Five quarterbacks who thrived -- and five who stunk -- vs. the blitz in 2015

[Merlin]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/p...nst-blitz-nick-foles-sam-bradford-not-so-much

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  Sheil Kapadia ESPN Writer

In one of the more significant trades of the offseason, the Arizona Cardinals acquired Chandler Jones from the New England Patriots in exchange for guard Jonathan Cooper and a second-round pick.

Jones piled up 12.5 sacks last season, and the Cardinals are hoping he can give them a boost in that department in 2016 and beyond.

While it remains to be seen what Jones’ exact role will be in Arizona, the pass-rushing philosophy on his new team varied greatly from his old team in 2015. No team blitzed more than the Cardinals (45.1 percent of the time) last season, yet they ranked just 20th in sacks per dropback.

The Patriots, meanwhile, blitzed less (19 percent) than any defense, yet they had the second-best sack rate (7.3 percent).

During the season, in defensive meeting rooms across the league, coaches spend their days trying to scheme ways to attack opposing offenses. A major factor they’re forced to weigh is how the quarterback they’re facing performs against the blitz.

Keeping that in mind, below is a look at the five best and five worst quarterbacks against the blitz last season, using a number of different statistical criteria. All numbers are courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information.

Five best

Carson Palmer: The 36-year-old has had success against the blitz. He led all quarterbacks, averaging 8.45 yards per dropback against pressure looks last season. Palmer completed 65 percent of his passes (second) and averaged 9.35 yards per attempt (third). Over the last three years, no quarterback has produced a better average yards per dropback (7.62) than Palmer. His success hasn’t stopped opposing defensive coordinators from sending pressure. Only three quarterbacks were blitzed more than Palmer in 2015.

Tom Brady: His 12-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio against the blitz was tops in the NFL. Sending pressure against Brady in the red zone worked out horribly for opponents. He went 18-of-25 on 26 dropbacks in those situations. Eleven of those completions resulted in touchdowns, and he didn’t take a single sack. Over the past three seasons, Brady has posted a 105.8 passer rating against the blitz, second best in the NFL.

Andy Dalton: He consistently beats defenses with a quick trigger. Against the blitz, Dalton got rid of the ball on average in 2.02 seconds, the fastest time in the NFL last season. His 112.4 passer rating against pressure looks last year was second in the NFL, and over the past three seasons Dalton has averaged 7.31 yards per dropback against the blitz (second).

Cam Newton: Over the first four years of his career, Newton had a 1.95-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio against the blitz. Last year, that number skyrocketed to 6.33-to-1. In the red zone, Newton completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns and no picks against pressure looks. Overall, Newton’s 111.8 passer rating against the blitz was third best in the league. Yet the numbers didn’t stop teams from trying to send extra guys at him. Newton faced pressure looks on 39.7 percent of his dropbacks, second most in the league.

Brock Osweiler: His numbers against the blitz were far better than Peyton Manning’s last season. Osweiler led the NFL in yards per attempt (9.83) and passer rating (114.6) against pressure looks. Manning was 24th and 26th, respectively, in those categories. Osweiler has just seven career starts, so it’s a small sample size, but his success against pressure is an encouraging sign forHouston Texans fans.

Five worst

Nick Foles: The forgotten man with the Los Angeles Rams averaged a league-worst 4.35 yards per dropback against the blitz last season. He completed just 50.5 percent of his passes (third worst) and averaged 4.86 YPA (last) against pressure. Something tells me he won't have enough attempts to qualify for this list next offseason.

Sam Bradford: What’s interesting about Bradford is defenses had very little success sacking him when they blitzed. Opponents brought him down 2.1 percent of the time when sending pressure, the second-lowest number among all quarterbacks. The problem? Although Bradford got rid of the ball, he rarely did anything positive with it. Bradford completed 50 percent of his passes (second worst) against pressure. His 65.9 passer rating was ahead of only Foles, and Bradford’s 28.0 QBR ranked 32nd.

