We are proud to share NFL Films Legend and Tape Wizard Greg Cosell’s raw notes from his film observations. We’ll be releasing his notes every week, either on Wednesday or Thursday.
DESHAUN WATSON VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Lions sub nickel: Oruwariye and Trufant the outside corners with Coleman the slot corner, Harmon and Kearse were the safeties
Lions sub dime featured 3 safeties with Walker the third safety, It was predominantly 3-2-6 dime with Collins and Davis the LB
First 3rd and long (3rd + 7) Fuller was the boundary x on the back side of trips in 11 3x1 set
Lions continued to play big nickel versus 12 personnel with safeties Kearse, Harmon and Harris
Texans continued to feature no huddle tempo going empty out of 12 personnel: Spread the opponent’s base defense – Overall empty out of 12 personnel has been a foundation of the Texans offense
Lions first three 3rd and long snaps out of 3-2-6 dime: cover 1 blitz, cover 2 behind 4 man rush, 1 robber with Davis spy on Watson – Results: Fuller 1st reception, Sack, Incompletion
Johnson 33 yard TD reception on 1st + 20 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 empty with Johnson #1 to trips versus Lions conventional nickel cover 1 blitz with LB Collins matched on Johnson, Johnson sluggo easily beat Collins with a precise ball placement throw by Watson
Texans had good success versus Lions man coverage in the 1st half: Johnson 33 yard TD on sluggo versus Collins, Fuller 37 yards on 5 step slant versus Oruwariye
Cooks 27 yards on 2nd + 24 in the 2nd quarter came versus Lions big nickel, With Trufant injured they had Coleman outside and safety Walker in the slot, Lions went cover 3 behind 4 man rush; Watson hit Cooks in the void in front of post safety Harmon and behind the underneath coverage
Fuller 38 yards on 2nd + 5 in the 3rd quarter came out of 12 2x2 closed to the boundary twins to the field versus Lions big nickel cover 1 with Oruwariye matched on Fuller in the slot, Excellent out cut by Fuller and an outstanding timing and anticipation throw by Watson with precise ball placement – Nice concept playing off strong tendency to run crossers and overs
Texans feature mirrored crossers / overs and mesh when they anticipate man coverage, Those concepts are staples
Watson continued to be much more controlled and efficient in the pocket, making more late-in-the-down throws: Cooks 18 yards early in the 4th quarter a good example
What stood out watching this game is the Lions did not play cover 3 very well, Far too many voids and easy throws for Watson at the short and intermediate levels
Oruwariye had a tough day in man coverage: Fuller 40 yard TD in the 4th quarter was straight go route and Fuller ran right by Oruwariye, Another precise ball placement throw by Watson
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS WASHINGTON DEFENSE
Washington sub nickel: Fuller right corner and Darby left corner with Moreland the slot corner, Curl was the strong safety with Apke and Reaves both getting snaps at free safety
Washington base defense had Bostic the MIKE, Pierre-Louis the WILL and Holcomb the SAM with significant snaps on the ball; Nickel LB were predominantly Bostic and Holcomb with Davis and Pierre-Louis also getting snaps
Allen is predominantly the 3-technique with Payne the 1-technique but each can play both positions depending on the Washington front, Settle a strong rotational DT
Erving hurt on the Cowboys first possession, Knight replaced him at LT; Martin hurt on the last play of the first possession, Steeler replaced him at RT to start the second possession
Washington at times showed 5 DL front with 3 DT, That front featured two 3-techniques and a 0-technioque; They showed this out of both base and sub nickel: In the base Bostic and Holcomb were the LB, In the nickel Bostic was primarily the only LB
Washington 5 man DL often dictated one-on-one matchups in pass protection, Washington strong individual pass rushers both inside and outside
When Washington went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel strong safety Curl was the TE matchup
Cooper 54 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end Cowboys second possession came out of 12 3x1 with Cooper the boundary z, Cooper straight go route versus Darby who lost contact with Cooper allowing Cooper to get on top of him; Excellent ball placement throw by Dalton behind 7 man protection with Pollard helping with any leakage
Cowboys continued to feature 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel, often with TE nub alignment
Washington featured multiple stunt concepts out of their 4 man DL rush, both T/E and E/T stunts; Payne effective as the looper in E/T stunts
Holcomb at times used as a blitzer in the sub nickel, He aligned at times as a standup 0-technique in a 5 across diamond front
Cowboys some snaps of 10 personnel with Brown the fourth WR, Redskins stayed with their sub nickel (they do not play dime much at all)
Holcomb-Payne sack on 3rd + 7 in the 3rd quarter came out of sub nickel with Bostic and Holcomb the LB, Washington a lot of pre-snap movement to get to tilted front and inside stunt concept featuring 1-technique Payne and Bostic and Holcomb; Bostic was the looper and Holcomb got in clean behind Payne
Washington featured nickel snaps with tilted fronts in the 2nd half, They featured multiple stunt concepts out of that front
Washington played more zone coverage than man coverage, They played snaps of both split safety and single high
BEARS OFFENSE VERSUS PACKERS DEFENSE
Packers sub nickel: Alexander and King the outside corners with Sullivan the slot corner, Kirksey and Martin the LB; Packers sub dime: Greene continued to be the dime playing in the box
