There are a lot of people who like having one all-encompassing number to say how good a quarterback is. While those are fun to have, it is also good to know how quarterbacks fair in certain situations. It’s also good to know why a quarterback is doing well or isn’t. This week’s 32 Observations looks at quarterbacks in various situations/categories and how they fair compared to the 31 other quarterbacks who have had the most drop-backs for their team.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: When E.J. Manuel is not blitzed, he has an Accuracy Percentage of 70.3%. When he is blitzed, that drops to 54.5%. That's a difference of 15.7% which is the second-largest difference in the league.
Miami Dolphins: Only 167 of Ryan Tannehill’s passing yards have come on passes to players lining up in the backfield which is the second-lowest amount of the 32 qualifying quarterbacks. He has completed 24 of 32 passes, and one went for a touchdown.
New England Patriots: Tom Brady has had 17 incomplete passes where the reason the pass was incomplete was an underthrow, which is the highest amount in the league.
New York Jets: It isn’t often that Geno Smith makes a quick pass with a release of 1.5 seconds or fewer, but when he does he has been effective. He has completed 12 of 13 passes for 119 yards. His completion percentage of 92.3% is second best in the league, and the yards per completion of 9.9 which is third most in the league.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: Of the 32 qualifying quarterbacks, there have been 26 times where a quarterback has attempted a pass where the ball has been in the air for 50 or more yards. Only six have been completions. Two of those completions have come from the arm of Joe Flacco, who is 2-for-3 for 137 yards on these passes.
Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton has attempted 66 passes when his time to throw is 1.5 or less which is the most passes in the league. He has completed 48 of those passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns.
Cleveland Browns: Brandon Weeden’s average depth of drop-back has been 8.0 yards, which is the longest average drop-back in the league.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger has had 31 of his incompletions occur because he overthrew his receiver, which is the highest amount in the league.
AFC South
Houston Texans: Matt Schaub has started games strong with an Accuracy Percentage of 82.9% in the first quarter which is the second-best rate in the league. However, in the other three quarters it has been a below average 71.2%. The difference of 11.8% is the league's second-biggest difference.
Indianapolis Colts: Eight of Andrew Luck’s incompletions have come because he threw the ball behind his receiver, the highest amount in the league.
Jacksonville Jaguars: There have only been eight times this year where Chad Henne has used a pump fake, but when he has he’s completed seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Tennessee Titans: Jake Locker has an Accuracy Percentage above 70% in the first, second and fourth quarters. However, in the third quarter, his accuracy is down to 51.6%.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning has run 55 pass plays out of the pistol offense, which is the second-most in the league.
Kansas City Chiefs: Over the first four weeks of the season, Alex Smith had an above average rate of a touchdown on 4.8% of his pass attempts. Since Week 5, he only has a touchdown on 1.2% of his passes which is the third-lowest rate of the 32 qualifying quarterbacks, only behind quarterbacks who have missed time due to injury.
Oakland Raiders: Terrelle Pryor has 29 pass attempts this year where his time to throw was five seconds or more. No other quarterback has more than 20. Pryor has completed 11 of those passes for 182 yards.
San Diego Chargers: From 2008-2012, Philip Rivers lead the league in thrown away passes three times and was in the Top 6 all five years. In 2013, Rivers has thrown the ball away eight times which is tied for 21st.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: Typically when a quarterback holds onto the ball for seven or more seconds, bad things will happen. While plenty of those plays turn into quarterback scrambles or sacks, there have been 31 times where one of the 32 qualifying quarterbacks has attempted a pass. Only nine have been completed. One third of those completions have come from the arm of Tony Romo who is a perfect 3-for-3 for 58 yards. No other quarterback has multiple completions.
New York Giants: Over the first three quarters of games, Eli Manning has an Accuracy Percentage of 70.0%. In the fourth quarter, though, his Accuracy Percentage drops down to 56.5% which is the second lowest rate in the league.
Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick has only attempted seven passes to receivers running ‘out' routes which is the lowest number of the 32 qualifying quarterbacks. He has yet to complete a pass on an out route. Each of the other 31 quarterbacks have at least five completions and at least 63 yards from out routes.
Washington Redskins: Part of why Robert Griffin III’s 2013 season hasn’t been as good as 2012 is because he has been less effective at play action passes. On non-play action passes, his completion percentage hasn’t changed much (64.1% to 62.4%), but on play action passes it has changed significantly (67.7% to 57.4%)
NFC North
Chicago Bears: From 2009-2012, Jay Cutler’s accuracy has been below average. It has hovered between 68.0% to 70.7%. This year, his Accuracy Percentage is at 74.0% which is 10th among qualifying quarterbacks.
Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford has attempted 53 passes to receivers running ‘slant' routes which leads the league. Not surprisingly, he also leads the league in completions (40), yards (518), touchdowns (4) and interceptions (3) on slants.
Green Bay Packers: Only six of Aaron Rodgers' passes have been broken up (pass defensed) by a defender, which is the lowest amount in the league.
Minnesota Vikings: When Christian Ponder is not blitzed, he had an above average Accuracy Percentage of 76.9%. When he is blitzed, his Accuracy Percentage drops down to 58.8%. That is a difference of 18.1% which is by far the largest in the league.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan has thrown 86 passes to players lining up in the backfield which is the second most in the league. He has completed 72 of those passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns.
Carolina Panthers: When Cam Newton is not under pressure, he has a below average Accuracy Percentage of 75.7%. When he is under pressure, his Accuracy Percentage drops to just 70.8% which is the third-ranked figure behind that of Rivers and Peyton Manning. The difference of just 4.9% is the second smallest difference in the league.
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees has completed 65 passes behind the line of scrimmage which is the most in the league. He also leads the league in behind the line of scrimmage completions at 57, yards at 361, and touchdowns at five.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: There are eight quarterbacks in the league who have attempted three or more passes from their opponent’s 1-yard line. Mike Glennon is the only one of those quarterbacks to have completed each of those passes for touchdowns.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer has attempted 10 passes this year where his offense has needed 5 yards or less for a touchdown. He has only completed one of those passes for a 4-yard touchdown.
St. Louis Rams: Over the first three quarters of games, Sam Bradford has a below average Accuracy Percentage of 71.4%. Once the fourth quarter hits, his Accuracy Percentage goes up to 81.3% which is the third-best rate in the league.
San Francisco 49ers: When Colin Kaepernick is not under pressure, he has an Accuracy Percentage of 74.7%. When he is under pressure, he has an Accuracy Percentage of 47.0%. That is a difference of 27.6%, which is the largest in the league.
Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson’s average depth of drop-back has been 6.1 which is the shortest average drop-back in the league.
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