Colin Kaepernick: He was the only quarterback in the NFL to complete fewer than 50 percent of his attempts (48.1) against the blitz last season. Kaepernick’s legs weren’t much of a weapon against pressure either. He averaged 4.89 yards per dropback when blitzed, fourth worst. Interestingly enough, Blaine Gabbertaveraged 8.24, second best.

Eli Manning: No quarterback was blitzed less frequently last season. Opponents sent pressure at Manning on just 16.3 percent of his dropbacks, but on those occasions, he performed poorly. Manning’s 67.7 passer rating against the blitz was ahead of only Foles and Bradford. In the past three years, Manning’s passer rating against the blitz (82.0) ranks in the bottom five league-wide.

Joe Flacco: It seems to have flown under the radar, but Flacco and the Ravens’ offense have struggled against the blitz. His QBR of 37.0 ranked 30th last season. Since 2013, Flacco has been one of the more mistake-prone QBs against the blitz, with the second-highest interception rate (3.4 percent) in the NFL.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I would venture a guess that these QB's (and their respective teams) ranked about the same in terms of 3rd down efficiency.

 

[Riverumbbq]

"By the Numbers: Goff completed 93 of 156 passes against the blitz (60%), including 19 of his 43 touchdowns on the season. Despite the fact that he played in a spread system, 91% of his passes came inside the pocket, though he is able to move, with 16% of his attempts coming on the move. When he's on the move, he completes 58% of his passes (49 of 84), for a 110.2 QB rating. While he is a pocket passer, his QB rating actually goes up (from 108.6 to 113.7) from being inside the pocket to outside the pocket."


“He’s the best passer in the draft” – Steve Mariucci, former NFL head coach


“His release is quick, and people don’t understand that it’s not so much the arm, as it is his footwork, because his feet are always hot, so he doesn’t have to set his feet to throw the ball.” – Bryce Treggs, former Cal WR

“I’ve seen him play a lot, probably every game, and I don’t think anybody’s better than he is, throwing the football. He’s outstanding. He could be a franchise quarterback.” – Craig Morton, former Cal quarterback

“I had a guy tell me once – Chris Hatcher – won the Harlan Hill Trophy, which is like the Division II Heisman, and he was coaching at Kentucky when I was there, and he said, ‘If you can imagine being on a two-lane highway, and you’re on the yellow line, cars are going by you, 75 miles an hour, and you’re having to work to find a throwing lane – that’s what it’s like playing quarterback.’ There’s not a lot of guys that really, truly, can operate in that confine, and not blink, not flinch. When you have that, I don’t think it’s a gift. I think it’s a part of a gift, but I think the second part of it is an inherent toughness, and just the competitive fire of, ‘I’ll scratch your eyes out in order to make this play.’ He’s never flinched once. I’ve never seen him, one time, flinch.” – Tony Franklin, former Cal offensive coordinator

Goff is the polar opposite of Foles, and his numbers against the blitz will turn the above statistics upside down. jmo.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Bradford and Foles both on the list. No surprise there. Why have we had to endure such misery all of these years?

 

[den-the-coach]

Bradford and Foles both on the list. No surprise there. Why have we had to endure such misery all of these years?

This^ to the point that Case Keenum actually made us feel good for a couple of games.

 

[SteveBrown]

Wow, that alone makes me happy Sam is gone.....I was sooooooooo wrong about him. However, like Jim Plunkett, he may have his day in the superbowl in a 2000 Ravens-like scenario...he is a thrower who needs to be protected.

GOFF will be the man!

 

[LACHAMP46]

Seems like Palmer, Cam, and Brady had trouble in the playoffs vs pressure....

 

[LesBaker]

Bradford and Foles both on the list. No surprise there. Why have we had to endure such misery all of these years?

The Curse of Kurt thats why. Penance for Martz' error.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The Curse of Kurt thats why. Penance for Martz' error.

Yeah, Kurt seems to have Gods favor. He comes out of nowhere and is instantly great. God gave us the Jesus of football that could walk on water and he is cast aside as if somehow he is not good enough, but why take it out on the fans? Punish Martz, not us. We didn't want Kurt to lose his job.