by Scott Kacsmar

After looking at quarterbacks and defensive performance with and without pass pressure in 2017, the final part of our pressure study focuses on the splits by the number of pass-rushers. After all, a three-man rush is not as likely to produce a pressure as a blitz.

With the help of charting from Sports Info Solutions and ESPN Stats & Info, we broke pass-rushing splits into four groups: standard four-man pressure, blitzes (five or more pass-rushers), rushes of two or three players, and all plays with a defensive back (DB) blitz. We also keep track of big blitzes (six-plus rushers), but that's the least commonly used strategy, with a frequency of 6 percent. The 2017 Saints had last year's highest rate of big blitzes at 12 percent. Data and references to big blitzes can be found in the upcoming Football Outsiders Almanac 2018, but we are not going to run a table below for that strategy.

The four-man rush is used 66 percent of the time, compared to 26 percent for blitzes of five-plus rushers. The three-man rush was only used 8 percent of the time, but six teams used it at least 15 percent of the time last year. The tables below show the frequency, pressure rate, and DVOA for each different type of rush. The tables are sorted by descending DVOA. Note that "DB blitzes" cross over with the other three categories. Sometimes they have four pass-rushers, sometimes five or more, and very rarely they have three.

Four-Man Rush

Defense Four Pass-Rushers Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk JAX 83.7% 1 34.4% 3 -26.7% 1 LAR 61.1% 19 29.3% 21 -18.8% 2 SEA 76.8% 5 28.8% 23 -10.8% 3 PIT 60.9% 20 33.0% 5 -5.4% 4 BAL 66.8% 14 30.9% 13 -5.3% 5 MIN 73.3% 9 31.6% 9 -1.4% 6 PHI 78.9% 3 31.9% 8 -0.5% 7 WAS 63.5% 16 35.0% 2 -0.4% 8 CAR 55.4% 27 32.1% 7 -0.3% 9 BUF 74.1% 6 28.2% 27 -0.3% 10 LAC 73.6% 8 30.5% 15 -0.1% 11 CHI 61.6% 17 30.9% 12 1.0% 12 ARI 60.5% 21 27.1% 30 4.4% 13 DET 69.6% 13 29.8% 17 6.5% 14 NO 54.6% 30 26.9% 31 12.1% 15 DAL 69.6% 12 35.4% 1 13.9% 16 Defense Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk KC 60.5% 22 30.6% 14 14.0% 17 ATL 73.1% 10 31.1% 10 14.6% 18 DEN 59.5% 23 28.9% 22 16.7% 19 CIN 83.1% 2 34.2% 4 18.7% 20 NE 55.0% 28 29.4% 19 19.7% 21 NYG 57.8% 26 28.1% 28 20.7% 22 SF 74.0% 7 28.4% 25 23.0% 23 GB 61.4% 18 28.4% 24 23.5% 24 NYJ 53.7% 32 29.4% 20 24.0% 25 TEN 54.7% 29 30.2% 16 26.1% 26 TB 77.3% 4 24.1% 32 27.0% 27 IND 58.5% 24 32.6% 6 27.8% 28 OAK 72.7% 11 29.8% 18 28.2% 29 CLE 54.1% 31 28.1% 29 28.2% 30 HOU 58.1% 25 31.0% 11 32.5% 31 MIA 65.8% 15 28.4% 26 44.0% 32 NFL 65.8% - 30.3% - 10.3% -

It is always nice to be able to pressure without blitzing, but the coverage still has to be there for that to work. For example, Dallas had the best pressure rate (35.4 percent) with a four-man rush, but was a mediocre 16th in DVOA after a season that saw none of its defensive backs (save for Byron Jones) chart well in coverage. It was somewhat surprising to see the Rams have a below-average pressure rate (ranked 21st) with a four-man rush, but they still finished No. 2 in DVOA. One would assume the coverage can only get better after adding Marcus Peters (ball magnet) and Aqib Talib (ranked third in adjusted yards per pass last year), but Ndamukong Suh has never played in a Wade Phillips' style 3-4 defense before. It will be interesting to see if Suh and Aaron Donald attack as well when lined up as defensive ends instead of pairing together in their more natural position of defensive tackle.

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Cincinnati and Jacksonville were the only defenses to use a four-man rush more than 80 percent of the time, but the Bengals were nowhere close to being able to cover as well as Jacksonville's secondary. That's why the Bengals were 20th in DVOA despite the fourth-highest pressure rate with a four-man rush. With veteran Adam Jones gone, this is a big year for those three former first-round picks (Dre Kirkpatrick, Darqueze Dennard, and William Jackson) to step up.

Not surprisingly, Tampa Bay had the weakest pass rush with a four-man rush, which it used 77.3 percent of the time. That strategy should be more viable this year with the defensive line additions of Jason Pierre-Paul, Vinny Curry, and Vita Vea. If we're still writing next year about Tampa Bay's pass rush disappointing, then you can guarantee we'll also be writing about replacements for head coach Dirk Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Smith. No pressure, guys.

