Final PFF grades - good and bad, look ahead

Originally posted by Luckycharms:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
Do you think coaches look at these numbers?

IIRC, Niners99 (?) has sighted many times how HC's and GM's use this tool for evaluations and other means. As a "tool" and not the end-all, be-all.

As you can see, it does provide some perspective mostly on how your players are performing against peers under the same evaluation tool.

I was listening to a podcast, forget which one, but it had someone who worked for PFF on and he said that 30 out of 32 teams pay PFF for their services and rankings. He said he's not allowed to say what 2 teams don't.

Interesting and thank you for the info!

Originally posted by znk916:

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
Do you think coaches look at these numbers?

They damn sure better be. At the very least, PFF absolutely crushes their DL ratings. They were on Justin Smith hype train years before the national media. JJ Watt, same thing, they saw him coming a year before everyone else. They had Aaron Donald as a Watt-level player coming out of college and he has lived up to every expectation.

Every time I see PFF grades, I instantly think of the year Michael Bennett was available. PFF loved what he did in TB lining up all over the place, I think they had him as the top free agent DL that year. He would've been absolutely ideal for us esp since we were looking for Cowboy's replacement (we ended up drafting Tank Carradine). Instead Seattle got him for peanuts and it put their defense over the top. Him and Avril in the same offseason (both for cheap) took them from perennial top 5 defense to all time status.

I believe any team would be foolish to not give some consideration to PFF grades. If you go in and look at their methodology you will see that a grade has to pass through three levels/observers before it is published. It isn't just "one man's opinion" nor does it follow only a rigid scale.

I have watched a lot of games and focused on certain players and what I read at PFF I see on the field.

As a 49er fan, the review I did back at the beginning of this thread not only gives me hope for the future, it also reassures me that Baalke is capable of putting talent together that a good coach can turn into quality. A good example of that is the OL. If we get AD back, that along with a healthy Kilgore and the development of Brown and Tiller may be all we need. Baalke brought that here. So while that guarantees nothing, it gives us, the fans, a way to look at our team in a much more realistic fashion.

Originally posted by Luckycharms:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by JimHarbaugh:
Do you think coaches look at these numbers?

IIRC, Niners99 (?) has sighted many times how HC's and GM's use this tool for evaluations and other means. As a "tool" and not the end-all, be-all.

As you can see, it does provide some perspective mostly on how your players are performing against peers under the same evaluation tool.

I was listening to a podcast, forget which one, but it had someone who worked for PFF on and he said that 30 out of 32 teams pay PFF for their services and rankings. He said he's not allowed to say what 2 teams don't.

30 years ago when teams could not afford their own scouting departments, teams formed "scouting combines" which shared info about players. Everyone chipped in to pay the expenses. Now, with so many players scattered all across the country, and the stakes being so great, it behoves every team to avail themselves of all possible info. PFF certainly provides that.

Originally posted by dj43:

I believe any team would be foolish to not give some consideration to PFF grades. If you go in and look at their methodology you will see that a grade has to pass through three levels/observers before it is published. It isn't just "one man's opinion" nor does it follow only a rigid scale.

I have watched a lot of games and focused on certain players and what I read at PFF I see on the field.

As a 49er fan, the review I did back at the beginning of this thread not only gives me hope for the future, it also reassures me that Baalke is capable of putting talent together that a good coach can turn into quality. A good example of that is the OL. If we get AD back, that along with a healthy Kilgore and the development of Brown and Tiller may be all we need. Baalke brought that here. So while that guarantees nothing, it gives us, the fans, a way to look at our team in a much more realistic fashion.

There are only a few positions where PFF offers consistently good grades. DL is one of them. It is one of the easiest positions to grade though so I don't really give them that much credit for it (although teams certainly should be looking at it as you only have so many scouts and so much time). RB is another. But again, one of the easiest positions to grade.

Originally posted by dj43:
I believe any team would be foolish to not give some consideration to PFF grades. If you go in and look at their methodology you will see that a grade has to pass through three levels/observers before it is published. It isn't just "one man's opinion" nor does it follow only a rigid scale.

I have watched a lot of games and focused on certain players and what I read at PFF I see on the field.

