At Fantasy Points this season, we’re going to be posting the Raw Film Notes from NFL Films legend Greg Cosell each and every week. These are quite literally Greg’s scribblings and observations he throws on his notepad as he watches all-22 tape.
As Greg is just one man, he can’t get to everything each week, but we’ll be bringing you everything he sees in raw — and unedited — form. This is something all-22 nerds will love, and certainly something fans who want to learn more about their teams should read.
CHARGERS OFFENSE VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
Giants continued to feature multiple combinations in their secondary in their nickel and dime sub packages; The constants were Bradberry and rookie Robinson at outside corner, Bradberry at times matched up to Williams
Giants featured big nickel at times with Ryan, McKinney and Love the safeties; They played big nickel versus both 12 and 11 personnel
Williams was the slot corner at times in conventional nickel with Ryan at safety with McKinney, Ryan the TE matchup in cover 1 versus 11 personnel
When the Giants went cover 1 out of dime Love was the predominant TE matchup with Ryan matching Ekeler
Crowder continued to be the constant at LB playing every snap in all packages, Ragland predominantly was the other LB in nickel with McKinney also getting some snaps
Giants base front was 5-2 with Crowder and McKinney the stacked LB and Carter, Ojulari and Roche all getting snaps at DE-OLB; Roche also snaps as edge rusher in sub fronts
When the Giants went cover 1 out of big nickel versus 12 personnel Ryan and Love were the TE matchups with McKinney the post safety, Both Ryan and Love former corners
Palmer 12 yard TD on 3rd + 8 in 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 reduced versus Giants dime cover 4, Herbert worked to the field with 2 man route concept by Williams and Palmer; Williams from reduced split ran the corner route threatening the corner’s deep quarter and that created the one-on-one with Palmer on slot corner Williams, Palmer out cut and Herbert put it on him
Williams 25 yards on 3rd + 4 in 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Williams the boundary x in a reduced split, Giants cover 1 out of dime behind 5 man pressure with Bradberry matched on Williams; Williams shallow cross with run after catch
Chargers showed a multiple run game that featured both I back runs and shotgun runs, Ekeler the number one back but Jackson and Kelley also get runs
Guyton 59 yard TD on 3rd + 11 late in 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 versus Giants dime cover 2, Guyton from #2 to trips ran a straight go route with Palmer #1 to trips running the corner route, Guyton split the half field safeties Ryan and McKinney; Herbert getting back side pressure from Carter broke the pocket to his right but had time to set his feet, Herbert threw it 63 yards in the air and dropped it in the bucket and he got hit just as released it – Big-time throw by Herbert
Palmer 36 yards on first 3rd quarter possession came out of 11 2x2 reduced versus Giants big nickel cover 1 with Ryan matched on Palmer who had motioned to wing alignment to the boundary, Herbert play action boot to the boundary off split flow outside zone run action to the field; Ryan eyes in the backfield a step slow reacting to Palmer crossing the field on rail route with throwback element – Schemed concept
What stood out was Palmer blocks in the run game, He is a tough willing blocker on the edge
Giants played predominantly zone coverage concepts versus the Chargers but they did mix in meaningful snaps of cover 1 out of big nickel, conventional nickel and dime
Herbert outstanding on 3rd down versus Giants: 7-8 for 116 yards and all 3 of his TD – What is interesting is Herbert has the most 3rd down drop backs of any NFL QB this season, He has the second most TD passes on 3rd down (11) behind Brady (16)
RAIDERS OFFENSE VERSUS CHIEFS DEFENSE
Chiefs opened the game in big nickel versus Raiders 11 personnel with safeties Mathieu, Thornhill and Sorensen; Hitchens, Gay and Bolton all played nickel LB – Game planned approach versus 11 personnel
Hughes right corner and Ward left corner with Mathieu the slot corner in this big nickel package; Corner Fenton was the dime playing inside, Niemann continued to be the dime LB
Chiefs continued to feature cover 2 as a foundational coverage, In their 6 game winning streak Chiefs have played highest percentage of cover 2 of any team in the NFL
Chiefs continued to feature disguise and late movement to get to cover 2, Mathieu the predominant middle hole defender but he was not the only one
One thing Chiefs DC Spagnuolo has done really well in the 6 game winning streak is make opposing QB think and decipher after the snap, Slow down the decision process for the QB at the same time the speed of the play is increasing
Jones-Ingram split sack on second possession result of T/E stunt: Jones beat RG Leatherwood quickly to the outside forcing Leatherwood to turn to the sideline with no awareness of the stunt, Ingram looped behind Jones and beat RT Parker to the inside
Ingram has become a movable chess piece and Joker in the Chiefs dime fronts lining up both inside and outside, Jones predominantly lines up inside but also snaps at DE
Chiefs featured bracket double concept on 3rd and long out of dime with safeties Mathieu and Thornhill bracketing the boundary x and the slot receiver, In that concept Sorensen matched the TE
Another tactic we saw from the Chiefs out of dime that they execute really well is cutting crossers with their safeties: Great example came on 3rd + 4 late in the 1st quarter, It was part of 2 man bracket concept
