How teams attacked Vick in 2011
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
How teams attacked Vick in 2011
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
As part of the research for my article on Michael Vick in the 2012 Eagles Almanac, I took a detailed look at how teams defended him last season.
Here's a look at how many pass rushers defenses sent at Vick. Of course, there's always some guesswork involved, but the numbers came from charting every snap where Vick dropped back to pass - sacks and scrambles included.
| No. of Pass Rushers | Percentage of Plays |
| 3 or fewer | 9.9% |
| 4 | 54.7% |
| 5 | 24.9% |
| 6 | 8.3% |
| 7 or more | 2.2% |
If we count a blitz as any play in which the defense sends more than four rushers, Vick was blitzed 35.4 percent of the time last year. More often than not (64.6 percent), defenses stuck with four rushers or fewer.
How did Vick perform against different numbers of pass rushers? Here's a look at completion percentage and yards per attempt:
| No. of Pass Rushers | Comp. % | Yards Per Attempt |
| 3 or fewer | 77.5% | 11.8 |
| 4 | 57.8% | 7.4 |
| 5 | 64.1% | 8.9 |
| 6 | 52.8% | 4.9 |
| 7 or more | 42.9% | 3.1 |
Rushing three was not the way to defend Vick. The Eagles’ offensive line was able to protect him in those situations, and the team’s pass-catching weapons can still get open, even with eight defenders in coverage. Vick was 31-for-40 for 470 yards when teams rushed only three.
When teams rushed four and dropped seven into coverage, Vick’s numbers were pedestrian. He completed 57.8 percent of his passes and averaged 7.4 yards per attempt.
Vick’s numbers against five rushers look great – 64.1 completion percentage and 8.9 yards per attempt – but he was sacked quite a bit on these plays. Vick was sacked 8.1 percent of the time when defenses sent five rushers his way; that number was only 2.6 percent when defenses rushed four. In other words, just one extra rusher made a huge difference.
The numbers against six or more rushers were not good. Vick completed just 22 of 43 passes (51.2 percent) for 199 yards (4.6 YPA) on those plays.
Overall, against the blitz, Vick completed 60.3 percent of his passes and averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. He completed 60.7 percent of his non-blitz throws and averaged 8.1 yards per attempt.
Looking ahead to 2012, I would expect teams to choose their spots with the big blitzes of six rushers or more. If the Eagles send their receivers deep downfield, and Vick breaks the line of scrimmage, those plays can lead to huge gains and are risky for opposing defenses (think back to the comeback game against the Giants in 2010).
The best way to defend Vick is probably with four or five pass rushers. A lot of this comes down to the play of the Eagles' offensive line. Teams were not effective at sacking Vick without sending extra pressure last year. That could change if Demetress Bell doesn't adequately fill in at left tackle for Jason Peters, or if Danny Watkins doesn't improve at right guard in his second season.
But by sending four or five, defenses force Vick to go through his progressions, and they protect themselves in the event that he takes off and runs.
Anyway, this is just part of what I focused on in my (long-winded) analysis. I also covered Vick's injuries, sacks, turnovers, passing targets and more. As I mentioned yesterday, the Eagles Almanac is chalk full of good information and well worth your time as we count down the days to Lehigh.
You can follow me on Twitter or become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Buy 2012 Eagles tickets 
This team is in trouble. The quarterback turns over the ball too often. Bell is NOT a real answer for Peters going down. Maclin is too small and cost us two wins last year. Jackson is not good enough at creating space in the red zone. The linebackers aren't good enough. Reid is not good enough at making changes during the game. Plus, where is the leadership that holds players accountable. The fact is that this team is fighting for third place in the division. Finally, look at the schedule. They'll be lucky to go 9-7.— rubicon24- These "stat" pieces are a complete joke. They can be used to paint nearly any picture you'd like. There are too many variables attached.
