Mike check: Vick's 4th-quarter performance
What did the Giants do to contain Michael Vick for 52 minutes? And what did Vick do differently in the fourth quarter? Here's a detailed look at his performance.
Mike check: Vick's 4th-quarter performance
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Michael Vick completed 21 of 35 passes for 242 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's comeback win against the Giants.
He also used his legs for more big plays than we've seen all season, carrying 10 times for 130 yards.
For three-plus quarters, though, the Giants bottled up Vick and the Eagles' offense. So how'd they do it? And will other teams be able to replicate their success? What changed in the fourth quarter anyway, as Vick and the Birds looked unstoppable?
Here's a stab at answering those questions and more.
As always, let's start with pass distribution.
| Targets | Catches | Yards | YAC | Drops | |
| Jeremy Maclin | 9 | 7 | 59 | 11 | 0 |
| DeSean Jackson | 8 | 3 | 52 | 20 | 0 |
| LeSean McCoy | 6 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 0 |
| Jason Avant | 5 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Celek | 3 | 2 | 72 | 37 | 0 |
| Jerome Harrison | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Clay Harbor | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 33 | 21 | 242 | 80 | 0 |
As you can see, Vick went to his playmakers. Maclin was the most-targeted receiver, as he caught seven balls and a pair of touchdowns. He really played an effective overall game. Maclin was wide open deep on one play in the second half and would have had a third touchdown if Vick had been able to put more on his throw. But he was pressured and severely underthrwe it.
Also, don't forget about Maclin's block on the Brent Celek TD.
Vick looked to Jackson quite a bit, but didn't have as much success. His throw on the first play from scrimmage was off-target. Jackson had the 30-yard catch on the play where he fumbled, but Andy Reid didn't challenge. On the season, he has 15 catches of 25 yards or more, second in the NFL to Denver's Brandon Lloyd.
McCoy has not been a factor in the passing game the last two weeks. What really stuck out to me when watching Vick's throws again was that the Giants had a great gameplan and were extremely prepared. There were plays where you could tell New York's defensive players saw something they recognized and knew exactly what was coming. That was the case when the Eagles ran screens to McCoy. And it didn't help that the offensive linemen missed their blocks. McCoy has seven catches for 17 yards in the last two weeks.
Avant had three catches for 35 yards. There was a third down in the first where he had a chance, but couldn't make the catch. The throw was high, though, so I did not count it as a drop.
And Celek, of course, had the huge 65-yard grab. As I mentioned earlier this week, Celek bobbled the ball initially before gaining control and taking off for the end zone. He got open again on the first play of the final drive, but Vick was off-target with his throw. It would have been a gain of 20-plus yards.
Overall, seven different players had catches.
There were two passes that were batted down at the line of scrimmage, where the target was unclear. That's why I only have 33 targets listed even though Vick had 35 pass attempts.
THE BLITZ, PRESSURE, SHOTGUN, ETC.
This section really reveals the most about how the Giants defended Vick, and how the Eagles came back.
The single biggest factor in the Eagles' struggling during the first three quarters was their failure to hit on any big plays against the blitz. And the biggest single factor in them coming back in the fourth was their effectiveness against the blitz.
The numbers really are staggering. Overall, the Giants blitzed Vick on 23 of 45 dropbacks (51.1 percent). Through three quarters, Vick had been blitzed 14 times. On those plays, he was 4-for-10 for 17 yards and an interception. Vick was also sacked three times on those blitzes and carried once for 1 yard for what was essentially another sack. The first 14 times the Giants blitzed, the Eagles' longest play went for 8 yards.
And then there was the fourth quarter.
The Giants kept blitzing - nine times in the final 15 minutes. On those plays, Vick was 3-for-6 for 88 yards and three touchdowns. Maybe more importantly, he carried three times for 90 yards.
In the fourth, the Eagles had four plays of 20 yards or more against the blitz. Three were runs by Vick, and the other was the touchdown to Celek. More than anything else, Vick's ability to burn the Giants with his legs when they blitzed him turned the game around.
