A new week and a new edition of the PFF Live Reaction Blog, focusing on all the games from Week 6!
Our analysts have been working around the clock to get the week’s games to you and here’s where you’ll get your first glimpse of the results.
All through the day we’ll be dropping PFF Premium-style nuggets designed to give you information you simply can’t get anywhere else. Naturally you won’t get all of the info you’d get from a Premium subscription, but you’ll still see:
• The highest-graded players from every game – any make it to the PFF Page of Fame?
• Unique Signature Stats that offer more context than any box score number ever could.
• Snap numbers including routes run, pressured passes, slot coverage, and more.
• Analysis with a PFF twist on all the breaking news.
So bookmark the page and check back every half hour to be in the know.
16.15 – Redskins at Cowboys Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Jason Hatcher (+6.6), Brandon Carr (+5.3) and Brian Orakpo (+3.6)
– The three lowest graded players were Chris Chester (-6.2), Kory Lichtensteiger (-4.7) and Robert Griffin III (-4.6)
– A big day for Sean Lee. Not because he finished with 10 tackles but because he had eight defensive stops in the run game to go with a hit and a hurry.
– In the battle between Dez Bryant and DeAngelo Hall there were eight targets, with five receptions for 36 yards.
– A rough day for RG3 with just three completions on the 15 balls he threw over 10 yards in the air.
16.00 – Saints at Patriots Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Tom Brady (+5.6), Nate Solder (+3.9) and Sebastian Vollmer (+3.4)
– The three lowest graded players were David Hawthorne (-5.1), Marcus Cannon (-4.9) and Aaron Dobson (-4.1)
– The box score says that Tom Brady completed 58.1%. But with a throw away, a hit as thrown, a spike and seven dropped passes he actually had an adjusted accuracy percentage of 80%.
– The weekly look at Saints defensive formations sees them split 22 base defense snaps right down the middle between playing with a 3-4 and a 4-3. The 42 11 personnel sets of the Patriots did force them into using their 3-3-5 sub package defense on 44 snaps.
– Jimmy Graham ran 29 routes and was targeted six times without picking up a single reception.
15.45 – Cardinals at 49ers Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Joe Staley (+4.8), Carlos Rogers (+4.5) and Anthony Davis (+3.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Bradley Sowell (-6.8), Carson Palmer (-3.7) and Alameda Ta’amu (-2.8)
– Only one snap on offense for Patrick Peterson this week, giving him his lowest offensive snap count for the week. He’s up to 20 on the year.
– Conservative from the 49ers passing attack. 73% of aimed targets were thrown less than 10 yards in the air.
– In replacing Aldon Smith the 49ers got rookie Corey Lemonier 44 snaps. He responded by turning his 33 pass rushes into a sack, three hurries and a batted pass. He’s rotating with Dan Skuta who played 22 snaps.
15.30 – Jaguars at Broncos Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Malik Jackson (+4.5), Chris Clark (+3.8) and Justin Blackmon (+2.6)
– The three lowest graded players were Will Rackley (-5.3), John Cyprien (-3.0) and Uche Nwaneri (-2.3)
– Nice work by Peyton Manning challenging the defense. He went 7-of-11 on balls aimed over 10 yards in the air.
– The Jaguars managed to get pressure on just seven of 42 Denver dropbacks.
– With the Broncos using 11 personnel on 48 of their 74 offensive snaps the Jaguars only spent four snaps in base defense (two each in 3-4 and 4-3). They predominantly spent the time in a 3-3-5 package with 34 snaps there and 24 snaps in a 4-2-5 look.
15.00 – Panthers at Vikings Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Travelle Wharton (+5.2), Phil Loadholt (+3.8) and Greg Olsen (+3.6)
– The three lowest graded players were Jared Allen (-4.9) and both Xavier Rhodes and Chris Cook (-2.4)
– Greg Jennings led the Vikings in running 44 routes. That was 11 more than Jerome Simpson. Rookie Cordarrelle Patterson ran 15 but was only targeted twice on those.
– The Panthers had as many touchdowns (two) as forced missed tackles.
– The Vikings used just four defensive packages the entire game. On 34 plays they had a base 4-3 and 4-2-5 formation while using a dime package on just one snap. The other two snaps were their goalline package.
14.30 – Titans at Seahawks Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Brandon Mebane (+3.4), Clinton McDonald (+3.0) and Russell Wilson (+2.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Ryan Fitzpatrick (-3.9), Andy Levitre (-3.7) and Robert Turner (-3.0)
– Nothing quite summed up the performance from Fitzpatrick like the knowledge he only completed three passes longer than 10 yards in the air all day.
