Setting the standard for football annuals, this guide provides readers with every statistic they ever wanted to know about today's NFL players. Football fans, fantasy team owners, and pros alike will find "STATS Pro Football Handbook" indispensable both before and during the season. .
Gridiron fanatics will be pleased to know that the folks from STATS are serious about their details. In addition to the usual statistical measurements--the number of yards Oakland's porous defense allowed, success on grass versus artificial turf--the
1998 Pro Football Handbook is stuffed with the kind of innovative and resourceful metrics that all you stat-hounds and fantasy football owners will love. Find out how Tom Tupa punts when the temperature dips below 40 degrees or how John Elway performs with two minutes remaining in the half. Why did kicker John Kasay's stock rise following the 1997 season? The numbers show that he nailed his field goals when the game was on the line. Individual career stats are followed by 1997 results, organized by offense, defense, kicking, and punting.
Although team coverage is adequate, the handbook focuses more on the players. Even football's unsung heroes, the offensive line, receive close scrutiny: the number of sacks a lineman allowed is listed, and rushes are broken down by the direction of each running play, thereby showing whether a runner had more success sweeping right or plowing up the middle. Great news for the under-appreciated lineman and fascinating stuff for number junkies. --Rob McDonald