A Closer Look: Inside The Stats

Stats don't lie, but sometimes you have to take A Closer Look:

Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings passed Elvis Dumervil as the NFL sack leader last week, and now has 10.5. In my mind Allen is the best pass rusher in the NFL, while Dumervil is the best in the AFC, and Elvis is very underrated. While Allen does have skills, lets take a look inside his stats: Jared plays Arron Rogers twice a year, and no other quarterback is sacked more than him. The NFL is heading into week 9, and Rogers has already been sacked 31 times! Allen has 7.5 of his sacks against the Packers, and only 3 sacks against 6 other teams. No doubt the raging Viking pass rusher will make the Pro Bowl because of stats, but when you take a closer look, his stats are deceiving.

The Chargers star running back LaDainian Tomlinson is bound for the Hall Of Fame someday, but he is off to a slow start this year. He has 267 yards, and 3 touchdowns so far this year. This season the average back only has about 4 scores, so Tomlinson is not too bad right? Lets take a closer look at his stats: L.T. has played the Raiders twice this year, and in two games he has 111 yards, and all 3 of his scores. When you consider Oakland is 29th in the NFL against the run, the stats point to one thing. Tomlinson has past his prime, even San Diego fans know it. Hello Darren Sproles, looks like L.T. could be loose his feature back spot by next season.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a back who is going in a different direction. Cedric Benson has 720 rushing yards (4th in the NFL) he also has 5 rushing scores. Looks like he could have a Pro Bowl year, lets take a closer look: Benson has played seven teams this year, and when he has carried the ball more than 20 times he hasn't had less than 76 yards. He also had over 120 yards a game when he has more than 21 carries. He has also scored on tough defences such as, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Denver. Benson only has one stat that is negative, 4 of his 5 scores have come at home, which doesn't help Palmer on the road. Even with that said, Cedric Benson is having a break out year, and his stats pass the test.

Another Viking makes the list, Percy Harvin. The former Gater has 369 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns, to go along with his 860 return yards, and 2 touchdown returns. A closer look at his stats shows that he has not even had more than 5 catches a game, yet has 13.2 yards-per-catch average, and has a pair of 51 yard catches. It doesn't take much for him to do a lot. His stats show he is a game changer, look for him to have a good statistical rookie season.