Is there a football equivalent of a perfect game?
by JasonB on May 30, 2010 1:46 AM EDT
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Last night, Roy Halladay made history by being the 20th major leaguer ever to throw a perfect game. No hits, no walks, no runs, no errors.
It got me thinking... is there a football equivalent to an historic feat like a perfect game? I considered a couple possibilities.
Shutout - It's kinda rare for a team in the NFL to get shutout because it's not that hard to score in football. To at least not get a field goal is rare, but not nearly rare enough to equal a perfect game. There will be a few shutouts a year in the NFL. There have only been 20 perfect games ever.
Perfect QB rating - What if a QB throws for a perfect QB rating in a game? The best rating a QB can get is 158.3, to do so "a QB must attempt at least 10 passes, a minimum of a 77.5% completion percentage, 11.875% touchdown passes percentage, 12.5 yards or more per attempt, and no interceptions." Problem is, the feat is neither as rare or momentus as a perfect. There have been 35 perfect rating games since the QB rating was invented in 1973. To compare, only 20 perfect games have been thrown in baseball since 1880.
Plus, a QB rating isn't momentus. You aren't hanging on every throw to see if a QB can get his completion percentage is 77.5%. It illustrates a big difference in the way people view baseball & football. In the NFL it's all about what you do on the day to win a game whereas in baseball stats, context, and historical perspective are always considered. Quantifying individual performance is incredibly important in baseball but less so in football. Plus, a QB needs a lot of help to get a perfect QB rating. His WRs can't drop passes, they need to get open, they need to run for lots of yards after the catch, the coach needs to call throws near the end zone rather than runs, the offensive line needs to keep rushers off him. To throw a perfect game, all a pitcher needs is for his defense to not commit an error which do in many games anyway. Occasionally they'll certainly have to make some great defensive plays as well, but a perfect game is much more of an individual achievement.
500 yard passing game - By my count only 10 QBs have ever thrown for 500 yards in a game. It's an impressive stat, but the problem is that it doesn't always mean a vintage performance. It often means that the QB was forced to throw a lot. In fact, of the ten 500 yd passing games five were losses by the QB who threw for all the yardage. Sorry, but a .500 record by the guys who accomplished the feat means it doesn't match up with a perfect game.
There are some things that are just so special that the sport of baseball has that the other major sports in the US probably never will. A perfect game is certainly one.
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The only reason quantifying individuals stats happens in baseball is because its much easier
In football you rely more on your team mates.
As for the perfect QB rating thing…..WTF are you serious thats insanity. I never would have thought it was that high.
I guess if you looked at UFC you could do the quantifying of individual stats but there wouldnt be a “Perfect game” I guess that 7 second knockout would count
UDDDDAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
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E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!!!!!!
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The papaya and football games
Liberally transcribed from Brian Burke:
Baseball has long been considered the easiest of professional sports to model and analyze mathematically. It’s certainly far simpler than football. One reason baseball is easier to model is that the sport isn’t really a team sport, at least in the most mechanical sense. It’s an orderly series of one-on-one match-ups between pitchers and hitters. In contrast, every football play seems like a desperate, chaotic scramble of 22 players.
Take Barry Bonds: His ‘01/’02 seasons were so good, you could literally put a papaya in the lineup to hit behind him, and you’d come out with a replacement-level duo. In other words, you could put a papaya behind Bonds, and the Giants would have won 70+ games each year.
But if you put a papaya in at right guard for the 2007 Patriots, they’d go 0-16 instead of 16-0.
by One.Cool.Customer on May 30, 2010 4:29 AM EDT up reply actions
To be fair
The papaya did hit .302 in Triple-A.
by Tracer Bullet on May 30, 2010 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions 5 recs
in baseball, a pitcher can get a shutout because his other teammates play well. if a second baseman fields a grounder but misses the throw to first, that could ruin a shutout. similarly, a wide receiver must catch.
Of course, but it’s common for a baseball team to get through a game without committing an error. It’s pretty much impossible for an NFL team to not have a missed or dropped pass.
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Perfect games are a team effort
In baseball, statistically ~30% of all balls hit in play go for hits. It’s not about errors. It’s about the odds of routine balls in play. Also, a HBP ruins a perfect game as does a strikeout where the ball hits the ground and a runner makes it to first.
Unless the pitcher strikes out all 27 batters on 3-5 pitches, there’s a reason perfect games are extremely rare. Why 3-5 pitches? In the modern game, pitchers rarely will throw more than 120 pitches a game in an effort to protect their arms.
In football, a similar perfect game would probably be something like a shutout in a game where the QB (pitcher equivalent) and WRs make every throw and catch (not necessarily a perfect QB rating). I’d be surprised if this has happened once, but if you consider sample sizes of games played, it’d probably be similar in rarity considering 162 games a year in baseball versus 16 in football.
