'Fake Stat': Cowboys Trevon Diggs, Ezekiel Elliott Blast PFF for Grades

Writes Diggs on Twitter: "PFF put out a fake stat ... and y'all believed them.''

FRISCO - We often in this space mention how strongly we urge NFL players to ignore "the white noise.'' Almost nobody outside The Star, for instance, truly understands all of the intricacies of the Dallas Cowboys' plans, moves, playbook ... all of it.

But what if "the white noise'' impacts reputations, real evaluations, even salaries?

The 2021 NFL interception leader, second-year Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs, is being snubbed again. Now, to his credit, he was named All-Pro and he was a Pro Bowl participant - so most of the people with a voice or a vote get it ... A player with 11 picks needs to be ranked among the best performers at the position.

Unless, that is, those with a voice or a vote put great stock into the grades given by Pro Football Focus, which seems to have spent much of the last year taking great strides to discredit Diggs, often by echoing its magic number: The insistence that he allowed 1,000 yards to receivers he was guarding.

pff put out a fake stat for RT & y’all believed them.

— TRE SEVEN (@TrevonDiggs) July 21, 2022

Writes Diggs on Twitter: "PFF put out a fake stat ... and y'all believed them.''

Then, teammate Ezekiel Elliott pitched in ...

People who never played football before look at pff lol https://t.co/o8nTdxA69D

— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) July 22, 2022

"People who never played football before look at PFF,'' Zeke wrote.

That, of course, is an exaggeration - but it's an exaggeration that makes a point. There is no true way for somebody outside the building to grade every single snap taken by every single player on every single team in every single game over the course of a season and "grade'' it all accurately.

PFF can make a valiant attempt at it ... at best.

Teammate Micah Parsons thinks Diggs should be recognized as "the best cornerback in the NFL,'' a fairly representative view here inside The Star, where the Cowboys do not say "Diggs gave up 1,000 yards.'' Instead, they tend to say that his 11 interceptions, his 10 pass deflections and his two pick-six touchdowns are game-changing numbers that come from within the framework of coordinator Dan Quinn's defense, as opposed to the PFF suggestion that Diggs is taking monstrous risks to reap his rewards.

When making your judgment about grades and stats, "fake'' or otherwise, ask yourself who is likely to know better?

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