Mythbusters: Slovis sacks were all his fault

[West Coast Panther]

I have read countless threads about how the five sacks were all on Kedon holding the ball for too long. I will attempt to do a bit of post game video analysis to break down this assertion and see whether it is true, just a myth or something in between.

Disclaimer: I am not going to cover all of the the plays when he dropped back in the pocket. In general, I will agree that he holds onto the ball longer than any other QB we've seen in Pittsburgh in a long time - especially considering Ben/Steelers that have prioritized getting the ball off quickly (<3 seconds) behind a shaky offensive line.

Specifically, I will use a youtube video of the game to cover the five sacks -

video is here

1:24 - Slovis is sacked slightly beyond the 3 second mark, but the pocket had collapsed so quickly in front of him that he was out of options at 2 seconds. OL - 1 ; KS-0

4:38 - Sacked while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. He starts slipping to the right after three seconds of a clean pocket because #12 shakes free from his block. Slovis doesnt recognize that the right edge rusher has a free shot from behind. This is probably the hardest of the 5 to attribute blame, but i'll say equal share goes to OL and QB. cumulative score OL-1.5 ; KS - 0.5

13:33 - Slovis sacked at 3.5 seconds, but the pocket breaks down at the 2 second mark from the left edge rush. As he slides to his left to escape the pressure, 55 has stunted around the right side of the line to shut him down for the sack. Inextricably, our punter decides to babywalk for 10 steps for artificial hangtime on the very next play and gets his punt blocked (his effort to try to tackle the guy who recovered was lame at best) . Seven point swing, amplifies the sack. cumulative score OL-2.5 - KS 0.5

23:25 - completely clean pocket for a full three seconds, still had time to unload by 4 seconds and sacked scrambling backwards at 5. Bad sack 100% on Slovis. Had time to dump for coverage issues. Cumulative score OL2.5 - KS 1.5

23:50 - completely clean pocket for 4 seconds and even time at 4.5 to get rid of ball. Sacked after 5 second. Bad sack, second in the series when Pitt is down by 7. Situationally, not great and amplifies the mistake.

Final Score - OL - 2.5 KS - 2.5

All in all, I don't believe that Slovis deserves to get as much grief as he has taken for the sacks. That said, I do agree with most that his situational awareness needs to be better - and as a result needs to get rid of the ball out of bounds instead of taking the loss.

WCP

 

[9nationalchampionships]

I have read countless threads about how the five sacks were all on Kedon holding the ball for too long. I will attempt to do a bit of post game video analysis to break down this assertion and see whether it is true, just a myth or something in between.

Disclaimer: I am not going to cover all of the the plays when he dropped back in the pocket. In general, I will agree that he holds onto the ball longer than any other QB we've seen in Pittsburgh in a long time - especially considering Ben/Steelers that have prioritized getting the ball off quickly (<3 seconds) behind a shaky offensive line.

Specifically, I will use a youtube video of the game to cover the five sacks -

video is here

1:24 - Slovis is sacked slightly beyond the 3 second mark, but the pocket had collapsed so quickly in front of him that he was out of options at 2 seconds. OL - 1 ; KS-0

4:38 - Sacked while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. He starts slipping to the right after three seconds of a clean pocket because #12 shakes free from his block. Slovis doesnt recognize that the right edge rusher has a free shot from behind. This is probably the hardest of the 5 to attribute blame, but i'll say equal share goes to OL and QB. cumulative score OL-1.5 ; KS - 0.5

13:33 - Slovis sacked at 3.5 seconds, but the pocket breaks down at the 2 second mark from the left edge rush. As he slides to his left to escape the pressure, 55 has stunted around the right side of the line to shut him down for the sack. Inextricably, our punter decides to babywalk for 10 steps for artificial hangtime on the very next play and gets his punt blocked (his effort to try to tackle the guy who recovered was lame at best) . Seven point swing, amplifies the sack. cumulative score OL-2.5 - KS 0.5

23:25 - completely clean pocket for a full three seconds, still had time to unload by 4 seconds and sacked scrambling backwards at 5. Bad sack 100% on Slovis. Had time to dump for coverage issues. Cumulative score OL2.5 - KS 1.5

23:50 - completely clean pocket for 4 seconds and even time at 4.5 to get rid of ball. Sacked after 5 second. Bad sack, second in the series when Pitt is down by 7. Situationally, not great and amplifies the mistake.

