I thought it would be fun to look at Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passing stats in the 3 playoff games against different types of rushes. I have the overall totals in the first table and then each game broken down by each time he dropped back in order that it happened. I also logged the scrambles as well as the plays that resulted in a penalty on either the offense and defense. In addition I logged whether or not the opposing team blitzed and the personnel that was blitzing. The numbers are pretty much what you would expect from Rodgers. When teams have only rushed 3 and 4 pass rushers, Read more [...]

A few people asked me to compile the numbers versus the different number man pass rushes through the first two playoff games for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. I have these totaled and then broken down in order that they happened as well as they targeted receiver and defender. Ben Roethlisberger Versus Ravens # Rushers ATT COMP YDS YPA SACK TD INT 3 man rush 5 4 81 16.2 1 1 0 4 man rush 15 9 83 5.5 4 1 0 5 man rush 6 4 52 8.7 1 0 0 6 man rush 6 2 10 1.7 0 0 0 QB Position # Pass Rushers Result Receiver Defender Shotgun 4 Read more [...]

I was asked via email what type of pass rush the Jets used in both of their playoff games thus far against the Colts and Patriots and who they attacked pass defender wise. I have broken down the tape below of both games and included the QB stats against the different pass rusher numbers as well. Peyton Manning # RUSHERS ATT COMP YDS YPA SACK TD 3 man rush 2 2 22 11 0 0 4 man rush 19 13 225 11.8 1 1 5 man rush 5 3 18 3.6 0 0 Jets versus Colts QB Position # Pass Rushers Result Receiver Defender Under Center 4 9 yards Garcon Cromartie Shotgun 4 Incomplete Tamme Scott Shotgun 4 5 Read more [...]

By Michael Shouse With the game rapidly approaching us on Saturday, I thought that this week we would take a look at the crew assigned to the Steelers game and look at the Penalty report of each team coming into the game. The crew assigned to this game is headed by Jeff Triplette who wears the number 42. Triplette is an interesting man, his job outside the game of football is Vice President for Risk Management at Duke Energy in Charlotte, NC. Triplette is also a retired Colonel in the Army reserves and was awarded the Bronze star for his actions in the Persian Gulf War. The rest of his crew Read more [...]

The Steelers have not had great overall success as a whole running the ball on the Baltimore Ravens this year, but have managed to split the 2 games against them this season. In the two games this season, the Steelers have averaged just 2.79 yards per carry this season on 48 carries by a running back, as shown in the table below. All of the limited success the Steelers have had on the ground against the Ravens has come by running to the right. Steelers Rush Offense Against Ravens In 2010 Total vs Ravens TOTAL Left End Left Tackle Left Guard Middle Right Guard Right Tackle Right Read more [...]

By David Todd When the NFL's complex passer efficiency rating was devised in 1971 it was seen as a kind of Holy Grail. In one number it unlocked the answer to the question of which quarterbacks performed best each year. As an added benefit it could be used to evaluate QBs over their careers and to compare signal callers from different eras. Although no one new exactly how to calculate it, the scale quickly became familiar to fans. It was similar to the grading scale common in high school. A quarterback posting a number above 100.0 was probably having an MVP-type season--Ivy League material. Read more [...]

I was asked by a reader earlier to do a breakdown of the Steelers interceptions like the one I did on the sacks allowed this year. I had the links handy and believe it or not, Steelers quarterbacks have only thrown 9 total interceptions this year with Ben Roethlisberger only throwing 5 of the 9. In addition the 1 interception intended for Antwaan Randle El hit him in the hands and was very catch-able. Roethlisberger has not thrown a pick since the week 10 Ravens game either. He also has only has thrown 1 pick in the redzone. Much like the sack breakdown, we have included the down and distance, Read more [...]

Here are the final regular season offensive and defensive stats and rankings of the 6 AFC playoff teams as we head into the AFC playoffs. AFC Playoff Teams Offense Stats Team YDS/GM YDS/PLY RYDS/GM RYDS/PLY PYDS/GM PYDS/PLY INT RT SKS/ATT 1st/GM BLT 322.9 5.07 114.4 3.76 208.4 6.79 2.04% 8.15% 18.9 IND 380.8 5.6 92.7 3.77 288.1 6.79 2.50% 2.36% 22.9 KC 349.7 5.26 164.2 4.72 185.5 6.25 1.68% 6.74% 19.9 NE 363.8 5.9 123.3 4.35 240.4 7.59 0.99% 4.93% 20.9 NYJ 351 5.17 148.4 4.45 202.6 6.18 2.67% 5.33% 19.2 PIT 345.3 5.56 120.3 4.08 225.1 7.52 1.88% 8.98% 18.4 AFC 343.2 5.41 120.1 4.22 223 6.77 2.75% 6.39% 19.5 NFC 328.9 5.24 108.8 4.2 220.1 6.37 3.16% 6.70% 18.4 NFL 336 5.32 114.5 4.21 221.5 6.57 2.96% 6.55% 18.9 Team PR Read more [...]

As we enter the final week of the season, I thought we would have a look back at the 41 sacks the Steelers have given up this season. The tables all should be self explanatory and the links in Sack #/Game # column link to individual pages where you can see animated gifs of each sack that are also linked to the replay video on NFL.com. Some of the sacks blamed on Roethlisberger might be able to be blamed on scheme or coverage as well, so keep that in mind. Let me know any you disagree with and I will look at my notes and review the blame. The S in the package denotes QB in the shotgun. Sack Blame Read more [...]

