BTB: Which Linebackers are Bringing The Pressure?

[CCBoy]

Which Linebackers are Bringing The Pressure?
by One.Cool.Customer



http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2011/11/25/2585796/dallas-cowboys-pass-rush-pt-ii-which-linebackers-are-bringing-the




There's a widely held belief that DeMarcus Ware is the Cowboys' one-man pass rush. And that line of thinking is not without merit. This year, Ware has 14 of the Cowboys' 30 sacks and he is easily the most dominant player on the Cowboys defense, and perhaps even in the league.

But as good as Ware is, he can't do it alone.

In part I of this post, we tried to look beyond sacks as the sole measure of pass rush efficiency, and introduced QB Disruption Points as a way to aggregate sacks, QB hits and QB pressures into one number that can be used as an indicator of how much pressure a defense exerts on the opposing quarterback.

Through ten games, the Cowboys tallied 134.8 QB Disruption Points, the 10th best value in the league. Over those ten games, Ware recorded 14 sacks, 5 QB hits and 29 pressures for 39.5 QB Disruption points, a little under a third of the Cowboys' total....

[CCBoy]

Part I to the above posting:

Dallas Cowboys Pass Rush Pt. I: How Disruptive Is The Cowboys' Defense?
by One.Cool.Customer


http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2011/11/23/2582385/dallas-cowboys-pass-rush-pt-i-how-disruptive-is-the-cowboys-defense


Just because you hear people on TV saying that 'stopping the run' is the key to a successful defense doesn't mean it's true. That particular hypothesis may have been true thirty or forty years ago, but constant repetition by people who grew up in the 60s and 70s doesn’t make it any truer or any more relevant. The key to slowing down modern offenses is to get pressure on the passer.

Quarterbacks in the NFL today get rid of the ball in less than three seconds on average. If your defense doesn't get to the quarterback by then, chances are you've just allowed a completion. Give the QB more time and your secondary just got burned for a 60-yard bomb.

But if your defense does get pressure on the QB or hurries his throw, he's much more prone to make a mistake and turn the ball over or make enough bad passes to make the offense one dimensional. If you give any NFL quarterback enough time, he’s going to pick you apart. Pressure him, force him into making a decision and the chances of the QB making a mistake go way up....

[CCBoy]

What a wealth of perspective in that pair of posts...and it brings out the effectiveness that Ryan is getting from Ware, Lee, Spencer, and Butler.

I find this at the cruxt of decisions by Rob Ryan:

Spencer at 8.3 is slightly below where he was in 2009 (9.2%) but above where he was last year (7.0%). Clearly, Spencer is no DeMarcus Ware. But he's far from being a scrub either. The average 3-4 OLB had a QBDP of 18.2 after ten games, Spencer had a QBDP of 20.5 after ten weeks so he's a slightly above average pass rusher. That may not be what you expect from a first round draft pick, but for what it's worth, PFF rate Spencer as the third best 3-4 OLB against the run, and he's a big part of why the Cowboys' run defense has been above average for the last couple of years.

Match DeMarcus Ware with a paired partner that Philadelphia now has with Trent Cole and Jasin Babin and this team will explode on the defensive side...