After going through some quarterback passing data on Pro Football Focus today, I thought some of it was worth passing along.
Take a look the following pressure numbers for the Texas offense through three games with Quinn Ewers at quarterback...
Kept Clean: 84.2%
Under pressure: 15.8%
Not Blitzed: 58.4%
When blitzed: 41.6%
First impression? The Texas offensive line is doing a really good job of protecting Ewers and When teams are bringing an extra man to attempt to reach Ewers, it's not reaching Ewers more times than not.
Now let's take a look at Ewers' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 50 of 79 for 625 yards, 8 TD and 0 INT (121.5 NFL/163.16 college)
Under pressure: 4 of 11 for 115 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT (75.9 NFL/124.18 college)
Not Blitzed: 29 of 53 for 422 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT (99.7 NFL/140.28 college)
When blitzed: 25 of 37 for 318 yards, 5 TD and 0 INT (133.8 NFL/184.36 college)
Ewers has been at his absolute best this season when teams are blitzing and a big reason for that is because the blitzes aren't getting to Ewers and he's making teams pay dearly it.
If you're an opposing defensive coordinator, you'd probably be temped to rush four and try to run a combination of stunts in an effort to create some pressure because of the difference in success rates. The problem with that idea is that it's being proven very difficult to get to Ewers by rushing just four and Ewers has been so good when throwing from a clean pocket.
When teams can get to Ewers, he's been pretty average, but that's happening less than 4 times per game, despite him throwing it 30 times per game on the average.
By comparison, let's take a look at a few of the other quarterbacks being discussed as possible Heisman candidates and first round draft picks.
Caleb Williams (USC)
Kept Clean: 74.7%
Under pressure: 25.3%
Not Blitzed: 63.3%
When blitzed: 36.7%
Now let's take a look at Williams numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 46 of 54 for 690 yards, 8 TD and 0 INT (158.3 NFL/241.41 college)
Under pressure: 9 of 17 for 188 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT (131.9 NFL/223.48 college)
Not Blitzed: 32 of 42 for 439 yards, 7 TD and 0 INT (148.7 NFL/218.99 college)
When blitzed: 23 of 29 for 439 yards, 5 TD and 0 INT (158.3 NFL/263.37 college)
Holy hell. Nothing has worked at all against this guy. I don't even know what to say about him having a perfect NFL rating when blitzed other than to say... don't blitz.
Michael Penix Jr.
Kept Clean: 82.9%
Under pressure: 17.1%
Not Blitzed: 75.2%
When blitzed: 24.8%
Now let's take a look at Penix's numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 73 of 95 for 1,079 yards, 12 TD and 1 INT (148.6 NFL/211.83 college)
Under pressure: 11 of 18 for 247 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT (105.1 NFL/176.38 college)
Not Blitzed: 63 of 86 for 975 yards, 8 TD and 1 INT (136.5 NFL/196.86 college)
When blitzed: 21 of 27 for 351 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT (158.3 NFL/235.87 college)
Do. Not. Blitz. Penix. Either.
Shedeur Sanders
Kept Clean: 66.5%
Under pressure: 33.5%
Not Blitzed: 73.9%
When blitzed: 26.1%
Now let's take a look at Sanders' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 86 of 101 for 910 yards, 7 TD and 0 INT (127.3 NFL/183.70 college)
Under pressure: 36 of 54 for 340 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT (106.3 NFL/134.19 college)
Not Blitzed: 83 of 99 for 993 yards, 8 TD and 0 INT (194.76 NFL/196.86 college)
When blitzed: 24 of 38 for 351 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT (89.5 NFL/152.85 college)
Unlike the other quarterbacks that we've looked at, it seems like bringing extra pressure is exactly the way to make Sanders look mortal so far this season. He's feeling more pressure than any of the quarterbacks we've looked at and it does have an impact.