Alexander did not match up to Robinson, He played left corner and King right corner
Packers continued to play 2 nickel fronts: 4-2 with Kirksey and Martin the LB, 5-1 with Kirksey the stacked LB
Packers continued to feature P. Smith, Z. Smith and Gary in their dime front with Z. Smith predominantly lining up inside, although there were snaps with P. Smith and Gary inside
Savage interception came on Bears 1st + 10 shot play out of 12 straight I closed to the boundary twins to the field, Mooney from the slot ran the deep corner route with Sullivan running with him playing with outside leverage; Post safety Savage excellent speed turn to get over the top of the route – Trubisky was throwing that ball out of the huddle
Bears featured play action and play action boot to play to Trubisky’s mobility, getting him out of the pocket by design
Packers do not play a lot of man coverage but one thing you will see when they play 2 man or 1 robber is they cut shallow crossers, That’s a tactic they feature with Amos
Savage interception on 3rd + 11 on Bears second possession of the 3rd quarter came out of dime 2 man, Bears out of 11 1x3 nub tight bunch to the field ran Miller on the deep over; Savage got underneath the route and with Amos ranging over the top there was little room for Trubisky, A poor decision and poor throw by Trubisky leaving the ball short and too far inside; The play design was cross country dagger with Robinson open on the dig, That’s where the ball needed to go
There were some 3rd quarter snaps in which the Packers played a 2 man concept out of sub dime with Savage almost playing a robber position, Result was either Alexander or King (depending on what side Amos was on) were essentially playing zero man
Trubisky remains a locked front leg thrower which limits his ability weight transfer and ability to drive the ball with velocity: Great example was the ball losing energy on dig to Mooney on 3rd + 10 in the 3rd quarter, Same thing happened on 7 stop to Mooney early in the 4th quarter
Packers played significant snaps of man coverage out of sub dime in the 2nd half, They played both cover 1 and 2 man
Packers featured multiple stunt concepts out of their 4 man sub dime pass rush
Packers have not been a high percentage blitz defense this season but DC Pettine at times will feature both man and zone pressure concepts, He will even show zero blitz at times
Overall Trubisky is not a natural thrower and will always be limited with both his ability to drive the ball and his ball placement
PACKERS OFFENSE VERSUS BEARS DEFENSE
Bears sub nickel: Fuller left corner and Johnson right corner with Skrine the slot corner
Jones 14 yards on first possession came out of 12 personnel: Split flow inside zone with Tonyan crossing the formation to seal Mack
First 3rd and long (3rd + 7) Bears went with 5 across front out of sub nickel, with Mack standup 0-technqiue and Trevathan an edge rusher; They played cover 1 behind it with Jackson matched on Tonyan
Bears continued to play 2 nickel fronts: 4-2 with Smith and Trevathan the LB, 5-1 with Smith the stacked LB
Bears game planned to play nickel versus Packers 12 personnel, On the Packers first possession they went nickel on 3rd + 1
Bears showed multiple front looks out of sub nickel on 3rd down on Packers first possession with Mack and Quinn the movable chess pieces
Adams 12 yard TD to end first possession came 11 2x2 versus Bears nickel red zone cover 2/4 behind 3 man rush, Rodgers looked to Tonyan on the 7 stop to the boundary but Tonyan slipped; With 3 man rush Rodgers had time to navigate the pocket and find Adams in an open void to the field, Packers ran smash to the field and that controlled half field safety Jackson
Bears game plan also featured 3 man pass rush with 8 in zone coverage, They did that both in the field and the red zone
On the Packers second possession the Bears played base versus the Packers 12 personnel
Packers featured empty sets as part of their game plan approach versus the Bears, When the Bears went cover 1 they matched safety Jackson inside on a WR to the trips side
Linsley was injured on the second possession, As they did last week the Packers moved Jenkins to OC and Runyan came in to play LG
Lewis 5 yard TD to end second possession came on play action boot left off inside zone run action with Lewis late releasing into the flat off initial block of Quinn, Corner Johnson had his eyes in the backfield and was late to his coverage responsibility on Lewis
Adams 15 yards on 1st + 10 on third possession came on smoke alert: Play call was outside zone toss to Williams but Rodgers saw corner Fuller with a 10 yard cushion on reduced split Adams, Rodgers motioned St. Brown across the formation to get the one-on-one with Adams versus Fuller
Two staples of Packers offense: motion and play action/play action boot – Rodgers based on QB rating is the best play action passer in the NFL
Jones 11 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter was Packers first gap scheme run of the game: Shotgun power out of 2 back set with LG Runyan the puller with a good block on LB Trevathan
After the Packers first possession the Bears almost always played base to the Packers 12 personnel
Tonyan 39 yard TD on 2nd + 8 in the 3rd quarter came out of 12 2x2 with reduced splits versus Bears base defense: Play action boot with outside zone to the boundary, Tonyan from LOS TE to the field sold the deep corner route and then broke to the post; Bears split safety coverage (4 or 6) with Adams inside stem from boundary reduced split threatening the boundary safety – Great design
Bears only 3 snaps of dime with Houston-Carson the dime, They featured tilted fronts out of dime
