Footballoutsiders on Bengals pass rush

[3wt]

(06-23-2017, 07:07 PM)Dr. Bombay Wrote: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2017/defense-and-pass-pressure-2016

First of all they point out that even though sacks are big, pressuring a QB without getting a sack is also very important to a defense.  QBs under pressure average 2 yards less per attempt, had their completion percentage drop by almost 25 points, and see their TD to INT ration cut in half.

The Bengals were able to generate "pressure plays" on 30.8% of opponents pass plays.  That ranked 6th in the league, but was not that far behind the #1 Bronco's 32.2%.  The Colts were last in the league with only 19.0%.

Next the looked at the teams' defensive efficiency (DVOA) "with pressure" compared to "without pressure".  The bigger the difference the more a teams pass defense depends on the pass rush.  The bengals ranked 18th in DVOA difference which means they are pretty much average.

Finally they ranked each teams "Pressure percentage" based on the number of rushers.  They broke it down into 3 catagories "Three or fewer", "four", and "five or more".  The Bengals were the second best team in the league in getting pressure with 3 or fewer, seventh when rushing 4, and fourth when rushing 5 or more.  The Panthers and eagles were the only other teams to rank in the top 10 in all three catagories.  But these numbers might be a little misleading.  For example the Eagles were #1 in pressure percentage while rushing 3 or fewer with an incredible 77.8%, but they only rushed 3 or fewer a total of nine plays all year.  So take these numbers with a grain of salt.

Interesting stats.  And I think they will improve this year.  I think we'll end up getting more pressure of the right edge and the in the middle.