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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:

RankNameTeamDrop backsTo Throw
1 Russell WilsonSEA2743.14
2 Michael VickPHI3663.12
3 Cam NewtonCAR2663.04
4 Robert Griffin IIIWAS3093.01
5 Alex D. SmithSF2442.9
6 Andrew LuckIND3712.86
7 Kevin KolbARZ2172.84
8 Matt CasselKC2602.82
9 Josh FreemanTB2742.79
10 Christian PonderMIN3302.78
11 Aaron RodgersGB3732.76
12 Tony RomoDAL3352.76
13 Jay CutlerCHI2782.74
14 Matt RyanATL3312.73
15 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT3162.73
16 Brandon WeedenCLV3562.72
17 Philip RiversSD2852.72
18 Matthew StaffordDET3692.71
19 Sam BradfordSL2782.71
20 Mark SanchezNYJ2912.68
21 Drew BreesNO3572.67
22 Matt SchaubHST2602.67
23 John SkeltonARZ1872.64
24 Joe FlaccoBLT2992.62
25 Eli ManningNYG3312.59
26 Andy DaltonCIN3152.59
27 Blaine GabbertJAX2712.58
28 Carson PalmerOAK3472.57
29 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF2812.57
30 Ryan TannehillMIA2612.57
31 Peyton ManningDEN3042.51
32 Matt HasselbeckTEN2402.5
33 Tom BradyNE3352.49

 

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:

RankNameTeamDrop backsTo Sack
1 Russell WilsonSEA2744.05
2 Alex D. SmithSF2444.03
3 Michael VickPHI3664.02
4 Jay CutlerCHI2784.01
5 Josh FreemanTB2743.87
6 John SkeltonARZ1873.85
7 Matt CasselKC2603.81
8 Joe FlaccoBLT2993.68
9 Aaron RodgersGB3733.62
10 Matt SchaubHST2603.61
11 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF2813.61
12 Matthew StaffordDET3693.57
13 Andrew LuckIND3713.39
14 Mark SanchezNYJ2913.34
15 Cam NewtonCAR2663.27
16 Tom BradyNE3353.26
17 Christian PonderMIN3303.22
18 Tony RomoDAL3353.11
19 Eli ManningNYG3313.04
20 Andy DaltonCIN3153.02
21 Matt HasselbeckTEN2402.94
22 Robert Griffin IIIWAS3092.85
23 Drew BreesNO3572.85
24 Matt RyanATL3312.84
25 Brandon WeedenCLV3562.84
26 Carson PalmerOAK3472.67
27 Sam BradfordSL2782.66
28 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT3162.56
29 Blaine GabbertJAX2712.51
30 Peyton ManningDEN3042.5
31 Ryan TannehillMIA2612.48
32 Philip RiversSD2852.43
33 Kevin KolbARZ2172.28

 

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.

RankNameTeamDrop backs%Att.Comp.Comp %SkNFL QB Rating
1 Matt HasselbeckTEN15363.81519562.9380.6
2 Andy DaltonCIN19561.919313067.4293.7
3 Ryan TannehillMIA15760.21528857.9567.5
4 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF16960.116711468.3199.9
5 Tom BradyNE19859.119714473.1298.6
6 Blaine GabbertJAX15858.31568957.1274.6
7 Carson PalmerOAK19556.219211660.4389.1
8 Matthew StaffordDET20655.820414470.6285.9
9 Peyton ManningDEN16855.316612474.72107.7
10 Joe FlaccoBLT16254.216210263086.8
11 Jay CutlerCHI14752.91459263.4286.7
12 Tony RomoDAL17752.817512772.6291.6
13 John SkeltonARZ9852.4976061.9180.4
14 Matt RyanATL17352.317112874.92112.2
15 Robert Griffin IIIWAS16152.115711372498.6
16 Aaron RodgersGB1945219213972.42111.7
17 Eli ManningNYG1725217211164.5093.8
18 Matt SchaubHST13551.91348563.4191.5
19 Christian PonderMIN17151.816611669.9697.1
20 Sam BradfordSL14150.71409366.4182.2
21 Kevin KolbARZ11050.71096761.5183.8
22 Philip RiversSD14450.514010474.3397.4
23 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT15950.315611875.64111.8
24 Brandon WeedenCLV1785017710659.9167.9
25 Drew BreesNO17649.317512269.71104.6
26 Mark SanchezNYJ14349.11408057.1371.5
27 Alex D. SmithSF11948.81198672.3099.1
28 Matt CasselKC12548.11238569.1280.7
29 Josh FreemanTB13047.412873572110.4
30 Russell WilsonSEA12344.91218066.1288.7
31 Andrew LuckIND15140.71508858.7183.9
32 Michael VickPHI14339.11389468.1592.5
33 Cam NewtonCAR9435.3945558.5061.4