Awesome
job Doc. I don’t think anything in football compares, at least for one game. Football milestones are more seasonal. I think 2,000 yards rushing, 20 sacks or 50 touchdown passes thrown over a season are in the realm of a perfect game.
Cowboys suck.
Well there are season long goals in baseball that are better compared to those. 20 game winner. 40 HRs. 150 RBI
A perfect game is unique because it’s a single game achievement. 200 yard rushing games are rare, but probably not as rare.
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yeai
agree with the 2000 yards rushing
by jack is better than asante on May 30, 2010 2:11 AM EDT reply actions
you sir
.. are right. Baseball is a snoozefest.
its easier to quantify a perfect game when really, the pitcher is the only professional athlete who is in complete control the entire game. The closest I can think of is a goalie (or goalkeeper) having a shutout.
But ugth… a perfect game is actually the most boringest thing I could think of watching.
Its like watching the knicks try to score 50 points when the celtics have already dropped 85.
2010-11 Predictions:
Kevin Kolb will go to the probowl and complete >65% of passes.
Jeremy Maclyn will have more receptions than Miles Austin & Steve Smith
Graham will have the starting LDE spot tied up by week 5, win ROTY, and have >10 Sacks
11-5 finish.
by corn on the kolb on May 30, 2010 11:46 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
you guys are clearly not baseball fans first :-P
The pitcher has virtually no control of whether balls in play go for hits.
They do have control over strikeouts, walks and the likelihood of their pitches going for groundballs though. Halladay is known for all of these.
More like 3 straight NFL shutouts = 1 perfect game.
Jim Johnson(RIP). Brian Westbrook(36). Donovan Mcnabb(5). Brian Dawkins(20). Sheldon Brown(24). Jeremiah Trotter(54).
Thanks for the memories...
by Route36 on May 30, 2010 12:45 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
A perfect defensive game to me would be 0 points, no more than 0 net yards allowed defensively, QB rating of 0.0, etc.
There’s really no equivalent in the NFL because of how team-oriented it is, meaning how everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, has to go right for said outcome to happen.
nyuk nyuk nyuk
by alcatraz0109 on May 31, 2010 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions
The closest you could come
Is breaking a single game record of some sort. Brandon Marshalls 21 catches last year, Adrian Petersons 297 rushing yards a few years ago. That has the ability to increase a certain level of anticipation as the record gets closer(like 250 yards or 17 receptions in the 4th quarter with 10 minutes or so to go is equivalant to the 7th or 8th inning where you know you only have 9 or 6 more batters to get out) Plus it requires an extra effort by your teammates to snare that acheivement. However these are all offensive where as a perfect game is defensive. So perhaps holding a team to total negative offensive yards (which I am not sure if that has ever been done) or maybe even breaking it down further to negative rushing yards or negative passing yards by games ends.
A truly rare and amazing feat by Doc last night. Hopefully those bats come alive now.
"I will never have my best season," Brian Dawkins
"There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." Bruce Lee
"This fucking game is over!" Chuck Bednarik
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" Mike Tyson
by Talon Talent on May 30, 2010 7:45 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I recall
The raiders i believe to have -2 or so yards at the end of yhe first half. I dont remeber when that was though
by Desean Da Man on May 31, 2010 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions
perfect game =
Int or FR for TD, neither offense or defense takes the field, only the special team does
How would Special Teams get an INT? lol….and no.
Jim Johnson(RIP). Brian Westbrook(36). Donovan Mcnabb(5). Brian Dawkins(20). Sheldon Brown(24). Jeremiah Trotter(54).
Thanks for the memories...
by Route36 on May 30, 2010 12:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Oh yea, fake punt/FG pass.
Jim Johnson(RIP). Brian Westbrook(36). Donovan Mcnabb(5). Brian Dawkins(20). Sheldon Brown(24). Jeremiah Trotter(54).
Thanks for the memories...
by Route36 on May 30, 2010 12:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The Bills and 49ers played an entire game without a punt in the early 90s.
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by MattRichWarren on May 30, 2010 10:24 AM EDT reply actions
The difference is that
if you pitch a perfect game – you win. End of story. There are a lot of stats you can collect in football, but none of them automatically lead to a W. If you pitch a perfect game, game over. There is nothing like that in football. A quarterback can have a lot of impact on the result of a game, but there are other ways to win or lose a game. In baseball its all over if you’re pitcher throws a perfect game.
Rushing or passing yardage are not comparable to a perfect game either they’re seasonal/career records so their baseball equivalent would be bases stolen, home runs hit, etc.
QB rating is more like an ERA or Batting Average.
The only sports comparison that is similar is a shutout in hockey – although no where near as rare, and not the result of just your goalies efforts, it’s game over if you have a shutout. It’s not the same by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s the closest thing I can think of in any of the major sports.
