The PPI-120 Awards: Honoring the Best of 2003 and 2004
A season-by-season celebration of the best performances in PFL through the lens of the PPI-120 grading system.
What is PPI-120?
PPI-120 stands for PFL Performance Index 120. The name may not be glamorous, but the concept behind it is simple: create a grading system that works like a football version of a PFF-style season grade, while still being tailored to the realities of this league.
The scale goes to 120 because 100 felt too ordinary. In this system, 120 represents the absolute ceiling, the kind of season that lands in the top 1% of performances when compared against the larger historical sample. The full index was built against years of SFL data, which means some of those old seasons came from an era with inflated attributes and ridiculous stat lines. Even so, it still gives us a strong baseline for comparing players across seasons and positions.
As a rough guide:
100+ = elite
90-99 = very good
80-89 = good
70-79 = above average
The goal is not just to dump raw stats on a page. It is to measure the overall quality of a season. That does not mean the system is perfect. Some positions are easier to capture with numbers than others, and for certain roles playing time matters more than pure efficiency. Still, no grading system is perfect. This is meant to be fun, but it is also the result of a lot of time spent trying to build something consistent.
So with that out of the way, let’s treat this like it should be treated:
The PPI-120 Awards
QUARTERBACK
The all-time benchmark at quarterback is still Daunte Culpepper’s 2009 season, the gold standard that every other QB performance is measured against. That year he threw for 5,302 yards, 46 touchdowns, just 12 interceptions, and posted a 110.4 QBR. That is the mountain.
2003 Nominees
Drew Bledsoe — 109.3
Tom Brady — 101.6
Brett Favre — 100.3
Donovan McNabb — 98.4
Dave Brown — 87.4
Winner: Drew Bledsoe — 109.3 PPI-120
Bledsoe takes the first quarterback award with a season that blended production and control at a very high level. A 103.5 rating, 3,578 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions is exactly the type of profile this system rewards. Brady and Favre had outstanding seasons too, but Bledsoe’s combination of efficiency and turnover avoidance gave him the edge.
2004 Nominees
Peyton Manning — 117.5
Steve McNair — 108.9
Brett Favre — 104.2
Kerry Collins — 104.2
Daunte Culpepper — 100.6
Winner: Peyton Manning — 117.5 PPI-120
This one was a landslide. Manning’s 2004 season was one of the great quarterback campaigns in the sample: 109.8 rating, 4,361 yards, 38 touchdowns, and only 8 interceptions. McNair’s efficiency was superb, and Favre and Collins both had strong cases, but Manning’s blend of volume and quality pushed him near the very top end of the scale.
HALFBACK
At running back, the “real” all-time monster season is Priest Holmes in 2003: 2,191 yards, 14 touchdowns, 2 fumbles, and 6.24 yards per carry. The funny part is that the technical 120 marker belongs to Mario Fannin in 2015 because of an absurd one-carry, 72-yard touchdown outlier. That is one of those cases where math and football reality do not always shake hands perfectly.
2003 Nominees
Ahman Green — 119.2
LaDainian Tomlinson — 117.0
Edgerrin James — 115.3
Willis McGahee — 114.4
Ricky Williams — 113.4
Winner: Ahman Green — 119.2 PPI-120
Green’s season was about balance. He did not just pile up carries. He turned 314 attempts into 1,507 yards, 14 touchdowns, only 1 fumble, and a strong 4.8 average. Tomlinson and James were both elite, but Green’s combination of ball security and scoring efficiency gave him the trophy.
2004 Nominees
Willis McGahee — 117.8
Clinton Portis — 116.3
Ricky Williams — 116.1
LaDainian Tomlinson — 113.5
Ladell Betts — 113.1
Winner: Willis McGahee — 117.8 PPI-120
McGahee’s 2004 is exactly the kind of season that rises in this model: 1,507 yards, 11 touchdowns, 4.68 per carry, and, most importantly, zero fumbles. Portis and Ricky Williams put together bigger raw rushing totals, but McGahee’s clean season gave him the advantage.
FULLBACK
The all-time fullback benchmark belongs to Mewelde Moore in 2008, a season that captures what makes this position fun to evaluate: pancakes, rushing help, short-yardage usefulness, and receiving contribution all rolled into one.
2003 Nominees
Mike Alstott — 118.2
Jeremi Johnson — 111.5
Alan Ricard — 111.3
P. Washington — 99.8
C. Schlesinger — 99.5
Winner: Mike Alstott — 118.2 PPI-120
This is vintage Alstott. He dominated as a blocker with 76 pancakes, added 168 rushing yards, chipped in through the air, and brought exactly the kind of all-around physical value that makes a fullback season stand out in the system.
2004 Nominees
Mike Alstott — 118.1
Robert Royal — 117.8
Heath Evans — 108.9
Alan Ricard — 104.6
Dan Kreider — 101.9
Winner: Mike Alstott — 118.1 PPI-120
Back-to-back. Royal had an incredible receiving season for a player classified here, but Alstott once again brought the best overall mix. Eighty-one pancakes, short-yardage value, and enough receiving production to round out the profile made him the safest winner on the board.
WIDE RECEIVER
The all-time wide receiver benchmark is Reggie Wayne in 2002: 122 catches, 2,197 yards, and 19 touchdowns. That is a season that does not need much explanation.
