Mike Check: Evaluating Vick vs. the Rams
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Mike Check: Evaluating Vick vs. the Rams
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
We're back with another year of Mike Check, MTC's weekly feature that closely examines Michael Vick's play.
For those new to the blog, this started out as What about Kolb? last year, but quickly needed a new title.
As always, let's start with the pass distribution:
| Targets | Catches | Yards | Drops | |
| DeSean Jackson | 11 | 6 | 102 | 2 |
| Jason Avant | 7 | 3 | 40 | 0 |
| Jeremy Maclin | 3 | 1 | 20 | 0 |
| LeSean McCoy | 3 | 2 | 15 | 0 |
| Brent Celek | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| Owen Schmitt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dion Lewis | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 30 | 14 | 187 | 3 |
Vick looked for Jackson more than any other receiver, targeting him 11 times. You might see 12 targets in other box scores, but Vick was clearly throwing the ball away on one pass, and Jackson just happened to be the closest receiver, so I didn't count that one. The official box score also has Vick down for 32 attempts, but one of those was a spike to stop the clock at the end of the first half.
The one bomb to Jackson down the far sideline was a clear drop. The one in the end zone was a tough catch, but I still marked it as a drop. Probably could have gone either way there. Schmitt was targeted twice. The first attempt to him in the flat was not a great throw, but he still should have caught it. Avant, meanwhile, was unable to keep his feet in bounds on a throw to the sideline. And there was also a botched screen attempt where Vick just threw the ball into the ground.
So while Vick's stat line shows a 43.75 completion percentage for Vick, I just described seven plays where he really was not at fault for incompletions. I like stats as much as the next guy, but we need to make sure to always put them in context. That easily could have been more like 60.8 percent, had some things gone his way.
Having said that, Vick was not as accurate as usual, and Jackson made a great play on the 41-yard catch that really had no business being complete. I thought Vick and the offense struggled to get a rhythm early, but then settled down.
The Eagles ran a league-high 47 running back screens last year, according to Football Outsiders, but towards the end of 2010, it sure seemed like they had less success. That was the case here too as the Rams were able to sniff out the Eagles' screens for the most part. McCoy finished with just a pair of catches for 15 yards.
Maclin played 58 snaps, the most of any Eagles receiver. So much for easing him in, huh? He was targeted only three times.
Riley Cooper and Steve Smith played seven and five snaps, respectively, but neither was targeted.
AGAINST THE BLITZ
This will be the most important part of the feature all season. How often will defenses blitz Vick, and will he be able to burn them when they send extra defenders?
Here's what Vick's numbers looked like against 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 pass rushers. The number in parentheses in the first column is how often the Rams sent each.
| Pass Rushers | Comp. | Att. | Yds. | Rush Att. | Rush Yds. | Sacks |
| 3 (2) | 2 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 (22) | 7 | 17 | 99 | 5 | 63 | 0 |
| 5 (10) | 4 | 9 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 (2) | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 0 |
| 8 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL (42) | 14 | 31 | 187 | 8 | 100 | 3 |
The Rams blitzed Vick (defined here as sending more than four defenders) on 18 of 42 dropbacks, or 42.9 percent of the time. On those plays, Vick was 5-for-12 for 57 yards (4.75 YPA) and a touchdown. That translates to a QB rating of 94.8. All three sacks came when the Rams sent extra pressure.
Those numbers don't sound so bad, but there were issues. The Rams sent seven or eight defenders six times, and Vick failed to complete a pass in those situations. He took off and ran three times, twice threw incomplete and once was sacked.
Vick had issues when the Rams blitzed their defensive backs, and specifically their corners from the slot. That goes back to last year when the Vikings and Antoine Winfield got to him so many times. On the Eagles' first possession, the Rams sent six, including two defensive backs off the edge, and Vick was sacked.
On the sack/fumble in the red zone, the Rams sent eight defenders after Vick, and the Eagles kept seven players in to block. Obviously, that meant one defender was unaccounted for, which happened to be Quintin Mikell. The Eagles had three receivers in their routes, meaning each had one-on-one coverage. Jackson lined up in the slot and beat his man to the inside, but Vick didn’t get rid of the ball on time. It looked like that’s where he was about to go when Mikell crushed him, but Vick was too late.
On the third sack, the Rams sent two defensive backs from Vick's blind side with a zone blitz. They only rushed five, but Vick couldn't escape cornerback Justin King.
On non-blitz throws, when the Rams rushed three or four defenders, Vick went 9-for-19 for 130 yards (6.84 YPA) and a touchdown. That translated to a QB rating of 87.6. He made several good, patient, accurate throws from the pocket. The 11-yard slant to Jackson required good timing and perfect placement, both of which Vick executed.
