High-water mark
482.2056
career-best overall
133.9% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 482.2056 at Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) — 133.9% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- 2021-08-06
The Meat Whisperers
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1468
peak 1468 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2019-03-08
latest 2021-08-06
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 74%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
388.27 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 377.45 (+10.82)
Walk rate
83%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±70.94
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 166.00 · weakest Chicken (150.38)
Road miles
384
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 58 mi
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)
Purse competed for
$18K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
Backyard avg
377.45 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (7 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
PIT ROW BBQ has finished one call ahead of The Meat Whisperers 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
Hickory Hangover ahead in 100% of their meetings
Hickory Hangover has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
The weak link
−15.6
points behind their best meat
Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 15.62 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 75%.
- Chicken avg 150.38
- Pork Ribs avg 166.00
- 0 calls in 8 entries
A strong matchup
3–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 75% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Simply Smoked in 3 of their 4 shared contests.
Pork Ribs nemesis
6 of 6
shared pork ribs entries lost
Hickory Hangover ahead 100% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, Hickory Hangover has out-cooked them in 6 of 6 shared pork ribs entries.
Looking over their shoulder
2×
one call behind them
NATTY QUE has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
160 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4743 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to The Meat Whisperers)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team The Meat Whisperers has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4755 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4724 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
Level with The Meat Whisperers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4713 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 5 years before The Meat Whisperers's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4734 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4712 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEE LA Q | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Hickory Hangover | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HELL ON SQUEALS | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Thin Blue Swine | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| REDBONES BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.9772 | 129.0400 | 150.38 | top 85% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 173.7256 | 148.0000 | 166.00 | top 37% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6800 | 154.8228 | 158.82 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 79% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 51% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | 2 | 21 | 0 | top 97% | 2021-08-06 |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.4 yrs
2019-03-08 → 2021-08-06
Busiest season
2021
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
AL
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
5
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
8 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 166.00 · weakest Chicken (150.38)
Walk rate
83%
a top-10 call in 5 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Backyard average
377.45
out of 360 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
117
52–125 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
384
5 mapped stops · furthest 58 mi
Schedule strength
1531
average field rating faced — tougher than 23% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$18,200
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
Longest layoff
1.3 yrs
2019-04-26 → 2020-08-07
Power rating
1468
peak 1468 · #4729 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- First tracked contest Scottsboro BBQ Cook Off Festival(BACKYARD ONLY)
- First call Scottsboro BBQ Cook Off Festival(BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score333.7144 Scottsboro BBQ Cook Off Festival(BACKYARD ONLY)
- 2019
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.7256 Corums Building Center BBQ(BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1493) Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY)
- 2021
- Career-best overall score482.2056 Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
- Most recent contest Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +0.4 | Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY) | 2019-04-26 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.4 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2020-08-07 |
| -10.2 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | 2021-08-06 |
| -7.2 | Corums Building Center BBQ(BACKYARD ONLY) | 2019-03-08 |
| -1.9 | Smoke on the Water Festival(BACKYARD ONLY) | 2021-04-23 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 61% | 92.7% | 92.7% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 80% | 133.9% | 112.4% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 100% | 131.4% | 131.4% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 62% | 90.3% | 90.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-06 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL | 29 / 31 (482.2056) | 30 (149.6684) | 7 (170.8572) | 23 (161.6800) | — |
| 2021-04-23 | Smoke on the Water Festival(BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 19 / 29 (327.3484) | 25 (155.9084) | 8 (171.4400) | — | — |
| 2020-08-07 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) Glencoe, AL | 21 / 21 (473.0052) | 15 (129.0400) | 10 (166.2628) | 20 (154.8228) | — |
| 2019-04-26 | Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY) Florence, AL | 23 / 45 (325.0740) | 26 (163.3712) | 28 (161.7028) | 29 (159.9656) | — |
| 2019-03-08 | Corums Building Center BBQ(BACKYARD ONLY) Harselle, AL | 25 / 34 (323.3712) | 34 (149.6456) | 3 (173.7256) | — | — |
| Scottsboro BBQ Cook Off Festival(BACKYARD ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 14 / 23 (333.7144) | 16 (163.9772) | 9 (169.7372) | — | — |