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View Full Version : Tom Brady Folds Under Pressure: A Myth?



Chidi29
10-26-2011, 01:55 PM
I glanced at some numbers the other day and the results were a bit surprising. After invesitgating further, the final numbers are strong evidence that getting pressure on Brady that will lead to him crumbling isn't as clear-cut as some make it out to be.

Disclaimer: I realize these are just stats and aren't the say-all, end-all. You'll notice that I am only able to use sacks and not pressure. I could use QB hits if I really wanted to, but that would be putting in a ton of work that I don't have the time for. Coming into the study, I realize that pressure doesn't always result in sacks and that getting a few sacks doesn't mean your defense got consistent pressure.

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I broke down Brady's numbers in the past three years into two categories. Games where he was sacked more than his seasonal regular season average and ones tat he wasn't.

2009. He was sacked an average of one time a game so the games I looked at were the ones in which he was sacked twice or more.

27-21 W – 21/32 258 yds 8.1 Y/A 1 TD 0 INT – 3 sacks
59-0 W – 29/34 380 yds 11.2 Y/A 6 TD 0 INT – 2 sacks
27-17 W – 25/37 332 yds 9.0 Y/A 1 TD 1 INT – 2 sacks
35-34 L – 29/42 375 yds 8.9 Y/A 3 TD 1 INT – 2 sacks
31-14 W – 28/41 310 yds 7.6 Y/A 1 TD 0 INT – 2 sacks

Total: 4-1 – 132/186 1655 yds (331 per) 8.9 Y/A 12 TD 2 INT

Compared to games where he was sacked once or less.

6-5 – 239/379 2743 yds (249 per) 7.2 Y/A 16 TD 11 INT

2010. Sacked an average of 1.6 times per game.

41-14 W – 19/24 153 yds 6.4 Y/A 1 TD 0 INT – 3 sacks
23-20 W – 27/44 292 yds 6.6 Y/A 1 TD 2 INT – 3 sacks
23-20 W – 19/32 159 yds 5.0 Y/A 1 TD 0 INT – 4 sacks
45-3 W – 21/29 326 yds 11.2 Y/A 4 TD 0 INT – 3 sacks
36-7 W – 27/40 369 yds 9.2 Y/A 2 TD 0 INT – 3 sacks
31-27 W – 15/24 163 yds 6.8 Y/A 2 TD 0 INT – 3 sacks

Total: 6-0 – 128/193 1462 yds (244 per) 7.6 Y/A 11 TD 2 INT

Other games: 8-2 – 196/299 2438 yds (244 per) 8.2 Y/A 25 TD 2 INT

2011. So far, sacked an average of 1.8 sacks.

35-21 W – 31/40 423 yds 10.6 Y/A 3 TD 0 INT – 2 sacks
30-21 W – 24/33 321 yds 9.7 Y/A 1 TD 1 INT – 4 sacks
20-16 W – 27/41 289 yds 7.0 Y/A 2 TD 2 INT – 3 sacks

Total: 3-0 W – 82/114 1033 yds (344 per) 9.1 Y/A 6 TD 3 INT

Other: 2-1 – 78/123 1130 yds (377 per) 10 TD 5 INT

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And your FINAL numbers over the past two and a half years.

Sacked more than average: 13-1 – 342/493 69.4% 4150 yds (296 per) 8.4 Y/A 29 TD 7 INT

Sacked on average or less than average - 16 – 8 – 513/801 64% 6311 yds (263 per) 7.9 Y/A 51 TD 18 INT

Conclusions:

Brady has only lost one game during this time under this criteria, a 35-34 loss to the Colts in 2009.

His completion percentage, yards per game, and Y/A are all higher in the sacked more than average games than the others. He is also averaging less INTs per attempt (70.5 per INT compared to 44.5 in games sacked less). The only category he is doing better in when sacked less than average is TDs per attempt, and that margin is only slight (15.5 to 17).

Of cuorse, getting pressure on a QB is important and getting to him is obviously going to help. But it isn't as effective as you think and if we blitz, he's likely to pick us apart on underneath routes and hot reads.

polamalubeast
10-26-2011, 02:05 PM
Consistent pressure is the most important.

And since 3 years, were the brothers Ryan(Rob Ryan and Rex Ryan) they appear to have the most success against Brady.

Chidi29
10-26-2011, 02:09 PM
Consistent pressure is the most important.

And since 3 years, were the brothers Ryan(Rob Ryan and Rex Ryan) they appear to have the most success against Brady.

What about the other teams that got sacks, and likely some pressure, that still lost to him?

Do we focus on just the one or two instances where he falters and forget about the bigger picture?

polamalubeast
10-26-2011, 02:09 PM
And we must not give the short passes, the screen and yards after the Catch(Especially Welker).

And the both TE are very dangerous.

SteelerEmpire
10-26-2011, 02:12 PM
Brady goes into "Flacco Mode" when D's start hitting him... it's a fact.

shutdown
10-26-2011, 02:13 PM
Here are some numbers to mull over too.

2011:
http://i.imgur.com/gdjJ1.jpg

2010:
http://i.imgur.com/vyXvU.jpg

2009:
http://i.imgur.com/JQkyF.jpg

polamalubeast
10-26-2011, 02:13 PM
What about the other teams that got sacks, and likely some pressure, that still lost to him?

Do we focus on just the one or two instances where he falters and forget about the bigger picture?

The Patriots offense is very difficult to stop.In playoff against the jets, the reason for the success of the jets against the patriots were incredible coverage.

polamalubeast
10-26-2011, 02:15 PM
Here are some numbers to mull over too.