St. Brown 24 yards on 3rd + 10 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Adams the boundary x, Bears went dime playing cover 1 and doubling Adams with Gipson on top of Fuller; Brown in-breaker from the slot beat Skrine with run-after-catch
Packers a highly schemed offense that features multiple personnel packages, formations, motions and shifts; Play action and play action boot are featured – Rodgers more efficient than in previous seasons
Rodgers out of empty for the season: 41-63, 65%, 494 yards, 3 TD, 0 interceptions, 104.9 QB rating
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles played some big nickel versus 12 personnel with Parks the third safety, Singleton and Edwards were the LB
Slay matched up to Metcalf all game, That put Maddox on Lockett when Lockett lined up outside but it put Robey-Coleman on Lockett when Lockett was in the slot out of 11 personnel
Seahawks showed trap in their run game on the first possession with LG Iupati trapping 3-technique DT Cox, Riley playing downhill with aggression beat the block of RT Ogbuehi and made the tackle on Carson
Seahawks featured both trap and wham on their first possession; Overall Seahawks featured multiple run game concepts which of course included zone and gap scheme and some misdirection schemes
Singleton once again played every snap, Both Riley and Edwards snaps in the sub nickel with Singleton
Carson 16 yard TD in the 2nd quarter came on a shotgun trap out of 11 3x1 with Carson offset to the single receiver side of the formation, Iupati again the trap block on 3-technique Cox with RG Lewis climbing to the second level to block play side stacked LB Singleton
Singleton continued to flash in the run game: Athleticism and aggressiveness – He has without question been the Eagles best LB
Mills was the TE matchup when the Eagles went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus Seahawks 11 personnel – Mills had some good snaps in the run game, playing with aggression and competitiveness, especially adding in when it was man coverage and the TE blocked
Cox stood out for the Eagles both in the run game and with some strong pass rush snaps
Eagles showed tilted fronts out of sub nickel, Both Singleton and Edwards aligned on the ball opposite the tilt
Metcalf first 2 targets and completions came on quick slants versus Slay: 13 yards and 10 yards; Slay in press position but he did not disrupt Metcalf off the LOS
Eagles played some snaps of dime, both with Epps and Parks as the third safety
Metcalf 52 yards on 3rd + 13 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Metcalf the boundary x, Eagles tilted front out of sub nickel with Singleton and Riley the LB; Eagles 5 man pressure concept with a sixth rusher adding in once back Hyde stayed in to protect and zone match behind it with single high safety McLeod playing low almost in a robber position, Slay played Metcalf with outside leverage and Metcalf ran by him to the post with no safety help – Big time throw by Wilson who got hit by Graham just after he delivered
Metcalf 31 yards on 2nd + 10 in the 4th quarter came on slot fade with Metcalf in the slot to the field one-on-one versus Slay in press man, Strong coverage by Slay but an outstanding contested catch by Metcalf – Eagles cover 1 out of sub nickel behind tilted front with Edwards on the ball opposite the tilt
Seahawks struggled to run the ball versus the Eagles defensive front, Too many snaps in which their run game was overmatched
Eagles played almost 70% man coverage versus the Seahawks, a much higher percentage than their season percentage
CARSON WENTZ VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Wentz is still not seeing things with needed clarity: Hi-low concept versus cover 3 on the first play of the game with Goedert running the crosser as the hi receiver, Goedert wide open but Wentz rushed himself in the pocket and threw to the covered low receiver Rodgers – Incomplete
My sense watching Wentz is he is anticipating pressure and that is negatively impacting his patience and vision in the pocket
Seahawks sub nickel again had Amadi the slot corner; They continued to feature 5 man fronts with Wright on the ball both in sub nickel and base
Wentz poor ball placement throw to Ward on the slant on the second play of the game, It was an RPO concept but the Seahawks got quick pressure on Wentz – Still a throw Wentz had to make
Seahawks out of nickel double mug front on first 3rd down featured triple A gap blitz with Adams the third blitzer behind Wagner and Wright; Jeffery drop on quick timing Wentz throw to the outside
Seahawks continued to feature tilted fronts out of nickel on 3rd down, Wagner was the wild card lining up opposite the tilt used both as a blitzer and coverage player
Reagor on 3rd + 9 to end second possession squeezed himself to the sideline giving Wentz no place to throw the ball on the vertical route, He needed to bend back inside off his outside release and look to stack Griffin – It was a well-placed throw by Wentz
Wentz left the ball too far inside to Goedert on the deep over on 2nd + 12 on the third possession, Goedert had a step on Wagner who was the middle hole defender in the Seahawks cover 6 – Wentz took a shot right after he released the ball
Greene sack on 3rd + 12 to end Eagles third possession came on T/E stunt, Greene was the picker; Seahawks played cover 2 behind the 4 man rush
Eagles WR continued to struggle to separate and win versus man coverage, They do not give Wentz defined throws – Eagles continued to run individual isolation routes with receivers who cannot separate
Seahawks multiple with their fronts, pressures and coverages out of sub nickel on 3rd down; Seahawks featured multiple stunt concepts out of both 4 man and 5 man pressures
