Jalen Ramsey fired up after being accused of being overrated

LA Rams defensive back Jalen Ramsey is the best there is. And yet, each off-season there is the battle of speculation, wonderment, and perhaps just savage trolling that brings the issue back to the public debate.

Let’s get right to it right away. The goal of any defensive back is to prevent the quarterback from completing passes to your receiver. Period. That’s it. If a defensive back can intercept the pass? Great. If the defensive back makes the quarterback hesitate from throwing the football? Just as great. That gives the pass rush time to get a quarterback sack.

But the popularity of Fantasy Football has skewed the perceptions of what makes a defensive back great.  Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is a prime example. He allowed 942 yards and four touchdowns, but his 11 interception hurls his name into the ‘great’ category. Playing with two bad shoulders, Jalen Ramsey allowed 624 yards and just three touchdowns and intercepted four passes. I would much prefer to have Ramsey in my secondary.

But thanks to fantasy football, Trevon Diggs gets more headlines.

Jalen Ramsey has only allowed nine touchdowns over the past four seasons. That is simply outstanding. And it continues to be his standard of play. Even when he is playing with two injured shoulders, he is an All-Pro player.

I’ve continued to beat the drum over the misuse of data analytics in the NFL. Just because you can measure something does not mean that you can draw accurate conclusions from the data. The number of fans wearing hats can be determined, measured, and graphed, but it has no relevance to how well the LA Rams will play.

We’ve seen new metrics try to sell LA Rams DL Aaron Donald as just average, Rams head coach Sean McVay as a run-of-the-mill coach, and now an injured Jalen Ramsey as overrated. Come on?! If you end up in a stupid place by relying on data analytics, you are measuring the wrong thing.

1 mile = 5,280 feet = 1,609.34 meters = 63,360 inches. They are all the same distance.  But if you measure the performance of defensive back Jalen Ramsey, and do not end up that he is the best in the NFL?

You are measuring the wrong thing.