Overall, he was 7-for-16 for 105 yards against the blitz. Maclin was Vick's go-to guy against the blitz. Seven of nine targets and five of seven completions to Maclin were against the blitz. Vick threw to Jackson four times against the blitz, and failed to complete a single pass.
It's worth noting that the previous week, the Cowboys blitzed Vick effectively. He completed just 6 of 11 passes for 16 yards in that one.
Vick was 12-for-17 for 113 yards under center and 9-for-18 for 129 yards from the shotgun.
THIRD DOWN, RED ZONE
For the second straight week, the Eagles were 4-for-11 on third downs. But, overall, they were even worse than the numbers indicate.
Vick completed just one pass all game on third down, finishing 1-for-5 for 18 yards. He was sacked three times on third down. Twice on designed runs, he successfully moved the chains.
But the one improvised run proved to be huge - Vick's 33-yard carry on 3rd-and-10 from the Eagles' 12 on their final scoring drive.
The Eagles were 3-for-4 in the red zone. And Vick was sharp. He completed 5 of 7 throws for 37 yards and a pair of touchdowns (both to Maclin). He also carried once for a 4-yard touchdown.
In the past three weeks, the Eagles are 9-for-13 in the red zone.
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.
| Completions | Attempts | Yards | |
| Short | 10 | 15 | 51 |
| Mid | 8 | 10 | 78 |
| Deep | 2 | 5 | 48 |
| Bomb | 1 | 3 | 65 |
Interesting note: Vick did not attempt a Mid pass until the 15th time he dropped back. In other words, he was either going for big plays or throwing short. No intermediate attempts where Jackson and Maclin could make plays after the catch.
The only Bomb completion was the 65-yarder to Celek. The two incompletions were to Jackson and Maclin. The two deep completions were to Jackson and Avant.
I'm not too concerned about the pedestrian numbers on the Short throws. Teams are obviously game-planning well for the screens to McCoy, but the Eagles should still find success there in spots down the stretch.
OVERALL
It's true that for 52 minutes, Vick looked different from the player we've been watching all season.
I think the Giants deserve a lot of credit for that. They confused Vick with their blitzes. They hit him early and often. And they used their size up front to bat down five balls at the line of scrimmage. Remember, the Giants had faced Vick less than a month earlier, and they used that game to build a great gameplan in this one.
But then there was Vick in the fourth quarter. When the Giants blitzed and he saw a lane, he didn't scramble and look for receivers downfield. He took off. And that proved to be one of the most important aspects of the game. Vick's decisiveness and instincts. He took the Eagles to another level in the final 15 minutes, compelting 7 of 14 passes for 152 yards and running four times for 94 yards. Two touchdowns through the air; one more on the ground.
The Eagles are now 8-1 in games that Vick has started and finished.
And week after week, they are winning in the fourth quarter.
Vick's QB rating in the fourth on the season is 113.8. That's higher than Tom Brady. That's higher than Drew Brees. That's higher than Peyton Manning. It's higher than every quarterback in the league except for (go figure) David Garrard.
But there's an even better stat: fourth-quarter performance when the Eagles are either winning or losing by seven points or fewer. In other words, when it's a one-possession game; when a win or a loss can be determined by one play, by one mistake.
In those situations, Vick has a QB rating of 138.7.
Keep in mind that QB rating does not even take into account Vick's performance as a runner. The big plays with his legs were devastating to the Giants' defense. On the season, Vick has eight carries of 20 yards or more (three came in the fourth quarter against the Giants). That's seventh in the NFL. I'm including running backs here. It's more than Adrian Peterson. And it's the same number as guys like Michael Turner and Maurice Jones-Drew.
He's not perfect, and he can be contained in stretches. But no team's done it for a full game. The Eagles are averaging just under 34 points in games that he's started and finished. They've scored no fewer than 26 points in any of those games.