Adams was the TE matchup in cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel; Seahawks played significant snaps of cover 1, a higher percentage than they had played through the first 10 games of the season
Wentz missed Goedert on boundary seam route on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter, It was a boundary read and Goedert was wide open, Wentz went to covered Reagor on the outside – Another example of Wentz not seeing the field
Goedert 3 yard TD on 2nd and goal late in the 2nd quarter was well-designed: Fake tunnel screen to Ward to manipulate Wagner and het him out of the middle allowing Goedert to work one-on-one; My sense was it was a called stick-nod with anticipation of LB Brooks matched on Goedert, When it was Griffin I believe Goedert adjusted to a stick-in
Wentz had an opportunity to hit Jeffery on a vertical route on first possession of the 3rd quarter, Wentz looked to Jeffery who had Flowers beat and then came off him – Again Wentz not processing cleanly
Seahawks first snap of dime came on 3rd + 10 in the high red zone on the Eagles first possession of the 3rd quarter, Neal was the dime: Well-disguised with Neal on the LOS then dropping out replaced by Adams blitzing off the edge; It was a called WR boundary screen to either Reagor or Jeffery and one of them made a mistake
Wentz did not turn it loose to wide open Hightower on the gig late in the 3rd quarter, Wentz had an open window but never really looked there with any conviction – Wentz is playing tentatively from the pocket
Wentz ball placement remained erratic, even on some completions: Fulgham 11 yards on slant in the 4th quarter a good example – Wentz overthrew Goedert on sail route in the 4th quarter (the drive that ended with Diggs interception), Goedert beat Adams in man coverage
Cover 1 was the Seahawks foundational coverage in this game, Made sense versus Eagles receivers that have struggled all season to separate and win
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS COLTS DEFENSE
With Buckner and Autry inactive, Stallworth was the predominant DT with Stewart and Lewis played significant snaps at DE
With Okereke inactive Franklin was the third LB with Leonard and Walker; Walker, who does not play in the 3rd down and long yardage nickel, played every snap along with Leonard
DT Stewart, one of the best 1-technique run defenders in the NFL who does not play in the 3rd down or long yardage nickel, played significant snaps at 3-technique and played almost every snap in the game
Titans ran counter with Henry on their first possession: 9 yards; Saffold was the puller and Smith the wrapper, Colts slanted away from play side so space was created for Saffold and Smith
Titans ran pin-pull with Henry on first possession: 12 yards; LT Quessenberry was the puller, Saffold great space block on LB Walker, Henry stiff arm on DT Stallworth – Excellent run for Henry since it gives him room to generate velocity and momentum
With Okereke out the Colts game planned to play significant snaps of nickel versus Titans base personnel including 13 personnel at times, Moore an aggressive competitive slot corner
Henry 12 yard TD to end first possession was a schemed play to get Henry on the perimeter with blockers out in front, It was a specific high red zone play – Outstanding blocks by WR Davis and Batson
Both OG Davis and Saffold looked quick and athletic off the ball, They climbed to the second level in the zone run game with efficiency
Davis also some excellent first level blocks using his hands effectively to maintain leverage and keeping his feet moving
Brown 69 yard TD on 1st + 15 to end second possession came out of 11 3x1 with Brown boundary x versus Colts nickel cover 1 blitz with Ya-Sin matched on Brown, Nuanced slant route by Brown to gain separation from Ya-Sin and create run-after-catch, Brown ran away from post safety Willis who took too tight an angle; RG Davis outstanding job posting 1-technique Cline then accounting for blitzing Leonard
Titans third possession the Colts came out in base personnel with Franklin the third LB, Issue for the Colts was their DL was getting handled allowing Henry room to stride and generate velocity and power
Willis continued to be the TE matchup when the Colts went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel; Leonard continued to be used as a blitzer out of sub nickel, both in 5 man and 4 man pressures
Davis effective from reduced and nasty splits, Titans feature in-breakers/crossing routes as staples of their play action pass game there are snaps in which Davis counters that tendency with out routes: 21 yards on 1st + 10 just outside the high red zone in the 2nd quarter
TE Swaim continued to be used as a blocker in the Henry run game from multiple alignments, including I formation fullback: Henry 31 yards in the 2nd quarter
Titans ran counter again in the 2nd quarter: 8 yards; This time RG Davis was the puller with Smith again the wrapper; Titans ran it to the weak side of the formation away from the Colts over front
Titans had a lot of success running to the weak side of the offensive formation, They ran away from the strength of the Colts over fronts: Henry 11 yard TD late in the 2nd quarter was outside zone weak, Henry 14 yards in the 3rd quarter was zone lead weak out of the straight I
Carrie played significant snaps at left corner in place of Ya-Sin, who had been struggling a good part of the season and which continued against the Titans
Titans OL was outstanding in the 1st half, They moved the Colts DL consistently in the run game; Colts DL was playing with rotational players like Stallworth and Lewis and free agent Cline, They all got significant snaps
This was the best run blocking game of the season for the interior 3 of the Titans OL as a group: OG Saffold and Davis, OC Jones; Jones had some outstanding reach blocks in the zone run game
