Pro Football Focus is sitting on a goldmine of charting information and is using it in Twitter bursts this offseason. Presumably because of SEC Media Days, the group has been going tidbit-crazy about the SEC and, in many cases, Mizzou. Let's see what these stats can tell us about Mizzou in 2015.
The route Maty Mauk had the highest QB rating throwing in 2014 was the In-Route. He was 9 of 12 for 148 yds & 1 TD. pic.twitter.com/pK6nI4CYzV
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) June 27, 2015
One of the things we've come to suspect with Mauk is that he has to see a guy open before he throws the ball. He's not necessarily the best at throwing a guy open, but if he can get a clear read, he can fire the ball in as well as anybody in teh country.
This tracks with his apparent in-route success. A receiver running a good in route is going to be coming toward the middle of the field and presenting a big, open target to hit. Granted, Mauk was only throwing one of these per game, but it was a strength when he threw it.
In 2014, 479 of Russell Hansbrough's 1083 yards came on runs of 15+ yds, a 44.2% Breakaway % was 6th best in the #SEC pic.twitter.com/aL1L5EYtLU
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 6, 2015
Hansbrough had a pretty funny ability in 2014. His 15+ runs were pretty rare, but when he had one, it seemed he was going to have one with plenty of room to run. He had a 68-yarder against Indiana, a 49-yarder against Texas A&M, and a 78-yarder against Minnesota. Those three runs alone accounted for 195 of the 479 yards referenced above.
And I mean, hey, that's not a bad tendency, even if it's totally random.
Marcus Murphy allowed 1 pressure on 63 pass blocks in 2014. His 98.8 pass blocking efficiency tied for 5th in the FBS pic.twitter.com/kjGLoRk1Ea
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 10, 2015
One added drawback of Marcus Murphy lining up in the slot at times (other than "he was new to it and wasn't great at it" and "it was further proof that Mizzou was lacking depth at receiver"): it took a pretty good pass blocker out of the backfield.
Jimmie Hunt’s 50% Catch Rate on passes over 20 yards ranked 4TH IN THE SEC in 2014. #mizzou pic.twitter.com/oygfAbb3pk
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) June 29, 2015
That was aided, of course, by his absurd performance in the SEC title game. But he turned the Tennessee and Arkansas games with big catches, too. Mizzou will miss Bud Sasser's reliability, but the Tigers were at their best when Hunt was roaming deep, too.
In 2014, Sean Culkin ran 77.6% of his routes from the slot. The highest % among #SEC TE's and 4th in the FBS #Mizzou pic.twitter.com/BpqhOYIloB
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 7, 2015
Kind of an interesting tidbit if only from a deception standpoint. Mizzou tight ends actually lined up tight more frequently last year than in previous years, but it was a dead giveaway: if he's lined up tight, Mizzou's probably running the ball. Mizzou was still pretty good in those obvious-run situations, but it certainly suggests that leaking him out from the line in play-action a few more times might work to Mizzou's benefit. (It might also result in more success for Culkin; he and Mauk just weren't on the same page last year, and his catch rate and per-target averages were some of the worst in the country for tight ends.)
In 2014, Evan Boehm gave up 0 hits, 0 sacks & 8 hurries. His 98.8 Pass Blocking Efficiency was 2nd for Centers in SEC pic.twitter.com/l6lLaHC58l
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 1, 2015
In 2014, Mitch Morse had 1 sack, 6 hits & 11 hurries. His Pass Blocking Efficiency was 6th for OTs in the SEC in 2014 pic.twitter.com/5sRwqDpzUr
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 4, 2015
Connor McGovern's 5 pressures on 148 pass blocks in 2014 led to a Pass Blocking Efficiency of 97.5 - 5th for SEC OTs. pic.twitter.com/CgxXS9G9jc
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 11, 2015
In 2014, Maty Mauk's average time to throw of 3.03 seconds was tied for 4th longest in the FBS and 1st in the #SEC pic.twitter.com/SOBNFjaU6t
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 14, 2015
Want further proof that the Indiana game was just about the biggest anomaly ever? Indiana generated constant pressure in that game, often from straight up the middle, but against teams with actually good pass rushes, the line held up. (I guess they're assigning all of the Indiana breakdowns to Mizzou guards instead of Boehm. Probably fair.)
This also hints at why Mizzou is so willing to move McGovern to tackle when he's such a good guard: he's also probably a better tackle than we're giving him credit for.
Will #mizzou miss Ray's 2014 pass rush? Maybe not b/c Charles Harris pressured the QB on 11% of pass rushes. Ray 12%. pic.twitter.com/Ycx2vENX6t
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 5, 2015
Markus Golden forced 61 pressures pass rushing from the left side in 2014. This # was **24 MORE** than the 2nd best. pic.twitter.com/01dAjJWicW
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 12, 2015
The Golden tidbit further suggests that he was Mizzou's best end when healthy, but the Harris stat is encouraging. Harris looked lost at times, and (again with the Indiana game), the Indiana game turned when IU realized that they could do things to him that they didn't think they could do to Golden (mostly in run-blocking). We'll see how he holds up against the run, but his spring pass rush success might not have been a mirage.
In 2014, Matt Hoch ranked 1st in DT Run Stop Percentage in the SEC. He also had zero missed tackles all year. #mizzou pic.twitter.com/GfLidjqyzT
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 2, 2015
In 2014, #mizzou's DT's combined to miss only 4 tackles vs. 78 tackles. Their 5% MT rate was 2nd best in the SEC. pic.twitter.com/s3tjpMexZL
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 3, 2015
Even without Harold Brantley, we're still relatively excited about Mizzou's tackles because of Josh Augusta, Rickey Hatley, Terry Beckner Jr., and company. But Hoch and Lucas Vincent were very instrumental in Mizzou's run success last year. There's a high bar to clear here.
When in coverage in 2014, Michael Scherer was targeted every 11.3 snaps. This RANKED 3RD in the #SEC for inside LBs. pic.twitter.com/NpXRY3VKi2
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 8, 2015
Of all 4-3 OLBs in the #SEC, Kentrell Brothers' 70 solo tackles **RANKED 1ST** in the entire conference #Mizzou pic.twitter.com/ZWJRXNuarA
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) July 13, 2015
I THINK that once-per-11.3-snaps tidbit is good, meaning he was targeted less than others. That says good things about his agility and coverage ability. And of course, Mizzou has one of the surest tacklers in the league in Brothers. If the tackles are missing a few more tackles this year, Brothers will be tested even further.
In 2014, QB's had a 34.1 QB Rating when throwing in Aarion Penton's coverage - that RANKED 2ND for all CB's in SEC. pic.twitter.com/jwE7zAa1tJ
— Jack Farrell (@PFF_Jack) June 30, 2015
There's plenty of reason to worry about the run defense considering Harris' struggles and the turnover at tackle. But between Harris' pass rushing and what really could be an immaculate secondary, I can't even pretend to worry about the pass defense just yet.