Sometimes you notice things way more than anyone else does. In this case, I was not the guy doing the noticing. That goes to TmanTrev on Twitter who asked why the Detroit Lions have only drawn one defensive pass interference penalty this year.
I’ll be honest Trev, this one is a challenge and it will be hard to answer without looking at the film of every throw this year, but the challenge is accepted. I’ll do my best without looking at every throw this year. Here’s why this is likely happening.
Ok, Trev, I’m guessing the inquiry starts with this tweet from FTTN’s Aaron Schatz earlier this week.
I think the answer is right there in that tweet when you look at the guys who are drawing the most DPIs in the league, you’ll see that these are the “gunslingers” of the NFL. Meaning they throw way more “big-time throws” and way more “turnover-worthy” throws than anyone in the league. Take a look.
| Player | Big Time Throws | Turnover worthy throws |
|---|---|---|
|
Matthew Stafford |
14 |
9 (leads the league |
|
Sam Darnold |
20 |
8 |
|
Joe Burrow |
17 |
3 |
|
Geno Smith |
21 |
3 |
|
Aaron Rodgers |
18 |
1 |
|
Jared Goff |
9 |
2 |
When you think of a DPI you usually think of a spot foul. The reason you think that is because you’re probably used to DPIs coming after a quarterback forces a deep throw down the field in hopes that a DPI will happen. These guys throw deep all the time and they luck out when hyperactive corners or safeties get a little too grabby.
Goff doesn’t do that. He can throw deep and he sometimes does, but it’s not something that he’s had to do a lot this year. You might also note that a lot of the quarterbacks listed there are on bad teams right now. Darnold is the exception.
I would bet that those teams throw the ball a lot more than Goff and the Lions. Let me go look right now, I’ll be right back…Ok, I’m back. With the exception of Darnold, all of those guys throw the ball a lot more than Goff. Burrow has 557 attempts to Goff’s 472.
If you go look at the rushing stats of those teams then you’ll see that they’re all near the bottom of the league in rushing.
Basically what I’m saying is that these teams are playing from behind and they have to throw the ball more and try to make throws that can get chunk yards. Usually on those chunk yard throws, you see DPI’s the most.
Goff and the Lions have not had to do that very much. They’ve been able to remain balanced through games and Goff hasn’t had to try to throw the ball downfield in hopes of getting chunk yards. That’s why the only DPI he actually drew this year was a 5-yard one inside the red zone. I think that should answer the question.
