A new week and a new edition of the PFF Live Reaction Blog, focusing on all the games from Week 8!
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.
16.00 – Steelers at Raiders Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Brett Keisel (+4.5), Lamarr Houston (+3.6) and both Marcus Gilbert and Khalif Barnes (+3.2)
– The three lowest graded players were Lucas Nix (-5.0), Darren McFadden (-3.3) and Kelvin Beachum (-2.8)
– Ben Roethlisberger struggled under pressure in this one. His QB rating dropped to 33.3 while he only averaged 2.3 yards per attempt on the 16 (out of 51) dropbacks he was hurried on. Taking five sacks didn’t help either.
– Another big day for Houston who had a sack and eight hurries on 46 pass rushing attempts.
– Efficient from Terrelle Pryor who has the handcuffs on him when it comes to throwing. Just seven attempts aimed over 10 yards in the air.
15.30 – Redskins at Broncos Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Von Miller (+6.2), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (+4.2) and Knowshon Moreno (+3.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Logan Paulsen (-5.0), Kevin Vickerson (-4.2) and Kory Lichtensteiger (-3.8)
– 237 of the 354 yards Peyton Manning threw came after the catch.
– The +3.3 grade for Tyler Polumbus represents the sixth time this year he has graded positively, completing a magnificent turnaround from last year. His +11.1 grade is a world away from the -21.7 he got last year.
– In the battle for running back snaps in the Broncos backfield Moreno led the way with 38. Following him Montee Ball saw 30 and C.J. Anderson saw 10.
15.00 – Bills at Saints Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Junior Galette (+5.2), Kyle Williams (+4.8) and Marcell Dareus (+4.5)
– The three lowest graded players were Brian De La Puente (-4.6), Thaddeus Lewis (-3.6) and Curtis Lofton (-2.7)
– 20 snaps for Jimmy Graham from which he ran 16 routes.
– Tough day for Lofton who missed four tackles. The rest of the days defense missed one.
– Under pressure was where Lewis struggled the most. On the 13 occasions he was pressured he took four sacks and completed only three passes at 2.8 yards per attempt.
14.30 – Browns at Chiefs Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Derrick Johnson (+4.9), Phil Taylor (+4.8) and T.J. Ward (+4.0)
– The three lowest graded players were Rodney Hudson (-5.7), Eric Fisher (-3.2) and Craig Robertson (-2.8)
– The rough introduction to the NFL for first overall pick Eric Fisher continued. He gave up another sack, hit and three hurries while earning a negative in run blocking. He’s up to a -17.9 grade on the year.
– Speaking of first rounders, Barkevious Mingo was on the field for 40 snaps. He picked up a sack and two hurries on his 19 pass rushers.
– The Browns missed 10 tackles compared to the five of the Chiefs.
13.30 – Update
As usual at this time of the week we're gearing up to get the last of the Sunday games up on the site. Stay tuned for the remaining four games to get their game notes!
13.00 – Dolphins at Patriots Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Rob Ninkovich (+3.1), Mike Pouncey (+3.0) and both Logan Ryan and Kyle Arrington (+2.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Chandler Jones (-5.0), Paul Soliai (-4.5) and Chris Jones (-2.7)
– How did left tackle Bryant McKinnie fare on his debut? Well he pretty much shutdown Chandler Jones and in 50 pass blocks gave up just a sack and two hits. Solid start of things.
– Ryan only rushed the passer three times to pick up his two sacks.
– Both quarterbacks completed four passes aimed over 10 yards in the air as they struggled to attack the opposition downfield.
12.30 – Signature Stat Snapshot – Pass Rushing Productivity
Another one of our signature stats and this time we're looking at which 4-3 defensive ends are getting the most pressure per snap? So with the seven games up who is tearing to the top?
1. Charles Johnson, CAR: 13.7
2. Everson Griffen, MIN: 13.6
3. Greg Hardy, CAR: 13.5
4. Mario Addison, CAR: 11.8
5. Justin Tuck, NYG: 11.7
12.00 – Grade Snap Shot
As we wait for some more grades to go up how about we see who some of the highest grades have fallen to so far?
1. Calais Campbell, ARZ: +6.4
2. Calvin Johnson, DET: +5.9
3. Marvin Jones, CIN: +5.7
11.30 – Packers at Vikings Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Aaron Rodgers (+5.0), T.J. Lang (+4.0) and Jordy Nelson (+3.9)
– The three lowest graded players were Brandon Fusco (-3.9), Charlie Johnson (-3.4) and Morgan Burnett (-2.7)
– How on point was Rodgers yesterday? Of his 26 aimed passes (three were throwaways), he had two incompletions and one was dropped.
– Neither teamed covered themselves in glory as they both missed 12 tackles.
– In allowing 8-of-9 balls thrown into his coverage Josh Robinson had now allowed 50-of-56 balls to be completed on him at an average of 12.2 yards per completion.
11.00 – Signature Stat Snapshot: Adjusted Accuracy Percentage
The second one of the day. This time we're taking into account the drops, throw aways, spikes and more to look at who really are the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. Who are the best from the seven games we've graded so far? Let's see.