As a 49er fan, the review I did back at the beginning of this thread not only gives me hope for the future, it also reassures me that Baalke is capable of putting talent together that a good coach can turn into quality. A good example of that is the OL. If we get AD back, that along with a healthy Kilgore and the development of Brown and Tiller may be all we need. Baalke brought that here. So while that guarantees nothing, it gives us, the fans, a way to look at our team in a much more realistic fashion.

Would be interested to see PFF's hit rate on draft picks. I recall specifically that they were on the Tyler Lockett hype train and had him mocked to us at one point.

Really enjoyed this post and comments.

Originally posted by znk916:
Would be interested to see PFF's hit rate on draft picks. I recall specifically that they were on the Tyler Lockett hype train and had him mocked to us at one point.

That was a great pick especially for their offense...he's been even better on Special Teams than expected too.

Originally posted by znk916:
Would be interested to see PFF's hit rate on draft picks. I recall specifically that they were on the Tyler Lockett hype train and had him mocked to us at one point.

Yeah, they've been around for a while...it should be easy to do...someone said they seem to be spot on on DE/DL predictions. I wonder how they are at other positions.

Originally posted by Evilgenius:
There are only a few positions where PFF offers consistently good grades. DL is one of them. It is one of the easiest positions to grade though so I don't really give them that much credit for it (although teams certainly should be looking at it as you only have so many scouts and so much time). RB is another. But again, one of the easiest positions to grade.

Good point...those are two positions where one can step in and be a difference make unless you go to a more complex, 3-4 scheme. Just pass rushing or run defense, etc. should be easier to predict. Most other positions are very much scheme-dependent, development, coaching, usage, etc.

Even the Tyler Lockett pick would be somewhat easy to predict...every team needs a part-time dual deep threat/returner. And if he appears like one of the better ones coming out, he'd fit on any team and would make a simple prediction.

Originally posted by dj43:
I believe any team would be foolish to not give some consideration to PFF grades. If you go in and look at their methodology you will see that a grade has to pass through three levels/observers before it is published. It isn't just "one man's opinion" nor does it follow only a rigid scale.

I have watched a lot of games and focused on certain players and what I read at PFF I see on the field.

As a 49er fan, the review I did back at the beginning of this thread not only gives me hope for the future, it also reassures me that Baalke is capable of putting talent together that a good coach can turn into quality. A good example of that is the OL. If we get AD back, that along with a healthy Kilgore and the development of Brown and Tiller may be all we need. Baalke brought that here. So while that guarantees nothing, it gives us, the fans, a way to look at our team in a much more realistic fashion.

If Davis comes back I would like to see them try him at guard, assuming Brown continues to develop and Boone doesn't come back. That would give them a front of Staley, Tiller, Kilgore, Davis, and Brown which, on paper at least, seems like it might be pretty effective. Saw that they are bringing Corey Acosta back as well. I would love to see him win the kicking job from Dawson. Phil's been great but it's time for someone younger.

Originally posted by 49ers81:

Originally posted by dj43:
I believe any team would be foolish to not give some consideration to PFF grades. If you go in and look at their methodology you will see that a grade has to pass through three levels/observers before it is published. It isn't just "one man's opinion" nor does it follow only a rigid scale.

I have watched a lot of games and focused on certain players and what I read at PFF I see on the field.

As a 49er fan, the review I did back at the beginning of this thread not only gives me hope for the future, it also reassures me that Baalke is capable of putting talent together that a good coach can turn into quality. A good example of that is the OL. If we get AD back, that along with a healthy Kilgore and the development of Brown and Tiller may be all we need. Baalke brought that here. So while that guarantees nothing, it gives us, the fans, a way to look at our team in a much more realistic fashion.

If Davis comes back I would like to see them try him at guard, assuming Brown continues to develop and Boone doesn't come back. That would give them a front of Staley, Tiller, Kilgore, Davis, and Brown which, on paper at least, seems like it might be pretty effective. Saw that they are bringing Corey Acosta back as well. I would love to see him win the kicking job from Dawson. Phil's been great but it's time for someone younger.

As bad as the OL has been this past season, with the hopeful return of AD and the potential to bring in some Pro Bowl talent from FA, the OL could very well become a strength of the team.

Those categorizations are unadulterated drivel. No self respecting coach in the league would read more than two lines of it before tossing it out.