Final Score - OL - 2.5 KS - 2.5

All in all, I don't believe that Slovis deserves to get as much grief as he has taken for the sacks. That said, I do agree with most that his situational awareness needs to be better - and as a result needs to get rid of the ball out of bounds instead of taking the loss.

WCP

Very fair assessment

 

[upj87]

I have read countless threads about how the five sacks were all on Kedon holding the ball for too long. I will attempt to do a bit of post game video analysis to break down this assertion and see whether it is true, just a myth or something in between.

Disclaimer: I am not going to cover all of the the plays when he dropped back in the pocket. In general, I will agree that he holds onto the ball longer than any other QB we've seen in Pittsburgh in a long time - especially considering Ben/Steelers that have prioritized getting the ball off quickly (<3 seconds) behind a shaky offensive line.

Specifically, I will use a youtube video of the game to cover the five sacks -

video is here

1:24 - Slovis is sacked slightly beyond the 3 second mark, but the pocket had collapsed so quickly in front of him that he was out of options at 2 seconds. OL - 1 ; KS-0

4:38 - Sacked while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. He starts slipping to the right after three seconds of a clean pocket because #12 shakes free from his block. Slovis doesnt recognize that the right edge rusher has a free shot from behind. This is probably the hardest of the 5 to attribute blame, but i'll say equal share goes to OL and QB. cumulative score OL-1.5 ; KS - 0.5

13:33 - Slovis sacked at 3.5 seconds, but the pocket breaks down at the 2 second mark from the left edge rush. As he slides to his left to escape the pressure, 55 has stunted around the right side of the line to shut him down for the sack. Inextricably, our punter decides to babywalk for 10 steps for artificial hangtime on the very next play and gets his punt blocked (his effort to try to tackle the guy who recovered was lame at best) . Seven point swing, amplifies the sack. cumulative score OL-2.5 - KS 0.5

23:25 - completely clean pocket for a full three seconds, still had time to unload by 4 seconds and sacked scrambling backwards at 5. Bad sack 100% on Slovis. Had time to dump for coverage issues. Cumulative score OL2.5 - KS 1.5

23:50 - completely clean pocket for 4 seconds and even time at 4.5 to get rid of ball. Sacked after 5 second. Bad sack, second in the series when Pitt is down by 7. Situationally, not great and amplifies the mistake.

Final Score - OL - 2.5 KS - 2.5

All in all, I don't believe that Slovis deserves to get as much grief as he has taken for the sacks. That said, I do agree with most that his situational awareness needs to be better - and as a result needs to get rid of the ball out of bounds instead of taking the loss.

WCP

countless? A tad dramatic don't ya think?

 

[West Coast Panther]

shit ton didnt seem right

 

[OH Pete]

While I thought Kedon had a solid debut and agree that all of the sacks weren’t his fault, the 2 that were his fault were really bad, especially given the game situation at that time. If Kedon wants to be who I think he wants to be, he needs to avoid those kind of sacks in those situations. Throw the ball away.

 

[caleco's]

I have read countless threads about how the five sacks were all on Kedon holding the ball for too long. I will attempt to do a bit of post game video analysis to break down this assertion and see whether it is true, just a myth or something in between.

Disclaimer: I am not going to cover all of the the plays when he dropped back in the pocket. In general, I will agree that he holds onto the ball longer than any other QB we've seen in Pittsburgh in a long time - especially considering Ben/Steelers that have prioritized getting the ball off quickly (<3 seconds) behind a shaky offensive line.

