O-line Continuity Scores

FO says the Colts had some line upheaval

In PFP 2007, we introduced OL Continuity Score, a measure of how much each team changes its offensive line starters during the season. I thought people might be interested to see the scores from 2009. There’s definitely a correlation between poor offense and a lack of offensive line continuity, although the cause-and-effect relationship can go both ways. (The Colts are an exception, caused in part by the weirdness of Weeks 15-17.)

Continuity score starts with 48 and then subtracts:

• The number of players over five who started at least one game on the offensive line;
• The number of times the team started at least one different lineman compared to the game before; and
• The difference between 16 and that team’s longest streak where the same line started consecutive games.

The New York Jets were the only team with a perfect 48 score, meaning all five linemen starting all 16 games, after five different teams scored 48 in 2008. No team in the last decade has put up a 48 for three years in a row.