German Football League team stats revealing
With the German Football League regular season in the books and the playoffs looming next week, let’s take a look at the overall stats in key offensive and defensive categories.
The top teams in the league are well represented here with just two non-playoff teams, the Allgäu Comets and Cologne Crocodiles – among the Top 5 in any of these categories.
The unbeaten Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns led in two categories and were among the Top 5 in the other six. The undefeated Braunschweig New Yorker Lions were the leaders in two categories as well and showed up in five others while Marburg Mercenaries were the leaders in two but only made two of the other lists. The Frankfurt Universe and Dresden Monarchs both topped one category each with Frankfurt appearing in five others and the Monarchs in four more. The Berlin Rebels and Hildesheim Invaders, both playoff teams, are on two lists each while the Comets and Crocodiles round out the lists.
Scoring Offense
The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns boasted the top scoring offense in the GFL with a whopping 680 points. They were followed by the only other unbeaten team in the league, the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions who had 586. The surprising Marburg Mercenaries clearly relied on their offense this year and were the third highest scoring team with 493 points while the Frankfurt Universe with 478 and Dresden Monarchs with 418 come in 4th and 5th.
Scoring Defense
The Unicorns also topped the league with the stingiest defense giving up just 176 points (12.5 pts/game) with the Lions again right behind at 179 points. Dresden kept pace surrendering 189 while the Frankfurt Universe allowed 252 and the Berlin Rebels 302.
Total Offense (yards produced)
The Marburg Mercenaries aerial attack propelled them into the playoffs with their best record in five years. Marburg generated a league-leading 6,201 yards of offense in 14 games, 150 more than the Unicorns with 6,049. The Frankfurt Universe finished just ahead of Braunschweg. Frankfurt had 5,755 and the Lions 5,750. The Hildesheim Invaders finished 5th overall with 5,404 yards.
Total Defense (yards allowed)
Not surprisingly, the New Yorker Lions finished as the top defense as defined by yards allowed with 3,138 (224 yds/game) with Frankfurt right behind in 2nd with 3,418 (244/game) and Schwäbisch Hall 3rd giving up 3,446 (246). The Cologne Crocodiles surrendered a total of 3,905 yards in the 14-game regular season while Dresden wound up 5th with 3,996.
Rushing Offense
Again, the Lions led the league, this time in rushing yards with their trio of Chris McClendon, Brandon Connette and David McCants. Not surprisingly, the Unicorns finished 2nd with 2,197 yards. The Hildesheim Invaders rushed for 1,963 yards while the surprising Allgäu Comets had 1,947 yards rushing. The Berlin Rebels wound of 5th with 1,799.
Rushing Defense
To beat the Frankfurt Universe this season, teams had to be able to throw the ball as the Universe defense was toughest against the run, allowing 656 yards in 14 games or just under 47 yards a game. Braunschweig was almost as tough to run against giving up 711 yards (50.7 yds/game) while Schwabisch Hall finished 3rd with 868 (61.1) and Allgau 4th with 875. Well behind in 5th was Marburg with 1,327.
Passing Offense
The Marburg Mercenaries notched their best record in five years with a prolific passing offense behind the arm of Jake Sullivan. The Mercenaries topped the GFL with 4,669 yards in passing yardage. The 2nd place Universe threw for 4,142 yards while the Dresden Monarchs finished 3rd with 4,089. The Unicorns were the 4th best passing team in the country with 3,852 yards while the Stuttgart Scorpions came in at 5th with 3,641.
Passing Defense
The Dresden Monarchs made life miserable for quarterbacks in 2019 with a defense that allowed a league-best 2,270 yards passing, or a mere 162 yards a game. The New Yorker Lions along with being the best rushing team in the GFL, were 2nd best against the pass giving up 2,427 (173.3 yds/game). Surprisingly, the Cologne Crocodiles, who finished out of the playoffs, were the third toughest team to throw against giving up 2,451 yards while the Unicorns came in 4th with 2,590 yards. The Hildesheim Invaders round out the Top 5 with 2,629 yards passing given up in 2019.
Graphics: Igor Lazarevic
