2011, the Texans defense averaged minus-0.06 EPA/play with Watt on the field, and minus-0.04 EPA/play with Watt on the sideline.

The Houston Texans have been out-gained by a half yard per play this season and have a minus-9 turnover margin, but theyre currently in first place because the AFC South is a very bad division.The Texans, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars have all struggled over the past few years, which begs the question: Is the AFC South the worst division in recent NFL history? Lets compare it to every division of the past 15 years, since the NFL adopted the format of eight four-team divisions in 2002.It would be easy to just look at which divisions had the fewest total wins, but that opens the door for one team to drag a whole division down. It can also penalize whichever division drew the leagues strongest teams in the rotating schedule. For example, the AFC North is on pace to average just 5.6 wins per team this season -- it doesnt help that the Cleveland Browns havent won a game yet, or that collectively the teams drew this years best division, the NFC East, in interconference play.In order to go beyond wins and losses and adjust for strength of schedule, we measured every division from the past 15 years using Football Outsiders DVOA ratings. DVOA is Football Outsiders proprietary Defense-adjusted Value Over Average metric, which looks at a teams performance on every play and adjusts based on situation and opponent, explained further here.?Instead of using simple average, we looked at the harmonic mean?of each teams rank in DVOA. That prevents one horrible team from having too much influence on the rating of the division as a whole. Teams are listed below with win-loss record and DVOA rank.When looking at the worst divisions in the NFL since 2002, one division clearly stands out. The AFC South has been bad, but one division was much worse ... until Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh came along.10. 2015 NFC EastIt has been quite a turnaround for the NFC East, from one of the worst divisions in recent memory to the best division in the NFL this season. Last year, an average NFC East team wouldve ranked 21st in the league. This year, it would rank seventh. The lowest NFC East team in our ratings this year, the Giants, ranks higher (14th) than the best team did last year. Rodions Kurucs Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Caris LeVert Nets Jersey . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. https://www.netsrookiesshop.com/Joe-Harris-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Henry Ellenson Nets Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Kyrie Irving Nets Jersey . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. News broke Tuesday that Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt may be lost for the season with a back injury, so what does that mean for one of the leagues most dominant defenses? We can quantify Watts bottom-line effect on a game by comparing the Texans expected points added (EPA) per play when he is on the field to their EPA/play when hes not.Since Watts rookie year in 2011, the Texans defense averaged minus-0.06 EPA/play with Watt on the field, and minus-0.04 EPA/play with Watt on the sideline. (Negative EPA is good for defenses.) That difference of 0.02 EPA/play equates to about 1.2 points per game based on Houstons average of 62.4 snaps per game. Those 1.2 points per game would be roughly equivalent to 4 percent win probability each game. So at first glance, Watts absence would be significant, but not necessarily fatal to the Texans playoff hopes.But Watt was not an every-down pllayer in his first year and a half in the league, and his performance found a whole new gear starting in 2013.dddddddddddd Since the start of the 2013 season, the difference in defensive performance with Watt on the field and off the field is a whopping 0.09 EPA/play. That equates to 5.6 points per game or roughly 20 percent win probability!There have been only 194 snaps without Watt since 13, so consider the 20 percent win probability number as an extreme upper bound of his impact. That kind of effect on win probability is what might be more typical when a team loses an elite quarterback to injury. But if any single defensive player can have as significant an impact on his teams prospects, it might be Watt, who is both a preeminent run defender and pass-rusher. ' ' '