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I am getting on a shuttle to the airport about 52 minutes from the time I'm typing this sentence, so I have to be fast. However, I was sitting here and looking at some numbers from Pro Football Focus and you know how we do -- If it's worth sharing to you, I need to get it out there quick.
Even with grammatical errors and bad jokes about my senior prom! (Not a single girl asked me to go)
We know that Peyton Manning is great and Russell Wilson is a great up-and-comer, but did you realize just how different the situations were that these two players had to deal with this season? Manning was one of the most difficult quarterbacks in the league to sack this year and Wilson went down way more than we'd like to see, but these two quarterbacks aren't just different, they are polar opposites.
Time in Pocket
Wilson is a scrambler when he has to be and Manning takes his eggs over-easy because he hates scrambles, so it's not surprising that their "time in pocket" numbers are so different, per PFF. But they are on the opposite sides of the spectrum.
Wilson had 500 dropbacks and took 3.18 seconds "to throw" (this also includes from the time he passes the LOS on a scramble or is sacked) and that was the longest amount of the time in the NFL.
Manning had 676 dropbacks and took 2.36 seconds to throw, which was the shortest. Though Manning was sacked just 18 times, how much of that credit goes to the offensive line and how much of it goes to the quickness of his release? It is extremely difficult to sack a quarterback in 2.36 seconds, though it does happen. But usually only when someone blows an assignment.
While Wilson took 5.1 seconds on average before he would scramble, Manning took "N/A" seconds. That doesn't mean "Not A Lot" it means that Manning didn't scramble once this year. He was the only qualified QB out of 27 not to scramble one time.
When Manning gets off a quick release, meaning he attempts it in less than 2.5 seconds, his QB rating is 121.4, but if his receivers are covered (as Seattle is wont to do) and it takes longer than 2.5 seconds, his rating goes down to 104.2. Which is great, but at least a much better number for the Seahawks to see.
(When given more than 2.5 seconds, Nick Foles had a passer rating of 120.0 which is just... insanity.)
Wilson's passer rating is 110.3 when he throws in less than 2.5 seconds (5th in the NFL) and just 92.6 when it's more than that.
Play Action
Wilson went to play action on 34.1% of his dropbacks, which was the highest mark in the NFL.
Manning went to play action on 25.6% of his dropbacks, which was seventh, but Manning was killer on PA passes. His Y/A was +4.6 compared to no PA, and his rating was 136.8, the highest in the NFL. That went down to 107.7 on no PA, still second best in the NFL, but not other-worldly.
Wilson's rating was 112.3 on PA, fifth in the NFL, and 95.1 on no PA, fifth in the NFL.
Under Pressure
We know that these two offensive lines have been described as being on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of talent level, but here are a few other numbers to describe what these quarterbacks have had to go through this season.
Wilson was under pressure (UP) on 43.8% of his dropbacks, which was the highest mark in the NFL. However, when he's UP, only 19.8% of those turn into sacks, which was only eighth-highest in the league. UP he had 21 throwaways, 10 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and completed 49.3% of his attempts.
Manning was UP on 22.7% of his dropbacks, which was the lowest mark in the NFL. But he was sacked on just 11% of those UP dropbacks, best mark in the league. He threw six touchdowns and three interceptions, so if Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril and Chris Clemons and Bruce Irvin and Tony McDaniel and Brandon Mebane and (I don't think Broncos fans know how deep we are on the front seven) can provide pressure, it'll do a lot to contain Manning as best we can.
Deep Passing
These two guys actually share some traits in common here.
Wilson and Manning were 1-2 on Accuracy Percentage on deep pass attempts (DPA.) Wilson had a mark of 48.3, Manning was at 48.2. Wilson was third in highest percentage of his attempts being deep, while Manning was 12th. However, Manning attempts a lot of passes and is good, so his 38 deep completions were the most in the league. Wilson's 27 were fourth.
Manning had 12 TD/5 INT on DPA and Wilson had 9 TD/5 INT.
Quarterback Accuracy
Manning was extremely accurate. If you take away drops, spikes, and throwaways, Manning completed 77% of his PAs, third-best in the league. Wilson's was only 71.9%, which was 17th.
However, Manning dealt with a drop on 6.5% of his PAs, sixth-highest. Wilson had to deal with a drop 3.4% of his PAs, which was the best mark in the NFL. I'm kind of sick and tired of hearing that the Denver receivers are extremely better than ours. Just look deeper at the numbers. Don't be lazy.
Speaking of lazy, I haven't even packed yet. This is really the only reason a guy like me needs to get a life and a girlfriend; I'm leaving in 29 minutes and have not even packed yet. Yikes!
Enjoy the numbers and GO HAWKS!!! Tomorrow will be the best day of your sports fandom.