Chiefs featured some double concepts on Renfrow especially on 3rd down and they got to them in multiple ways
Chiefs out of their sub fronts are winning one-on-one pass rush matchups and they are effectively executing stunts
Right side of the Raiders OL with Parker at RT and Leatherwood at RG an issue at times in one-on-one pass protection versus Chiefs, Leatherwood had a tough time with Jones; Chiefs also worked Parker and Leatherwood with stunts and had success
When you play the Chiefs defense you must be aware that you could get zero pressure in the red zone, That is Spagnuolo’s MO
Chiefs continued to use Sorensen as a TE matchup and that became more of a factor when they went cover 1 out of big nickel versus 11 personnel, In big nickel Mathieu was the slot corner
Chiefs 4 man DL pass rush did a good job squeezing the pocket on Carr and Carr’s effectiveness drops significantly in muddied pockets
Chiefs sub defense continued to be a foundational mix of cover 2 and cover 1 with some cover 3 and 2 man-bracket also mixed in
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS BUCS DEFENSE
Bucs nickel had Davis at left corner and Dean at right corner with Murphy-Bunting in the slot – Bucs played nickel on 70 of Bills 76 snaps
This was a matchup of Bills 11 personnel versus Bucs nickel: Bills 68 snaps of 11 personnel versus Bucs 70 snaps of nickel
It was evident right from the start the Bucs from a coverage standpoint showed disguise and late movement to different zone coverages
Bucs also featured 4 man zone exchange pressure concepts in addition to 5 man pressures: Barrett sack on 2nd + 10 on first possession resulted from safety Adams clean off the front side edge in a 5 man pressure, Bucs diamond front with LB David on the ball on the back side edge; Was that on Allen or Singletary?
Allen first designed run came on second possession: C/T pull scheme to the field for 14 yards
Bucs first snap of cover 1 came on 2nd + 7 on Bills second possession (ninth snap), It came out of 5 man diamond front with David peeling to match Singletary and White the fifth rusher coming from second level, Barrett-White sack
Bucs second man pressure came on the next play (3rd + 10), Winfield was the fifth rusher off the back side with White adding in as a green dogger
Sanders 25 yards to start third possession came on conventional play action with Allen hitting Sanders in the intermediate void just inside the numbers in cover 2, Rifle shot by Allen
Diggs 24 yards on next play after Sanders 25 yards came out of 10 personnel versus Bucs dime 2 man coverage, Allen another rifle shot on dig ball to Diggs versus Dean – Bucs 3-2-6 dime to keep David and White on the field
Davis 21 yards was third consecutive 20+ yard completion on third possession: Second consecutive snap out of 10 personnel with well-designed zone beater concept off fake flare screen to McKenzie from offset alignment in the backfield, Davis showed blocking action then released on delayed wheel into void created by Sanders clearing out corner Murphy-Bunting
Allen too high on throw to open Davis on 3rd and goal from the +3 yard line, DE Nelson dropping out was in Allen’s line of vision – A throw he must make to finish a great drive
Dean came out with an injury after 17 snaps, Murphy-Bunting became the right corner with Cockrell the slot corner
Bucs aggressive with pressure both 5 man pressures (both zone and man) and 4 man zone exchange pressures that predominantly featured defensive backs: White sack in 2nd quarter came on 5 man pressure with cover 1 behind it
Bills did not have a rush by a running back in the 1st half: Play call breakdown was 24 called passes and 3 designed Allen runs – Can’t play like that
Sherman significant snaps at safety with Winfield in the Bucs nickel: Interception late in 2nd quarter came with Bucs playing cover 1 behind 5 man pressure with green dog, Sherman matched on TE Knox; David green dog beat Singletary block and forced Allen to move and make a reckless undefined throw
Sherman at times was used as the TE matchup on Knox when the Bucs went cover 1 out of nickel – Sherman was on the field on the Bills final possession of regulation
Bills in the 1st half had issues with Bucs pressure schemes and stunt concepts, Too much pressure on Allen
Second play of 3rd quarter was another Allen designed run, another C/T pull scheme this one to the boundary for 1 yard
Bucs went zero out of nickel on 3rd + 3 on Bills first possession of 3rd quarter: Allen to Davis 1 yard
Bills first called running play to a back came on first play of second possession of the 3rd quarter: Singletary 29 yards
What stood out as the game progressed was the Bucs played more man coverage with cover 1 the foundation than they had showed most of the season – Specific game plan approach versus the Bills
Bucs continued to be aggressive in the 3rd quarter with pressure from multiple front looks, and man coverage
Allen 18 yard TD on 3rd + 2 to end Bills second possession of 3rd quarter came on QB counter to the field with RG Williams and RT Brown pulling across the formation
Allen hurt his foot on 23 yard designed run on first 4th quarter TD drive, Next play was Knox 15 yard TD: Seam throw out of 2x2 set versus Bucs nickel cover 3 with no one carrying the seam
Davis 4 yard TD on 2nd and goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter came with Davis the boundary x versus Bucs tight red zone zero with Winfield clean off the back side edge, Davis now slant versus C. Davis and Allen put the ball right on him to beat Winfield blitz – Was the play call a designed swing screen to Singletary?