– Will the Seahawks start experimenting with more 3-4 looks? In preseason it looked likely but here they assumed the formation on just 5-of-24 base defensive packages.
– It was an unusually slow day for the Seahawks pass rushers. Chris Clemons, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril combined for 63 pass rushing snaps but registered just six pieces of pressure between them.
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13.30 – Grade Snapshot: Quarterbacks
Obviously our grading is our pride and joy so while we wait for some grades to come in about we relay some of our grades for the week? Let's look at the quarterbacks shall we?
1. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: +3.8
2. Matthew Stafford, DET: +3.6
3. Jay Cutler, CHI: +2.3
Will any of those to come surpass these scores?
13.00 – To Come
As well as all of our ReFocused articles we'll also have our Team of the Week later on this evening so keep checking back as he wait for the final games of Sunday to go up live on premium.
12.30 – Signature Stat Snapshot: Run Stops
We always tell you it's quality over quantity. So rather than quoting numbers at us as to why you're tackling machine isn't highly graded enough take a look at our run stop signature stat. It takes into account the quality of tackles made (i.e. where they're happening) and how many snaps a player has to pick those numbers up. For linebackers this week here's the top five so far?
1. Jon Beason, NYG: 26.9%
2. DeMeco Ryans, PHI: 21.1%
3. Derrick Johnson, KC: 20.8%
12.00 – Signature Stat Snapshot: Yards per Route Run
With eight games for the week up and the remainder to follow in the next three or so hours how about a little glimpse of some of the fantastically unique data we collect? Of course you can get more than a snapshot with a 365, $26.99 subscription but for now here’s a look at our Yards Per Route Run stat for the year.
1. Riley Cooper, PHI: 4.8
2. Rueben Randle, NYG: 4.69
3. Marvin Jones, CIN: 3.94
4. Tandon Doss, BAL: 3.19
5. Jordy Nelson, GB: 3.05
11.30 – Raiders at Chiefs Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Tracy Porter (+3.5), Sio Moore (+3.3) and Lamarr Houston (+3.2)
– The three lowest graded players were Terrelle Pryor (-7.7), Khalif Barnes (-6.0) and Eric Fisher (-4.8)
– What was so bad about the play of Pryor? On the eight passes he threw over 10 yards in the air he completed three of them and had two others picked. Of course
– After getting beat for another sack, hit and four hurries Eric Fisher has given up 17 quarterback disruptions on the year. His 93 pass blocking efficiency score is the 15th worst of 59 qualifying tackles.
– It’s not just that Lamarr Houston has been switched to the right side this year. No, there’s been a lot more change for him. He’s spent 79.1% of his snaps with his hand off the ground, something he did on just 14.7% of snaps last year.
11.00 – Eagles at Buccaneers Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Fletcher Cox (+5.1), Demar Dotson (+4.5) and Cedric Thornton (+4.0)
– The three lowest graded players were Jeremy Zuttah (-6.7), Akeem Spence (-4.5) and Davin Joseph (-5.1)
– Why tackle stats can be deceiving. DeMeco Ryans had 12 of them but what do you think is going to happen when you give up six first downs (and have another nullified by penalty). That’s what happens when you allow 9-of-10 balls into your coverage for 89 yards and a touchdown.
– A better day for Mike Glennon (-0.3). When you factor in throwaways (four), batted passes (two), hit as throwns (two) and dropped passes (one) he ended up with a 77.1 adjusted accuracy percentage score.
– After forcing 53 missed tackles last year Doug Martin has forced just nine this year.
10.30 – Steelers at Jets Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Damon Harrison (+4.5), Antonio Brown (+4.3) and Ben Roethlisberger (+3.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Antonio Cromartie (-4.3), Geno Smith (-4.0) and Marcus Gilbert (-3.1)
– On just 22 pass rush snaps Lamarr Woodley picked up a sack, hit and three hurries. That was good for an 18.2 pass rushing productivity score. The next best from the game belong to Calvin Pace (15.6) and the worst Quinton Coples (3.1).
– Safety Antonio Allen picked up six defensive stops, four of which in the run game for a run stop percentage of 18.2%.
– Ben Roethlisberger was under pressure on 25.7% of dropbacks but completed 60% of the passes he attempted with his ability to buy time when pressured crucial.
