Tom Brady was best QB in 2010

New England veteran tops according to new quarterback rating system

Updated: December 19, 2011, 7:39 AM ET
ESPN Stats & Information

The Total Quarterback Rating is a statistical measure that incorporates the contexts and details of throws and what they mean for wins. It's built from the team level down to the quarterback, where we understand first what each play means to the team, then give credit to the quarterback for what happened on a play based on what he contributed.

Total QBR Basics

A quick primer on the fundamentals of Total Quarterback Rating:

Scoring: 0-100, from low to high. An average QB would be at 50.
Win Probability: All QB plays are scored based on how much they contribute to a win. By determining expected point totals for almost any situation, Total QBR is able to apply points to a quarterback based on every type of play he would be involved in.
Dividing Credit: Total QBR factors in such things as overthrows, underthrows, yards after the catch and more to accurately determine how much a QB contributes to each play.
Clutch Index: How critical a certain play is based on when it happens in a game is factored into the score.

At the team level, identifying what wins games is not revolutionary: scoring points and not allowing points. In the 1980s, "The Hidden Game of Football" did some pioneering work on that topic and how yardage relates to points.

We went back and updated what that book did … then we went further. At the individual level, more detailed information about what quarterbacks do is really necessary. Brian Burke at AdvancedNFLStats.com has done very good work in advancing that effort, and FootballOutsiders.com has done some of this by charting data. And over the past three years, ESPN has charted football games in immense detail.

By putting all these ideas together and incorporating a division of credit, we have built a metric of quarterback value, the Total Quarterback Rating, either Total QBR or QBR for short.

FULL EXPLANATION

QBR Leaders: 2010 Season

In 2010, Tom Brady was clearly ahead of the field in QBR.

Rank Season QB Team Action Plays QBR
1 2010 Tom Brady NE 607 76.0
2 2010 Peyton Manning IND 779 69.5
3 2010 Matt Ryan ATL 709 68.6
4 2010 Aaron Rodgers GB 627 67.9
5 2010 Michael Vick PHI 547 66.6
6 2010 Drew Brees NO 760 65.9
7 2010 Eli Manning NYG 654 64.3
8 2010 Josh Freeman TB 626 63.5
9 2010 Philip Rivers SD 667 63.2
10 2010 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 500 59.8
11 2010 Tony Romo DAL 251 58.1
12 2010 Joe Flacco BAL 647 58.1
13 2010 Matt Schaub HOU 678 57.8
14 2010 David Garrard JAC 510 57.3
15 2010 Kerry Collins TEN 342 56.0
16 2010 Matt Cassel KC 566 51.2
17 2010 Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF 551 48.7
18 2010 Mark Sanchez NYJ 619 47.4
19 2010 Carson Palmer CIN 720 46.7
20 2010 Colt McCoy CLE 290 46.6
21 2010 Kyle Orton DEN 612 46.6
22 2010 Jon Kitna DAL 409 46.1
23 2010 Shaun Hill DET 499 44.8
24 2010 Jason Campbell OAK 479 43.8
25 2010 Jay Cutler CHI 596 42.6
26 2010 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 547 42.4
27 2010 Chad Henne MIA 604 41.4
28 2010 Donovan McNabb WAS 596 41.0
29 2010 Sam Bradford STL 732 41.0
30 2010 Alex Smith SF 426 40.0
31 2010 Derek Anderson ARI 387 35.9
32 2010 Brett Favre MIN 459 25.8
33 2010 Jimmy Clausen CAR 397 11.7

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