2003 Nominees
Torry Holt — 119.4
T.J. Houshmandzadeh — 117.6
Deion Branch — 115.4
Amani Toomer — 113.5
Koren Robinson — 112.5
Winner: Torry Holt — 119.4 PPI-120
This was a monster season. Holt posted 85 catches, 1,756 yards, and 16 touchdowns, which is basically the complete WR package: target volume, big-play production, and end-zone damage. Houshmandzadeh and Branch were excellent, but Holt’s ceiling was simply higher.
2004 Nominees
Bernard Berrian — 119.3
Javon Walker — 113.1
Koren Robinson — 112.1
Rashaun Woods — 111.4
Donald Driver — 111.3
Winner: Bernard Berrian — 119.3 PPI-120
Berrian exploded in 2004 with 88 catches, 1,619 yards, and 17 touchdowns. That kind of touchdown production paired with high-end yardage is always going to score well, and in this case it was enough to separate him clearly from the rest of the field.
TIGHT END
The all-time tight end bar is Tony Gonzalez in 2006, which feels right. A tight end season with real receiving volume, strong yardage, double-digit touchdown impact, and blocking value is exactly what the position is supposed to look like.
2003 Nominees
Tony Gonzalez — 117.2
Teyo Johnson — 112.5
Dallas Clark — 112.3
Anthony Becht — 107.1
Jeremy Shockey — 103.8
Winner: Tony Gonzalez — 117.2 PPI-120
Gonzalez won because he was complete. He may not have had the biggest raw receiving line here, but when you add 80 pancakes to 48 catches, 805 yards, and 4 touchdowns, the overall profile becomes extremely hard to beat.
2004 Nominees
Tony Gonzalez — 118.2
Jeremy Shockey — 115.3
Steve Heiden — 114.6
Dallas Clark — 111.6
Frank Wycheck — 108.1
Winner: Tony Gonzalez — 118.2 PPI-120
Another trophy. Fifty-one catches, 930 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 64 pancakes is the exact kind of do-everything season that breaks a tight end leaderboard. Shockey and Heiden were both excellent, but Gonzalez was still the gold standard.
OFFENSIVE LINE AWARDS
For offensive linemen, PPI-120 is all about rewarding dominance while still punishing mistakes. Pancakes drive the score upward, sacks allowed drag it down, and the result is a simple but effective way of measuring who truly controlled their matchup. That is why these awards make the most sense when handled as separate honors by position.
LEFT TACKLE
All-time benchmark: Morgan Moses, 2019 — 116 pancakes, 1 sack allowed.
2003 Winner: Chad Clifton — 118.6
Clifton’s case is easy: 92 pancakes and zero sacks allowed. Orlando Pace had the bigger pancake total, but those four sacks allowed were enough to swing the award.
2004 Winner: Orlando Pace — 118.2
Pace comes back a year later and takes the prize with 94 pancakes and just 1 sack allowed. That is a classic franchise left tackle season.
LEFT GUARD
All-time benchmark: Willie Roaf, 2002 — 110 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed.
2003 Winner: Ephraim Salaam — 105.7
This is a lower-scoring winning season than some of the other OL awards, but it still stood tallest in the field. Salaam paired solid pancake production with a respectable protection profile and came out on top.
2004 Winner: Kris Dielman — 118.5
Dielman’s 89 pancakes and 3 sacks allowed made him one of the strongest offensive line winners in the entire ceremony.
CENTER
All-time benchmark: Larry Allen, 2003 — 86 pancakes, 8 sacks allowed.
2003 Winner: Larry Allen — 120.0
That is the perfect score, and it carries the right kind of aura. Even with 8 sacks allowed, the 86 pancakes pushed the season into a category of its own.
2004 Winner: Larry Allen — 119.9
Nearly perfect again. Sixty-six pancakes and zero sacks allowed. Back-to-back center crowns, and one of the most dominant two-year stretches in the whole post.
RIGHT GUARD
All-time benchmark: Willie Roaf, 2006 — 100 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed.
2003 Winner: Damion McIntosh — 117.3
Seventy-five pancakes and no sacks allowed is a devastating combination. This is exactly what a high-end lineman season looks like in the system.
2004 Winner: Jon Runyan — 112.1
Runyan did not post the cleanest sack line, but 78 pancakes gave him enough strength to take the award.
RIGHT TACKLE
All-time benchmark: Jonathan Ogden, 2002 — 121 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed.
2003 Winner: Tarik Glenn — 112.0
Not a perfect pass-protection line, but 92 pancakes gave Glenn enough force to separate from the field.
2004 Winner: Matt Lepsis — 104.7
This one was more modest compared to some of the other line awards, but Lepsis did enough in both categories to come out ahead.
FINAL THOUGHTS
What I like most about doing these awards is that they do not just reward the obvious box-score leaders. At some positions the winner is exactly the superstar you would expect. At others, the model highlights players whose seasons were more complete, cleaner, or more efficient than people might remember.
That is really the whole point of PPI-120.
It is not here to replace discussion. It is here to start discussion.
Who had the best season?
Who was elite but underrated?
Which positions are captured well by the system, and which ones still need refinement?
Where does volume matter more than efficiency, and where should efficiency dominate the grade?
This is my attempt to turn all of that into something fun and structured: a yearly award ceremony, position by position, season by season.
And for 2003 and 2004, these are your PPI-120 winners.
The PPI-120 Awards
Honoring the Best of 2003 and 2004
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