I have now completed my study of the 2016 touchdown passes that new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw for Tenneseee during the 2016 season and below is a recap of the data that I compiled from all 27 of those plays complete with a passing chart graphic so you can see what areas of the field he threw to as well as the distances.
As you can see in the graphic below, Dobbs’ 27 passing touchdowns from 2016 went to a lot of different areas of the field as well as a lot of different distances for his air yards past the original line of scrimmage. Several of these throws were to the middle area of the field and between the numbers.
10 of Dobbs’ 27 touchdown passes came off play-action and out of the shotgun while one other came on a flea-flicker play. In my opinion, Dobbs sells play-action well and he immediately gets his eyes up and down the field after carrying it out.
Six of Dobbs’ 2016 touchdown passes went to very wide open targets as the result of blown coverages.
Dobbs made a few of these touchdown throws with pressure bearing down on him that ultimately resulted in him taking hits. He’s not afraid to stand in the pocket to deliver these kinds of throws.
On a couple of these throws, Dobbs showed great pocket presence in his ability to step up into it before getting rid of the football.
While a few of his touchdown throws were under-thrown, in general, most of those gave his intended target the better chance of coming down with the football with a defender in close proximity. With that said, credit needs to go to his targets for battling to catch these kinds of throws.
Dobbs’ Hail Mary throw for the walk-off win against Georgia was perfect as it had a nice hang-time and went right into a crowd of players.
13 of Dobbs’ 27 touchdown passes from 2016 were throws into the end zone and thus no yards after the catch were needed. Additionally, five of his touchdown passes came on third downs. 15 of these touchdown passes included Dobbs getting rid of the football more than 2.75 seconds after it was snapped.
On these 27 plays, Dobbs appeared to have great control of the Tennessee offense and a good understanding of what he was seeing from the defense. A few times you can see him directing traffic and perhaps audibling to a different play at the line of scrimmage.
While Dobbs doesn’t appear to be a natural thrower and in some respects, is a pusher, he still can make several different throws both long and short with not only velocity, but some touch as well.
While this study was evidently done on highly successful plays, it was very impressive just the same and very fun to do. If you missed any of the posts and videos included in this series, you can see them in the links included below.
Steelers Tape Study: Joshua Dobbs’ 2016 Touchdown Passes – Part 1
Steelers Tape Study: Joshua Dobbs’ 2016 Touchdown Passes – Part 2
Steelers Tape Study: Joshua Dobbs’ 2016 Touchdown Passes – Part 3
2016 Tennessee Touchdown Passing Chart Of QB Joshua Dobbs
*All throws charted as if the 30-yard-line was the original line of scrimmage
| OPP | QRT | TIME | DWN | DIST | LOS | PLAY BY PLAY | AIR YDS | YAC | P/A | STT | REASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APP | 4th | 10:30 | 1st | 10 | TENN 33 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 67 yd TD | 42 | 25 | YES | 3.17 | Off coverage & slightly under-thrown albeit to outside shoulder |
| VT | 2nd | 14:43 | 1st | G | VT 5 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 5 yd TD | 12 | 0 | YES | 1.67 | Great corner throw where only receiver can catch |
| VT | 2nd | 9:42 | 2nd | 4 | VT 38 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 38 yd TD | 41 | 0 | NO | 2.81 | Slightly under-thrown & great adjustment by receiver |
| VT | 3rd | 7:04 | 3rd | 15 | VT 23 | J.Dobbs pass complete to A.Kamara for 23 yd TD | 5 | 18 | NO | 4.93 | Avoided rush nicely to find uncovered back |
