Football Analytics Definitions

Football analysis depends on clear definitions. Many metrics can vary by data provider, charting process, or calculation method, which can make it difficult to understand exactly what a number represents or how it should be interpreted.

This glossary provides a shared reference for the metrics surfaced across SumerSports so users can better understand, interpret, and apply the data they see throughout the platform.

How This Glossary Helps

Look up metric definitions: Understand what a metric measures and how it is commonly used in football analysis.
Interpret platform results: Use the glossary to better understand tables, charts, SumerBrain responses, and other product surfaces.
Clarify SumerSports methodology: Some metrics may be defined or calculated differently depending on the data source or model. Where a definition is specific to SumerSports, this glossary will call that out directly.

A Note on Metric Definitions

Not every football metric is defined the same way across the industry. Some terms are widely standardized, while others depend on the underlying data, model, or charting methodology being used.

Where relevant, this glossary highlights SumerSports-specific definitions so users have a clear reference point for the metrics they see across the platform.

Metric Definitions

Title	Content
All-Purpose Yards	A combined total of all yards a player gains across every phase: rushing, receiving, punt returns, kickoff returns, and any return yards on turnovers (interceptions or fumbles). It is the single broadest measure of a player's yardage contribution.
Average Depth of Target (Passing, aggregate)	The average distance downfield, in yards, that the quarterback's throws travel through the air on targeted pass plays. A higher aDOT indicates the QB is pushing the ball further down the field.
Average Depth of Target (Receiving)	The average distance downfield at which this receiver is targeted. Calculated as the sum of depth-of-target on all targets ÷ number of targets. A higher aDOT indicates the player is typically used on deeper routes.
Blitz (play identification)	A blitz is a defensive play where the defense sends extra pass rushers — typically five or more — beyond the standard four-man front. In our data, a play is classified as a blitz when the play's blitz flag is set to true. Blitz rate is calculated as blitz plays ÷ total dropbacks faced.
Blitzer (player-level)	The number of snaps on which a specific defensive player rushed the passer from a pass-rush alignment (defensive line, linebacker, or edge). A player can be a blitzer even when the overall play is not classified as a team blitz.
Catch Rate	The percentage of times a receiver catches a pass when targeted. Calculated as receptions ÷ targets.
EPA per Pass Play	The average Expected Points Added (EPA) on every pass play, including sacks. EPA measures how much a play improved or hurt the team's expected scoring. A positive number means the pass plays, on average, moved the team closer to points.
EPA per Play	Average Expected Points Added per offensive play. Calculated as total EPA ÷ total plays counted. A positive value means the player or team, on average, improved their expected scoring position on each snap.
EPA per Rush	The average Expected Points Added (EPA) on designed rushing plays. Positive values indicate runs that, on average, improved the team's scoring position.
Explosive Play Rate (Passing)	The share of pass attempts that result in a gain of 15 or more yards. Measures a passer's ability to generate big plays through the air.
Explosive Play Rate (Receiving)	The share of targets that result in a gain of 15 or more receiving yards. Measures how often a receiver turns a target into a big play.
Explosive Play Rate (Rushing)	The share of rushing attempts that gain 10 or more yards. Measures how often a runner or offense breaks off a big gain on the ground.
Field Goal Percentage	The percentage of field goal attempts that were successfully made. Calculated as field goals made ÷ field goal attempts. When a minimum distance is specified (e.g., 'from 50+ yards'), only attempts from that distance or longer are included in both the numerator and denominator.
NFL Passer Rating (QB Rating)	The NFL's official composite quarterback efficiency formula. It combines completion rate, yards per attempt, touchdown rate, and interception rate — each capped on a 0–2.375 scale — then averaged and scaled to produce a score between 0 and 158.3. A rating above 100 is generally considered strong.
Offensive Play Count	The total number of real offensive snaps in a selected period — specifically pass attempts, designed rush attempts, and sacks. Excludes special teams plays and two-point conversion attempts unless explicitly included.