I had a request if I could give a report on penalties by the Steelers this year and quickly formed one up by player, the week the penalty or penalties occurred, the penalty itself, yards penalized and if it resulted in a first down or stalled drive. This report should be pretty straight forward and is complete through week 14. James Harrison Week Penalty Declined Yards Nullified Yards First Downs Stalled Drive 3 Defensive Offside 0 5 0 0 0 4 Defensive Holding 0 5 0 1 0 4 Neutral Zone Infraction 0 5 0 1 0 6 Defensive Offside 1 0 0 0 0 8 Roughing Read more [...]

Against the New York Jets this coming Sunday, several storylines will be in play. Two offenses that are struggling to find the endzone. Two good defenses going head to head. The homecoming of former Pitt Panther, Darrelle Revis and the homecoming of former Steelers Super Bowl MVP, Santonio Holmes. Within the Holmes homecoming story lays an even bigger story. It is no secret that the Holmes will likely be lined up most of the afternoon on Sunday across from Steelers cornerback and good friend Ike Taylor. Taylor has very quietly put up another great season as he has been thrown at 78 times and Read more [...]

I was asked about play direction in the running game via email and it is about time we check back in with those stats. Next year I will try to post these weekly for you. The top table is is through 14 games while the bottom table was through the first 4 games. Of course a ton has happened in that span as Jonathan Scott has been the starter at left tackle since Max Starks went down, while right guard has seen the bodies of Trai Essex, Doug Legursky and Ramon Foster as of late. The table breaks down number of plays each direction and that rank and also the average gain and that NFL rank. As you Read more [...]

Now I have been breaking down the Steelers offensive line ever week this season and grade each player on a pass or fail for each play. It is not full proof by any stretch, but it gives you a great idea of how each individual lineman does each and every week. Stats Inc. has released a new offensive line ranking and formula sponsored by NY Life and it is called the New York Life Protection Index and it claims it is calculated using a proprietary formula, the fundamentals of which are comprised of the length of a team’s pass attempts combined with penalties by offensive linemen, sacks allowed Read more [...]

I spend a ton of time watching and breaking down the play of the offensive line as most well know. A reader emailed last night to ask if I could break down all of the Steelers games this season to see how many times the offensive line was guilty of hurting or killing a drive. I do not have time to do the whole season right yet, but I did parse the data from the last 3 games and it paints a pretty clear picture on how the offensive line has hurt the offensive scoring production. Over the last 3 games, the Steelers offense has had 28 true possessions. Those 28 possessions have resulted in 9 field Read more [...]

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has only been back for 4 games, but he has made an impact in so many ways, especially on 3rd downs. Through the first 4 games of the season, Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch combined for 16 completions on 30 attempts on the 3rd downs for 174 yards. That included one touchdown and one interception and a YPA (yards per attempt) of 5.80. The QB rating for that stat line is 67.9. They also combined for just 8 1st downs converted out of those 30 attempts. Roethlisberger on the other hand has been blistering it on 3rd downs in his 4 games back as he is 21 of 33 Read more [...]

Below are the stats I pieced together of 1st down plays from all 32 teams through week 9 of the season. They are sorted by best to worst using the TYP stat which is the average total yards per play on 1st down. The stats are also broken down by run and pass with averages for each as well as percentage of run versus pass plays on all 1st down plays. Keep in mind that these stats include EVERY 1st down play regardless of yardage. Overall the Steelers rank 15th in the NFL on first down average yards per play of 5.54. They are 16th overall yards per rush on 1st down with an average of 4.15 and 4th Read more [...]

Patience. That is the word that best describes the attack the Saints used through the air Sunday night against the Steelers. Below is a table of the Steelers players in coverage for non-screen plays. The stats are: times targeted in coverage (TAR), receptions allowed (REC), yards allowed (YDS), yards after catch (YAC), interceptions (INT), touchdowns allowed (TD), completion percentage (COMP%) and yards per pass attempt (YPA). Player TAR REC YDS YAC INT TD COMP% YPA Bryant McFadden 7 6 56 13 0 2 86% 8.00 William Gay 6 4 39 13 0 0 67% 6.50 Lawrence Timmons 5 5 47 4 0 0 100% 9.40 LaMarr Read more [...]

Here are the compiled Steelers stats for the down analysis through the first 40 games of the 2010 season. They should be pretty self explanatory, but do ask if you have any questions. First Down 64 rushing plays (4.72 average yards per rush), 25 passing plays (6.44 average yards per passing play) Yards to Go Rushing Plays Avg Yds Per Rush Rushing 1st Downs % Rush Plays Converted Pass Plays Avg Yds Per Pass Pass 1st Downs % Pass Converted 1 to 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 to 5 2 1 1 50.00% 0 0 0 0 6 to 10 59 5.05 8 13.56% 23 6.61 4 17.39% 11 Read more [...]

The first quarter of the Steelers 2010 season is in the books and it is time to recap the play by play breakdowns of the first 4 weeks of the season and post the totals. I have linked to each individual breakdown page so as you can go back and look at that weeks play by play breakdown. Total Through Weeks 1-4 Players Plays Yes No %Yes Jonathan Scott 88 82 6 93% Chris Kemoeatu 200 186 14 93% Maurkice Pouncey 211 192 19 91% Ramon Foster 26 23 3 88% Trai Essex 101 87 14 86% Max Starks 130 110 20 85% Flozell Adams 181 152 29 84% Doug Read more [...]

Below is the play direction report for the first 4 games of the Steelers 2010 season of both the rushing offense and rushing defense as well as the passing offense and passing defense. It is broken down by the number of plays to each direction and the average gain along with the NFL rank for each compared to the other 31 teams thus far. You can clearly see where running back Rashard Mendenhall has been most effective and that is off right tackle. In addition the deep left and deep middle are results of big plays by Mike Wallace and Antwaan Randle El through 4 games. Rushing Offense Left Read more [...]