Signature Stat Snapshot: Time To Throw

By Khaled Elsayed • Nov 7, 2012

Continuous improvement.

It’s what we’re all about at Pro Football Focus and it’s why I’m happy to say we’ve been working this week to add a new Signature Stat for our Premium Members: Quarterback Time in the Pocket.

It’s a stat that is continuously updated as games go up and looks at a number of things: How long a quarterback has to throw, the average sack time, and difference in completion percentage depending on how long they have to throw.

So let’s give you a look at this. If you want some more info follow and contact @PFF on twitter and ask a question, or just make the smart choice and get yourself subscribed to PFF Premium.

*For this study we looked at all quarterbacks with at least 175 dropbacks, excluding spiked passes.

The best place to start is which quarterback has the longest time to throw. Now to explain what ‘time to throw’ is, we record the time from when the ball is snapped to the point where the quarterback has either thrown a pass or can no longer throw a pass (has been sacked or has scrambled past the line of scrimmage). While logic would say that Michael Vick would be the one holding onto the ball the longest, it’s actually rookie Russell Wilson who leads the way in this regard with Vick second (though the difference is negligible). Meanwhile, nobody takes less time to throw than Tom Brady who has a marginally lower mark than Matt Hasselbeck. Here’s the full list:

Rank	Name	Team	Drop backs	To Throw
1	Russell Wilson	SEA	274	3.14
2	Michael Vick	PHI	366	3.12
3	Cam Newton	CAR	266	3.04
4	Robert Griffin III	WAS	309	3.01
5	Alex D. Smith	SF	244	2.9
6	Andrew Luck	IND	371	2.86
7	Kevin Kolb	ARZ	217	2.84
8	Matt Cassel	KC	260	2.82
9	Josh Freeman	TB	274	2.79
10	Christian Ponder	MIN	330	2.78
11	Aaron Rodgers	GB	373	2.76
12	Tony Romo	DAL	335	2.76
13	Jay Cutler	CHI	278	2.74
14	Matt Ryan	ATL	331	2.73
15	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	316	2.73
16	Brandon Weeden	CLV	356	2.72
17	Philip Rivers	SD	285	2.72
18	Matthew Stafford	DET	369	2.71
19	Sam Bradford	SL	278	2.71
20	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	291	2.68
21	Drew Brees	NO	357	2.67
22	Matt Schaub	HST	260	2.67
23	John Skelton	ARZ	187	2.64
24	Joe Flacco	BLT	299	2.62
25	Eli Manning	NYG	331	2.59
26	Andy Dalton	CIN	315	2.59
27	Blaine Gabbert	JAX	271	2.58
28	Carson Palmer	OAK	347	2.57
29	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	281	2.57
30	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	261	2.57
31	Peyton Manning	DEN	304	2.51
32	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	240	2.5
33	Tom Brady	NE	335	2.49

There’s a correlation between how long a player takes to throw and how high an average time to sack they have. Wilson not only leads the league in time to throw but also in average time to sack. That’s not going to help the Seahawks’ offensive line look better in much the same way as Alex Smith (second-highest time to sack) and Vick don’t help theirs. At the other end of things, nobody warrants your sympathy more than Kevin Kolb who was not helped by a pass protection unit that saw his average sack coming within 2.3 seconds of the ball being sacked. That’s a ridiculous number that explains how helpless Kolb often was. Again, here’s the full list:

Rank	Name	Team	Drop backs	To Sack
1	Russell Wilson	SEA	274	4.05
2	Alex D. Smith	SF	244	4.03
3	Michael Vick	PHI	366	4.02
4	Jay Cutler	CHI	278	4.01
5	Josh Freeman	TB	274	3.87
6	John Skelton	ARZ	187	3.85
7	Matt Cassel	KC	260	3.81
8	Joe Flacco	BLT	299	3.68
9	Aaron Rodgers	GB	373	3.62
10	Matt Schaub	HST	260	3.61
11	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	281	3.61
12	Matthew Stafford	DET	369	3.57
13	Andrew Luck	IND	371	3.39
14	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	291	3.34
15	Cam Newton	CAR	266	3.27
16	Tom Brady	NE	335	3.26
17	Christian Ponder	MIN	330	3.22
18	Tony Romo	DAL	335	3.11
19	Eli Manning	NYG	331	3.04
20	Andy Dalton	CIN	315	3.02
21	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	240	2.94
22	Robert Griffin III	WAS	309	2.85
23	Drew Brees	NO	357	2.85
24	Matt Ryan	ATL	331	2.84
25	Brandon Weeden	CLV	356	2.84
26	Carson Palmer	OAK	347	2.67
27	Sam Bradford	SL	278	2.66
28	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	316	2.56
29	Blaine Gabbert	JAX	271	2.51
30	Peyton Manning	DEN	304	2.5
31	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	261	2.48
32	Philip Rivers	SD	285	2.43
33	Kevin Kolb	ARZ	217	2.28

Turn over the page for more interesting data

One of the most interesting things to do is look beyond the average time to throw. There are players who either get rid of the ball quickly or get flummoxed and hold onto the ball for an age. It’s also worth pointing out that pass protection is an easier job when your quarterback is spending a higher percentage of his dropbacks getting rid of the ball within 2.5 seconds of the ball being snapped. With that in mind which quarterbacks spend the highest percentage of their time getting rid of the ball quickly?