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:

RankNameTeamDrop backs%Att.Comp.Comp %SkNFL QB Rating
1 Cam NewtonCAR17264.71407956.42089.1
2 Michael VickPHI22360.91678550.92266.5
3 Andrew LuckIND22059.3182102561976.7
4 Russell WilsonSEA15155.11136557.51385.9
5 Josh FreemanTB14452.61246854.81080.1
6 Matt CasselKC13551.91075753.31458.4
7 Alex D. SmithSF12551.2905965.624106.2
8 Mark SanchezNYJ14850.91316448.91574.8
9 Drew BreesNO18150.71658752.71587.5
10 Brandon WeedenCLV1785015879501468.4
11 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT15749.71378259.91592.6
12 Philip RiversSD14149.51227158.21974.7
13 Sam BradfordSL13749.31076056.12684.1
14 Kevin KolbARZ10749.3744256.83389.4
15 Christian PonderMIN15948.21186655.91960.7
16 Matt SchaubHST12548.11157464.39102.9
17 Aaron RodgersGB179481338060.227102.8
18 Eli ManningNYG159481468356.8975.7
19 Robert Griffin IIIWAS14847.91035957.31988.5
20 Matt RyanATL15847.71287860.91790.6
21 John SkeltonARZ8947.6743648.61347.6
22 Tony RomoDAL15847.21428459.21371.3
23 Jay CutlerCHI13147.1965254.22783.3
24 Joe FlaccoBLT13745.81146355.31983.6
25 Peyton ManningDEN13644.71257963.29110.5
26 Matthew StaffordDET16344.21407654.31480.3
27 Carson PalmerOAK15243.813785621282
28 Blaine GabbertJAX11341.7895359.61985.1
29 Tom BradyNE13740.91226553.313104.7
30 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF11239.9884450960.3
31 Ryan TannehillMIA10439.8895460.71196.5
32 Andy DaltonCIN11937.8885259.12375.4
33 Matt HasselbeckTEN8736.3694362.31382.8

 

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:

NameTeamDropbacksComp%SKQB Rating
 Tom BradyNE18.219.8-11-6.1
 Ryan FitzpatrickBUF20.218.3-839.6
 Michael VickPHI-21.817.2-1726
 Drew BreesNO-1.417-1417.1
 Matthew StaffordDET11.616.3-125.6
 Philip RiversSD116.1-1622.7
 Matt CasselKC-3.815.8-1222.3
 Ben RoethlisbergerPIT0.615.7-1119.2
 Robert Griffin IIIWAS4.214.7-1510.1
 Christian PonderMIN3.614-1336.4
 Matt RyanATL4.614-1521.6
 Tony RomoDAL5.613.4-1120.3
 John SkeltonARZ4.813.3-1232.8
 Aaron RodgersGB412.2-258.9
 Peyton ManningDEN10.611.5-7-2.8
 Sam BradfordSL1.410.3-25-1.9
 Brandon WeedenCLV09.9-13-0.5
 Jay CutlerCHI5.89.2-253.4
 Russell WilsonSEA-10.28.6-112.8
 Andy DaltonCIN24.18.3-2118.3
 Mark SanchezNYJ-1.88.2-12-3.3
 Eli ManningNYG47.7-918.1
 Joe FlaccoBLT8.47.7-193.2
 Alex D. SmithSF-2.46.7-24-7.1
 Kevin KolbARZ1.44.7-32-5.6
 Andrew LuckIND-18.62.7-187.2
 Josh FreemanTB-5.22.2-830.3
 Cam NewtonCAR-29.42.1-20-27.7
 Matt HasselbeckTEN27.50.6-10-2.2
 Matt SchaubHST3.8-0.9-8-11.4
 Carson PalmerOAK12.4-1.6-97.1
 Blaine GabbertJAX16.6-2.5-17-10.5
 Ryan TannehillMIA20.4-2.8-6-29

 

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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