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We know that Carson Palmer started not so well in 2013 and ended strong. We know he threw too many interceptions. We also know, based on the whole series of stats we have used to look at Palmer's season, that he was pretty even across the board.
The one thing we can note is that he was more effective at a quicker, shorter passing game, whether that was a product of his skills or the time he had to throw the ball.
Today we look at how he did against defensive schemes; namely, the number of defensive backs on the field. The numbers come from PFF's breakdown of all QBs and scheme.
Of Palmer's 572 pass attempts, he faced a base defense with four defensive backs for 200 of his throws. He faced five DBs (nickel) on 260 throws. He faced six or more on 100 throws. Not charted by PFF were 12 throws left unaccounted for, which must have been goalline packages with less than four DBs.
He saw extra defensive backs over 62 percent of the time. The league saw extra defensive backs over 70 percent of the time. This could be attributed to the fact that Bruce Arians likes the flexibility of having two tight ends in the game, perhaps more than other coaches. (I don't have the numbers to back that up.)
So what do Palmer's numbers look like against different numbers of DBs?
Base (four DBs):
Palmer was 130/200 (65 percent complete) for 1570 yards, 11 scores and seven interceptions. Only three other QBs had more passing attempts against a base defense -- Drew Brees, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick.
Palmer got rid of the ball in 2.46 seconds on average and felt pressure in 2.26 seconds. He was sacked 15 times. The league average was 2.82 seconds until the throw and pressure in 2.58 seconds.
Was better than the mean in yards per attempt (7.9 for Palmer vs. 7.5 for the league), depth of throw (10.1 yards vs. 9.1 yards) and QB rating (92.7 vs. 89.0).
Palmer got the ball away quicker and the line did not hold up as well as the league average.
Five or more DBs:
Palmer was 224/360 (62.2 percent complete) for 2632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He completed passes at a higher rate than the league, but he obviously was more prone to turnovers.
Palmer was almost identical with getting rid of the ball. While facing base defenses, he got rid of the ball on average in 2.46 seconds. Against more DBs, it was 2.45 seconds. The difference, though, was in pressure. Pressure came in 2.17 seconds, which almost a tenth of a second faster than in base packages.
Again, he got rid of the ball faster than the league mean (2.74 seconds) and the league felt pressure less quickly (2.41 seconds). He was sacked 25 times, which was 14.4 throws per sack. It was 13.3 throws per sack against base defenses.
His throws were on average 9.7 yards down the field and his yards per attempts was 7.3. The league's average was 8.7 yards down the field and 7.0 yards per attempt.
PFF graded him as among the bottom third in their grading system. However, he graded higher than Tom Brady. He and Brady were very similar in QB rating -- Palmer with 77.2 and Brady with 78.2. Palmer was one of the worst at interceptions. Only Ryan Tannehill's 16, Geno Smith's 17, Joe Flacco's 20 and Eli Manning's 25 were more against more than four DBs.
Less than four DBs:
There were not many throws. He was 8/12 for 72 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
