Patriot Ledger takes a look a Brady in the shotgun

[PatsRI]

http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/01/14/sports/sports01.txt

Says Brady takes 47 percent of his total snaps in the shotgun. I didn't think it was that high. I think the thing is they mix it in during 1st and 2nd downs more than most teams so you barely notice it.

Of course the stats say he's not as successful:

According to STATS, Inc., Brady’s career numbers in the shotgun include more interceptions (32) than touchdowns (25) - a surprising twist for a guy who overall has almost twice as many regular-season TDs (123) as picks (66).

STATS also had Brady as the eighth-rated QB in the shotgun this season, two slots lower than his overall ranking. In fact, his passer rating under center (101.0) was far better than his rating in the shotgun (82.4). Ditto for his TD/INT totals - 17/6 under center, 9/8 in the gun.

My bet is that teams can tee off on him alittle more and call better coverages knowing he's most likely to pass thus explaining the lower numbers.

 

[PatsRI]

Whiule watching the games, on many occasions Ihave found myself yelling at the TV..."What the hell is he doing in the shotgun? You aret ippingoff the frigging play to the defense." Meaning, of course, that everyone knows it is passing play...I think that they just dont use play action often enough, especially if Dillon is in the game.

Why limit your options and tip off defenses that you are going to pass? I think it is stupid in many situations to go into the shotgun.

Up late or ealy NEM, it's what 2, 3 AM out there?

 

[gomezcat]

Whiule watching the games, on many occasions Ihave found myself yelling at the TV..."What the hell is he doing in the shotgun? You aret ippingoff the frigging play to the defense." Meaning, of course, that everyone knows it is passing play...I think that they just dont use play action often enough, especially if Dillon is in the game.

Why limit your options and tip off defenses that you are going to pass? I think it is stupid in many situations to go into the shotgun.

I don't get to see the games live, but have them sent by DVD. I have been surprised by the frequent use of the shotgun. It does appear to be something of a "give up" on the running game, doesn't it? They might at least try running the draw more often.

 

[Ring 6]

47% is wrong. There is no way its close to that.

Almost every QB will have a lower rating in the shotgun.
1) You go into the shotgun only in obvious passing situations, and ratings are always lower in obvious passing situations.
2) Rarely,. if ever do you shotgun in the red zone. TDs have a huge impact on rating. This is the same reason his Ints are higher than TDs. You dont use shotgun in scoring range, but you do use it in desperation, and a good chunk of Brady Ints in his career are desperation throws late in a loss.
3) Another aspect of the shotgun is that you have multiple receivers and spread the field, and face nickel and dime packages. Yards per completion will be lower in this situation. Plus, you shotgun on 3rd down, where it may be 3rd and 3 and you are good with 4 yards.

 

[Miguel]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/splits?statsId=5228

Something is wrong with these numbers
Formation Completions Attempts
Shotgun 146 245
Backs Split 19 22
I-Formation 9 12
Lone Setback 265 438

Totals 439 717
Given that Brady actually completed 334 passes out of 530 attempts, STATS must be categorizing a good number of plays as two different formations.

Garbage in, Garbage out.