Blitzes (Five or More Rushers)

Defense 5+ Pass Rushers (Blitzes) Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk BAL 26.4% 14 36.3% 26 -32.2% 1 MIN 24.4% 16 39.3% 25 -31.6% 2 JAX 14.3% 32 53.8% 2 -27.5% 3 PHI 19.0% 26 50.9% 4 -24.4% 4 CIN 15.2% 31 50.0% 6 -23.4% 5 NO 37.9% 3 45.8% 11 -22.3% 6 MIA 28.8% 12 35.3% 28 -14.8% 7 WAS 29.6% 11 50.6% 5 -13.0% 8 ARI 32.4% 9 41.8% 22 -10.9% 9 PIT 22.5% 19 51.6% 3 -4.2% 10 LAR 34.0% 6 39.6% 23 -4.0% 11 CHI 23.4% 17 42.5% 19 -3.0% 12 DEN 36.1% 4 47.1% 9 -2.5% 13 NYJ 35.0% 5 42.6% 18 -2.1% 14 CAR 42.7% 1 44.1% 16 -1.4% 15 LAC 16.8% 30 46.3% 10 -1.4% 16 Defense Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk HOU 33.0% 8 34.1% 29 1.3% 17 DAL 20.7% 23 49.6% 7 3.4% 18 DET 24.9% 15 35.9% 27 6.9% 19 TEN 32.0% 10 42.5% 20 13.3% 20 CLE 38.0% 2 45.5% 14 19.9% 21 BUF 23.2% 18 33.3% 30 21.6% 22 NE 21.2% 21 32.6% 31 22.9% 23 SEA 18.7% 28 54.5% 1 24.8% 24 ATL 20.2% 24 41.9% 21 25.6% 25 GB 33.2% 7 39.5% 24 26.7% 26 SF 22.4% 20 45.4% 15 29.3% 27 NYG 26.7% 13 45.7% 13 31.0% 28 OAK 19.1% 25 32.1% 32 44.4% 29 TB 19.0% 27 45.7% 12 50.7% 30 IND 21.1% 22 47.8% 8 55.3% 31 KC 17.7% 29 43.0% 17 61.6% 32 NFL 25.9% - 42.9% - 5.3% -

Jacksonville's four-man rush was obviously effective, with the third-best pressure rate and best DVOA. That's why they used a standard four-man rush more frequently than any other defense at 83.7 percent. They blitzed the least frequently of any team in the league, (14.3 percent) but they were very impressive when blitzing too, producing the second-highest pressure rate and third-best DVOA. The coverage of the Ravens and Vikings helped them to the top two spots in DVOA when blitzing, because neither had an impressive pressure rate (ranked 25th and 26th). The Eagles didn't blitz often (26th in frequency), but when they did it was very effective, with a No. 4 ranking in both pressure rate and DVOA.

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Carolina was the blitz-happiest defense at 42.7 percent, but produced mediocre results with the blitz, especially compared to the four-man rush where the Panthers ranked ninth in DVOA. To get back to Cincinnati, the Bengals probably should have considered blitzing more as they ranked sixth in pressure rate and fifth in DVOA, but only used it 15.2 percent of the time (ranked 31st).

Two of the least effective blitzing defenses last year also featured two of the youngest secondaries: Cleveland (25th in snap-weighted age) and Green Bay (29th). Those were the only two defenses to rank in the top 12 in blitz frequency, but in the bottom 12 in DVOA. The Browns liked to send pressure (No. 2 in frequency) in chasing that elusive first win, but that's also a common trait of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Green Bay was No. 7 in frequency, but just 24th in pressure rate and 26th in DVOA. New defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, a disciple of Rex Ryan, may want to dial things back a bit this year given the inexperience still in that secondary. The revamped defensive line (Muhammad Wilkerson joining Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels) may have to become the strength of the pass rush.

Three-Man Rush

The following plays include plays where just two defenders rushed, but we are generally viewing this as a three-man rush.

Defense 2-3 Pass Rushers Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk PHI 2.1% 29 30.8% 6 -79.1% 1 BUF 2.7% 27 31.3% 5 -76.6% 2 ARI 7.0% 15 28.6% 10 -54.8% 3 MIN 2.3% 28 23.1% 22 -45.7% 4 WAS 6.9% 16 35.0% 3 -38.4% 5 NO 7.4% 14 25.0% 18 -28.0% 6 CIN 1.7% 32 20.0% 27 -13.8% 7 JAX 2.0% 30 36.4% 2 -6.5% 8 LAC 9.6% 10 25.9% 15 -5.2% 9 SF 3.6% 26 23.8% 21 -4.8% 10 TB 3.8% 25 19.0% 29 -2.1% 11 MIA 5.4% 21 24.1% 19 -1.0% 12 NYG 15.5% 5 25.0% 16 3.7% 13 GB 5.4% 20 20.7% 25 4.5% 14 KC 21.8% 2 29.5% 8 4.7% 15 BAL 6.8% 17 26.8% 11 10.2% 16 Defense Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk TEN 13.3% 7 22.1% 23 12.9% 17 PIT 16.6% 4 28.9% 9 14.6% 18 IND 20.4% 3 26.6% 13 14.8% 19 DAL 9.6% 9 33.3% 4 16.2% 20 NE 23.7% 1 26.5% 14 17.0% 21 DEN 4.4% 24 30.4% 7 18.7% 22 CLE 7.9% 13 23.8% 20 19.9% 23 HOU 9.0% 11 25.0% 17 22.4% 24 LAR 4.9% 22 40.0% 1 23.3% 25 OAK 8.1% 12 26.7% 12 24.9% 26 CHI 15.0% 6 16.3% 32 31.2% 27 DET 5.5% 19 21.9% 24 44.5% 28 NYJ 11.3% 8 19.7% 28 65.9% 29 ATL 6.7% 18 20.5% 26 73.5% 30 SEA 4.5% 23 18.5% 30 78.3% 31 CAR 1.9% 31 18.2% 31 81.7% 32 NFL 8.4% - 25.7% - 11.3% -

