Interesting Stats on Throwing %, Drops and YAC I put together

WIth all the discussions going on, I thought I'd put some information out there. SF's TEs & Wrs drop more passes per attempt than all but 3 teams. IF you put all teams on the same level and add those drops to the QB comp% and niners still rank #4 in having the best passing completion ratio. That's after having a bad passing game in Detroit.

Just for giggles, I added YAC per completion. I think you'll see that we average far lower than any of the top teams in this category.

Bottom line is that our WRs and TEs (as a whole since it's for the entire team) aren't helping the QB (by reducing drops or getting yac) as much as the receivers of any of the other top 10 teams.

I think alex would have a lot better stats if he got less drops...

that goes without saying.

for example.

DELANIE WALKER DROPPING A WIDEOPEN TD PASS

Interesting stats! So, Miami is far worse than any other team and then the 9ers with Cleveland, NYJ, and Colts rounding out the bottom five! The 9ers are the only winning team among this group (6% drops or greater). Saints and Patriots among the least drops...no surprise there.

Thanks, this might put Smith's stats into better perspective for many.

Well, before anyone says our WRs suck or something like that...

Some of it is Alex Smith. We all know he's not the MOST accurate QB in the league and needs to do a better job with his accuracy. It's better, no doubt, then it was in previous years, but he's gotta help out his receivers by throwing more catchable balls.

At the same time, if you're a receiver and can touch the ball with your hands, you gotta catch it. I hope this improves in the future.

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Well, before anyone says our WRs suck or something like that...

Some of it is Alex Smith. We all know he's not the MOST accurate QB in the league and needs to do a better job with his accuracy. It's better, no doubt, then it was in previous years, but he's gotta help out his receivers by throwing more catchable balls.

At the same time, if you're a receiver and can touch the ball with your hands, you gotta catch it. I hope this improves in the future.

I think Smith's inaccuracy is the result of the fallacy of common knowledge . You hear something so often that it becomes ingrained as the truth, whether accurate or not. Harbaugh stated Smith's accuracy as one of his greatest strengths...why would he say that if it were so obviously wrong? Watching Smith over the years I have always wondered how much was the scheme, coaching, WRs, etc.

When Smith and VD have a very good QBR together year after year I have concluded Smith is accurate when given a consistent target. VD is a workaholic who practices his routes and does a good job maintaining them on game day.

We started the year with Edwards and Morgan playing pretty well and now have played without either in a game Smith did not play well...not a coincidence. If and when we have a full receiving group for six or seven straight games I think you will see a very accurate QB.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Interesting stats! So, Miami is far worse than any other team and then the 9ers with Cleveland, NYJ, and Colts rounding out the bottom five! The 9ers are the only winning team among this group (6% drops or greater). Saints and Patriots among the least drops...no surprise there.

Thanks, this might put Smith's stats into better perspective for many.

Further, Cincy is the only team with less Yac per catch and are having a winning season.

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Well, before anyone says our WRs suck or something like that...

Some of it is Alex Smith. We all know he's not the MOST accurate QB in the league and needs to do a better job with his accuracy. It's better, no doubt, then it was in previous years, but he's gotta help out his receivers by throwing more catchable balls.

At the same time, if you're a receiver and can touch the ball with your hands, you gotta catch it. I hope this improves in the future.

No he's not the most accurate. As of now he's #8. Last week he was #3?

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
I think Smith's inaccuracy is the result of the fallacy of common knowledge . You hear something so often that it becomes ingrained as the truth, whether accurate or not. Harbaugh stated Smith's accuracy as one of his greatest strengths...why would he say that if it were so obviously wrong? Watching Smith over the years I have always wondered how much was the scheme, coaching, WRs, etc.

When Smith and VD have a very good QBR together year after year I have concluded Smith is accurate when given a consistent target. VD is a workaholic who practices his routes and does a good job maintaining them on game day.

We started the year with Edwards and Morgan playing pretty well and now have played without either in a game Smith did not play well...not a coincidence. If and when we have a full receiving group for six or seven straight games I think you will see a very accurate QB.