As a runner, Vick's real numbers were eight carries for 100 yards, when you take away the three kneel-downs. He took off and ran on three of the 18 plays when the Rams blitzed, picking up 37 yards and averaging 12.3 yards per carry. The other five rushes were when the Rams sent four. On those plays, Vick picked up 63 yards on the ground and averaged 12.6 YPC.
THIRD DOWN, RED ZONE
The box score shows the Eagles were 8-for-13 on third down, but that includes the kneel-down at the end of the game.
Vick was 7-for-8 for 70 yards and a touchdown on third down. That translates to a QB rating of 153.1. He targeted six different receivers on third down, and five of them had catches that moved the chains (Jackson, Maclin, Avant, Celek, McCoy).
Vick also picked up a first with a 19-yard run. He was twice sacked on third down.
Meanwhile, the Eagles converted two of four red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. In the first quarter, Vick found McCoy for a 7-yard score. Before that, though, he made a poor decision trying to force one into Avant with a lot of defenders in the area.
In the second, Vick was sacked and fumbled. At the end of the first half, they settled for a field goal as Jackson couldn't hang on to the ball in the corner of the end zone. And he made an outstanding throw to Jackson for the 6-yard touchdown.
Jackson had only four catches for 8 yards in the red zone last year, but came through with the score in this one.
Overall, Vick was 2-for-4 for 13 yards and a pair of TDs in the red zone (not including the spike).
SUCCESS BY DISTANCE
Here's a chart of Vick's throws by distance. I used the same ranges that Football Outsiders uses so we'd have a point of reference. Short is 5 yards or less. Mid is 6 to 15 yards. Deep is 16 to 25 yards. And Bomb is more than 25 yards. These are measured from the line of scrimmage to the point where the ball is touched, hits the ground or goes out of bounds.
Michael Vick is an elite superstar, and the Eagles and their focus on pass defense will pay dividends for them in the form of a SUPER BOWL. All the best teams rely on big pass yards, which is EXACTLY what the Eagles are designed to beat. It IS Super Bowl or BUST this year, my friends. You think Brady is gonna beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl throwing to stiffs like Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker? They will be COVERED against the Eagles. VICK4MVP— brmorgen81- I'd say if they don't win it all this year they'll have an even better shot to win it the following two years as the o-line and defense mesh and evolve, assuming no major injuries at the skill positions or CB.— Leegles
- Falcon's owner Arthur Blank is going to throw everything at Michael, including all his kitchen sinks. Calls it their jail-break formation.— mccloudmj
- You are right..For Eagles this season... it's Super Bowl or Bust.....and I'll bet on bust every time.— frank105
- I thought it was way more than three drops, but you can't argue with facts.— dragoon6
- Vick completed only 48% of his passes against the stinkin' Rams....imagine how many passes he misses or is intercepted when he plays the good playoff teams with the good rushers...and the good
d-backs.— frank105 - The passing offense showed little coordination with the exception of a few quick slants and a few out patterns..The majority of offense came from Vick extending the play and hitting a reciever, or Vick brilliantly running, which the club doesn't necessarily want. The recievers did not get separation often enough to be prolific...Maclin needs to get his legs,Celek is staying in to block too much.— bearsfriend
- Sheil, as usual great report. Can you determine if the Eagles receives on the Rams overload blitzes changed and cut off their routes to become relief outlets for Vick as he was being blitzed?— Dexter
- bears, you pick you posion, you either put shady in the route or celek, Celek has a history of dropping balls, and Shady has come on to become a decent receiver. The NFL is going to sent overloads at Vick until the Receivers in the routes learn themselves to read and react to blitzing secondary personnel. Why run a 5 yard out or slant during a secondary blitz when two or three yards will be enought and give you room to run after the reception? Anyone with a Football IQ understands you can not complete your route if there's a blitz from the safeties or corner backs.— Dexter
- Correction...Vick only completed 43% of his passes against the stinkin' Rams.— frank105
- Just checked the QB rankings....Vick is DEAD LAST out of 32 quarterbacks in completion percentage with a pathetic 43% of his passes completed....Aaron Rodgers is best is 77% pass completions....even Kolb and McNabb had higher pass completion % than Vick...that's awful.— frank105
- And your point is what? Nothing really is it since the Eagles still won 31-13. Oh, I guess you're stated it should have been 70-13. Kolb played against last years worst team and McNabb threw for 39 yards total. Please. The only true numbers we should care about, especially this early in the season, is wins and losses. — SC Philly Fan
- He put points on the board, converted on third down and won. Your personal feelings toward Vick are obviously blinding you. Root for another team if you hate the guys so much. We won't miss you.