Some trends from 2016 carried over into 2017. Namely, the Patriots love the three-man rush more than anyone, and the Eagles are great at it (best DVOA), but rarely ever use it. Part of New England's interest in it is to protect leads, but the Colts and Giants -- two teams that combined for seven wins -- were also among the top five defenses in using that strategy.

Carolina was wise to almost never use the three-man rush, because it produced the second-worst pressure rate (18 percent) and the worst DVOA (81.7%) when doing so. In the category of "ass-backwards coaching," John Fox's Bears had the worst pressure rate (16 percent) with a three-man rush, but still used it more than all but five defenses. Let's hope that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio fixes that, because he is the one staying after Fox was fired.

Defensive Back Blitzes

This includes any play where a defensive back rushed the passer, no matter how many pass-rushers the defense actually used.

Defense Defensive Back Blitzes Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk BAL 14.2% 4 44.2% 22 -99.5% 1 MIN 7.0% 22 42.5% 25 -73.6% 2 MIA 11.3% 10 34.4% 30 -64.6% 3 NO 10.6% 13 57.1% 8 -47.5% 4 PHI 9.5% 15 46.6% 19 -45.7% 5 WAS 4.8% 30 46.4% 20 -45.1% 6 JAX 8.8% 17 57.1% 9 -33.3% 7 DEN 6.8% 24 60.0% 7 -32.7% 8 SEA 3.5% 31 71.4% 1 -26.6% 9 CIN 6.8% 23 70.7% 2 -25.6% 10 ARI 13.0% 6 55.1% 11 -19.7% 11 HOU 12.9% 7 39.1% 27 -10.7% 12 PIT 14.8% 2 38.8% 28 -6.6% 13 NE 7.4% 20 42.6% 24 -5.5% 14 LAR 5.3% 28 50.0% 15 -4.3% 15 KC 5.8% 27 62.9% 5 -3.4% 16 Defense Frequency Rk Pressure Rate Rk DVOA Rk SF 7.4% 19 62.8% 6 -0.3% 17 CAR 13.5% 5 48.7% 16 1.2% 18 DAL 10.6% 12 54.0% 13 2.6% 19 ATL 2.4% 32 64.3% 4 4.6% 20 LAC 6.5% 25 48.6% 17 8.4% 21 CLE 16.0% 1 54.1% 12 16.6% 22 NYJ 12.9% 8 42.7% 23 19.0% 23 GB 9.6% 14 45.1% 21 21.5% 24 TEN 11.9% 9 40.3% 26 22.0% 25 CHI 6.1% 26 31.4% 31 24.3% 26 BUF 9.3% 16 27.8% 32 38.5% 27 NYG 14.7% 3 51.8% 14 43.9% 28 DET 10.6% 11 46.8% 18 49.3% 29 OAK 7.9% 18 38.6% 29 54.0% 30 TB 4.9% 29 55.6% 10 70.1% 31 IND 7.1% 21 68.4% 3 71.9% 32 NFL 9.2% - 48.4% - -4.4% -

The DB blitz was very much an AFC North thing with the Browns (16.0 percent), Steelers (14.8 percent), and Ravens (14.2 percent) all ranking among the top four in frequency. Baltimore was the most successful by DVOA. The Seahawks had the best pressure rate, but they only used DB blitzes on 3.5 percent of plays, less than any team except Atlanta (2.4 percent). That's not likely a coincidence given that Atlanta coach Dan Quinn used to be Pete Carroll's defensive coordinator in Seattle. We'd say that maybe Seattle should blitz more defensive backs this year, but we'll first have to learn who those players are after the departures of Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor.

The Colts had the third-highest pressure rate on DB blitzes, but finished 32nd in DVOA. This is similar to the overall pressure results where the Colts were No. 9 in pressure rate, but 30th in DVOA with pressure. Only Dallas (second in pressure rate, 25th in DVOA with pressure) had a bigger difference, so the Colts' coverage was still exposed even when the rush got there. It is worth noting that Indianapolis' new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus just spent the last seven seasons coaching linebackers in Dallas. Hopefully he'll shake this trend from his defenses last year.