Specifically, I will use a youtube video of the game to cover the five sacks -

video is here

1:24 - Slovis is sacked slightly beyond the 3 second mark, but the pocket had collapsed so quickly in front of him that he was out of options at 2 seconds. OL - 1 ; KS-0

4:38 - Sacked while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. He starts slipping to the right after three seconds of a clean pocket because #12 shakes free from his block. Slovis doesnt recognize that the right edge rusher has a free shot from behind. This is probably the hardest of the 5 to attribute blame, but i'll say equal share goes to OL and QB. cumulative score OL-1.5 ; KS - 0.5

13:33 - Slovis sacked at 3.5 seconds, but the pocket breaks down at the 2 second mark from the left edge rush. As he slides to his left to escape the pressure, 55 has stunted around the right side of the line to shut him down for the sack. Inextricably, our punter decides to babywalk for 10 steps for artificial hangtime on the very next play and gets his punt blocked (his effort to try to tackle the guy who recovered was lame at best) . Seven point swing, amplifies the sack. cumulative score OL-2.5 - KS 0.5

23:25 - completely clean pocket for a full three seconds, still had time to unload by 4 seconds and sacked scrambling backwards at 5. Bad sack 100% on Slovis. Had time to dump for coverage issues. Cumulative score OL2.5 - KS 1.5

23:50 - completely clean pocket for 4 seconds and even time at 4.5 to get rid of ball. Sacked after 5 second. Bad sack, second in the series when Pitt is down by 7. Situationally, not great and amplifies the mistake.

Final Score - OL - 2.5 KS - 2.5

All in all, I don't believe that Slovis deserves to get as much grief as he has taken for the sacks. That said, I do agree with most that his situational awareness needs to be better - and as a result needs to get rid of the ball out of bounds instead of taking the loss.

WCP

This reinforces to me how the world this exact same line from last year was some sort of fortress. Experience doesnt always mean good

 

[MikeatUPITT5]

This reinforces to me how the world this exact same line from last year was some sort of fortress. Experience doesnt always mean good

I agree, but they also aren't bad, they need to shape up on the running game and what not, but if we're being honest, the OL is not one of our primary worries right now

 

[OH Pete]

I agree, but they also aren't bad, they need to shape up on the running game and what not, but if we're being honest, the OL is not one of our primary worries right now

I'm more concerned about our LBs' ability to handle the RPO and worried about our DBs being on islands defending deep sideline routes.

 

[pittdan77]

4:38 - Sacked while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. He starts slipping to the right after three seconds of a clean pocket because #12 shakes free from his block. Slovis doesnt recognize that the right edge rusher has a free shot from behind. This is probably the hardest of the 5 to attribute blame, but i'll say equal share goes to OL and QB. cumulative score OL-1.5 ; KS - 0.5

I think it's this specific play that is being used as a proof point. While there was pressure, he should have stepped forward instead of bailing to the right. He probably would have still gotten sacked but he would have been able to continue his progression. Then again, it's possible he recognized he didn't have a throw and decided to bail. Not a QB and I don't like to defend them but that's a fair counterpoint.

I'll go beyond that a little. The OL did struggle at times with a heavy blitz and WVU deserves some credit for maintaining great lanes. I don't know what was going on downfield but given some of Duzz's frustration and the couple of times it looked like WR's weren't in the right place, the problem might be a bit more that just bad OL play. Not defending the OL out of turn, just wondering out loud.

 

[OH Pete]

II don't know what was going on downfield but given some of Duzz's frustration and the couple of times it looked like WR's weren't in the right place, the problem might be a bit more that just bad OL play. Not defending the OL out of turn, just wondering out loud.

He had someone wide open (I think Means) down the middle of the field on one of the sacks. But the other bad sack was very well covered. No where to throw.

 

[pittdan77]

He had someone wide open (I think Means) down the middle of the field on one of the sacks. But the other bad sack was very well covered. No where to throw.

