Tag: deep ball

Russell Wilson leads NFL QBs in one interesting statistic, per PFF

Pro Football Focus ranks Russell Wilson’s deep ball as the NFL’s most accurate. Can it push the Steelers past Baltimore in Week 11?

When in doubt, let Russ cook! Every week since the Pittsburgh Steelers made the polarizing decision to bench the 4-2 Justin Fields, current starting QB Russell Wilson has proved his deep ball to be a necessity for the Pittsburgh offense.

While Wilson will never match Fields’ athletic prowess with his legs, the infamous PFF has confirmed that Wilson’s deep ball is the most accurate in the NFL.

Hitting on over 50 percent of these deep throws, his ‘moon ball’ has truly transformed the offense as a whole, and begs the question: would the Pittsburgh Steelers currently be 9-0 if Wilson had started every contest this season?

Wilson’s deep ball should be on full display against the Ravens in Week 11, as the Steelers’ offense faces one of the worst statistical defensive units against the pass.

Against Baltimore on November 17th at 1:00 PM EST, Wilson has the opportunity to do what Fields couldn’t do with Pittsburgh: go 4-0 through his first four starts with the team.

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Russell Wilson keeps cooking throughout the Steelers’ bye week

Russell Wilson stays busy during the Steelers’ Week 9 bye with practice, showing his relentless drive and proving he never stops cooking.

Champions are made when no one is watching. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson personifies this attitude, as while many players take time to rest, relax, or enjoy life outside of football during their team’s bye week, Wilson was focused on bettering his game.

Fans of the Steel City were initially hesitant when news broke that Mike Tomlin was benching QB Justin Fields in favor of Wilson, especially after Fields led the team to an impressive 4-2 start. However, Wilson has proven himself with two great back-to-back performances in Weeks 7 and 8, as well as providing the team with a leadership presence that has been sorely missed since former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2022.

Wilson wants nothing more than to bring a seventh Super Bowl title to Pittsburgh, and his work ethic should make this long-desired goal a reality. The veteran QB is most likely preparing for the tough stretch of games in the second half of the season, starting with two extremely difficult matchups consecutively: facing the Washington Commanders on the road in Week 10 and hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11.

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Geno Smith, elite thrower of the deep ball

For years, the Seahawks were recognized as having the best deep-ball thrower in the NFL. In 2023 that could still be the case.

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For years, the Seattle Seahawks were widely recognized as having perhaps the best deep-throwing quarterback in the NFL. In 2023, it could very well still be the same case.

Quarterback Geno Smith turned heads last year as he won the Comeback Player of the Year award and earned a Pro Bowl nomination. Smith set the Seahawks single-season passing yards record, and he did so in part by throwing it over the top of defenses routinely.

If Smith can replicate that success, Seattle could very well improve upon their nine-win season. The Seahawks have their sights set much higher than a quick wild-card exit, and they’re banking on Smith to be the guy to take them there.

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Dak and Dunk? More like Dak soaring 2 feet above the rim and dunking

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is again among the league’s best in terms of deep passing.

For people unfortunate enough to wander into a comment section on the internet about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, they’ve surely come across a stranger saying he is nothing more than a game manager. He can’t throw deep. He’s a dink and dunk player that should be paid pennies on the dollar. Dak and Dunk.

The only kind of dunking Prescott has been doing is on these people’s heads. In 2019 he was, according to Next Gen Stats, the best in all of football at winging it downfield.  So far in 2020, he’s not at the top of the mountain, but he remains in the top five with the best yet to come:

Prescott is another quarterback who is finding success by not playing favorites down the field. Six of his 12 deep targets have gone to Michael Gallup, producing 133 yards and a score, while four other deep targets have been intended for Amari Cooper, resulting in two catches for 86 yards.

Their new big-play threat, rookie CeeDee Lamb, has yet to receive a deep target, which tells us the Cowboys’ ceiling has yet to be reached in the passing attack.

Greater use of play-action might further unlock Dallas’ offense, too. Only one of Prescott’s 12 deep attempts has utilized the run fake, resulting in a 58-yard completion to Cooper.

For those keeping score at home, and the Cowboys Wire certainly is, he’s been ahead of the highest paid player in the league, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes both years. If the Dallas front office thinks they’ll be getting any kind of bargain in contract negotiations come 2021, they’ve got another thing coming.

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Jameis Winston named one of the NFL’s worst deep-ball quarterbacks

The New Orleans Saints had a quarterback ranked among the NFL’s worst deep-ball passers, but it wasn’t Drew Brees. Jameis Winston took fire.

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Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire listed the worst vertical passers in the NFL today, and one New Orleans Saints quarterback made the list: but it isn’t Drew Brees, who placed among the lowest-ranked passers in that category by Pro Football Focus.

Instead, Farrar took aim at one of Brees’ backups. Jameis Winston ended up catching flak for his performance last season. Farrar wrote of the former first-overall draft pick and Saints third-string quarterback:

Per Sports Info Solutions, Winston was both great and terrible on throws requiring a deep ball (seam, go, fade, post, etc,) with 164 attempts, 76 completions, 1,859 yards, 1,464 air yards, and 19 touchdowns. All of those totals led the league last year. Unfortunately, Winston’s nine interceptions on such passes also tied for second-worst in the league with Philip Rivers, who we’ll get to in a moment.

We’ll see if Winston can improve in New Orleans, but he clearly has a lot of work ahead of him. Working with coaches like Sean Payton and Joe Lombardi, with Brees providing a good model to imitate, should do him plenty of good.

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Does Deshaun Watson throw better deep ball than Russell Wilson?

NFL analyst Chris Simms believes Deshaun Watson throws the best deep ball in the NFL instead of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

NFL analyst Chris Simms recently said that Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson throws a better deep ball than Seattle Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson despite much evidence to the contrary, statistically and visually.

Some football fans voiced their displeasure on Twitter, stating that Simms should have chosen Wilson.

There are quite a few things that Wilson has excelled at throughout his career, and one of those is his deep ball.

Wilson and the Seahawks will once again have a chip on their shoulders as they enter the 2020 season in an increasingly competitive NFC West, provided it is not canceled outright due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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