ESPN Mosley: Romo best among NFC East QBs against blitz

[WoodysGirl]

McNabb's been awful against the blitz
October 28, 2009 11:33 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

If I told you Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had by far the best numbers against the blitz among NFC East quarterbacks, would you believe me? Well, that's exactly what the fine folks at ESPN's Stats & Information are telling me this morning.

Romo has the 10th best passer rating in the league (98.9) when teams bring at least one extra defender. Romo's thrown four touchdowns against the blitz and only one interception. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the best in the league against the blitz with a 136.7 rating. He's an astounding 40-of-51 for 706 yards, four touchdowns and only one interception.

If not for the dreadful work against the blitz by Jake Delhomme and Derek Anderson, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb would be the worst in the league with his 39.6 rating. He's 4-of-19 for 40 yards against the blitz. McNabb doesn't have nearly as many attempts against the blitz as other quarterbacks because he missed time with that rib injury. But he's about to make up for lost time when the Giants come to town Sunday. I think Bill Sheridan will send blitzes from all over the field. And Osi Umenyiora will be eager to face his old friend Winston Justice, the man who helped seal his first Pro Bowl appearance.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is ranked 19th in the league with an 85.1 rating, but he's thrown for more touchdowns (7) against the blitz than any other quarterback. Only Tom Brady has attempted more passes against the blitz (98) than Manning's 96.

Commanders quarterback Jason Campbell checks in four spots behind Manning with a 77.9 passer rating. He's thrown for two touchdowns and three interceptions against the blitz. And by the way, Eagles backup quarterback Kevin Kolb checked in right behind Manning at No. 2o with an 83.7 rating. He threw for three touchdowns and three interceptions against the blitz.

Thanks once again to ESPN's Stats and Information group for passing this along. It's a tremendous resource for the Beast.

 

[Alexander]

McNabb has a reputation for being elusive, but that doesn't help him when he faces true pressure. He's not going to stand tall in the face of a rush and deliver a strike downfield. He's going to throw an antkiller. This should not be a surprise to anyone who has watched him beyond his highlight reel.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

So let's see....he starts by asking the question "Would you believe......"

And of course most non-cowboy fans would not believe it....because the media goes out of its way to highlight when Romo screws up against when he does well. You do not win 70% of the games you have started as a QB and be a screw up, bus driver, innacurate, inefficient, turnover machine the MEDIA makes you out to be.

Romo STILL has upside! And in the meantime he is still top 8 in the NFL.

 

[rynochop]

yes, i believe it, when i see him break out of pressure i'm almost expecting a touchdown.

 

[Alexander]

So let's see....he starts by asking the question "Would you believe......"

And of course most non-cowboy fans would not believe it....because the media goes out of its way to highlight when Romo screws up against when he does well. You do not win 70% of the games you have started as a QB and be a screw up, bus driver, innacurate, inefficient, turnover machine the MEDIA makes you out to be.

Romo STILL has upside! And in the meantime he is still top 8 in the NFL.

If you look at Romo's biggest mistakes, they usually aren't when teams are just blitzing him mercilessly and he's under duress. Most are coverage issues where he's calm and composed and simply makes poor reads. I believe he likes teams to blitz him because then he can improvise and make plays like he did Sunday. If I am playing against him, I wouldn't blitz him if I could help it. That leaves fewer back to defend against his throws.

 

[Alexander]

yes, i believe it, when i see him break out of pressure i'm almost expecting a touchdown.

That's his pattern when he is "Good Tony".

 

[rynochop]

That's his pattern when he is "Good Tony".

yep, which is most of the time.

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

BLAH BLAH BLAH

As usual, ESPN offers no constructive explanation behind those numbers. For instnace, is one QB's successs v. the bliz due to having a RB capable of blocking it? And what offensive foramtions were used for these QBs when success came; meaning is the formation partly to explain success vs. the blitz?

Some perspective would be much more usefl than a meaningless stats dump. But ESPN is good at plain old dumping, I suppose.

 

[theogt]

BLAH BLAH BLAH

As usual, ESPN offers no constructive explanation behind those numbers. For instnace, is one QB's successs v. the bliz due to having a RB capable of blocking it? And what offensive foramtions were used for these QBs when success came; meaning is the formation partly to explain success vs. the blitz?

Some perspective would be much more usefl than a meaningless stats dump. But ESPN is good at plain old dumping, I suppose.

Tony's numbers have always been very good against the blitz. This isn't a new thing.

 

[AdamJT13]

I like how Mosley makes it sounds like the ESPN research guys uncovered this top-secret information and passed it along so he could to reveal to the world.

FYI, Matt, quarterbacks' stats against the blitz are right there in their splits on ESPN.com -- as well as foxsports.com, sportsillustrated.cnn.com and profootballweekly.com.

Not to mention that all of the stats in the article don't include this past weekend's games.