Bengals: Kicker Mike Nugent is one of three kickers who is a perfect 10-for-10 in field goals. No kicker has made more field goals than that while staying perfect.
Cleveland Browns: The 4-3 defensive end with the most stops this year is Jayme Mitchell with 12. Not far behind is rookie teammate Jabaal Sheard with nine.
Pittsburgh Steelers: They will miss James Harrison, who leads all 3-4 outside linebackers in stops with 14.
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AFC SOUTH
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Houston Texans: While the 49ers have the Top 2 3-4 defensive ends in terms of pass rushing, the Texans have the next highest with Antonio Smith and his 19 combined pressures. Fifth on the list is J.J. Watt with 12.
Indianapolis Colts: There are four quarterbacks in the league with an accuracy percentage below 60% on 40+ attempts. Included in that short list are Kerry Collins at 57.6% and Curtis Painter at 52.5%.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Rookie left guard Will Rackley is bringing up the rear in Pass Blocking Efficiency for guards. He has allowed three sacks, a hit, and six pressures in 102 pass-blocking snaps. Making matters worse, center Brad Meester ranks second from the bottom among centers.
Tennessee Titans: Despite a better Week 4, Chris Johnson averages just 3.0 yards per carry; the lowest for all backs with 60 or more carries.
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AFC WEST
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Denver Broncos: Just how good is rookie Von Miller? He’s tied for the most pressure for 4-3 outside linebackers with 14, and is in the Top 10 in stops with 12.
Kansas City Chiefs: In his first three years with the Chiefs, Brandon Flowers allowed seven touchdowns. In the past four games, he has allowed five.
Oakland Raiders: In our first three years of grading Raiders receivers, no one had over 100 snaps and a positive overall record. The best chance to change that this year is Denarius Moore, who currently has an overall PFF rating of +4.6.
San Diego Chargers: Two of the top four running backs in Yards per Pass Route Run are in San Diego. Ryan Matthews leads the league with 3.63, while Mike Tolbert isn’t far behind at 2.61.
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NFC EAST
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Dallas Cowboys: There are six defensive linemen/linebackers on the roster with at least 100 snaps. All six of them have positive run defense ratings.
New York Giants: On the list of wide receivers without a drop, Hakeem Nicks has by far the most receptions with 24.
Philadelphia Eagles: Receiver DeSean Jackson has just has many drops as catches on targets beyond 20 yards, with three each.
Washington Redskins: Halfback Tim Hightower has stayed in for pass protection 36 times this season; third most at the position. He has yet to allow any pressure.
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NFC NORTH
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Chicago Bears: While the offensive line is part of the problem in Chicago, another part is Cutler who takes a sack on 30.8% of the plays where he is under pressure – the highest in the league.
Detroit Lions: To no surprise, Ndamukong Suh is the defensive tackle that has caused the most pressure so far, with 15 QB Disruptions.
Green Bay Packers: The Packers' three interior linemen (T.J. Lang, Scott Wells and Josh Sitton) have not allowed a sack or a hit yet this season. They have allowed just three combined hurries.
Minnesota Vikings: The two worst run blockers in terms of run block rating in 2010 were right tackle Phil Loadholt and center John Sullivan. This year they lead the team with ratings of +5.6 and +4.3 in that department, respectively.
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NFC SOUTH
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Atlanta Falcons: In 2010, Ray Edwards averaged a pressure on every six pass rushes. In 2011, he has averaged a pressure on every 13.5.
Carolina Panthers: Although Greg Olsen has been involved in the pass game more often, Jeremy Shockey is second for all tight ends in Yards per Pass Route Run at 2.62.
New Orleans Saints: They have four linebackers with over 140 snaps. Three have run defense rating below -1.0, three have coverage ratings below -1.0, and all four have pass rush ratings below -1.0.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Out of seemingly nowhere, Preston Parker has become a solid slot receiver, with 16 catches for 223 yards; the third-most slot catches and fourth-most slot yards in the league.
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NFC WEST
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Arizona Cardinals: Ranked 69th and 70th out of 72 in pass block efficiency for tackles are Levi Brown and Brandon Keith at 88.4 and 88.1.
St Louis Rams: Quarterback Sam Bradford has had 17 of his passes dropped, which leads the league. He also leads the league in number of times throwing the ball while being hit (10). Those both play a big role in his 49.7 completion percentage.
San Francisco 49ers: You would expect Patrick Willis to be among the leaders in stops for an inside linebacker, but instead it’s Navorro Bowman with 21 leading the league. Willis has 11.
Seattle Seahawks: One of the many problems with the secondary – Earl Thomas has six missed tackles which is the most for all safeties compared to just 19 made tackles.
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