# Football Stats Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277 "2007-09-15T04:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/1 "2007-09-15T04:12:15Z")
If a quarterback throws a one-yard pass and the receiver runs it in 80 yards for a touchdown, the QB gets credit for an 81-yard pass play, right? But does the receiver get credit for 80 yards or 81? ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/2 "2007-09-15T04:15:45Z")
81 yards. They both get credit for the 81 yards. the QB as a pass completed and passing yards, and the WR as receiving yards. ---
**Author:** ![megatraum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@megatraum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/megatraum)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/3 "2007-09-15T06:56:12Z")
To be slightly more clear, receivers are credited with the total yards gained from the line of scrimmage, regardless of where the ball was actually caught. Thus, a Hail Mary would be statted the same way as a screen pass taken all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/4 "2007-09-15T06:59:19Z")
[QUOTE=megatraum] To be slightly more clear, receivers are credited with the total yards gained from the line of scrimmage, regardless of where the ball was actually caught. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: Provided they caught the ball FORWARD of where it was thrown from. ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/5 "2007-09-15T10:22:45Z")
Now that the OP has been answered, I have a little question of my own that I was thinking about on my way to work yesterday (prompted, I’m sure, by countless hours spent the past week playing Madden 08.) If an offense calls a flea-flicker, the QB hands off to the HB, who then tosses the ball _back_ to the QB, and a pass rusher tackles him, does that count as a sack or just a tackle? I was trying to figure out if I’d ever seen it happen, but with the flicker being pretty rare, I couldn’t think of an example. When it happened to me in Madden, I wasn’t thinking about it and failed to look at the stats after the game. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/6 "2007-09-15T13:42:35Z")
[QUOTE=BlakeTyner] If an offense calls a flea-flicker, the QB hands off to the HB, who then tosses the ball _back_ to the QB, and a pass rusher tackles him, does that count as a sack or just a tackle? [/QUOTE] Tackle. ---
**Author:** ![AZCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@AZCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZCowboy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/7 "2007-09-15T15:26:00Z")
Uh, don’t think so. That would be a sack. Ask Joe Theismann. Or Lawrence Taylor. This scenario just happens to represent what is perhaps the most famous play in NFL history. ---
**Author:** ![Queuing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/8 "2007-09-15T15:28:17Z")
[QUOTE=BlakeTyner] If an offense calls a flea-flicker, the QB hands off to the HB, who then tosses the ball _back_ to the QB, and a pass rusher tackles him, does that count as a sack or just a tackle? [/QUOTE] The “him” is a little unclear IMO. If the “him” is the QB it is a sack. Anytime a QB is tackled behind the line of scrimmage it is a sack. If the “him” is the RB it is a tackle. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/9 "2007-09-15T15:55:05Z")
[QUOTE=CateAyo] 81 yards. They both get credit for the 81 yards. the QB as a pass completed and passing yards, and the WR as receiving yards. [/QUOTE] That’s what I thought but I just wanted to confirm. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/10 "2007-09-15T16:02:06Z")
[QUOTE=Queuing] The “him” is a little unclear IMO. If the “him” is the QB it is a sack. Anytime a QB is tackled behind the line of scrimmage it is a sack. If the “him” is the RB it is a tackle. [/QUOTE] Even if the QB threw a pass that was batted down on back to the QB, who caught it(it’s technically a 0-yard complete pass). If the QB gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage, is it still a sack? ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/11 "2007-09-15T16:06:58Z")
Sorry, I should have been more clear with my wording. The “him” I meant was the quarterback. After he hands off to the HB, and the HB tosses back to the QB, the QB is tackled (behind the line of scrimmage, natch.) ---
**Author:** ![megatraum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@megatraum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/megatraum)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/12 "2007-09-15T17:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=Cyberhwk] Nitpick: Provided they caught the ball FORWARD of where it was thrown from. [/QUOTE] Well, if the ball is caught behind where it was thrown from it is not a reception but a rushing attempt, statistically identical to a pitch. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/13 "2007-09-15T23:54:21Z")
[QUOTE=Queuing] The “him” is a little unclear IMO. If the “him” is the QB it is a sack. Anytime a QB is tackled behind the line of scrimmage it is a sack. If the “him” is the RB it is a tackle. [/QUOTE] In pro football, a sack can be registered against any offensive player who is tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage on a play in which (scorer’s judgment) he intended to throw a forward pass. If the RB were stuffed on a flea-flicker, before he was able to lateral back to the QB, that wouldn’t be a sack because the RB didn’t intend to pass. But RB’s can and have been sacked on halfback-pass plays. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/14 "2007-09-16T03:01:05Z")
I stand (sit, actually) corrected. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/15 "2007-09-16T15:37:51Z")
Is this purely for practical reasons, because pre-instant-replay the point of the catch would be a rough guess in many cases? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/16 "2007-09-16T17:39:02Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] Is this purely for practical reasons, because pre-instant-replay the point of the catch would be a rough guess in many cases? [/QUOTE] No, it’s more because people have viewed the passing game as an organic whole, with little desire to separate it into a quarterback share and a receiver share. After all, if the QB finds a wide-open receiver, or hits a receiver in stride so that he can keep running, he’s equally to be credited for the Yards After Catch. I hear announcers prattle sometimes about Yards After Catch, and there may be people keeping track of it unofficially, but I haven’t heard of any movement to add this as an official statistic. ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-stats-question/419277/17 "2007-09-17T00:41:59Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] I hear announcers prattle sometimes about Yards After Catch, and there may be people keeping track of it unofficially, but I haven’t heard of any movement to add this as an official statistic. [/QUOTE] Yes, I’ve never heard of any efforts to make YAC an official stat. It tends to be used as an unofficial measure of the receiver’s effort and/or skill. Thank you all for the answers regarding the sack question. My mind certainly would have next gone to the RB-as-passer situation, so special thanks for that answer.