For instance, the type of play called, down and distance, against which defense were certain plays called, injury factors for both teams, etc. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
You can tell when someone has never actually "played" the game, yet they somehow think they "understand" it. - Guess which QB led the league in turnovers one year ago? Answer: Eli Manning.
Bell doesn't have to be answer. He only needs to be a starter.
Jackson is the home-run threat, not the red zone threat. We have others for that scenario. Besides, Reid finally started using McCoy in the Red Zone during the last 6 games (with excellent results).
Leadership held Jackson accountable last season.
While I consider Reid to be a weak link, his inconsistencies didn't prevent us from getting to the SB 8 years ago, hopefully he's grown enough since then. - Hate to break it to you but 9-7 won the division last year. I disagree with all but Jackson not creating space and reid not being able to adjust. Maclin bulked up, we have real linebackers now, and Bell just needs to be average. The line was much worse off last year. — hisler
- So they are good enough to win 9 games, thats what you are saying? That means they would win more often than not. Yet, not one positive point in the post. Same exact things can be said about the Cowboys and the Giants.— penncrow19
- In the past 6 years or so, no one has bashed Reid and the front office more than I. I watched this organization trade its way out of SB contention, draft its way out of competitiveness, coach its way out of the playoffs, and penny-pinch its way out getting the most from its players.
However, I'm not "stuck on stupid." Things have changed, and so have I. We had a normal/good draft (on paper). The coach has grown to the point where he will actually run the ball. The players are happy. And just for good measure, Reid's lost 60 lbs. and seems have take a healthier approach to life.
Certainly, Reid still has faults, but what coach doesn't? I like our chances this season. If for no other reason, we have undeniably "owned" the NFC East.
I consider myself neither a hater, nor a guzzler, but an open-minded realist. - So they are good enough to win 9 games, thats what you are saying? That means they would win more often than not. Yet, not one positive point in the post. Same exact things can be said about the Cowboys and the Giants.— penncrow19
- Mike in LA, great post! Obviously, Sheil was in love with Kolb and remains bitter. Sheil, burn the Kolb jersey. It just might help with the healing.
- Hey, Rubicon 24; What would you do? What is your game plan? If you were the owner or GM or coach, how would you go about the off season to improve our team from what it is now.? If we are in so much trouble, how are we going to win 9 games? Be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. You have no idea how we will do next year anymore than I do. I just know that we will be better and we are not in trouble. Go root for Dalls. See ya.— usedtobefromphilly
- 9 wins was enough for the Giants last year.— tpizza
- tpizza - 9 wins was not nearly enough for the Giants.
they went out and won 4 more.— ekw555 - So, no one has an answer for any of the issues I brought up?
What would I do? I would have fired Andy Reid. His winning percentage since he went to the Super Bowl is 53%. He has only won a playoff game TWICE in the last seven years. I would have gone after Bill Cowher. Or Jon Gruden. This team needs an attitude adjustment. I would NOT have signed Ryans. How many guys ever return from his Achilles injury? I would have spent some of that eighteen million still available on depth.
By the way, I would NOT have spent money on Vick. I would not have drafted Maclin when linebacker was a greater need. I would not have drafted Kolb. I would have drafted Pierre-Paul instead of an undersized "end" from Michigan.
By the way, the Giants can get away with winning nine games. Eli Manning is a championship-winning quarterback. Coughlin is a championship-winning coach.— rubicon24 - This comment has been deleted. — bedpan
- Bill Cowher took 13 years to get a Superbowl. Jon Gruden is a tool that took over a great team. — Cr0we
- 4 years ago, Eli was a turnover waiting to happen. These things can be fixed. Take away the turnovers and Vick is a great QB. And how could you say we needed LB more than WR in 2009? Who did we have? Curtis? Brown? Ryans already returned from his achilles. He played last season. Personally, I think all our receivers are weak... except maybe Avant, but even he has been faltering. — Cr0we
Follow
Sheil on Twitter. And become
a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds
coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Download it here.