Bucs featured man coverage – both 2 man and cover 1 – on the Bills final possession that resulted in tying FG, In 2 man David was the matchup on Knox; They also featured some man pressures
Knox 24 yards on tying FG drive came on well-schemed concept versus man coverage: Knox initially showed pass protection then released into the middle, Sherman had Knox in coverage but he gave up on him when he saw him pass protect; Knox room to run taking it into the high red zone
Two things continued to stand out with the Bills: OL issues with pass protection, Rookie RT Brown had a rough outing; Bills have no consistent intermediate passing game
This game was a warrior effort by Allen coming back from a 24-3 halftime deficit and playing most of the 4th quarter with a sprained foot, His 2nd half performance was one of the better ones I have seen this season from a QB
STEELERS OFFENSE VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Vikings continued to be a high percentage nickel sub defense, They have played only 20 snaps of dime all season
Vikings base defense had Kendricks at MIKE, Barr at SAM and Vigil at WILL; Barr and Kendricks were the nickel LB
Peterson right corner and Breeland left corner with Alexander the slot corner; Vikings did not match up corners, They played sides
Vikings showed 2 man and cover 2 out of nickel, They at times got to both coverages from double mug look with Barr and Kendricks in the A gaps
Double mug looks with Barr and Kendricks were staples of the Vikings nickel on 3rd down and long yardage situations
Smith sack on 3rd + 7 in 2nd quarter came on staple Vikings nickel zone pressure out of double mug look: Double mug gets the back to step inside to block and there is no one to account for Smith off the edge
Roethlisberger sacked 4 times in the 1st half with 2 of them resulting from a blitzer getting in clean: Smith and Kendricks; They were both zone pressures
Vikings under Zimmer have always featured 2 blitz concepts as staples: Double mug with safety Smith off the edge, and mike-star overload; They are both zone pressure concepts
Breeland interception came on quick slant to Johnson, Breeland in press coverage physical with Johnson off the ball and did not allow Johnson to cross his face
Boyd and Dantzler played snaps at outside corner opposite Peterson – Roethlisberger went after Boyd in the 3rd quarter with double move by Washington, Boyd good coverage but Washington excellent contested catch 29 yards
Richardson continued to get significant snaps at DE in the Vikings nickel fronts, Wonnum was the predominant edge rusher with Willekes and Jones also getting snaps
Roethlisberger went after Boyd again in the 4th quarter: Johnson 37 yards on go route – Steelers vertical pass is predominantly go routes outside the numbers, It has been that way for the last couple of years
Washington 30 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Vikings nickel cover 4, Steelers ran quarters beater concept to the field with Freiermuth from the slot releasing vertically to hold safety Woods and Washington running the post versus outside leverage corner Peterson; Roethlisberger underthrew the post but Washington went up and got it
Freiermuth 15 yard TD on 2nd + 4 in 4th quarter came out of 12 1x3 with Freiermuth nasty split as the boundary x, Vikings cover 4 out of base which put Breeland over Freiermuth; Freiermuth out route beat Breeland who fell down in his transition, Outstanding timing spot throw by Roethlisberger
What continues to stand out on tape is that Roethlisberger cannot really drive the ball with velocity anymore, He was never a true power thrower but always had the ability to muscle up and drive it when needed, That is lacking at this point in his career
Roethlisberger big-time throw on final play of the game: Seam ball to Freiermuth versus Vikings nickel 2 man coverage with Barr trailing Freiermuth with his back turned to Roethlisberger; Roethlisberger put the ball right on Freiermuth’s hands but Smith knocked it out
VIKINGS OFFENSE VERSUS STEELERS DEFENSE
Vikings continued to be a predominant base personnel offense, Against the Steelers they played 17 snaps with 6 OL; Only 40% of offensive snaps this season have come out of 11 personnel
