What NFL’s Next Gen Stats say about the Chiefs
A closer look at NFL’s Next Gen Stats reveal some interesting stats and aspects of the Kansas City Chiefs.
This season, a new stats engine was rolled out on NFL.com. Under the name Next Gen Stats, it gives a deeper and different look into some overlooked stats most fans wouldn’t even think about.
There are four large categories to Next Gen Stats: Leaders, Passing, Ball Carriers, and Defense. Leaders is just a list top performers for every subcategory. Those subcategories are Average Time to Throw, Average Air Distance, Fastest Ball Carriers, Longest Plays, Time to Sack, and Longest Tackles. These different categories tell an interesting story. Feel free to read up on what I don’t cover, as I want to focus on the Chiefs. Let’s start with the Passing category.
Passing
Time to Throw is the first category under Passing. This stat measures how much time passes from when the QB gets the snap to when the ball is released from his hand. This stat can be good for indicating what kind of playing style a QB leans on.
"As Next Gen Stats tells us, there is only one who is better at it than Smith. If Foles is removed for not being a regular starter, then that leaves Alex as the fastest ball slinger in the NFL"
For instance, the top two QBs in time to throw are former Chief Nick Foles with 2.36 seconds, and Alex Smith with 2.38 seconds. That is just insane! By just the smallest fraction, Foles edges Smith out in this area. This lends numerical credence to what has been observed in Alex Smith. He is a much better QB when the ball leaves his hands very quickly. As Next Gen Stats tells us, there is only one who is better at it than Smith. If Foles is removed for not being a regular starter, then that leaves Alex as the fastest ball slinger in the NFL.
When it comes to the next area of Average Air Distance, Smith finds himself near the very bottom. The Average Air Distance stat is divided into 2 smaller portions: Air Distance being the yardage the ball flies on a pass, from start to finish. Air Yards measures the yardage a ball covers after passing the line of scrimmage and then is caught.
Alex Smith posts an Average Air Distance of 18.13 yards. Upon first look, that doesn’t appear all that terrible, until compared to the leader of this category, Cam Newton. Newton posts an incredible 22.44 yards of Average Air Distance. Those extra 4.31 yards add up in pure numbers and chances to score as well. In terms of Average Air Yards, Smith has 5.61 yards. This lines up with his play style and the offensive scheme of the Chiefs. A quick hit, West Coast style offense. While boasting an incredibly quick release, Smith does not have the most stellar yardage stats.