Not the same, but maybe:
A rushing, throwing, running, and receiving touchdown?
Has that ever been done, I can’t find any myself
"I'd like to thank my hands for being so great." (Freddie Mitchell)
by PhillySportsDave on May 30, 2010 11:29 AM EDT reply actions
Diff between “rushing” and “running” in your question,
And josh cribbs would be the first place i’d think of looking. Ronnie brown the 2nd.
2010-11 Predictions:
Kevin Kolb will go to the probowl and complete >65% of passes.
Jeremy Maclyn will have more receptions than Miles Austin & Steve Smith
Graham will have the starting LDE spot tied up by week 5, win ROTY, and have >10 Sacks
11-5 finish.
by corn on the kolb on May 30, 2010 11:49 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
my bad
I meant just running passing and receiving sorry
"I'd like to thank my hands for being so great." (Freddie Mitchell)
by PhillySportsDave on May 30, 2010 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
David Patten
At first I thought it was David Givens, but I did some research and it was David Patten who threw, ran, and received a touchdown, in one game. He did this during the 2001 season. Here’s a link to his game log that season:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PattDa00/gamelog/2001/
thats impressive
i also thought maybe someone like ronnie brown may have done it since he threw in the wildcat, but i havent found it yet
"I'd like to thank my hands for being so great." (Freddie Mitchell)
by PhillySportsDave on May 31, 2010 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Some more research
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=211021011
6 guys since 1960 have gotten the trifecta.
Against all odds, against all circumstance were you don't have a shot, you succeed
-Michael Strahan
All you hear about is the past, the past... the past is the !@#$ing past, this is the present.
THIS IS TEMPORARY! A CHAMPIONSHIP IS PERMANENT
-Same as above
Didnt LT do that?
UDDDDAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Η κόλαση δεν έχει μυστικά
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!!!!!!
"fuk u i hate peas"- CNCITINFO (Random BGN troll)
A Football Perfect Game
QB doesn’t miss a pass.
Every offensive drive results in a TD, every play produces positive yardage
Other team goes three and out, or worse, on every possession
No fumbles, INT’s or penalties by the winning team
I think it could be argued that this would be a “perfect” game.
It's "Kolb"ering time!
Yes, but this would be more impossible than a perfect game.
even with sample size.
For those of you who get bored with perfect games.
Hallday’s perfect game in 5:43
Roy Halladay is Perfect!!!
This is awesome !!! I wish my Dad was still alive to see it. Roy was supposed to bring a winning attitude to Philly and he brings perfection. It’s a good day for the city of Philadelphia!!!
Phillies in the World Series, Flyers in the Stanley Cup, now all we need is the Philadelphia Eagles in the Superbowl. Miami 2011...
by STRAIGHTOYOURFACE on May 30, 2010 12:26 PM EDT reply actions
Man...
some of you guys severely undervalue the significance of a perfect game. My jaw dropped last night when Doc did it. It is one of the hardest accomplishments in sports.
I never thought I would watch one on live TV during my lifetime, and I’m only 20! I would say it’s equivalent to an NFL QB going 40-40, 400 yards, with a perfect passer rating. And oh yeah, Baseball is awesome.
Jim Johnson(RIP). Brian Westbrook(36). Donovan Mcnabb(5). Brian Dawkins(20). Sheldon Brown(24). Jeremiah Trotter(54).
Thanks for the memories...
by Route36 on May 30, 2010 12:31 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Maybe not an individual thing
But I think a perfect game is very similar to a perfect 16-0 season. No?
Has a pitcher ever thrown 81 strikes in one game before?
That would be impressive, If every batter you went against struck out 0-3.
Not even close.
In fact, there have been only 45 times where a pitcher had a single inning like that (9 pitches, 9 strikes).
However, I did look up who had the fewest pitches in a complete game: Red Barrett, who threw 58 pitches for the Boston Braves in a 2-0 win over the Reds on August 10, 1944. That is impressive in its own right IMO.
nyuk nyuk nyuk
by alcatraz0109 on May 31, 2010 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Threw together some math for you guys:
http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2010/5/30/1494076/re-is-there-a-football-equivalent
Longest Atlanta Falcons winning-seasons streak: 2008 - current
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Yes like Doc Holiday from Tombstone, OK Corral fame. Doc Halladay
"I will never have my best season," Brian Dawkins
"There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." Bruce Lee
"This fucking game is over!" Chuck Bednarik
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" Mike Tyson
On behalf of all Canadian Blue Jay fans...
enjoy him, the Doc is one of a kind and it is nice to see him having a legit shot at a championship for once.
ugh have you seen the Phils play the past few weeks, that legit shot is turning into a complete crap shoot.
They call me The Professor.
They don't play in a division with
The Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays. Deal with that for a moment in your mind… and feel welcome to appreciate how utterly hopeless every season has been for Jays fans the last decade or so.
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