Over at cowboys.beloblog.com, Albert Breer posted an interesting analysis of the Giants pass rush and how they were successul against the Cowboys and Patriots.
Bio
E-mailHere’s how the Giants attacked Tom Brady on his 53 pass drops:
3-man pressure: 3 of 53 snaps (0 first half/3 second half)
4-man pressure: 35 of 53 snaps (11/24)
5-man pressure: 14 of 53 snaps (6/8)
6-man pressure: 1 of 53 snaps (0/1)
4-man pressure: 35 of 53 snaps (11/24)
5-man pressure: 14 of 53 snaps (6/8)
6-man pressure: 1 of 53 snaps (0/1)
BRADY NUMBERS
First Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 0-0
Vs. 4-man pressure: 5-9, 47 yards; 2 sacks
Vs. 5-man pressure: 3-5, 35 yards; Sack
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-0
Second Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 3-3, 28 yards, TD
Vs. 4-man pressure: 13-22, 121 yards; 2 sacks
Vs. 5-man pressure: 5-8, 35 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Overall
Vs. 3-man pressure: 3-3, 28 yards, TD
Vs. 4-man pressure: 18-31, 168 yards; 4 sacks
Vs. 5-man pressure: 8-13, 70 yards; Sack
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
First Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 0-0
Vs. 4-man pressure: 5-9, 47 yards; 2 sacks
Vs. 5-man pressure: 3-5, 35 yards; Sack
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-0
Second Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 3-3, 28 yards, TD
Vs. 4-man pressure: 13-22, 121 yards; 2 sacks
Vs. 5-man pressure: 5-8, 35 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Overall
Vs. 3-man pressure: 3-3, 28 yards, TD
Vs. 4-man pressure: 18-31, 168 yards; 4 sacks
Vs. 5-man pressure: 8-13, 70 yards; Sack
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
WHAT IT MEANT: Basically, that the Giants could get to Brady without selling out. It was most effective in the first half, when the Giants did a great job of disguise their rush and bringing pressure from all angles. We’ll get more into this in the Tale, but it certainly seemed like the Giants toned things down and went with a standard four-man rush in their nickel in the second half, which could’ve contributed to Brady coming on strong down the stretch.
How the Cowboys came after Eli Manning on his 22 pass drops:
4-man pressure: 11 of 22 snaps (9/2)
5-man pressure: 9 of 22 snaps (5/4)
6-man pressure: 2 of 22 snaps (1/1)
5-man pressure: 9 of 22 snaps (5/4)
6-man pressure: 2 of 22 snaps (1/1)
MANNING NUMBERS
First Half
Vs. 4-man pressure: 4-8, 104 yards, TD; Sack
Vs. 5-man pressure: 4-4, 26 yards, TD; 1 rush, 2 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Second Half
Vs. 4-man pressure: 1-2, 5 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 2-2, 17 yards; 2 sacks
Vs. 6-man pressure: 1-1, 11 yards
Overall
Vs. 4-man pressure: 5-10, 109 yards, TD; Sack
Vs. 5-man pressure: 6-6, 43 yards, TD; 2 sacks; 1 rush, 2 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
First Half
Vs. 4-man pressure: 4-8, 104 yards, TD; Sack
Vs. 5-man pressure: 4-4, 26 yards, TD; 1 rush, 2 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Second Half
Vs. 4-man pressure: 1-2, 5 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 2-2, 17 yards; 2 sacks
Vs. 6-man pressure: 1-1, 11 yards
Overall
Vs. 4-man pressure: 5-10, 109 yards, TD; Sack
Vs. 5-man pressure: 6-6, 43 yards, TD; 2 sacks; 1 rush, 2 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
WHAT IT MEANT: Well, for one thing, it means that Manning’s transformation into a quarterback who reads pressure well is continuing. In the playoffs, Manning is 15-of-16 for 130 yards and two touchdowns (140.1 rating) when facing five or more rushers, though he has taken three sacks. We’ll have much, much more on this in Tale of the Tape, but too often it seemed like the rush packages were less imaginative than they had been during the regular season, and this allowed Manning to react quickly to everything that was thrown at him, and go underneath to receivers facing soft coverage.
How the Giants came after Tony Romo on his 40 pass drops:
3-man pressure: 2 of 40 snaps (2 first half/0 second half)
4-man pressure: 25 of 40 snaps (7/18)
5-man pressure: 4 of 40 snaps (1/3)
6-man pressure: 5 of 40 snaps (4/1)
7-man pressure: 3 of 40 snaps (1/2)
8-man pressure: 1 of 40 snaps (0/1)
4-man pressure: 25 of 40 snaps (7/18)
5-man pressure: 4 of 40 snaps (1/3)
6-man pressure: 5 of 40 snaps (4/1)
7-man pressure: 3 of 40 snaps (1/2)
8-man pressure: 1 of 40 snaps (0/1)
ROMO NUMBERS
First Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
Vs. 4-man pressure: 4-6, 42 yards; 1 rush, 7 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 1-1, 13 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 2-4, 16 yards, TD
Vs. 7-man pressure: 0-1
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0
Second Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 0-0
Vs. 4-man pressure: 6-16, 71 yards, INT; Sack; 1 rush, 11 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 3-3, 32 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Vs. 7-man pressure: 1-2, 16 yards
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0; Sack
Overall
Vs. 3-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
Vs. 4-man pressure: 10-22, 113 yards, INT; Sack; 2 rush, 18 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 4-4, 45 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 2-5, 16 yards, TD
Vs. 7-man pressure: 1-3, 16 yards
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0; Sack
First Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
Vs. 4-man pressure: 4-6, 42 yards; 1 rush, 7 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 1-1, 13 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 2-4, 16 yards, TD
Vs. 7-man pressure: 0-1
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0
Second Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 0-0
Vs. 4-man pressure: 6-16, 71 yards, INT; Sack; 1 rush, 11 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 3-3, 32 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Vs. 7-man pressure: 1-2, 16 yards
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0; Sack
Overall
Vs. 3-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
Vs. 4-man pressure: 10-22, 113 yards, INT; Sack; 2 rush, 18 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 4-4, 45 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 2-5, 16 yards, TD
Vs. 7-man pressure: 1-3, 16 yards
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0; Sack
WHAT IT MEANT: For one thing, the lackluster numbers against standard, four-man pressure meant that the Giants covered well in those situations. The sack was a result of coverage, and in plenty of other cases, the coverage was good enough to get the linemen into Romo’s face, with a collapsing pocket. And after Romo showed an aptitude for dealing with the Giants’ five-man pressure, Steve Spagnuolo seemed to approach a bit of all-or-nothing approach, sending either four or the house and crowding the line at times to disguise it.