Pass Protection Snaps	The number of snaps on which a player's primary assignment was to protect the quarterback — typically offensive linemen, plus blocking backs or tight ends. Used to calculate pass-block efficiency and protection grades.
Pass Rate	The share of a team's offensive plays that are pass attempts. Calculated as pass attempts ÷ (pass attempts + rush attempts + sacks). Sacks are counted as passing plays since they begin as dropbacks.
Player Total EPA	The total Expected Points Added (EPA) a player generated across all their qualifying offensive plays. EPA measures how much each play changed the team's expected points scored. Positive EPA means a player helped their team score; negative EPA means they hurt the team's expected scoring. Only real, non-nullified plays where the player had an active role (pass, rush, target, or sack taken) are counted.
Pressure Rate	The percentage of dropbacks on which the quarterback faced defensive pressure (hurries, hits, or sacks). Calculated as total pressures ÷ total dropbacks.
Receiving YAC Before Contact	Of the yards a receiver gains after the catch, how many came before a defender made contact. Calculated as yards after catch minus yards after contact. Highlights how much open-field separation a receiver creates.
Red Zone Conversion Rate	The percentage of red zone drives (reaching the opponent's 20-yard line) that result in an offensive touchdown. Only touchdowns scored by the offense are counted — defensive scores on turnovers do not qualify.
Red Zone Drives	The number of offensive drives on which the offense advanced into the opponent's red zone (inside the 20-yard line). Each distinct drive is counted once, regardless of how many red zone plays occurred on that drive.
Red Zone Target Share	The fraction of a team's passing targets in the red zone (inside the opponent's 20-yard line) directed at a specific player, in games where that player was active. High red zone target share is a strong indicator of touchdown opportunity.
Routes Run	The number of passing plays on which a receiver lined up and ran a pass route. Does not count plays where the receiver stayed in to block. Used as the denominator for yards per route run and similar efficiency metrics.
Run Concept	The run scheme or blocking concept used on a designed rushing play (e.g., outside zone, power, counter). This comes directly from a play-level classification field in our data — it is not inferred from film independently.
Run Rate	The share of a team's offensive plays that are rush attempts. Calculated as rush attempts ÷ (pass attempts + rush attempts + sacks).
Rushing Yards Before Contact	The yards a ball carrier gains before a defender makes contact. Calculated by subtracting yards gained after contact from total rushing yards. Higher values indicate better blocking or a runner who excels at finding gaps.
Sack Rate	How often a quarterback's dropbacks end in a sack. Calculated as total sacks ÷ total dropbacks (pass attempts + sacks).
Success Rate	The percentage of pass and rush attempts on which the offense gained positive EPA (i.e., the play helped their expected scoring). Calculated as successful plays ÷ total pass and rush attempts. Unlike yards-based metrics, Success Rate captures whether a play moved the chains on a down-and-distance basis.
Team Share Metrics (target share, run share, etc.)	A player's share of a team's usage in a given category (e.g., targets, carries, air yards). Calculated as the player's total in that category ÷ the team's total in the same games the player was active. A higher share indicates a larger role in the offense.
Time of Possession (TOP)	How long, in minutes and seconds, the offense held the ball during a game or season. Calculated drive-by-drive using game-clock timestamps: the clock elapsed from the first snap of a drive to the last. Because the clock counts down in the NFL, the elapsed time per drive is start-clock minus end-clock.
Yards After Catch (YAC)	The yards a receiver gains after the ball is in their hands, beyond where they caught it. A high YAC total often signals a receiver who excels at creating after the catch, or who is used on short routes with open space.
Yards Per Attempt (YPA)	Total passing yards divided by total pass attempts. Measures how many yards a quarterback earns, on average, for every throw — including incompletions.
Yards Per Carry (YPC)	Average yards gained per rushing attempt. Calculated as total rushing yards ÷ total rush attempts.
Yards Per Reception (YPR)	Average yards gained per caught pass. Calculated as total receiving yards ÷ total receptions.
Yards Per Route Run (YPRR)	Total receiving yards divided by the number of pass routes the player ran. Unlike yards per reception, this metric accounts for every snap a receiver ran a route — not just the ones they were targeted on — making it a better measure of overall route-running efficiency.