Drake Maye
Kept Clean: 70.7%
Under pressure: 29.3%
Not Blitzed: 67.5%
When blitzed: 32.5%
Now let's take a look at Mayes' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 65 of 81 for 762 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT (113.1 NFL/169.02 college)
Under pressure: 21 of 36 for 129 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT (39.7 NFL/80.93 college)
Not Blitzed: 55 of 68 for 657 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT (104.5 NFL/165.86 college)
When blitzed: 19 of 34 for 234 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT (72.4 NFL/121.34 college)
Man, this is only a three-game sample size, but Maye really seems to have issues when he's blitzed and put under pressure. While some of the quarterbacks on this list are daring you to blitz them, Maye seems to dare them to not blitz him.
Dillon Gabriel
Kept Clean: 78.7%
Under pressure: 21.3%
Not Blitzed: 76.4%
When blitzed: 23.6%
Now let's take a look at Gabriel' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 54 of 66 for 719 yards, 11 TD and 0 INT (151.6 NFL/228.0 college)
Under pressure: 11 of 13 for 182 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT (86.7 NFL/186.83 college)
Not Blitzed: 50 of 58 for 644 yards, 7 TD and 1 INT (145.3 NFL/215.86 college)
When blitzed: 15 of 21 for 257 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT (152.2 NFL/237.09 college)
There's no doubting Gabriel when he plays average competition. He chews it up. His career numbers against ranked-level teams drop considerably.
Conner Weigman
Kept Clean: 59.8%
Under pressure: 40.2%
Not Blitzed: 39.3%
When blitzed: 60.7%
Now let's take a look at Weigman' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 52 of 65 for 622 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT (120.6 NFL/177.61 college)
Under pressure: 22 of 42 for 287 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT (96.0 NFL/136.45 college)
Not Blitzed: 29 of 42 for 364 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT (85.8 NFL/137.09 college)
When blitzed: 45 of 65 for 545 yards, 8 TD and 1 INT (127.9 NFL/177.20 college)
First of all, what's up with this A&M offensive line? Weigman is getting pressured more than 2.5 times per attempt than Ewers and when you look at how Weigman fares against the blitz, it suggests that teams are causing him issues when they don't blitz and are able to get to pressure on him, which is happening a lot.
Cade Klubnik
Kept Clean: 67.2%
Under pressure: 32.8%
Not Blitzed: 62.9%
When blitzed: 37.1%
Now let's take a look at Klubnik' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 58 of 74 for 568 yards, 7 TD and 0 INT (130.2 NFL/174.07 college)
Under pressure: 13 of 34 for 125 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT (34.6 NFL/67.06 college)
Not Blitzed: 43 of 67 for 364 yards, 5 TD and 2 INT (90.6 NFL/128.47 college)
When blitzed: 28 of 41 for 329 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT (116.8 NFL/159.84 college)
Just get pressure on him and you can absolutely neutralize him completely at this stage of his development. You have to be careful with the blitz because he's much better when teams bring numbers than when they don't, but if you can get to him, you'll win.
*****
Also, let's talk about the dropped passes.
At the moment, here's a look at the dropped passes for the Longhorns through three games:
Jordan Whittington: 2
Jonathon Brooks: 2
Xavier Worthy: 1
Johntay Cook: 1
Adonai Mitchell: 1
The good news is that the foursome that makes up the overwhelming majority of the Texas passing attack has only dropped 4 passes in 3 games. The bad news is that when you add in Brooks and Cook, you have a number that's too high and needs to come down.
Of course, we're only talking about a single drop or two being eliminated from the numbers being within the national norms. For instance, if we just took Brooks two drops out of the equation, the drop percentage would drop to 8.3% which is still too high over the course of a 12 game season, but at this point in the season consists of a couple of plays.
Dropped pass percentage
Ewers (7 - 11.5%)
Klubnik (8 - 10.1%)
Maye (7 - 8.6%)
Sanders (8 - 7.0%)
Weigman (5 - 6.3%)
Gabriel - (4 - 5.8%)
Penix Jr. (5 - 5.6%)
Williams (2 - 3.5%)
*****
Finally, I thought I would throw in several passing depth charts for you guys to look at.
Ewers
Williams
Penix Jr.
