Mike Leach goes off about ‘utterly useless’ football stat
Mike Leach has never been shy about speaking his mind when something is bothering him, and there is apparently one specific football stat that he can’t keep quiet about any longer.
While speaking with the media this week, Leach was asked about the unpopular college rule where sacks count against a quarterback’s rushing yardage. He’s not a fan of that, but he doesn’t feel nearly as strongly about it as he does quarterback efficiency rating.
“Over the course of my career it has been explained to me three times, and then I briefly, briefly understand it, but after that it just doesn’t make any sense,” Leach said of QB rating, as transcribed by Doug Samuels of FootballScoop.com. “Because that is utterly useless. Virtually, and completely, and utterly useless.”
Leach insists his opinion is shared across football, as he has never come across a single coach who puts any stock into that particular stat.
“I’m sure it’s a little bit like crossword puzzles and Sudoku because it’s got so many variation that they toss in there, with this and that, and they stir it all up and they come out with a number and think that it’s brilliantly done,” he said.
It’s hard to say if Leach is as passionate about QB rating as he is about the idea of getting married, but we can always count on him to have no filter. That’s one of the things that makes him great for the media, and this week could be loaded with Leach quotes with Washington State hosting ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time.
