xmarkd400x
2nd Team Getting Their First Start
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The Boston Globe this morning ran an article about how the Patriots passing attack performed, as well as how many blitzed. (http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/11/27/responding_to_pressure/)
My additions are in bold.
Some notes:
It seems to me, that against a 3 man rush, Brady will sit back and pick you apart. Against a 7 man rush Brady will throw more incompletions, but the passes he hits will be for longer gains. Against everything in between, it seems that it is possible to disguise who is rushing and who isnt. This may surprise Brady, and lead to more sacks/hurries/knockdowns.
My conclusion is that Philly did a pretty good job with the blitz. Big rushes and little rushes did not generate favorable results (for the Eagles) and heavy, but not all out rushes generated more favorable results (for the Eagles).
My additions are in bold.
Three-man rush
3 of 3 for 26 yards 8.6 YPA, 5.2% of passes
Add one dropback for a Tom Brady 12-yard scramble
Four-man rush
13 of 26 for 168 yards 6.5 YPA, 44.8% of passes
Brady sacked once (seemed to be coverage-based more than a result of pressure)
Randy Moss offensive pass interference call came against four-man rush
Five-man rush
11 of 17 for 88 yards 5.2 YPA, 29.3% of passes
Brady sacked once (Nick Kaczur didn't hold block on Juqua Thomas)
16-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney, which sealed game, came against five-man rush
Six-man rush
4 of 7 for 40 yards5.7 YPA, 12.1% of passes
Add one dropback for a Brady 5-yard scramble
Seven-man rush
3 of 5 for 58 yards 11.6 YPA, 8.6% of passes
Gaffney's 19-yard touchdown came against seven-man pressure
Brady sacked once when Eagles overloaded left side
Some notes:
- New England averages 8.73 YPA this year
- New England averaged 6.7 YPA against Philly
- Against a 4 man rush (~45% of the time), the Pats averaged just about their game average.
- The Pats suffered the greatest drop-off in passing production against 5 and 6 man rushes (~41% of the time).
- The Pats passing production increased against 3 and 7 man rushes (~13% of the time).
- Only against a 7 man rush did NE fare better than their YTD YPA.
It seems to me, that against a 3 man rush, Brady will sit back and pick you apart. Against a 7 man rush Brady will throw more incompletions, but the passes he hits will be for longer gains. Against everything in between, it seems that it is possible to disguise who is rushing and who isnt. This may surprise Brady, and lead to more sacks/hurries/knockdowns.
My conclusion is that Philly did a pretty good job with the blitz. Big rushes and little rushes did not generate favorable results (for the Eagles) and heavy, but not all out rushes generated more favorable results (for the Eagles).