Time To Share Some Data: 2011 Targets And Catches

It's time for the next data dump! All season I referenced targets-and-catches data when discussing receivers, but I wasn't able to keep the data updated and posted from week to week. Now that the season is over, however, it's time to dump a ridiculous load of receiver data on you. At the below link, you can find full targets-and-catches data for the 2011 season, broken out into Overall, Standard Downs and Passing Downs.

2011 Targets and Catches

Here are some quick definitions for you:

Targets = receptions plus incompletions targeting a given receiver. (NOTE: there is no target data for passes that were intercepted or for some throwaways. In the end, about 85-90 percent of passes have target data. I thought about adjusting for that in some way, but since it is the same for every team, I did not. Just keep that in mind.)

Catches = receptions.

Yards = receiving yards

Catch Rate = catches / targets

Yards Per Target = yards / targets

Target % = the percentage of a team's passes targeting a given receiver.

Target No. = the rank of a given player in terms of his team's targets.

%SD = the percent of a players targets that came on standard downs. As you'll see, this varies greatly from player to player.

The possibilities for this data are enormous. Two goals for the offseason are 1) processing previous years of data in this regard (I only have 2010 and 2011), and 2) creating a sort of Adj. POE for receiving data that takes both opponent and, in some way, quarterback into account. But for now, have fun with a load of real data.

(After the jump is an embedded version of the spreadsheet for quick perusal.)