1. Aaron Rodgers, GB: 96.2%
2. Matthew Stafford, DAL: 81.8%
3. Cam Newton, CAR: 81.3%
4. Colin Kaepernick, SF: 80%
5. Geno Smith, NYJ: 77.8%
10.30 – Falcons at Cardinals Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Calais Campbell (+6.4), Jonathan Babineaux (+5.6) and Daryl Washington (+4.2)
– The three lowest graded players were Matt Ryan (-4.4), Lamar Holmes (-4.6) and both Paul Fanaika and Jerraud Powers (-3.7)
– A terrible day for Ryan with three of his picks coming when the Cardinals blitzed. Yet it was when they didn’t that he struggled the most, posting a 48 QB rating, completing 51.4% of his passes and averaging just 3.6 yards per attempt.
– Making it look easy. The 51 yard reception by Teddy Williams was the first NFL route he’d ever run.
– With no Roddy White or Julio Jones Harry Douglas led the Falcons in running 65 routes. That was six more than Drew Davis and 11 more than Darius Johnson. No other receiver ran a route.
10.00 – PFF Premium
As ever if you want all the grades then you need to grab yourself a PFF Premium membership. For just $26.99 you get access to all of the PFF goodness for a more than excellent 365 days. What are you waiting for?
09.30 – Jets at Bengals Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Marvin Jones (+5.7), Andy Dalton (+5.2) and Adam Jones (+3.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Brian Winters (-4.8), Geno Smith (-4.7) and Dee Milliner (-4.4)
– The craziest thing about Jones being able to pick up 122 yards is that he did it running just 13 routes. That’s 9.38 yards per route run with 84 of them coming against rookie Milliner.
– One of those rough days for Geno. He only completed one pass aimed over 10 yards in the air all day long, instead preferring to try and dink and dunk the Bengals defense. He only attempted three passes over 10 yards for the entirety of the contest.
– Another strong day in pass protection for the Jets. Dalton was pressured on just 7-of-31 dropbacks.
09.00 – Giants at Eagles Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Evan Mathis (+4.1), Prince Amukamara (+3.7) and Will Hill (+3.4)
– The three lowest graded players were David Diehl (-8.4), Matt Barkley (-6.2) and Mathias Kiwanuka (-4.2)
– Another week, another limited dose of action for Brandon Graham. He saw just 18 snaps, and has is yet to top 25 snaps in a game. Unfortunately for him he is under contract for another year so unless the team moves on from Trent Cole it’s hard to see how the 25-year old will get more playing time in the near future.
– The Eagles quarterbacks combined to go 5-of-12 on passes aimed over 10 yards with both picks coming balls thrown further than 20 yards in the air.
– What made the performance of Diehl so bad? His work in the run game saw him get beat for two tackles for a loss and seven tackles for a short gain.
08.30 – Signature Stat Snapshot: Yards Per Route Run
Each week we look at some of our more unique numbers and metrics formed by the hard work of our analysts collecting our own data. So a brief look at our Yards Per Route Run metric which available with all the others with a PFF Premium membership. This week Calvin Johnson had more yards than anyone, but could he top the charts?
1. Marvin Jones, CIN: 9.38
2. Calvin Johnson, DET: 6.45
3. A.J. Green, CIN: 3.83
4. Jordy Nelson, GB: 3.62
5. Anquan Boldin, SF: 3.29
08.00 – Cowboys at Lions Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Calvin Johnson (+5.9), LaAdrian Waddle (+4.8) and Rob Sims (+3.6)
– The three lowest graded players were Brandon Carr (-6.4), George Selvie (-3.3) and Ronald Leary (-3.3)
– It was a really rough day for Carr in the tackling stakes. Before yesterday he’s missed three tackles all year. He missed five alone versus the Cowboys.
– Even with a drop and a fumble Johnson still did enough to earn the fourth highest grade we’ve ever given a wide receiver. With four broken tackles and 6.45 yards per route run, it’s not hard to see why.
– The Lions went 11 personnel heavy in this one. They ran the package on 54 of 82 snaps.
07.30 – 49ers at Jaguars Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Colin Kaepernick (+4.2), Joe Staley (+3.9) and Tyson Alualu (+3.2)
– The three lowest graded players were Josh Evans (-4.2), Mike Iupati (-3.7) and Marcedes Lewis (-3.4)
– The 49ers had three receivers on the field for just four snaps, with single (or fewer) receiver sets on 32 of 57 dropbacks.
– Extremely efficient from Kaepernick. He had an adjusted accuracy percentage of 80% as our signature stat accounts for dropped passes and more.
– All of the seven tackles the Jaguars missed were in their secondary. Leading the way was Evans with three.
07.00 – Panthers at Buccaneers Game Notes
– The three highest graded players were Jordan Gross (+5.2), Jeremy Zuttah (+2.9) and Cam Newton (+2.8)
– The three lowest graded players were Daniel Te’o-Nesheim (-5.4), Mason Foster (-5.3) and Ted Larsen (-3.0)
– Another extremely efficient performance from Newton. He had an adjusted accuracy percentage score of 78.1%.
– Teams not afraid to mix up their defensive fronts. The Panthers had an 8-to-4 split in base of 4-3 to 3-4 looks, while the Buccaneers were at 17-to-13.
– In the battle between Steve Smith and Darrelle Revis, Revis was thrown at twice with both passes resulting in pass deflections (though with one of them he was lucky with a pass deflection)
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