Week 5 QB Support: HIGHS AND LOWS

WEEK 5'S TOP FOUR QB SUPPORT LEVELS:

TEAM	QB	RESULT	QB SUPPORT
49ERS	A. Smith	WIN	6.630
BEARS	J. Cutler	WIN	5.830
CHIEFS	M. Cassell	LOSS	5.500
RAMS	S. Bradford	WIN	5.415

 
Once Again, Jay Cutler and Alex Smith found themselves with very high support levels, allowing them to cruise to an easy victory. The 49ers defense held the Bills to only three points, and Smith’s teammates added 262 rushing yards to help steamroll their opponent. Cutler’s defense put up an even more impressive performance. Not only did the Bears D hold the Jaguars to three points, they also added two defensive TDs. Meanwhile, the Bears rushing attack was also nothing to sneeze at. Cutler’s teammates ran for 191 yards on 31 carries. I should note that both Cutler and Smith added fairly strong performances themselves, but their efforts were used to expand the blowout rather than provide the critical difference between a win or a loss.

Meanwhile, Sam Bradford showed how little you need from a QB when support levels are up around 5. Bradford completed only 1/3 of his 21 passes for 141 yards on Thursday night. The Rams defense, however, held Arizona to three points, Greg Zuerlein booted a 53 yarder, and the ground game helped chew up the clock providing a decent, though admittedly not great, 111 yards.  Bradford’s performance was far from stellar, but it was enough to hold onto the win.

The same could not be said for Matt Cassell. Cassell benefitted from a strong defensive performance (holding the Ravens to 9 points even with one of Cassell’s turnovers giving the Ravens the ball around mid-field) and a robust ground attack (200 yards rushing). He also had decent field position, starting with the ball inside the Ravens 40 yard line twice. And yet, Cassell had no answer for the Ravens pass defense, guiding the Chiefs to only six points and their fourth loss of the season.

WEEK 5'S BOTTOM FOUR QB SUPPORT LEVELS:

TEAM

QB

RESULT

QB SUPPORT

BROWNS	B. Wheeden	LOSS	0.830
TITANS	M. Hasselback	LOSS	0.080
BILLS	R. Fitzpatrick	LOSS	-0.730
BRONCOS	P. Manning	LOSS	-1.035

Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Matt Hasselback did not exactly have strong games this week. Still, it’s tough to throw their losses entirely at their feet. Hasselback and Fitzpatrick had to overcome 30 and 45 points respectively, and neither got much help in terms of field position or their teams rushing attack (42 and 88 yards). Their mediocre play might have made their games closer, but it’s unlikely either QB had a shot at winning these ones.  Brandon Wheeden also faced an uphill battle when he was charged with overcoming the New York Giants’ 41 point effort. Also, aside from one Wheeden turnover that gave the Giants possession around mid-field,  Wheeden cannot be blamed much for those 41 points. He got only 82 yards from his rushing attack, and although he enjoyed decent field position a number of times, his support levels remained low simply on account of such a poor defensive performance.  Wheeden could still help his team by cutting down on his mistakes, but having to throw 35 times in an attempt to overcome 41 points might have been too much for a lot of QBs last week.

The lowest support level of the week was provided to Peyton Manning. Not only did Manning have to overcome 31 points, but his teammates fumbled the ball TWICE after Manning and the Broncos offense had brought the ball inside the 20 yard line. Support levels were adjusted to account for Manning’s own fumble, giving the Patriots the ball inside the Denver 20, but with only 61 yards rushing and lackluster field position for most of the game, Manning’s support numbers remained low for the week.  His 345 passing yards, 3 TDs and 0 Ints helped keep the Broncos within ten, but more help from the rest of the team would have been necessary to pull out a win.