Winning the final two and earning a first-round bye is of great importance. There's no question Vick's body could use an extra week of rest and recovery after the beating he's taken for the last seven weeks. But after Sunday, opponents know no lead is safe against the Eagles with Vick's big-play ability.
Thanks for the analysis, Sheil, and for your work on the game-time live chat. Similar analysis of NFL QBs in 4Q crunch time would edify the immensity of Vick's performance this year. QB rating plus yards gained on the ground, plus team's performance equals MVP.— SJersey Japan- Sheil, I always enjoy your analysis. I am also hoping you can shed some light on an issue that continues to trouble me. Andy's game day, sideline errors are hard enough to swallow. On top of his time mismanagement problems, I now believe Coach Reid bore the most responsibility for the first 3 disasterous quarters of football against the Giants with his challenge errors. On top of Coach Reid's ineptitude, I am bothered by his comment that they were having difficulty getting the replay feed. I would love to hear more about how this is suppose to work, and what responsibility the coaching staff has to insuring this happens properly? Were the Giants intentionally creating technical difficulties that were preventing the coaching staff access to the network feed? If so why haven't we heard more about it, and what is the league doing about it? Or is the coaching staff just incompetent in this regard?
— meatman2 - Can you pick apart those blitzes any deeper? Were they stunt blitzes on the inside, or outside corner blitzes? Was there some camoflauging the blitz and then springing them after a second or two, or were they showing blitz on the line? Did the Giants show blitz and then drop back into coverage? Did Vick ever hotread the blitz and drop the pass directly into the vacated space?
Don't expect Mac to change, Guess Job Security is the priority hear, Sad that Mac won't defend himself. Taking the High Road again. I guess time will prove that Shanahan and his son were the clowns in this. Go Eagles SEE U IN DALLAS.- So. Conclusions? If you were a defensive coordinator, how would you play the Eagles, who run an inordinate number of plays where one man, Vick, gets the football and is expected to make a play. The Eagles have done well to adjust and make 4th quarter plays in several games now. Not gonna change things, the teams will continue to blitz Vick an hope for the best.— retzlaff
- Blab blab air guitar blah blah blah. A aka DDF is a true one note wonder. Only slightly less annoying than the phiily.com ads.— pellelindburg
- That eye-popping stat about his rating late in close games is just downright SICK! This man has turned the whole LEAGUE on it's ear this year, with a team that was "scheduled" to be 9-7 or thereabouts. In other words, a non-factor in the playoffs. After Sunday, there isn't a team in the NFC that wants to play on OUR turf in the second round! (Of course we have to root for the Jets to help us out by beating Da Bears for us on Sunday!) FLY JETS FLY...J-E-T-S...Jets Jets JETS!!!— TBear
- I watched Jay Glacier last night on the NFL Network , he had said,
he is absolutely losing all his respect for McNabb. He says, Donovan
has been made a fool of by Shanahan and his kid, and all he keeps
saying, is he would like to return. Glacier said, that McNabb's agent Fletcher Smith, has done all the talking. Sterling Sharepe agreed, it is time for McNabb to talk, but as usually McNabb makes a joke out of everything, the NFL's court jester.— mikey48 - Now there's an interesting stat: 138 passer rating in the 4th quarter in tight games. Says something about the team too.
— tacklinjoe 
Comment removed.
Sheil, you deserve better support than what numbknots above offered. The constant usage of something that died many months ago is as stale as his name. Your breakdown is, as always, consise and informative. Such a far cry from the rehashing done by the others. Happy holidays to you and the future Mrs. MTC.- I think McCoy will have a much bigger impact in the passing game with Justice back at tackle, considering that's where they run the majority of the screens to.— phillyphaninchi
- WWWWWWWWHHAAAAMMMM!!!— papabear702
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- I think I hear crickets in response to your comment. Stop beating the dead horse. On the flip side, I'd really like to hear an intellegent answer from you regarding football. I'm sure you have one.
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