Not easy to see on TV. Not laying blame anywhere because I just haven't seen enough to say. Be willing to bet there were a combination of things.

 

[PITT 76]

The overall pass game stats were respectable. From time to time, QBs will have to eat the ball. However, I believe he should have lost less yardage on those sacks. Either throw the ball away or stand in there without retreating.

To Slovis's credit, he did not throw interceptions. Taking a sack
surely beats turning it over. Additionally, receivers running improper routes probably contributed to those losses.

At least once, I saw 2 receivers run to the exact same spot in the center of the field. If both the line and receivers can clean up their play just a little, Slovis will look much better.

 

[bignorthu2]

Ball should be out in 3 secs to be on schedule as they say. So where he’s got no play throw it away.

 

[cease10]

There were maybe one or two sacks I recall in which I felt were the RB's Izzy fault. Lazy blocking or he totally covered no one. Izzy was brutal those first few series. The blocking drastically improved when Hammond entered the game.

 

[RaleighPittFan]

There were maybe one or two sacks I recall in which I felt were the RB's Izzy fault. Lazy blocking or he totally covered no one. Izzy was brutal those first few series. The blocking drastically improved when Hammond entered the game.

I honestly think that’s a big reason why Vincent got so much playing time last year.

 

[Jakhny]

I saw Izzy block very well. He can't be expected to hold a block forever.

 

[President Stache]

I have read countless threads about how the five sacks were all on Kedon holding the ball for too long. I will attempt to do a bit of post game video analysis to break down this assertion and see whether it is true, just a myth or something in between.

Disclaimer: I am not going to cover all of the the plays when he dropped back in the pocket. In general, I will agree that he holds onto the ball longer than any other QB we've seen in Pittsburgh in a long time - especially considering Ben/Steelers that have prioritized getting the ball off quickly (<3 seconds) behind a shaky offensive line.

Specifically, I will use a youtube video of the game to cover the five sacks -

video is here

1:24 - Slovis is sacked slightly beyond the 3 second mark, but the pocket had collapsed so quickly in front of him that he was out of options at 2 seconds. OL - 1 ; KS-0

4:38 - Sacked while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. He starts slipping to the right after three seconds of a clean pocket because #12 shakes free from his block. Slovis doesnt recognize that the right edge rusher has a free shot from behind. This is probably the hardest of the 5 to attribute blame, but i'll say equal share goes to OL and QB. cumulative score OL-1.5 ; KS - 0.5

13:33 - Slovis sacked at 3.5 seconds, but the pocket breaks down at the 2 second mark from the left edge rush. As he slides to his left to escape the pressure, 55 has stunted around the right side of the line to shut him down for the sack. Inextricably, our punter decides to babywalk for 10 steps for artificial hangtime on the very next play and gets his punt blocked (his effort to try to tackle the guy who recovered was lame at best) . Seven point swing, amplifies the sack. cumulative score OL-2.5 - KS 0.5

23:25 - completely clean pocket for a full three seconds, still had time to unload by 4 seconds and sacked scrambling backwards at 5. Bad sack 100% on Slovis. Had time to dump for coverage issues. Cumulative score OL2.5 - KS 1.5

23:50 - completely clean pocket for 4 seconds and even time at 4.5 to get rid of ball. Sacked after 5 second. Bad sack, second in the series when Pitt is down by 7. Situationally, not great and amplifies the mistake.

Final Score - OL - 2.5 KS - 2.5

All in all, I don't believe that Slovis deserves to get as much grief as he has taken for the sacks. That said, I do agree with most that his situational awareness needs to be better - and as a result needs to get rid of the ball out of bounds instead of taking the loss.

WCP

Yeah, as I said, 4 out of the 5 were on him, he could have thrown the ball the away.

Now, no quarterback will be perfect, but these ones shouldnt have happened

 

[Pitt2006]

Did anyone else wonder if got injured at the 10:20 video mark sack?