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As Pro Football Focus continues to break down every QB in the league by statistics, we continue to focus on our own quarterback Carson Palmer.
Today we examine the Arizona Cardinals QB as we look at the statistics of the direction of his passes from a season ago. Sounds pretty complex doesn't it. Do not worry; it is quite simple actually, as the three major areas in focus are the left side of the field hash mark vs. the right side of the field hash mark, as well as in the middle between the numbers.
So here we go, starting with the--
Throws to the Left
Palmer was 58/99 for 704 yards with six TD's to five INT's. His completion percentage was 58.6% when throwing to the left side of the hash compared to the rest of the leagues 59.6%. Phillip Rivers led all cumbers with a 73.5% rating when throwing to left. Palmers overall Quarterback rating on the left side of the numbers ended up at 79.7(the league average was 87.5 QBR). The one stat that stood out the most was his interception percentage, which was 5.1%, compared to the rest of the leagues 2.6% mark.
Throws to the Right
When Palmer threw to the right side of the numbers (his strong side), he fared just slightly better with a 67.2% which was better than the leagues 61.1%. Palmer completed 78 passes out of 116 attempts for 821 yards with four touchdowns and only three INT's. His QBR (Quarterback rating) when throwing to the right was just 2 percentage points less than the league average (88.3 for Palmer vs. the NFL's 90.6). There certainly not mind-blowing numbers, but you can tell he had a moderate significant advantage vs. throwing to his left.
Throws down the Middle
Now here is where Palmer was most productive when throwing the football in the middle of the field. However, it also panned out to be where he was most ineffective. He would finish with an equal 14 to 14 Touchdown to interception ratio. He would go 226/324 for 2749 yards when throwing between the numbers. His completion percentage of 69.8 was just a smidge bit lower than the rest of the leagues high of 70.1%. Palmer was able to gauge a QBR of 92.0 when the league average was 94.5. That is not so bad right. Drew Brees and Payton Manning both had the statistical advantages over the rest of the QB's. Brees posted a 117.8 QBR while Manning's was 120.5.
There, that wasn't so bad was it. I am not much for stats, but for those of you who are, and feel as if I missed anything, please fill free to take a gander at the PFF link above.
As far as Palmer goes, this was definitely not his strongest area, as he may have fared better in other categories in focus. Regardless I say statistics shistics, when you have a receiving core like the Cardinals do, having the opportunity to throw to receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd , not to mention a prominent receiver out of the backfield in Andre Ellington, your chances of any kind of success are pretty good I would presume.
Of course, it all depends on Palmer and how he performs in 2014. In addition, with the talent that surrounds him now, throwing the ball in any direction whether it is to the right, left, or down the middle should bode well in any statistical category.
