15 advanced stats to know from Rams’ first half of the season...

15 advanced stats to know from first half of Rams' season

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva


November 10, 2020

The Rams are ready to embark on the second half of their regular-season schedule, hoping to improve on their 5-3 start. They have their work cut out for them, facing a grueling slate of games still to come in November and December.

But before we look too far ahead to those upcoming games, we’re taking a look back at some key stats to know from the first half. The following statistics are courtesy of Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Reference, providing some context to the Rams’ first eight games.

1

Jared Goff averaged 2.76 seconds from snap to throw

Goff is near the middle of the pack in average time to throw, getting rid of the ball in 2.76 seconds. That’s the 19th-longest in the NFL and can be attributed to two things. It’s an indication of the offensive line giving Goff a lot of time, but can also relate to him holding onto the ball for a while – sometimes longer than he should.

2

Goff has 11th-lowest intended air yards average

The theme of this season for L.A. has been taking what the defense gives you. Goff has rarely pushed the ball downfield, averaging 7.2 air yards per attempt – 11th-lowest in the NFL. Last season, he averaged 7.8 air yards and in 2018, it was 8.8. He’s thrown underneath frequently this year.

3

Goff rarely throws into tight windows

Aggressiveness measures how often a quarterback throws into a tight window where a defender is within 1 yard of the receiver at the time of the completion or incompletion. Goff only makes such throws 13.7% of the time, which is 11th-lowest in football. For comparison, Mitchell Trubisky is No. 1 at 31.4%, followed by Joe Burrow (22.4%).

4

Goff’s completion percentage is 1% lower than expected

Goff has completed 65.5% of his passes this season, which is 1% lower than his expected completion percentage, according to Next Gen Stats. His -1% differential is 12th-worst among all quarterbacks, which indicates he should be completing slightly more passes than he is.

5

Aaron Donald has the fastest sack in the NFL this year

Donald’s fourth sack against the Washington Football Team was also the fastest in the NFL this season. He got to Alex Smith in just 2.17 seconds, knocking the ball out of the quarterback’s hand in a hurry. Keanu Neal of the Falcons has the second-fastest sack (2.2 seconds), followed by Vince Williams of the Steelers (2.26 seconds).

6

Rams allow lowest average depth of target in NFL

Opposing quarterbacks simply do not test the Rams much downfield. According to Pro Football Reference, the Rams allow the lowest average depth of target in the NFL at 7.1 yards. That’s tied with the Bills and 2.6 yards better than the Steelers, who are last in the NFL (9.7). The Rams have also allowed the fewest air yards in the league (790).

7

Rams are 20th in pressure rate

Despite having Aaron Donald, the Rams still don’t generate enough pressure on quarterbacks. They’re 20th in pressure rate this year with an average of 20.8%. The Steelers lead the league by a huge margin at 36.1%, which is 9.7% more than any other team.

8

Rams have missed 9th-fewest tackles

Much was made about the Rams’ tackling issues earlier in the season, with even Sean McVay and Brandon Staley pointing out the problem. But it seems they’ve fixed those struggles, missing just 50 tackles in eight games. That’s the ninth-fewest in football, but is still 23 more than the league-leading Colts.

9

Rams allow a pressure rate of just 15.2%

Goff hasn’t been under much pressure this season thanks to improved offensive line play. The Rams have allowed pressures on just 15.2% of Goff’s dropbacks, which is tied for third-lowest in the NFL. That’s quite indicative of how well the line has played in 2020. Like all quarterbacks, Goff is much better when given time in the pocket.

10

Goff has attempted most play-action passes of any QB

Play action has been a staple of the Rams offense this year, more so than even in years past. Goff has thrown 106 passes off play action, which is the most of any quarterback. He’s racked up 891 passing yards on those plays, which is second-most, only ranking behind the Josh Allen and the Bills (975).

11

Only 8 RBs face more loaded boxes than Darrell Henderson

Teams are focused on stopping Henderson, even though those efforts have mostly failed this season. Henderson has run the ball against loaded boxes (8-plus defenders) 27.37% of the time, which is ninth-most in the NFL. Damien Harris leads the NFL at 39.68%, which is also partly because Cam Newton is the Patriots’ quarterback and is always a threat to run.

12

Henderson ranks 4th in rushing percentage over expected

Only three running backs gain more yards than expected at a higher rate than Henderson. He ranks fourth in that department, having 48.4% of his runs go for more yards than expected by Next Gen Stats. Malcolm Brown is much lower on the list at 38.4%.

13

Gerald Everett is third in average separation, Robert Woods is 13th

On average, Everett gains 4.2 yards of separation from his defender in coverage. That’s third-best in the NFL, ahead of even George Kittle (4.0). Robert Woods is 13th in that category, creating an average of 3.7 yards of separation on his routes run.

14

Everett is last in average targeted air yards

Everett may create a lot of separation, but it doesn’t translate to throws far down the field. He has the lowest targeted air yards of any player in the NFL, averaging 5.3 air yards this season. Tyler Higbee’s targets are also an average of 6.3 yards within the line of scrimmage, which is 14th-lowest in the league. That’s not surprising when you consider how infrequently Goff throws deep downfield.

15

3 Rams rank in top 13 of YAC average

The Rams have some of the best players in the league at gaining yards after the catch. That comes down to field vision, ball placement from Goff and sometimes blocking downfield, making it a complete team effort. Woods is sixth in yards after catch per reception (7.0), but Everett (6.6) and Cooper Kupp (6.5) also rank in the top 13 of all players.