32 Teams, 32 Observations, Week 7

This week on 32 teams, 32 observations, we take a look at the quarterbacks.

Football is situational, so while two quarterbacks could have the same rating, it could be for very different reasons.  Today we’ll have a particular focus on which quarterbacks play well (or not) in particular situations, and use our ratings and various other statistics to back it up.

Under pressure, on deep passes, on third downs, snap-to-release time … there are a million ways to slice it. Here's one way for each of the NFL's 32 teams:

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick has had 824 of his 1477 passing yards come from the receivers after the catch. That is 55.8%, highest for all quarterbacks.

Miami Dolphins: Part of the problem Matt Moore has had is drops. 10 of his 93 passes have been gone through or off of hands. That's 10.7% of his attempts, the highest percentage in the league.

New England Patriots: Tom Brady has the best PFF rating on both first downs with +14.0, and on second downs with +18.5. On third downs he is just fourth with +10.0, but part of that is due to the lack of attempts (55) with him doing so well on the first two downs.

New York Jets: Mark Sanchez has been known for being clutch, as he’s played well in the playoffs. This year he has dominated on third down, where he has gone 41-for-72 for 489 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception.

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens: No quarterback has done worse under pressure than Joe Flacco. In those situations, he's earned a -8.5 rating, has completed 37% of his attempts, thrown three interceptions, and has been sacked 14 times.

Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton has averaged just 2.3 seconds between the snap of the ball and the release; one of the quickest in the league.

Cleveland Browns: Part of Colt McCoy’s problem is how fast pressure gets to him. When he's faced pressure, he's had to do something about it just 2.1 seconds into the play on average.

Pittsburgh Steelers: When blitzed, Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked more times than any other QB; 13 times.

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans: On first downs, Matt Schaub has thrown for 11 yards per attempt, with five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts: No matter who is under center for the Colts, they've had problems when under pressure. Kerry Collins has an Accuracy Percentage of just 39.4, while Curtis Painter sits at 36.8. Those are the two lowest numbers in the league.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Blitzing Blaine Gabbert has been a winning strategy for defenses. Sending additional rushers after him has resulted in him throwing for only 3.7 yards per attempt and has generated 11 sacks.

Tennessee Titans: On the other hand, teams haven’t had success blitzing Matt Hasselbeck. He’s completed 41 of 70 passes for 695 yards, and has six touchdowns compared to just three interceptions when the blitz is on.

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos: Tim Tebow has held the ball an average of 3.6 seconds on each pass attempt; by far the most in the league for starters.

Kansas City Chiefs: Since joining the Chiefs, Matt Cassel's Accuracy Percentage has gone up each year. He was at 65.7% in 2009, 68.4% in 2010, and this year he's currently at 72.8%.

Oakland Raiders:  In 2010, Carson Palmer had the second-best Pocket Presence rating. Only one hit and one hurry were due to him, while the 26 sacks, 45 hits and 128 other pressures he absorbed were credited to his blockers.

San Diego Chargers: Part of why Philip Rivers has had a down year is because he’s crumbled under pressure. He has just 5 yards per pass attempt and just 20 completions to go along with 15 sacks and two interceptions.

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys: On passes beyond 20 yards, Romo has an Accuracy Percentage of 59.1; second best in the league.

New York Giants: While he might not be considered in the elite class, Eli Manning has been as good as anyone under pressure. He has 543 yards (most in the league), and has thrown more touchdowns (3) than interceptions (2).

Philadelphia Eagles: Just over 60% of Michael Vick’s passing yards have come in the air; the highest for starting quarterbacks.

Washington Redskins: When Rex Grossman holds onto the ball for at least three seconds, he’s had problems. He has just 20 completions on 51 attempts for 329 yards, three interceptions and seven sacks.

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears: Typically quarterback are better on short passes than long, but Jay Cutler has been the opposite. On passes beyond 10 yards, he has a rating of +17.5, where on shorter passes he has a -3.5 rating.

Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford has been more productive throwing in the middle of the field than to the outsides. In the middle he’s earned 9 yards per attempt, where to the outside he’s had 6.1.

Green Bay Packers: The quarterback with by far the best PFF Passer Rating is Aaron Rodgers with 109.77. His 134.3 rating this past week was the best individual performance based on that rating all year.

Minnesota Vikings: Early indications are that Christian Ponder struggles under pressure more than the average quarterback. He has just three completions compared to two sacks on 18 pressured dropbacks.

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons: Part of Matt Ryan’s problem this year is his play on deep passes. He has an Accuracy Percentage of 22.2 on passes beyond 20 yards.

Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton has been the opposite of Stafford. He has a +14.5 rating throwing to the outside, and a -4.0 rating throwing to the middle of the field.

New Orleans Saints: The king of the fourth quarter has been Drew Brees, where he has 48 completions on 78 attempts for 639 yards and five touchdowns. His +13.0 pass grade in the quarter leads the league.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman gets better as the game goes on. In the first quarter, he has a rating of -5.5, in the second quarter +2.5, third quarter +3.5, and fourth quarter +4.0.

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals: When the Cardinals need more than 10 yards for a first down, Kolb hasn’t found much success. He has a -6.5 rating on plays where they need more than 10 yards, completes just 55% of his passes, and has two interceptions on the 29 passes.

St Louis Rams:  Quarterback Sam Bradford has a pass rating of +18.5 after just five games. That is a higher pass grade than what he had in 16 games last year.

San Francisco 49ers: Alex Smith has the third best Accuracy Percentage at 74.7%. That's higher than his 71.1% last year and his 69.5% the year before that.

Seattle Seahawks: Third down hasn’t been these quarterbacks' strong points. Charlie Whitehurst has just four completions on 12 passes, while Tarvaris Jackson has completed just half of his.

Follow Nathan on Twitter: @PFF_NateJahnke and check out our main Twitter feed too: @ProFootbalFocus
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