| OHIO | 1st | 14:22 | 2nd | 10 | OHIO 20 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 20 yd TD | 23 | 0 | YES | 2.79 | Perfect seam throw to post |
| OHIO | 4th | 11:07 | 1st | 10 | OHIO 20 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 20 yd TD | 26 | 0 | YES | 2.8 | Slightly behind receiver NFL-quality seam throw to post |
| FLA | 3rd | 7:29 | 2nd | 10 | FLA 23 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Hurd for 23 yd TD | 20 | 3 | YES | 2.87 | Nice, soft toss to back on blown coverage of wheel route |
| FLA | 3rd | 0:59 | 2nd | 9 | FLA 20 | J.Dobbs pass complete to E.Wolf for 20 yd TD | 25 | 0 | YES | 2.51 | Great touch on seam pass to tight end with hit oncoming |
| FLA | 4th | 12:45 | 3rd | 5 | TENN 33 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 67 yd TD | 26 | 41 | NO | 2.45 | Stood in pocket with hit coming & delivered to wide open receiver |
| UGA | 3rd | 10:31 | 1st | 10 | UGA 19 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Hurd for 19 yd TD | 12 | 7 | YES | 5.73 | Avoided rush to right & great throw across body to open man |
| UGA | 4th | 14:53 | 3rd | 3 | UGA 16 | J.Dobbs pass complete to A.Kamara for 16 yd TD | 4 | 12 | NO | 1.62 | Out route pass to slot RB who broke tackle |
| UGA | 4th | 0:00 | 1st | 10 | UGA 43 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 43 yd TD | 48 | 0 | NO | 4 | Great Hail Mary throw for the win |
| TA&M | 4th | 0:41 | 2nd | 10 | TA&M 18 | J.Dobbs pass complete to A.Kamara for 18 yd TD | 4 | 14 | NO | 2.65 | Short MOF pass to open RB against blitz pressure |
| SC | 4th | 7:03 | 2nd | G | SC 6 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 6 yd TD | 13 | 0 | NO | 3.24 | Falling backwards throw to MOF back of end zone nicely placed |
| TNTC | 1st | 14:03 | 1st | 10 | TNTC 30 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 30 yd TD | 35 | 0 | NO | 2.6 | Easy lob throw to wide open receiver |
| TNTC | 1st | 8:46 | 1st | 10 | TNTC 43 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 43 yd TD | 43 | 0 | NO | 3.01 | Stepped up into pocket delivered perfect bucket throw outside |
| TNTC | 2nd | 14:55 | 2nd | G | TNTC 3 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 3 yd TD | 8 | 0 | NO | 1.47 | Great back shoulder throw to corner end zone |
| UK | 1st | 10:54 | 1st | 10 | UK 24 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Smith for 24 yd TD | 27 | 0 | YES | 2.76 | Easy throw on blown coverage |
| UK | 2nd | 6:27 | 2nd | 7 | UK 10 | J.Dobbs pass complete to E.Wolf for 10 yd TD | 14 | 0 | YES | 2.48 | Gutsy stare-down throw to MOF after play-action |
| UK | 3rd | 10:08 | 2nd | 11 | TENN 49 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 51 yd TD | 37 | 14 | NO | 4.04 | Flea-flicker throw to outside |
| MIZ | 1st | 6:01 | 3rd | 8 | MIZ 49 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 49 yd TD | 27 | 22 | NO | 2.71 | Under-thrown ball under pressure to nice receiver adjustment |
| MIZ | 2nd | 13:50 | 1st | 10 | TENN 43 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 57 yd TD | 53 | 4 | YES | 4.78 | Great deep throw after nice use movement and use of pocket |
| MIZ | 3rd | 13:58 | 3rd | G | MIZ 5 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Jennings for 5 yd TD | 5 | 0 | NO | 1.89 | Easy slant throw to wide open receiver |
| VAN | 1st | 3:40 | 1st | 10 | VAN 21 | J.Dobbs pass complete to A.Kamara for 21 yd TD | -3 | 24 | NO | 2.73 | Throwback screen followed by several missed tackles |
| VAN | 2nd | 0:54 | 1st | 10 | VAN 27 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 27 yd TD | 25 | 2 | NO | 2.92 | Easy pitch and catch following pump fake to stutter route |
| NEB | 4th | 8:45 | 1st | 10 | TENN 41 | J.Dobbs pass complete to J.Malone for 59 yd TD | 44 | 15 | YES | 3.81 | Great post route thrown to in-stride receiver |