Outside zone remained the foundation of the Titans run game with Henry but we also saw zone lead, iso lead, pin-pull and some gap scheme
COLTS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Evans was the TE matchup when the Titans went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus Colts 11 personnel on the second snap of the game
Borders continued to be the left corner and Butler the right corner in the Titans defense, King continued to be the slot corner
Good start for Evans on the Colts first possession: Strong play recognition and reaction in the run game
Titans continued to play snaps of 4-3 out of base with Landry an off the ball LB, It has been part of the base defense all season
Titans significant snaps of man coverage on the Colts first possession ending with Burton 11 yard TD on 3rd + 7, Byard was the matchup on Burton out of sub dime
Compton played the Colts first possession with Evans at LB in the sub nickel, Long played the second possession with Evans; Long was the TE matchup in cover 1 out of nickel versus Colts 11 personnel on the second possession
Colts feature Pittman on shallow crossers and in-breakers, They want to get him the ball on the move where he can use his outstanding run-after-catch ability
Landry had some strong pass rushes against both LT Costanzo and Clark through the first half, He was able to speed up Rivers process – Overall Landry showed up in this game as an edge pass rusher
Titans plan was to rotate possessions with Compton and Long at LB opposite Evans in the sub nickel, In the sub dime Evans continued to be used as a pass rusher with Compton the LB
Titans also showed a sub dime package with 4 DL and Long as the only LB, They showed that late in the 2nd quarter; When they played cover 2 out of that package Long was the middle hole defender
Titans continued to show disguise and late movement out of sub dime, at times with zone exchange 4 man pressures, to get to cover 2, at times cover 2 invert – 3rd + 6 late in the 2nd quarter a good example with Butler and Vaccaro part of the 4 man pressure, 3rd + 7 on Colts first possession of the 3rd quarter another example with Compton and King part of 4 man pressure
In the sub fronts Simmons lined up both inside and outside – Titans multiple with front alignments out of sun dime
11:01 3rd quarter showed just how powerful Simmons is, He physically manhandled LG Nelson – You never see Nelson beat like that
Titans continued to feature tilted fronts out of sub dime, They showed it on 3rd + 10 in the 3rd quarter with Simmons the wide 9 DE opposite the tilt
Tart continued to get significant snaps as a rotational DT – He beat LG Nelson on a pass rush in the 1st half
Titans multiple with their pressure schemes – both 5 man and 4 man zone exchange pressures – and their coverage concepts out of sub dime on 3rd down – Simmons sack on 3rd + 6 came on 5 man pressure with cover 2 to the boundary and pressure quarters concept to the field
Titans more snaps of 4-1-6 dime in this game with Evans an off the ball LB and not an on the ball pass rusher – A bit of a change in approach out of dime
Titans defensive backs very active in their pressure schemes, both 4 and 5 man pressures – Borders interception came on 3rd + 10: 4 man zone exchange pressure (King was the fourth rusher) with cover 3 behind it, Borders played the corner route to Pascal well and was in position for the pick
Hilton 51 yards on 1st + 10 early in the 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Titans dime cover 4 behind 4 man DL rush, Post-out route concept to the field put outside leverage corner Borders on Hilton post with no safety help
This was strong performance overall by the Titans defense, They played almost the entire game in their sub defenses and they limited the big plays that were necessary for the Colts to make
BROWNS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars outside corners were Herndon and free agent Barcoo, Fourth round pick Scott was the slot corner in the sub nickel
Landry 21 yards to start second possession a good example of the Browns pass game out of 12 personnel: Play action boot off outside zone run action to the boundary with Landry crossing the formation from reduced boundary split, Jaguars played cover 3 out of base with the conflict defender being on the ball LB Correa who was the flat defender to the field – Great design with an easy throw for Mayfield
Next play after Landry 21 yards was a screen to Chubb 14 yards – Good play calling by Stefanski to get Mayfield comfortable with defined easy throws
Play action and play action boot continued to be foundations of the Browns passing game
When the Jaguars went cover 1 blitz out of sub nickel on 3rd + 10 in the 2nd quarter they rotated LB Schobert to the post safety position – Jaguars have done some nice things conceptually and tactically on defense the last couple of weeks
Landry 27 yards on 2nd + 6 in the 2nd quarter another example of the Browns play action boot pass game, this time out of 11 personnel: Outside zone run action to the boundary with Landry from the slot to the field running the deep crosser versus Scott in man coverage in Jaguars cover 1
Mayfield still too many snaps in which he played fast and frenetic with his movements in the pocket, He rushed his mechanics (poor footwork and balance) and the result was too many inaccurate throws to open receivers; Mayfield left a lot of throws on the field, He was all over the place
Mayfield also made a couple of great throws, Landry 23 yards on late 2nd quarter TD drive a good example: Again play action with boot element, Landry out route off versus safety Wilson, Precise ball placement throw by Mayfield
Jaguars aggressive with pressure concepts, Defensive backs at times featured as blitzers
