New OC Clyde Christensen and the 2001 Bucs

by shake n bake on May 19, 2009 10:42 AM EDT in Analysis Comment 8 comments

The Colts new offensive coordinator has held the position before. In 2001 Christensen was promoted from QBs coach to Offensive Coordinator for Tony Dungy's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like Dungy, Christensen and the rest of that Bucs O have targets for the Bucs fans' frutrations, but how deserving is that blame?

Year	Christensen	DVOA	Rank	Points	Rank
1995	Clemson Co-OC	-12.6%	27th	238	29th
1996	TE Coach	-20.2%	28th	221	30th
1997	TE Coach	-4.1%	15th	299	23rd
1998	TE Coach	-11.0%	21st	314	18th
1999	QB Coach	-17.3%	21st	270	27th
2000	QB Coach	3.0%	12th	388	6th
2001	O Coordinator	-2.8%	12th	324	15th
2002	In Indy	-2.5%	21st	346	18th
2003	In Indy	-4.5%	17th	301	18th
2004	In Indy	-5.8%	22nd	301	23rd

Out of the decade surronding Christensen's time with the Bucs the Christensen Coordinated Bucs O was top 3 in DVOA and Points Scored and top 2 in league rank in both DVOA and Points. His offense wasn't a standout in the league, but for the Bucs, it was a very good offense.

Two other comparisons to roughly gauge style

	1999-2000	2001	2002-2003
Pass/Run	47-53	59-41	58-42
Yards/Completion	10.0	10.0	10.6

Christensen's O marked a dramatic shift in playcalling, with the pass going from less than half the plays to nearly 60%. Though he favored the pass Christensen's O didn't attack deep any more so than the previous, run heavy Bucs Os (for comparison last year's Colts averaged 10.6 Y/C).

Christensen's previous stint running an offense suggests he's a better offensive coach than most of what Tampa had before and after him, and that he likes to throw the ball often, but not particularly deep (or not deep particularly often).

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Deep pass

Part of the reason he didn’t call many deep passes in 2001 is because the Bucs QB at the time (Brad Johnson) had no arm. Also, their #1 receiving option was Keyshawn Johnson. Not exactly blazing speed there for deep routes.

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by BigBlueShoe on May 19, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yeah, but the next two years they went deep more

with Brad Johnson and Keyshawn still their QB/WR combo

I don’t think he’s opposed to going deep, I think he isn’t in love with it (like Gruden was coming out of Oakland)

Test Your Awareness

by shake n bake on May 19, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm dumb

What does DVOA mean?

by lefpsyd on May 19, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

it's from Football Outsiders.com

here’s their quick explanation

DVOA is a method of evaluating teams, units, or players. It takes every single play during the NFL season and compares each one to a league-average baseline based on situation. DVOA measures not just yardage, but yardage towards a first down: five yards on third-and-4 are worth more than five yards on first-and-10 and much more than five yards on third-and-12. Red zone plays are worth more than other plays. Performance is also adjusted for the quality of the opponent. DVOA is a percentage, so a team with a DVOA of 10.0% is 10 percent better than the average team, and a quarterback with a DVOA of -20.0% is 20 percent worse than the average quarterback. Because DVOA measures scoring, defenses are better when they are negative.

Here’s the link to a more in-depth explanation

Not everyone likes it, but I’m a statgeek.

Test Your Awareness

by shake n bake on May 19, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs