We all know by now that Bobby Reid has the highest pass efficiency rating in the Big XII and 3rd in the nation, but why is that? He's 44th in the nation in passing yards, good for only 7th in the Big XII. He's thrown for 7 interceptions, which is more than Paul Thompson of Oklahoma and Dylan Meier of Kansas State. He's thrown 19 TDs, the same as Shawn Bell of Baylor and Chase Daniel of Missouri and less than our very own Colt McCoy and Graham Harrell, so the thrust is in completion percentage.
Reid has only attempted 157 passes, 30 less than the next closest quarterback in the top 10, Tyler Palko, and 66.2 below the Top 10 average.
This stat is important because the whole formula is divided by attempts. The formula is { (8.4 * yards) + (330 * touchdowns) - (200 * interceptions) + (100 * completions) } / attempts.
But here's the crux of my argument. Bobby Reid has such a good completion percentage because he's a mobile quarterback. Mobile quarterbacks have a built in advantage when it comes to completion percentage. Quarterbacks that can run don't throw the ball away as much, they tend to make a run for it instead.
Vince Young ended last season second in pass efficiency to Rudy Carpenter. It doesn't mean he was a better passer than Brady Quinn, Matt Lienart, and the rest, just that he made the most of all of his pass attempts. Maybe there should be some kind of rating that better captures, who the best passing quarterback is. Maybe not.
This has been a severely rambling, Andy Rooniesque morning piece. This is what happens when you try to write a story during midterms, working on too little sleep. Forgive me.
--AR--