Hooper 9 yard TD on 1st and goal late in the 2nd quarter came out of 13 personnel and specifically attacked the Jaguars coverage versus 13: Jaguars aligned corner Herndon as the post safety versus 13 personnel and the Browns 3 man route concept forced Herndon to read and react like a safety, Herndon was slow to recognize and late to react to Hooper on the short corner route
Higgins 15 yards on 3rd + 16 in the 3rd quarter was a beat late but it showed Mayfield’s arm strength and his ability to drive the ball with velocity
Landry 19 yards on 2nd + 11 from the Brown 1 yard line another excellent throw by Mayfield: Landry 7 stop and Mayfield placed the ball inside away from Herndon excellent coverage
Mayfield outstanding off play action and play action boot versus the Jaguars: 11-16, 156 yards, 2 TD, 9.8 yards per attempt; Mayfield most attempts out of 12 personnel
What consistently stands out with Mayfield is his lack of consistency re: mechanics and ball placement, He can drive the ball and make big time throws but he shows a tendency to play fast with the result being too many poorly placed throws
Browns pass game concepts also feature flood and slot fades, designed to define the reads and throws for Mayfield; Browns this season have produced several explosive plays with the flood concept
Chubb consistently shows outstanding patience and vision as a runner, He is a perfect embodiment of the old John Wooden adage: Be quick but don’t hurry
Chubb is an excellent cutback runner in the zone run game, That results from his patience and vision and then he has outstanding short area explosiveness – 29 yards late in the 3rd quarter a great example
Chubb also possesses quick re-acceleration which is an essential attribute working inside in confined space, He gets back to speed and power in one step
One Jaguars defender who consistently flashed in the run game was LB Jack, He was physical in the box and quick and explosive showing range outside the box
Chubb has been outstanding on 1st down this season: 74-477, 6.4 yards per rush
While outside zone remains the foundational staple of the Browns run game they have mixed in more gap scheme concepts this season, RG Teller has been one of the best pulling OG in the NFL
JAMES ROBINSON VERSUS BROWNS DEFENSE
Ward was inactive, Johnson played opposite Mitchell in the Browns base defense; Goodson was the MIKE, Smith the WILL and Wilson the SAM at times playing on the ball
Harrison hurt on the first play of the game, Joseph replaced him at strong safety and played every snap with Sendejo at free safety
Jaguars featured 12 personnel closed to the boundary twins to the field, Browns predominantly matched up with the boundary corner staying to the boundary and strong safety Joseph aligned over the field slot with a 7-8 cushion
Browns sub nickel had Thomas the slot corner with Goodson and Smith predominantly the nickel LB; Stewart also significant snaps at slot corner, with both Wilson and Phillips some snaps at LB in the sub nickel
DT Ogunjobi a strong run defender who can physically control and displace both OG and OC
Robinson 15 yards on 1st + 10 in the 1st quarter came out of 11 personnel on outside zone out of the shotgun versus Browns sub nickel – Robinson patience, vision, then decisiveness and short area burst to clear the first and second levels of the defense
Robinson success late in the 1st quarter running both outside zone and inside zone out of 11 personnel shotgun versus the Browns nickel 4-2 front
In the 2nd half the Browns played snaps of sub nickel versus Jaguars 12 personnel, with Stewart the slot corner; Stewart a much more physical player than Thomas
Delay draw out of the shotgun was a featured run out of 11 personnel with Robinson: 27 yards in the 4th quarter a good example
Robinson more straight line than overly shifty and elusive but he is a desirable combination of patient and decisive getting downhill with urgency, and he consistently ran hard with leg drive and strong finishing traits – He is a volume runner in the Jaguars offense
CHARGERS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
First play of the game the Bills came with a 5 man pressure versus Chargers empty set, Edmunds was the fifth rusher and he got in clean disrupting Herbert’s throw on the tunnel screen
Bills came out aggressively on Chargers first possession: They blitzed on first 2 Herbert drop backs, and went 1 robber on 3rd and long
Smith was the third LB with Edmunds and Klein in the Bills base defense but there were not many snaps of base; Bills played nickel versus Chargers 12 personnel, Slot corner Johnson played all but 6 snaps in the game
Bills stayed aggressive on the Chargers second possession with 5 man pressures and man coverage – Game planned approach
Bills zero pressure concept out of sub nickel on 3rd + 10 just outside the red zone on Chargers second possession: Herbert quick throw in the flat to Kelley for 14 yards – Again Bills aggressive with pressure
Allen 5 yard TD on 3rd and goal to end second possession was another impressive throw by Herbert: Recognition, anticipation, velocity and precise ball placement versus zone coverage – Herbert showed every attribute you need to be successful in the tight red zone
White continued to be the boundary corner with Wallace the field corner, He did not specifically match up to Allen or Williams
Edmunds was featured in this game as a blitzer, from multiple alignments; He was part of different pressure concepts, including used as the looper in the stunt game
Slot corner Johnson also used as a blitzer at times, Mike-star zone blitz concept with Edmunds part of Bills pressure concept; Klein also used as a pass rusher in the 4 man zone exchange concept
1 robber was part of the Bills game plan on 3rd and long, They featured green dogs as part of their aggressive man-to-man approach
Bills also featured double mug looks out of sub nickel with Edmunds and Klein in the A gaps, That’s a front the Bills have shown all season on 3rd down and long yardage situations
Overall the Bills game plan featured multiple pressure concepts and a good amount of man coverage, It was an aggressive approach that they stayed with throughout the game and it was effective
Epenesa showed some power as an edge pass rusher, He featured an effective one arm stab that drove back OT into the pocket; Epenesa’s game is built more on leverage and power than quickness and burst
Bills comfortable with safeties Hyde and Poyer matched man-to-man on WR in the inside slot, You saw that several times in this game
Oliver bull rush versus LG Lamp resulted in Herbert fumble on 3rd + 5 in the 4th quarter, Oliver leverage and strength to drive back Lamp into the pocket
White interception on 3rd + 6 in the 4th quarter came on 4 man zone exchange pressure with Klein the fourth rusher and cover 3 behind it, When boundary x Allen disappeared inside White was freed up to look for work coming from the back side, White read Henry over route from the inside slot to trips and was in position to make the interception; Herbert never accounted for White with his read and throw
On the Chargers final possession of the game the Bills continued to pressure with multiple concepts, and play man coverage; That was the game plan and they stayed with it – Klein sack on 3rd + 7 came on 5 man pressure concept with cover 1 behind it, Klein beat the block of back Kelley
Klein had another strong game in place on injured Milano, He has been a positive in the Bills sub nickel defense with his versatility
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS CHARGERS DEFENSE
Chargers sub nickel: Campbell and Davis the outside with Harris the slot corner, Murray and Perryman the LB
Bosa and Tillery were the predominant edge rushers in the Chargers sub nickel front, Jenkins continued to be the strong safety with Adderley the post safety
In the Chargers base defense (which they played few snaps versus the Bills) Harris and Davis were the outside corners
On the DPI on Diggs on the third play of the game the Bills ran a well-designed 4 to a side route concept that attacked the Chargers high percentage zone coverage, On that play Chargers played cover 4 and Allen should have thrown to open Beasley on the crosser
Bills first play of 10 personnel came on the first play of their third possession: Allen had Beasley open on the quick game timing sit route but did not turn it loose, Result was Bosa sack when Allen broke down in the pocket
10 personnel still a featured part of the Bills offense even with Brown on IR, McKenzie was the fourth receiver
Chargers continued to play snaps of dime with safety Addae the dime, They played dime on 3rd down and some long yardage / game situations
Chargers showed tilted front out of sub dime on 3rd down on the Bills third possession
Singletary 21 yards on 2nd + 8 on 2nd quarter TD drive was sprint draw to the boundary out of 11 3x1, LT Dawkins the critical blocker pushing DE Tillery past the POA then climbing to block LB Perryman
Perryman hurt in the 2nd quarter, He was replaced by Vigil who played in the sub nickel with Murray
Beasley 14 yards in the 2nd quarter came on RPO concept with Beasley running the quick slant from the slot, Good footwork by Allen to move his feet with his eyes and step to the quick game throw
Allen designed runs were part of Bills game plan versus the Chargers, They featured multiple run game concepts
Bills started the 3rd quarter with 2 Singletary runs out of 11 shotgun - Bills still looking to generate a consistent running game with some volume
Bills passing game featured a lot of quick game, They did not run many intermediate and deeper route concepts (which we normally see from the Bills)
Davis 44 yards in the 4th quarter came on a free play when Allen saw the Chargers were off sides and threw the deep sideline one-on-one to Davis versus Campbell
Davis interception 2nd + 12 in the 4th quarter came on a nickel blitz with slot corner Harris the fifth rusher and cover 1 behind it, Harris beat RT Williams off the edge and DT Jones beat LG Feliciano generating quick pressure on Allen; Allen threw the ball falling away with no definition, A throw he cannot make in that situation with a 7 point lead past the midway point of the 4th quarter
Moss 31 yards and Singletary 24 yards consecutive runs to start possession after White interception; Singletary run came on beautifully executed C/G pull scheme to the boundary – That’s what you want to see from your run game, the ability to close in the 4th quarter
RAMS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers sub nickel: Sherman left corner, Verrett right corner, Taylor the slot corner; Ward and Moore the safeties
49ers sub dime: Moseley played left corner with Sherman moving inside with Taylor, Warner was the dime LB
First 3rd down the 49ers out of sub dime blitzed both Taylor and Sherman from the slots, 5 man rush with quarters zone match behind it
Givens flashed as a run defender: Light feet for his body type, Good quickness off the ball, Can hit gaps and penetrate
49ers continued to play big nickel versus 12 personnel, Harris was again the third safety with Ward and Moore; Harris is really a LB re: traits
Woods 30 yards on 2nd + 7 on second possession came on a staple Rams concept: Play action boot with gap scheme run action out of 12 personnel, Tight bunch to the field with Woods #3 in bunch; It was flood with Woods running the intermediate route behind flat defender Greenlaw who no awareness of Woods given where he came from
Rams may be as multiple as any team in the NFL in how they get to flood from a personnel and formation standpoint, They make it difficult for zone defenders to recognize where the intermediate route is coming from
49ers remain comfortable with Ward matching up to WR when they play sub nickel versus 11 personnel, It’s a function of the offensive formation – Ward matched up to Kupp on 3rd + 2 on the Rams second possession, He matched up to Wood on slot fade late in the 2nd quarter
Ward is a critical part of the 49ers defense with his multi-dimensional ability to play both safety and corner – Ward had an outstanding game in man coverage versus WR
Sherman interception on 1st + 10 to end Rams third possession came out of nickel cover 1 versus 11 personnel, Rams another flood concept with Higbee running the intermediate route versus Ward who had outstanding coverage; Sherman matched on Woods showed great awareness in playing Woods man-to-man and reading back to Goff and was in position to react to the throw
3rd + 3 on Rams fourth possession the 49ers went cover 1 out of sub dime versus 11 empty with Sherman the post safety, They matched Ward on TE Everett with the other 3 corners (Verrett, Taylor and Moseley) matched on the 3 WR
Hyder sack on 2nd + 11 in the 2nd quarter resulted from nickel cover 1 with Greenlaw an underneath robber, Goff looked to Kupp running the in-breaker but Greenlaw was sitting in the middle; Hyder re-directed and sacked Goff who had no late-in-the-down throw
49ers continued to feature tilted fronts out of their sub defenses, They featured multiple pressure and stunt concepts out of the tilted fronts
Taylor hurt late in the 2nd quarter, Moseley replaced him at slot corner in the sub nickel
Greenlaw flashed in the run game, playing downhill with aggression and showing good inside out range
Kinlaw 27 yard interception return TD on Rams first possession of the 3rd quarter a great example of team defense: Rams play action flood concept out of 11 tight bunch to the field with Goff looking to Woods on the intermediate crosser, 49ers cover 1 out of sub nickel behind 4 man DL rush; Sherman matched on Woods and Ward matched on Higbee who stayed in to block allowing Ward to get underneath Woods crosser and take that route away, Greenlaw also freed up to help on Kupp shallow crosser when Warner matched up on back Henderson, Givens pass rush hit Goff on his delivery
49ers continued to be more multiple with their coverages, especially out of sub nickel; Continued to see more split safety coverages with cover 4 featured
One tactic the 49ers featured in this game was to slant their DL, They had good success overall defending the run game – The only time they got caught was Akers 61 yards late in the 3rd quarter
Rams’ offense never developed any rhythm in this game, Goff is a timing and rhythm pocket QB and he never settled in and got comfortable versus the 49ers – Goff overthrew open Henderson on wheel route just outside the red zone late in the 3rd quarter
Akers looked quick with excellent short area burst – This was the first game I thought he looked like he did at Florida State
This was a strong performance by the 49ers defense, It was more coverage-based featuring single high with 12 snaps of blitz; They played almost an equal number of snaps of cover 1 (14 snaps) and cover 3 (12 snaps) effectively not consistently giving Goff defined reads and throws within timing
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
Ramsey was limited in this game due to a hip injury and only played 69% of the defensive snaps, Williams only played 50% of the defensive snaps; Long played 22 snaps at outside corner
Rams featured sub nickel snaps with 3 safeties, with Johnson lined up as the slot corner; Scott was the third safety
Rams also featured a 3 corner sub nickel with Hill and Williams the outside corners, and Ramsey in the slot
Rams some snaps of 4 corner dime with Hill and Williams the inside corners, and Ramsey and Long the outside corners; Also snaps of 3 safety dime with Ramsey in the slot
Ramsey played significant snaps in the slot in this game with Hill, Williams and Long playing outside
Samuel 33 yards on third possession came out of 11 personnel, It was jet action pass that was essentially outside zone lead run concept to the boundary
Samuel 26 yards on 2nd + 7 on third possession came out of 21 personnel with reduced splits by James and Samuel versus Rams base cover 2, Post-cross combination with Samuel running the crosser into the boundary void vacated by James lifting safety Fuller
Rams continued to feature 2 sub nickel fronts: 5-1 with Reeder the stacked LB, and 4-2 with Reeder and Young the LB
Rams featured multiple inside stunt concepts out of their sub fronts with Donald predominantly used as the looper but also some T/E stunts in which he was the picker
Rams consistently featured boundary lock in their cover 3 and cover 4 concepts, Rams are not a high percentage cover 1 defense relative to other teams in the NFL
Reed significant snaps as the boundary x both out of 11 and 12 personnel running in-breakers and vertical routes
RT McGlinchey has struggled throughout the season in one-on-one pass protection, Donald from wide 9 alignment beat him to the inside with a club-arm over move for a sack late in the 3rd quarter
James 29 yards on 2nd + 9 in the 4th quarter came out of 21 personnel versus Rams base with Ramsey one of the outside corners, Route concept to the field was dagger with James running the vertical route and Samuel the dig route versus split safety coverage; Mullens threw with plant and throw timing to James which beat back side safety Fuller, That throw you rarely ever see in dagger and on this play Samuel was open on the dig
