62% of the variance in the sack rate for quarterbacks in the NFL in 2013 was accounted for by: 1) the percentage of pass dropbacks in which QBs were pressured, and 2) the quickness of their release of the ball, as measured by the time elapsed between the beginning of their throwing motion and when the ball left their hand.
The Dolphins' quarterback was pressured on 33.6% of the team's pass dropbacks in 2013, which placed the team in the 31st percentile, slightly below the average percentage of quarterback pressures in the league. In other words, the Dolphins' quarterback was pressured slightly less frequently than the average NFL QB.
Ryan Tannehill's average time to release the ball was 0.18 seconds, which placed him in the 50th percentile in the league, right about average.
The Dolphins were sacked on 8.8% of their pass dropbacks in 2013, which placed the team in the 97th percentile in the league, well above the league average of 6.4%.
Based on the regression coefficients in the model, the expected sack rate for the Dolphins in 2013 was 6.3%. The 2.5% difference between the Dolphins' expected sack rate (6.3%) and its actual sack rate (8.8%) was 1.63 standard deviations above the mean difference in the league in 2013, placing the Dolphins in the 95th percentile in the league in that regard, easily atop the league.
The next closest team in the league was the Browns, where Brandon Weeden's sack rate of 9.2% was 2.1% greater than his expected sack rate of 7.1%. At the other end of the spectrum, Andrew Luck's sack rate of 5.3% was 2% better than the 7.3% expected by the model. In other words, somehow the Colts and Andrew Luck were able to avoid sacks that they would've been predicted to experience based on the frequency of their QB pressure and Luck's release time.
So, what we see here is that there was something going on with regard to sacks for the 2013 Dolphins that was not accounted for by the frequency with which the quarterback was pressured, nor the quarterback's release time, and that something -- whatever it was -- made the team the biggest outlier in the league in that regard.
The Dolphins' quarterback was pressured on 33.6% of the team's pass dropbacks in 2013, which placed the team in the 31st percentile, slightly below the average percentage of quarterback pressures in the league. In other words, the Dolphins' quarterback was pressured slightly less frequently than the average NFL QB.
Ryan Tannehill's average time to release the ball was 0.18 seconds, which placed him in the 50th percentile in the league, right about average.
The Dolphins were sacked on 8.8% of their pass dropbacks in 2013, which placed the team in the 97th percentile in the league, well above the league average of 6.4%.
Based on the regression coefficients in the model, the expected sack rate for the Dolphins in 2013 was 6.3%. The 2.5% difference between the Dolphins' expected sack rate (6.3%) and its actual sack rate (8.8%) was 1.63 standard deviations above the mean difference in the league in 2013, placing the Dolphins in the 95th percentile in the league in that regard, easily atop the league.
The next closest team in the league was the Browns, where Brandon Weeden's sack rate of 9.2% was 2.1% greater than his expected sack rate of 7.1%. At the other end of the spectrum, Andrew Luck's sack rate of 5.3% was 2% better than the 7.3% expected by the model. In other words, somehow the Colts and Andrew Luck were able to avoid sacks that they would've been predicted to experience based on the frequency of their QB pressure and Luck's release time.
So, what we see here is that there was something going on with regard to sacks for the 2013 Dolphins that was not accounted for by the frequency with which the quarterback was pressured, nor the quarterback's release time, and that something -- whatever it was -- made the team the biggest outlier in the league in that regard.
