Passes per Defensive Action

What it measures

Opponent passes allowed per defensive action in their build-up zone.

The question it answers

How aggressively does the team press?

In the Variation framework

PPDA counts how many passes the opponent is allowed to make per defensive action in their build-up area — a low number means aggressive pressing. It quantifies Phase 1 of the defensive model (the seven-second gegenpress window) and is later re-applied, from the attacking side, in the Lab's Reverse PPDA.