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14 Oct 2009

Smarter Stats: The Brady Rule Effect

This week's stat column for the Washington Post discusses the last five years of roughing the passer penalties, and whether marquee quarterbacks get the benefit of the doubt.

Posted by: Doug Farrar on 14 Oct 2009

11 comments, Last at 16 Oct 2009, 1:36pm by Todd S.

Comments

1
by Anonymous908752345 (not verified) :: Wed, 10/14/2009 - 10:45pm

Shouldnt there be data about how many knockdowns or dropbacks a quarter back takes per roughing call? Brady and Peyton both have good offensive lines and Jeff Garcia is always getting beaten up by deffenders so it seems natural that he would get alot of roughing calls. Otherwise,can't draw any conclusions from the data as is.

2
by bubqr :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 5:20am

Completely agree, and that is what I suggested on an earlier post. If Kvarme Harris is blocking for you, chances are you're going to get hit an awful lot, and probably will get some RTP call. It has to be adjusted.

10
by Anonymous908752345 (not verified) :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 7:29pm

In the interest of full disclosure I am a Pats fan and I think that everytime we beat the Ravens they whine about penalties but I was disappointed that this was billed as "smarter stats" and I would have to agree that the roughing call on Brady was probably not warranted.

3
by jimm (not verified) :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 8:16am

I would guess there is a correlation between the number of hits a QB takes and the number of roughing the passer penalties. If that was the case the Brady's and Manning's of the world would see less of such calls as they were hit less frequently than most QB's through the time period listed.

11
by Todd S. :: Fri, 10/16/2009 - 1:36pm

Apparently the NFL also thinks it's more than a graze?

http://www.sbnation.com/2009/10/15/1087160/kyle-vanden-bosch-fined-for-p...

Did Suggs get fined for his hit on Brady?

4
by John (not verified) :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 8:53am

...grazed Manning's legs with incidental contact

I'd have to go look at the video, but to my recollection Vanden Bosch did far more than graze his leg. I remember a forceful hit as he sprung forward at Manning's knee.

6
by Todd S. :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 12:34pm

That's the way I remember it, too. I don't think anyone would confuse Suggs' grazing Brady's legs with Vanden Bosch grazing Manning's legs.

But I'm a Colts fan, so I'm completely biased.

7
by Marcumzilla :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 12:52pm

I agree as well. Disclaimer: I'm a Colt's fan.

However, I won't argue with someone disagreeing with the second hit being flagged. It wasn't an egregious mistake by the official, IMHO, but it could easily have went the other way.

5
by jack straw (not verified) :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 11:20am

the fact is the new rules never would have been made if brady hadn't gotten hurt last season. the nfl is becoming a joke. how bout they just play flag football? it seems thats where they are headed. hitting is part of the game so suck it up. pretty soon there will be better tackling in soccer.

8
by bsr (not verified) :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 4:48pm

This is a fact? I don't think it is. The "Brady Rule" is nothing more then a amendment to the "Palmer Rule". You couldn't hit a QB in the knees for years.

9
by John (not verified) :: Thu, 10/15/2009 - 5:27pm

...better tackling in soccer

Interesting comparison. Note that in soccer, you never tackle an immobile player with feet firmly planted, and in football, the only player likely to be tackled in that position is the quarterback.

I think there's a strong case to be made that, regardless of the league's financial incentive to protect the QBs, these guys genuinely shouldn't be treated the same as the other players. Nobody else on the team faces quite the same battle with the immutable laws of physics.