- Really what kind of person are you. You make these ridiculous comments on absolutely each and every article written about Michael Vick. What you seem not to understand Vick is the person making the millions, you on the other hand are the one sitting on a blog 24/7 making stupid comments. Now who's awful you or Michael Vick?? — charmaine
- Kolb completed 66% of his passes....Vick complted only 43% of his passes....Obviously Kolb was much more accurate than Vick, and that should be noticed because Kolb lost his job to Vick based on the first game of last season when Kolb was injured...okay now last season when Vick was injured Kolb started against the Falcons and beat them and was an amazing 23-35 passing with over 300 yards passing and three passing TD's......now Vick will play the Falcons....it's fair to see if Vick can also beat the Falcons and produce the great numbers that Kolb did....we will see.— frank105
- Are you even an Eagles fan, Frank? How can you live with yourself being so negative all the time. Why even watch the games when you know the Eagles will always fail against the good teams and have no shot at the superbowl. You're so sad. Embrassed to know you're part of the fanbase.— PhileaglyersFan
- Phileaglyers: You should be embarrased that the physcho dog killer Vick is THE FACE OF THE EAGLES..get your priorities straight dummy.— frank105
- I think I made someone sensitive and defensive. My priority is rooting for the Eagles to win the superbowl each and every year. Get over the Vick thing. Seriously. Frank: " I hate Vick. He is a criminal. He killed dogs. Therefore, Eagles have no shot at beating good teams and winning the superbowl. Get over it, seriously. Majority of people have forgiven him. From Jeff Lurie to the 68,532 fans paying to see Vick make amazing plays and help our team win, people have separated football and personal grudge. Get a life, Frank.— PhileaglyersFan
- phileaglyers: Here's a news flash, Vick was voted in a poll by Forbes Magazine as THE MOST HATED PLAYER IN SPORTS..TWO YEARS IN A ROW...There are literally MILLIONS of fans in Philly and throughout the country that will NOT SELL THEIR SOULS for the physcho dog killer Vick, just because he runs fast...yes the stadium will still be sold out with the same season ticket holders that will accept ANYBODY that puts on an Eagles jersey, and that's their right...but there are also MILLIONS of the silent majority fans in Philly and throughout the country that will NOT support the Eagles until Vick is no longer on the team....and that's their right also.
— frank105 - Ben Roethlisberger and Kobe Bryant have allegedly raped women and gotten away with it, and Ray Lewis allegedly killed a man and got away with it. Apparently you need to have a little evil in you to win some championships since they have 8 between them. Morals go out the window when you're rooting for a team Frank, so beat it! If you want to watch a bunch of squeaky clean, working-class white guys "play the game the right way", go watch some suburban high school team you geek! — tdog330
- Yea, tell it to the folks on the waiting list for Eagles tickets. He served his time and he gets to get on with his life. That's what the USA is all about. Move on, Frank. Everyone on the board knows your motivations. Your opinions of Vick's play are the rantings of someone who can't let go. It's going to eat away at you if you don't get over it.
- OK sports fans yes it was a good entertaining game. Vick is a great QB , fun for the fans to watch.
BUT what would the score have been if "The Beast " would have had 25 touches, and 6 catches. The Eagles were very lucky he hurt himself scoring a touchdown.
I ask you all, could the Eagles linebackers been able to stop that big SOB ? There is a problem in the defensive linebackers size against running backs the size of " The Beast "
GO EAGLES— boscobear - Michael Vick was voted most hated player in sports twice? I find that hard to believe. If it's true, its probably because people are stupid and value lives of dogs more than people's lives. A lot of people probably hate him cause he's really good as well. Football players have done worse things. I'll be 100% honest, if you silently don't support the Eagles because Mike Vick killed dogs, then you're not a true Eagles fan.— colahead420
- This was a throwback game for Vick and that should frighten Eagles fans. Vick completing under 50% of his passes and running 10 times was never a formula for success and won't be this year. He needs to play quarterback which he didn't really do much of yesterday or from 2005 to 2006.— philliesphan79
- Hog Wash, Had Jackson not gotten hurt there's not way he would have been able to keep up with the Eagles fire power offensively. Williams is just as capable a running back as Jackson, that being said Williams turned in a solid performance sunday with 91 rushing years. None of that changes the facts as they exist. The Rams could not score from the 1 yard line. Had DJax not dropped two Touch Downs the Eagles would have posted a 40 piece on the Rams. The Rams last year nor this year have the offensive weapons to score more than 20 points and last year had not scored 3 touchdowns in a game.
Who exactly was it that was going to score for the Rams, Gibson and Amendola? Stop, where they not Eagles rejects?
Jackson's touchdown was a result of Eagles Linebackers over pursuing and nothing more. For Christ Sake, the Rams scored one Touchdown. I'm sure Andy Reid wishes that teams employ the strategy of running on the Eagles to win. That's what the NFL Needs Vick, Jackson, Maclin and Shady on fresh legs once a quarter.— Dexter - uh, didn't the Cardinals play the PANTHERS , frank and almost lost???— cobb
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