1995 NFC WR Stats..WTH went on?!

[Hail Casares]

Was looking into Isaac Bruce's career and looked at his 1995(119 catches 1781 yards 13 TD's) which didn't even result in a Pro Bowl berth and started looking around PFR at why. The NFC WR numbers in 1995 were insane.

Jerry Rice: 122 catches 1848 yards 15 TD's (All Pro/Pro Bowl)
Herman Moore: 123 catches 1626 yards 16 TD's (AP/PB)
Cris Carter: 122 catches 1371 yards 17 TD's (PB)
Michael Irvin: 111 catches 1603 yards 10 TD's (PB)
Isaac Bruce: 119 catches 1781 yards 13 TD's
Brett Perriman: 108 catches 1488 yards 9 TD's
Robert Brooks: 102 catches 1497 yards 13 TD's
Jeff Graham: 89 catches 1301 yards 4 TD's

Eight of the top ten yardage leaders were from the NFC
Nine of the top ten catch leaders were from the NFC
Seven of the top ten TD leaders were from the NFC.

The years before and after this seemed more "normal" and even. This one season the NFC was insane numbers wise for WR's.

What caused this? Expansion? Talent at the QB position? Etc Just a really odd spike/anomaly

[ChrisBabcock]

I've always wondered the same thing myself about that year. Weird. I would have thought that Bruce got a Pro Bowl nod though. I'm amazed that he didn't.

[Byron]

I do think it had to do with the QBs and powerhouse teams of that season. Aikman was throwing to Irvin while Dallas marched to a third Super Bowl in four years, Young, coming off of a Super Bowl victory, was throwing to Rice. Two of the WRs (Moore and Perriman) were recipients of Scott Mitchell's best season in Detroit; Warren Moon was throwing to Cris Carter in Minnesota. Bruce did yeoman's work with Chris Miller in LA but finishing with a 7-9 record and being up against a number of historically dominant WRs who were also having incredible seasons (and who's teams were all finishing better) probably meant that his great season was, at least in the voting, overlooked.

[Evan]

I agree with Byron's points.

Also, regarding Bruce's Pro Bowl snub, I'm guessing that the Pro Bowl balloting might have been done or mostly done before Bruce's last three games of the season, in which he totaled 33 catches for 414 yards, all from Mark Rypien, who threw 147 passes in three games. St. Louis lost each of those last three games by 18, 12 and 19 points, falling behind big early and probably needing to throw a lot from the second quarter on. So it may have been perceived that with St. Louis behind early and often, Bruce got more opportunities for catches than other WRs, and might have been "given" more by the defense that was playing with a big lead.

Regarding the other 1995 NFC Pro Bowl WRs, Rice, Moore and Carter had big games all year, while Michael Irvin had already accumulated his big numbers before the last three games of the season, in which he totaled just 13 catches.

[Jeremy Crowhurst]

My recollection is that the Pro Bowl announcements at that time were made after 14 games. It seemed like every year or two someone got denied a berth that he would have gotten if they waited until all 16 games were played.

As for what happened, 1995 saw some very bad pass defences - much more so than in 94 or 96 - and four of the bottom five were Atlanta, Minnesota, Chicago, and Tampa Bay. That might explain why receivers from Detroit, Minnesota, San Fran, and St. Louis did so well. (Irvin was just that good.)

[rhickok1109]

My recollection is that the Pro Bowl announcements at that time were made after 14 games. It seemed like every year or two someone got denied a berth that he would have gotten if they waited until all 16 games were played.

As for what happened, 1995 saw some very bad pass defences - much more so than in 94 or 96 - and four of the bottom five were Atlanta, Minnesota, Chicago, and Tampa Bay. That might explain why receivers from Detroit, Minnesota, San Fran, and St. Louis did so well. (Irvin was just that good.)

Rice was pretty good, too

[conace21]

Isaac Bruce, Cris Carter, and Herman Moore were all very good to great. The number of #2 WR's getting 1000 yards also increased; Jake Reed and Brett Perriman had 1000 yard seasons. Eric Metcalf switched from RB to WR, and he promptly had 100 catches. Bert Emanuel and Terence Mathis had 1,000 yard seasons as well. The Falcons became the first team to have four teams go over 1,000 yards rushing (Ironhead) or receiving in a season.

[rhickok1109]

My recollection is that the Pro Bowl announcements at that time were made after 14 games. It seemed like every year or two someone got denied a berth that he would have gotten if they waited until all 16 games were played.

As for what happened, 1995 saw some very bad pass defences - much more so than in 94 or 96 - and four of the bottom five were Atlanta, Minnesota, Chicago, and Tampa Bay. That might explain why receivers from Detroit, Minnesota, San Fran, and St. Louis did so well. (Irvin was just that good.)

But which came first? Did these receivers all have an outstanding year, statistically, because they were playing against poor pass defenses? Or do the pass defenses look bad, statistically, because they faced these receivers?

[TodMaher]

My recollection is that the Pro Bowl announcements at that time were made after 14 games. It seemed like every year or two someone got denied a berth that he would have gotten if they waited until all 16 games were played.

As for what happened, 1995 saw some very bad pass defences - much more so than in 94 or 96 - and four of the bottom five were Atlanta, Minnesota, Chicago, and Tampa Bay. That might explain why receivers from Detroit, Minnesota, San Fran, and St. Louis did so well. (Irvin was just that good.)

But which came first? Did these receivers all have an outstanding year, statistically, because they were playing against poor pass defenses? Or do the pass defenses look bad, statistically, because they faced these receivers?

Don't forget 1995 was an expansion year - two more teams to dilute the defensive talent pool.

[oldecapecod11]

TodMaher » Tue Dec 02, 2014 6:21 pm
"Don't forget 1995 was an expansion year - two more teams to dilute the defensive talent pool."

Ah ha !! Leave it to Tod to present what is likely the right answer.
Was there a similar spike with most, if not every, expansion year stats?