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09.30 – Rams at Texans Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Chris Myers (+3.9), Trumaine Johnson (+3.3) and Brandon Brooks (+3.2)
– The three lowest graded players were both T.J. Yates and Brian Cushing (-3.3) as well as Kendall Langford (-2.9)
– With Tavon Austin playing just four snaps the Rams used 21 personnel on 34% of plays and 12 personnel on 27.7% of plays.
– The -0.8 grade for J.J. Watt is the lowest we’ve given him since the fourth week of his rookie year. He ended the day with just one hit, two missed tackles and two penalties.
– The Rams offensive line only had to pass block on 17 occasions but they ensured that Sam Bradford only faced pressure on five occasions and only three of those came from the offensive line.
09.00 – Lions at Browns Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Matthew Stafford (+3.6), Joseph Fauria (+3.2) and Alex Mack (+2.9)
– The three lowest graded players were Brandon Weeden (-4.2), Craig Robertson (-4.1) and D’Qwell Jackson (-3.0)
– While Weeden played well when the team kept pressure off him, that wasn’t the case when he was pressured. On those 15 occasions he took two sacks, completed 3-of-12 attempts for just 23 yards and two picks.
– In his return Calvin Johnson played 39 of 76 snaps. He finished third of the wide receivers with 29 routes run (behind Kris Durham with 40 routes). Ryan Broyles was on the field enough to run 30 routes despite picking up zero yards on his two targets.
– A rough day for T.J. Ward. Sure he finished with 10 tackles and three assists (four of which were defensive stops), but he also missed five tackles. He’d missed just three before this season.
08.00 – Bengals at Bills Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Geno Atkins (+4.5), Jerry Hughes (+3.5) and Marvin Jones (+3.3)
– The three lowest graded players were Kiki Alonso (-3.1), Jermaine Grehsam (-2.5) and Colin Brown (-2.0)
– Despite picking up a sack and six hurries Mario Williams still walked away with a negative pass rush grade. Why? Well his sack was more of the clean up variety than beating a man, while two of his pressures came completely unblocked. Two more came against tight ends and were of a slow developing nature, all of which came on a gargantuan 43 pass rushes.
– A big day for Jones who averaged 3.94 yards per route run on his 18 routes. That’s him making a case to see more playing time over Mohammed Sanu (34 pass routes run). Never a bad thing when you out “YpRR” A.J. Green (2.34).
– Cincinnati remain a two tight end team. They used 12 personnel on exactly 50% of their offensive snaps, utilizing 21 personnel on just nine of 88 occasions.
07.30 – Packers at Ravens Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Elvis Dumervil (+5.8), Nick Perry (+3.1), and Micah Hyde (+2.7).
– The three lowest-graded players were Jerron McMillan (-3.1), James Ihedigbo (-3.6), and Mike Neal (-4.1).
– Looking at some QB splits, when he wasn’t pressured, Joe Flacco went 17-of-22, 272 yards and two touchdowns. On his 15 pressured drop-backs? He took five sacks and completed three passes. And Aaron Rodgers? With 32% of his drop-backs in this game making use of play action, posted a passer rating of 141.3 with play action and 59.1 without.
– The two offensive lines put up nearly identical Pass Blocking Efficiency ratings; 76.4 for GB, 76.3 for BAL.
– Baltimore defensive end Arthur Jones and GB outside linebacker Nick Perry each produced a sack and 4 hurries. Jones did it on 19 pass rushing snaps while Perry needed only 18, giving both outstanding Pass Rushing Productivity marks for the week (21.1 and 22.2, respectively).
07.00 – Giants at Bears Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Brandon Marshall (+4.3), Corey Wootton (+4.2) and Justin Pugh (+3.9)
– The three lowest graded players were Julius Peppers (-3.9), Shea McClellin (-3.1) and both Shaun Rogers and Antrel Rolle (-2.8)
– A change in Jay Cutler. He was pressured on 38.5% of plays and didn’t take a single sack. For the season he’s allowed just 9.8% of the pressure he has faced turn into sacks. That is way down on the 19.9% from last year.
– Where did it go wrong for Eli Manning? He was only blitzed on seven occasions but he took a sack and threw two picks. He’s now thrown a pick on 7.5% of the plays he has been blitzed on… compared with throwing a pick on non-blitzed plays on just 5%.
– A victory for father time? Peppers rushed the passer on 22 occasions but generated just one hurry. Justin Tuck rushed the passer 25 times for just three hurries.
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