Well look no further than Matt Hasselbeck. 63.8% of his dropbacks feature a time to throw of 2.5 seconds or less.

Rank	Name	Team	Drop backs	%	Att.	Comp.	Comp %	Sk	NFL QB Rating
1	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	153	63.8	151	95	62.9	3	80.6
2	Andy Dalton	CIN	195	61.9	193	130	67.4	2	93.7
3	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	157	60.2	152	88	57.9	5	67.5
4	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	169	60.1	167	114	68.3	1	99.9
5	Tom Brady	NE	198	59.1	197	144	73.1	2	98.6
6	Blaine Gabbert	JAX	158	58.3	156	89	57.1	2	74.6
7	Carson Palmer	OAK	195	56.2	192	116	60.4	3	89.1
8	Matthew Stafford	DET	206	55.8	204	144	70.6	2	85.9
9	Peyton Manning	DEN	168	55.3	166	124	74.7	2	107.7
10	Joe Flacco	BLT	162	54.2	162	102	63	0	86.8
11	Jay Cutler	CHI	147	52.9	145	92	63.4	2	86.7
12	Tony Romo	DAL	177	52.8	175	127	72.6	2	91.6
13	John Skelton	ARZ	98	52.4	97	60	61.9	1	80.4
14	Matt Ryan	ATL	173	52.3	171	128	74.9	2	112.2
15	Robert Griffin III	WAS	161	52.1	157	113	72	4	98.6
16	Aaron Rodgers	GB	194	52	192	139	72.4	2	111.7
17	Eli Manning	NYG	172	52	172	111	64.5	0	93.8
18	Matt Schaub	HST	135	51.9	134	85	63.4	1	91.5
19	Christian Ponder	MIN	171	51.8	166	116	69.9	6	97.1
20	Sam Bradford	SL	141	50.7	140	93	66.4	1	82.2
21	Kevin Kolb	ARZ	110	50.7	109	67	61.5	1	83.8
22	Philip Rivers	SD	144	50.5	140	104	74.3	3	97.4
23	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	159	50.3	156	118	75.6	4	111.8
24	Brandon Weeden	CLV	178	50	177	106	59.9	1	67.9
25	Drew Brees	NO	176	49.3	175	122	69.7	1	104.6
26	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	143	49.1	140	80	57.1	3	71.5
27	Alex D. Smith	SF	119	48.8	119	86	72.3	0	99.1
28	Matt Cassel	KC	125	48.1	123	85	69.1	2	80.7
29	Josh Freeman	TB	130	47.4	128	73	57	2	110.4
30	Russell Wilson	SEA	123	44.9	121	80	66.1	2	88.7
31	Andrew Luck	IND	151	40.7	150	88	58.7	1	83.9
32	Michael Vick	PHI	143	39.1	138	94	68.1	5	92.5
33	Cam Newton	CAR	94	35.3	94	55	58.5	0	61.4

And here’s the full list of quarterbacks who spend the majority of their time holding onto the ball for a time to throw of longer than 2.5 seconds:

Rank	Name	Team	Drop backs	%	Att.	Comp.	Comp %	Sk	NFL QB Rating
1	Cam Newton	CAR	172	64.7	140	79	56.4	20	89.1
2	Michael Vick	PHI	223	60.9	167	85	50.9	22	66.5
3	Andrew Luck	IND	220	59.3	182	102	56	19	76.7
4	Russell Wilson	SEA	151	55.1	113	65	57.5	13	85.9
5	Josh Freeman	TB	144	52.6	124	68	54.8	10	80.1
6	Matt Cassel	KC	135	51.9	107	57	53.3	14	58.4
7	Alex D. Smith	SF	125	51.2	90	59	65.6	24	106.2
8	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	148	50.9	131	64	48.9	15	74.8
9	Drew Brees	NO	181	50.7	165	87	52.7	15	87.5
10	Brandon Weeden	CLV	178	50	158	79	50	14	68.4
11	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	157	49.7	137	82	59.9	15	92.6
12	Philip Rivers	SD	141	49.5	122	71	58.2	19	74.7
13	Sam Bradford	SL	137	49.3	107	60	56.1	26	84.1
14	Kevin Kolb	ARZ	107	49.3	74	42	56.8	33	89.4
15	Christian Ponder	MIN	159	48.2	118	66	55.9	19	60.7
16	Matt Schaub	HST	125	48.1	115	74	64.3	9	102.9
17	Aaron Rodgers	GB	179	48	133	80	60.2	27	102.8
18	Eli Manning	NYG	159	48	146	83	56.8	9	75.7
19	Robert Griffin III	WAS	148	47.9	103	59	57.3	19	88.5
20	Matt Ryan	ATL	158	47.7	128	78	60.9	17	90.6
21	John Skelton	ARZ	89	47.6	74	36	48.6	13	47.6
22	Tony Romo	DAL	158	47.2	142	84	59.2	13	71.3
23	Jay Cutler	CHI	131	47.1	96	52	54.2	27	83.3
24	Joe Flacco	BLT	137	45.8	114	63	55.3	19	83.6
25	Peyton Manning	DEN	136	44.7	125	79	63.2	9	110.5
26	Matthew Stafford	DET	163	44.2	140	76	54.3	14	80.3
27	Carson Palmer	OAK	152	43.8	137	85	62	12	82
28	Blaine Gabbert	JAX	113	41.7	89	53	59.6	19	85.1
29	Tom Brady	NE	137	40.9	122	65	53.3	13	104.7
30	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	112	39.9	88	44	50	9	60.3
31	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	104	39.8	89	54	60.7	11	96.5
32	Andy Dalton	CIN	119	37.8	88	52	59.1	23	75.4
33	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	87	36.3	69	43	62.3	13	82.8

Turn over the page to see some of the impact on performance

For some players there’s a clear disparity between when they have 2.5 seconds or less, or 2.6 or more, time to throw. Take a look at Tom Brady. His completion percentage is 19.8% higher when he attempts a pass within 2.5 seconds. There aren’t many players who get more accurate when they have more time to throw but rookie Ryan Tannehill leads the way with the biggest improvement (2.8%) when he attempts a pass after 2.6 seconds or more. He also experiences the biggest improvement in his quarterback rating (29 points) while Ryan Fitzpatrick has the biggest drop off (39.6 points) when he has a longer time to throw.

One more full list:

Name	Team	Dropbacks	Comp%	SK	QB Rating
Tom Brady	NE	18.2	19.8	-11	-6.1
Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	20.2	18.3	-8	39.6
Michael Vick	PHI	-21.8	17.2	-17	26
Drew Brees	NO	-1.4	17	-14	17.1
Matthew Stafford	DET	11.6	16.3	-12	5.6
Philip Rivers	SD	1	16.1	-16	22.7
Matt Cassel	KC	-3.8	15.8	-12	22.3
Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	0.6	15.7	-11	19.2
Robert Griffin III	WAS	4.2	14.7	-15	10.1
Christian Ponder	MIN	3.6	14	-13	36.4
Matt Ryan	ATL	4.6	14	-15	21.6
Tony Romo	DAL	5.6	13.4	-11	20.3
John Skelton	ARZ	4.8	13.3	-12	32.8
Aaron Rodgers	GB	4	12.2	-25	8.9
Peyton Manning	DEN	10.6	11.5	-7	-2.8
Sam Bradford	SL	1.4	10.3	-25	-1.9
Brandon Weeden	CLV	0	9.9	-13	-0.5
Jay Cutler	CHI	5.8	9.2	-25	3.4
Russell Wilson	SEA	-10.2	8.6	-11	2.8
Andy Dalton	CIN	24.1	8.3	-21	18.3
Mark Sanchez	NYJ	-1.8	8.2	-12	-3.3
Eli Manning	NYG	4	7.7	-9	18.1
Joe Flacco	BLT	8.4	7.7	-19	3.2
Alex D. Smith	SF	-2.4	6.7	-24	-7.1
Kevin Kolb	ARZ	1.4	4.7	-32	-5.6
Andrew Luck	IND	-18.6	2.7	-18	7.2
Josh Freeman	TB	-5.2	2.2	-8	30.3
Cam Newton	CAR	-29.4	2.1	-20	-27.7
Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	27.5	0.6	-10	-2.2
Matt Schaub	HST	3.8	-0.9	-8	-11.4
Carson Palmer	OAK	12.4	-1.6	-9	7.1
Blaine Gabbert	JAX	16.6	-2.5	-17	-10.5
Ryan Tannehill	MIA	20.4	-2.8	-6	-29

So there you go, a quick and dirty run down of our newest addition to the Signature Stat family. You can find this at PFF Premium where it will be updated within 36 hours of all games being played (and normally a lot sooner). Get involved and as always feel free to get in touch with our twitter account and we’ll deal with your questions.

Follow Khaled on Twitter: @PFF_Khaled

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