O-Line 'Em Up: Which QBs Are Holding the Ball Too Long?

"O-Line 'Em Up" is a regular feature that analyzes offensive line play each week of the 2010 season.

Every week, O'Line 'Em Up focuses on some aspect of offensive line play, but when it comes to sacks, it's not all about the offensive line. Even if a line plays well, if the wide receivers don't get open or the quarterback holds the ball, then the sack totals are going to climb.

So here's a look at which quarterbacks have held the ball for a long time on sacks, and which ones get rid of the ball quickly. I've logged the time of each sack in the NFL this year. Now, it's possible that a quarterback could get rid of the ball quickly on all other plays, but holds the ball too long when he gets sacked (it's possible but highly unlikely). But what we're just studying here is how long the quarterback holds the ball when he's sacked.

If you're wondering, the median time for sacks in the NFL in 2010 is 2.7 seconds (it was also 2.7 seconds in 2009). So in case you're wondering how long a quarterback has to get rid of the ball before his internal alarm clock should start ringing, it's 2.7 seconds. The average time of every NFL sack is 3.0 seconds, but that time is skewed by the occasional six-second sack -- a lengthy sack can take six, seven or even eight seconds, but on the other end of the spectrum, no sacks occur in less than one second.

Quarterback	Sacks	Mean Time Of Sack	Median Time
Josh Johnson, TB	1	3.5	3.5
Vince Young, TEN	8	3.73	3.45
Dennis Dixon, PIT	5	3.26	3.3
Jake Delhomme, CLE	1	3.3	3.3
Jason Campbell, OAK	14	3.69	3.25
Todd Collins, CHI	3	3.27	3.2
Colt McCoy, CLE	6	3.13	3.15
Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	6	3.08	3.1
Brett Favre, MIN	17	3.2	3.1
Joe Flacco, BAL	14	3.51	3.1
Matt Cassell, KC	12	3.37	3.1
Michael Vick, PHI	13	3.19	3.1
Seneca Wallace, CLE	6	3.65	3.05
Charlie Batch, PIT	4	3.73	3
Kevin Kolb, PHI	11	3.21	3
Kyle Orton, DEN	21	3	2.9
Tarvaris Jackson, MIN	1	2.9	2.9
Chad Henne, MIA	13	2.75	2.8
Josh Freeman, TB	16	3.16	2.8
Drew Staton, DET	2	2.8	2.8
Jay Cutler, CHI	28	3	2.75
Philip Rivers, SD	22	2.93	2.75
Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF	12	2.79	2.75
Shaun Hill, DET	8	2.83	2.75
Aaron Rodgers, GB	18	2.73	2.7
Chase Daniels, NO	1	2.7	2.7
Jimmy Clausen, CAR	12	2.68	2.7
Jon Kitna, DAL	9	2.98	2.7
Kerry Collins, TEN	5	2.6	2.7
Matt Ryan, ATL	13	2.82	2.7
Matt Stafford, DET	4	3.88	2.7
Sam Bradford, STL	17	3.52	2.7
Tom Brady, NE	13	3.03	2.7
Trent Edwards, BUF/JAX	9	2.72	2.7
Carson Palmer, CIN	14	2.61	2.65
Derek Anderson, ARI	16	2.81	2.65
Alex Smith, SF	13	3.13	2.6
Donovan McNabb, WAS	25	2.89	2.6
Matt Schaub, HOU	21	2.9	2.6
Todd Bouman, JAX	1	2.6	2.6
David Garrard, JAX	14	2.89	2.55
Max Hall, ARI	12	3.15	2.55
Eli Manning, NYG	12	2.57	2.5
Matt Hasselback, SEA	22	2.63	2.5
Matt Moore, CAR	12	2.68	2.5
Mark Sanchez, NYJ	12	3.09	2.45
Bruce Gradkowski, OAK	7	2.36	2.4
Drew Brees, NO	13	2.65	2.4
Peyton Manning, IND	10	2.5	2.4
Tony Romo, DAL	7	2.91	2.4
Caleb Hanie, CHI	2	2.35	2.35
Tony Pike, CAR	1	2.2	2.2
David Carr, SF	1	1.5	1.5

Manning and Brees would rank near the top of the chart for getting rid of the ball last year as well -- when they get sacked, it almost always is the fault of their offensive line. Brady is usually among that list as well, but he has five sacks this year of three-plus seconds. Either Brady is taking longer to go through his progressions (unlikely) or his receivers are having more trouble getting open (likely).

On the other end of the spectrum, Jason Campbell is not an offensive lineman's best friend. He may have the Raiders winning some football games, but he's also had five sacks this season where he held the ball for 3.5 seconds or more, and three sacks where he held the ball for more than six seconds.

Vince Young also appears at the top of the list for long sacks -- Tennessee's pass protection is still exceptional. But the Titans use plenty of rollouts to take advantage of Young's mobility. That often works, but when everyone is covered, Young gets some sacks where he holds the ball too long. Of his eight sacks this season, only two have happened in less than three seconds.

It's also worth noting that Ben Roethlisberger has been blamed in part for the Steelers' high sack totals over the past several years, but it appears to also be part of the Steelers' play design. All three Steelers quarterbacks who have started this season have a median sack time of three or more seconds. Four of Roethlisberger's six sacks have taken three or more seconds. Three of Dennis Dixon's five sacks took three or more seconds and two of Batch's four sacks took more than three seconds.