This makes sense. You're going to hear it from the haters though.

Originally posted by taney71:
This makes sense. You're going to hear it from the haters though.

I'm so happy they can say what they like!

If the receiver has to leap 10 ft into the air to catch a pass, obviously they can't run very far after the catch.

Our receivers have caught everything thrown at their numbers.

That % will only go up without morgan in there.

I have to start with, I'm an Alex supporter -- but let's be honest, he throws a lousy ball for YAC. Watch him, his throws almost always require the receiver to stop, break stride, or jump to make the catch. Or when he rolls out, he waits until the receiver is literally pinned into the sideline before he hits him.

That beautiful slant to Morgan against the Eagles for a TD -- hit him perfectly in stride -- is a rarity with Smith.

Smith lacks touch on a lot of his throws:
1. His short throws are pretty hard, but he seems better on these this season - so that is a good sign coaching has made a difference.
2. His deep middle throws, which oftern require some touch to get over LBs and drop in before safeties often sail high. Same when he throws hard on an out pattern.
3. Ironically, on his real deep throws that he has to put a lot of air under, they tend to hang and slow the receiver down, or sail wide out of bound.

So you can't blame it all on the receivers. I hope JH and staff can work on Smith's touch passing (its less about accuracy, and more about touch and leading). I'm not sure that is correctable at this late stage in his career. You can coach the heck out of something like that, but in the heat of a play, old habits come back quick. But I hope he can improve here, Smith seems real coachable on these types of things.

HearstFan--Smith is much better in all these areas this year. I disagree regarding the medium passes as he has been able to hit VD and Morgan in stride for a couple of years now as they are in sync. Very good QBR with these two guys. He is so far behind where a seventh year QB should be coaching-wise though! Harbaugh is getting him up to speed and it shows. by the end of the season I am hoping he will be hitting all his receivers in stride and making faster decisions.

I really thought he needed to work on touch for short passes last year but this year I do not see the same probelm...just once in a while. The drops by Gore have been right in his midsection, not over his head or off to the side as last years were.

The long ball is a mystery to me except that he is placing the ball away from the DB for the most part and trying to let the WRs adjust their routes. On one of his more errant throws Ginn defended and did a very good job knocking it away. That is one of the few times in years that I have seen a receiver defend a Smith pass. They usually have watched the DB catch the ball as if it was inevitable. Perhaps that is part of the problem? Edwards (and Morgan to a lesser degree) is really good at this. When the ball is in the air it belongs to him and he is physical with DBs. Crabtree was like that in college, so I hope he can rekindle this skill.

Not all is on the receivers but the same is true of Smith. I see huge strides already this year and it is like watching a baby colt learn to walk...awkward!

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Well, before anyone says our WRs suck or something like that...

Some of it is Alex Smith. We all know he's not the MOST accurate QB in the league and needs to do a better job with his accuracy. It's better, no doubt, then it was in previous years, but he's gotta help out his receivers by throwing more catchable balls.

At the same time, if you're a receiver and can touch the ball with your hands, you gotta catch it. I hope this improves in the future.

I think Smith's inaccuracy is the result of the fallacy of common knowledge . You hear something so often that it becomes ingrained as the truth, whether accurate or not. Harbaugh stated Smith's accuracy as one of his greatest strengths...why would he say that if it were so obviously wrong? Watching Smith over the years I have always wondered how much was the scheme, coaching, WRs, etc.

When Smith and VD have a very good QBR together year after year I have concluded Smith is accurate when given a consistent target. VD is a workaholic who practices his routes and does a good job maintaining them on game day.

We started the year with Edwards and Morgan playing pretty well and now have played without either in a game Smith did not play well...not a coincidence. If and when we have a full receiving group for six or seven straight games I think you will see a very accurate QB.

This post screams I LOVE ALEX!

Alex has a bad habit of over-throwing receivers for a long time. Sunday was a perfect example of "ALEX"

good work