Take a look the following pressure numbers for the Texas offense through three games with Quinn Ewers at quarterback...
Kept Clean: 84.2%
Under pressure: 15.8%
Not Blitzed: 58.4%
When blitzed: 41.6%
First impression? The Texas offensive line is doing a really good job of protecting Ewers and When teams are bringing an extra man to attempt to reach Ewers, it's not reaching Ewers more times than not.
Now let's take a look at Ewers' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 50 of 79 for 625 yards, 8 TD and 0 INT (121.5 NFL/163.16 college)
Under pressure: 4 of 11 for 115 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT (75.9 NFL/124.18 college)
Not Blitzed: 29 of 53 for 422 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT (99.7 NFL/140.28 college)
When blitzed: 25 of 37 for 318 yards, 5 TD and 0 INT (133.8 NFL/184.36 college)
Ewers has been at his absolute best this season when teams are blitzing and a big reason for that is because the blitzes aren't getting to Ewers and he's making teams pay dearly it.
If you're an opposing defensive coordinator, you'd probably be temped to rush four and try to run a combination of stunts in an effort to create some pressure because of the difference in success rates. The problem with that idea is that it's being proven very difficult to get to Ewers by rushing just four and Ewers has been so good when throwing from a clean pocket.
When teams can get to Ewers, he's been pretty average, but that's happening less than 4 times per game, despite him throwing it 30 times per game on the average.
By comparison, let's take a look at a few of the other quarterbacks being discussed as possible Heisman candidates and first round draft picks.
Caleb Williams (USC)
Kept Clean: 74.7%
Under pressure: 25.3%
Not Blitzed: 63.3%
When blitzed: 36.7%
Now let's take a look at Williams numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 46 of 54 for 690 yards, 8 TD and 0 INT (158.3 NFL/241.41 college)
Under pressure: 9 of 17 for 188 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT (131.9 NFL/223.48 college)
Not Blitzed: 32 of 42 for 439 yards, 7 TD and 0 INT (148.7 NFL/218.99 college)
When blitzed: 23 of 29 for 439 yards, 5 TD and 0 INT (158.3 NFL/263.37 college)
Holy hell. Nothing has worked at all against this guy. I don't even know what to say about him having a perfect NFL rating when blitzed other than to say... don't blitz.
Michael Penix Jr.
Kept Clean: 82.9%
Under pressure: 17.1%
Not Blitzed: 75.2%
When blitzed: 24.8%
Now let's take a look at Penix's numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 73 of 95 for 1,079 yards, 12 TD and 1 INT (148.6 NFL/211.83 college)
Under pressure: 11 of 18 for 247 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT (105.1 NFL/176.38 college)
Not Blitzed: 63 of 86 for 975 yards, 8 TD and 1 INT (136.5 NFL/196.86 college)
When blitzed: 21 of 27 for 351 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT (158.3 NFL/235.87 college)
Do. Not. Blitz. Penix. Either.
Shedeur Sanders
Kept Clean: 66.5%
Under pressure: 33.5%
Not Blitzed: 73.9%
When blitzed: 26.1%
Now let's take a look at Sanders' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 86 of 101 for 910 yards, 7 TD and 0 INT (127.3 NFL/183.70 college)
Under pressure: 36 of 54 for 340 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT (106.3 NFL/134.19 college)
Not Blitzed: 83 of 99 for 993 yards, 8 TD and 0 INT (194.76 NFL/196.86 college)
When blitzed: 24 of 38 for 351 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT (89.5 NFL/152.85 college)
Unlike the other quarterbacks that we've looked at, it seems like bringing extra pressure is exactly the way to make Sanders look mortal so far this season. He's feeling more pressure than any of the quarterbacks we've looked at and it does have an impact.