2011:
http://i.imgur.com/gdjJ1.jpg

2010:
http://i.imgur.com/vyXvU.jpg

2009:
http://i.imgur.com/JQkyF.jpg


Woodley must have a big game.

Blitzed against Brady is a bad idea!

Chidi29
10-26-2011, 02:16 PM
Here are some numbers to mull over too.

2011:
http://i.imgur.com/gdjJ1.jpg

2010:
http://i.imgur.com/vyXvU.jpg

2009:
http://i.imgur.com/JQkyF.jpg

Good stuff shutdown. Real quick thought before I take off for class.

Obviously for us to get pressure, we need to blitz him. And the numbers aren't that bad for Brady when he is blitzed. How can we be sure we'll get to him, especially with his ability to get the ball out quick?

86WARD
10-26-2011, 02:17 PM
This is all that matters:

Brady 6-1 against the LeBeau and the Steelers with an average of 286 yards and 2 TDs per game. 3 interceptions in 7 games. 1 pick in 85 pass attempts.

Looks like they are saying Ike will shadow Welker. A mismatch in the Patriots favor. Tall lanky receiver matched up against a small speed guy. History doesn't fair well in that type of matchup. All they can do is try to not only get pressure on Brady but to get him on the ground and limit Welker's RAC to the minimum.

Could be ugly Sunday...

SteelerEmpire
10-26-2011, 02:17 PM
Here are some numbers to mull over too.

2011:
http://i.imgur.com/gdjJ1.jpg

2010:
http://i.imgur.com/vyXvU.jpg

2009:
http://i.imgur.com/JQkyF.jpg

Brady becomes a less than avg. QB when a Defense is in his face.

shutdown
10-26-2011, 02:22 PM
Good stuff shutdown. Real quick thought before I take off for class.

Obviously for us to get pressure, we need to blitz him. And the numbers aren't that bad for Brady when he is blitzed. How can we be sure we'll get to him, especially with his ability to get the ball out quick?

That's the tricky part. Look at his pass direction so far this season:

http://i.imgur.com/hAXr3.jpg

Majority of his passes are short and over the middle or to the left side. A good chunk of them are for 9 yards or less.

suitanim
10-26-2011, 03:05 PM
This is all that matters:

Brady 6-1 against the LeBeau and the Steelers with an average of 286 yards and 2 TDs per game. 3 interceptions in 7 games. 1 pick in 85 pass attempts.

Looks like they are saying Ike will shadow Welker. A mismatch in the Patriots favor. Tall lanky receiver matched up against a small speed guy. History doesn't fair well in that type of matchup. All they can do is try to not only get pressure on Brady but to get him on the ground and limit Welker's RAC to the minimum.

Could be ugly Sunday...

Welker is about 5'4". Ike is faster than him. This is a terrible mismatch in favor of the STEELERS. I'm not actually particularly fearful of the Cheats WR corp. WE cause our own problems by running stupid zone defenses which allow them to sneak in the seams and underneath. DB's need to play up the line and play some man. We don't need to sack Gaydy 100 times, just pressure him and plant his ass a few times. Get him a little dirty. Allowing him to sit comfortably in the pocket and go through his progressions is the real threat here, and it's why we've failed in the past against teams that like to throw. We sellout on the blitz and the good QB's make us pay, and if we rush 3 they have too much time to pick us apart.

Chidi29
10-26-2011, 03:15 PM
That's the tricky part. Look at his pass direction so far this season:

http://i.imgur.com/hAXr3.jpg

Majority of his passes are short and over the middle or to the left side. A good chunk of them are for 9 yards or less.

And therein lies the issue.

What I wrote last year following the loss.

Based on what I've seen over the years, this is how I understand LeBeau's defense to be run in a perfect world.

1. Stop the run on early downs
2. Put teams in 2nd/3rd and long situations
3. Creates more pressure by forcing longer drops and throws, letting the blitz get to the QB.
4. Playing corners off isn't a problem, If an offense wants to throw a 5 yard slant on 3rd and 10, go for it. We're good tacklers and they're not going to get the first down.
5. Blitz + exotic zone looks = turnovers and sacks

Of course, this is all dependant on step 1 working. It's a dominio effect. If it doesn't work, the rest falls apart. Which is why we've always been of the mindset of shutting down the run.

Unless a team refuses to run. Instead, throwing the slant, the drag, the hitch on first down. Now they're in 2nd and 5, 3rd and 2. They can continue to throw the slant or work underneath. If we want to play off, we're going to allow first downs. Pressure becomes less effective. The whole scheme falls apart. It's based on teams being stubborn and futily trying to establish the running game.

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This is still true.

To me, the best way to beat Brady is to have a great front four that can rush the passer. That way, you can drop seven into coverage and clog up throwing lanes. We talk about getting pressure like the Giants did, but we can't. We're talking about two totally different defenses. A fairly vanilla Cover 2 with great DEs versus a Zone blitzing 3-4 defense. Apples and oranges.

Chidi29
10-26-2011, 03:16 PM
This is all that matters:

Brady 6-1 against the LeBeau and the Steelers with an average of 286 yards and 2 TDs per game. 3 interceptions in 7 games. 1 pick in 85 pass attempts.

Looks like they are saying Ike will shadow Welker. A mismatch in the Patriots favor. Tall lanky receiver matched up against a small speed guy. History doesn't fair well in that type of matchup. All they can do is try to not only get pressure on Brady but to get him on the ground and limit Welker's RAC to the minimum.

Could be ugly Sunday...

For what it's worth, Tomlin said he didn't know if Taylor was going to shadow Welker.

I wouldn't want it either as suit said. Ike rarely plays in the slot and probably isn't very comfortable there.