Stampede Blue
Thanks to the nflFastR project, Pro Football Focus and NFL NextGen Stats for the timely sources of data.
For those of you new to this, I will publish key QB stats each week judging how well the Colts’ QB performed. Yes, O-Line, receivers, and play-calling impact these numbers but they are primarily QB measures. I will probably modify the charts throughout the season. Commentary will be brief but feel free to let me know in the comments that stats aren’t everything. (click charts for larger view)
In week 5, Daniel Jones avoided turnovers and sacks and put up another highly efficient game, ranking 6th in both EPA efficiency and QB Success Rate. His positive plays were highly productive, while his negative plays minimized damage.
His weekly numbers show that he has been very consistent so far, with only the LA game falling short of top-tier performance. What he has done so far in Indy is nothing short of remarkable.
There’s really nothing to pick apart here. He completed plenty of passes, moved the chains consistently, and added a couple of touchdowns. He stayed under 20 air yards for most of the game, but that’s not a negative. Deep passes are exciting, but consistent completions are what get you to the end zone.
Jones still has an above average depth of target and depth of completion.
He continues to distribute the ball effectively. Downs led the team in targets, but Dulin ultimately edged him out in total yards.
For the season, Warren still leads in yards and Pittman leads in targets and I am OK with that.
The shorter throws earned less EPA, which is common.
All receivers except for Mitchell are providing outstanding value per target.
Jones’ completion rate was high, but with the shorter throws, that was expected. His CPOE dipped below average for the first time this year, but that isn’t a concern at this point. His ability to complete passes with the Colts is far ahead of where he was with the Giants.
He was very quick with his throws this week, and after adjusting for passing depth, he’s getting rid of the ball faster than almost every QB in the league. My number one complaint about the new breed of running QBs is that they hold onto the ball too long—inviting pressure and abandoning the pass to scramble, which is usually a bad trade-off. Jones doesn’t do that.
He mostly stayed within 20 yards, and it worked out well. The right side of the field wasn’t working for him this week, so it’s good that he steered away from it.
Notice the lack of red in the following graph—Jones has been effective all over the field.
mouseover definitions: epa/d, median EPA gain in similar game situation (down, distance, etc.)”>arsr, 3 yards to gain in game-neutral situations”>edp, opd, pr%, tip,...