Drake Maye
Kept Clean: 70.7%
Under pressure: 29.3%
Not Blitzed: 67.5%
When blitzed: 32.5%
Now let's take a look at Mayes' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 65 of 81 for 762 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT (113.1 NFL/169.02 college)
Under pressure: 21 of 36 for 129 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT (39.7 NFL/80.93 college)
Not Blitzed: 55 of 68 for 657 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT (104.5 NFL/165.86 college)
When blitzed: 19 of 34 for 234 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT (72.4 NFL/121.34 college)
Man, this is only a three-game sample size, but Maye really seems to have issues when he's blitzed and put under pressure. While some of the quarterbacks on this list are daring you to blitz them, Maye seems to dare them to not blitz him.
Dillon Gabriel
Kept Clean: 78.7%
Under pressure: 21.3%
Not Blitzed: 76.4%
When blitzed: 23.6%
Now let's take a look at Gabriel' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 54 of 66 for 719 yards, 11 TD and 0 INT (151.6 NFL/228.0 college)
Under pressure: 11 of 13 for 182 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT (86.7 NFL/186.83 college)
Not Blitzed: 50 of 58 for 644 yards, 7 TD and 1 INT (145.3 NFL/215.86 college)
When blitzed: 15 of 21 for 257 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT (152.2 NFL/237.09 college)
There's no doubting Gabriel when he plays average competition. He chews it up. His career numbers against ranked-level teams drop considerably.
Conner Weigman
Kept Clean: 59.8%
Under pressure: 40.2%
Not Blitzed: 39.3%
When blitzed: 60.7%
Now let's take a look at Weigman' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 52 of 65 for 622 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT (120.6 NFL/177.61 college)
Under pressure: 22 of 42 for 287 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT (96.0 NFL/136.45 college)
Not Blitzed: 29 of 42 for 364 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT (85.8 NFL/137.09 college)
When blitzed: 45 of 65 for 545 yards, 8 TD and 1 INT (127.9 NFL/177.20 college)
First of all, what's up with this A&M offensive line? Weigman is getting pressured more than 2.5 times per attempt than Ewers and when you look at how Weigman fares against the blitz, it suggests that teams are causing him issues when they don't blitz and are able to get to pressure on him, which is happening a lot.
Cade Klubnik
Kept Clean: 67.2%
Under pressure: 32.8%
Not Blitzed: 62.9%
When blitzed: 37.1%
Now let's take a look at Klubnik' numbers through three games against this backdrop of situations...
Kept Clean: 58 of 74 for 568 yards, 7 TD and 0 INT (130.2 NFL/174.07 college)
Under pressure: 13 of 34 for 125 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT (34.6 NFL/67.06 college)
Not Blitzed: 43 of 67 for 364 yards, 5 TD and 2 INT (90.6 NFL/128.47 college)
When blitzed: 28 of 41 for 329 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT (116.8 NFL/159.84 college)
Just get pressure on him and you can absolutely neutralize him completely at this stage of his development. You have to be careful with the blitz because he's much better when teams bring numbers than when they don't, but if you can get to him, you'll win.
*****
Also, let's talk about the dropped passes.
At the moment, here's a look at the dropped passes for the Longhorns through three games:
Jordan Whittington: 2
Jonathon Brooks: 2
Xavier Worthy: 1
Johntay Cook: 1
Adonai Mitchell: 1
The good news is that the foursome that makes up the overwhelming majority of the Texas passing attack has only dropped 4 passes in 3 games. The bad news is that when you add in Brooks and Cook, you have a number that's too high and needs to come down.
Of course, we're only talking about a single drop or two being eliminated from the numbers being within the national norms. For instance, if we just took Brooks two drops out of the equation, the drop percentage would drop to 8.3% which is still too high over the course of a 12 game season, but at this point in the season consists of a couple of plays.
Dropped pass percentage
Ewers (7 - 11.5%)
Klubnik (8 - 10.1%)
Maye (7 - 8.6%)
Sanders (8 - 7.0%)
Weigman (5 - 6.3%)
Gabriel - (4 - 5.8%)
Penix Jr. (5 - 5.6%)
Williams (2 - 3.5%)
*****
Finally, I thought I would throw in several passing depth charts for you guys to look at.
Ewers
Williams
Penix Jr.
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