Sutton right corner and Witherspoon left corner continued to be the outside corners in base and nickel, Maulet continued to be the nickel slot corner
Steelers dime had Layne at right corner with Sutton inside with Norwood, Allen was the dime LB with Spillane inactive
When the Steelers went 2 man out of dime versus 11 personnel Sutton/Norwood was the TE matchup, In cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel Edmunds was the TE matchup
Cook 20 yards on first possession came out of 6 OL/21 personnel versus Steelers 8 man front with Tuszka at OLB and Watt stacked with Bush and Schobert, It was counter strong with LG Cleveland the kick out blocker and offset FB Ham the wrapper
Cook 30 yards on 2nd + 10 on second possession came out of 10 personnel with Jefferson motion to the field from offset alignment in the backfield, Steelers matched up with 2 man coverage out of dime with boundary safety Edmunds playing hard over top of boundary x Westbrook; Inside zone to the boundary with Cook offset to the field, Steelers had no second level defender to play side
Vikings run game multiple re: personnel and formations and concepts, They featured 6 OL personnel as a foundation – Mattison 14 yards on second possession was iso lead weak out of 6 OL/20 straight I, Cook 15 yards in 2nd quarter was outside zone toss out of 6 OL/11
Jefferson 14 yard TD on 2nd + 7 to end second possession came out of 6 OL/21 personnel with Jefferson the boundary x as the only WR, Steelers out of base went cover 1; Conventional play action with mirrored crossers by Jefferson and Conklin with Jefferson running away from Sutton
Vikings game plan featured high percentage base personnel groupings, OL did an outstanding job with double teams at the POA then working to the second level – Cook 16 yards on third possession another good example with OC Bradbury releasing to block Bush
Cook 29 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 2nd quarter came out of 6 OL/21 personnel versus Steelers base 5-2 with 3 safeties and 1 corner, Inside zone with Cook bouncing outside when Edmunds committed hard inside
Steelers featured snaps with 8 DL-LB and 3 safeties-1 corner to match up to Vikings 6 OL and 22 personnel, They did not have much success defensing run game in the 1st half
Vikings continued to show some snaps with 4 WR (both 10 and 01 personnel) every game – Osborn 13 yards on 3rd + 10 in 2nd quarter came out of empty with Osborn outside of Jefferson to twins, Steelers 2 man out of dime with Edmunds bracketing Jefferson
Cook 7 yard TD on 3rd + 2 late in 2nd quarter came out of 6 OL/21 personnel, It was counter to the 5 man surface with LG Cleveland pulling to the strong side
Watt hurt in the 2nd quarter and did not return, Tuszka and Charlton played majority of snaps at OLB-edge rusher along with Highsmith
Charlton flashed as an edge pass rusher showing both speed-to-power and an inside spin move – I always thought Charlton had a chance to be a quality pass rusher when he came out of Michigan but it has not worked out
Steelers in the 2nd half showed some different front looks out of base, They also won some individual matchups along the DL that they did not in the 1st half – Great example was Cook -2 yards on 2nd + 5 early in 4th quarter, Same counter run Vikings had success with in 1st half but this time Heyward drove sixth OL Brendel back negating pull by Cleveland and wrap by Ham
Osborn 62 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 4th quarter came out of 21 straight I versus Steelers base cover 3, Conventional play with deep sail-cross combination; Post safety Fitzpatrick sat on crosser by Jefferson telling back side corner Witherspoon to overlap vertical by Osborn but Osborn ran the deep sail not the post, Great throw by Cousins
Witherspoon second interception came out of nickel cover 1, Vikings ran staple mirrored slant-flat with sit route over the ball; Witherspoon in press man bodied Osborn and jumped the slant route crossing Osborn’s face and beating him to the ball
Cook out of base personnel groupings: 18-144; 18 of his 27 carries came out of base personnel
Cousins has been efficient in the conventional play action pass game: 67-97 for 931 yards, 9.6 yards per attempt, 9 TD, 2 interceptions; Cousins most play action drop backs from under center in the NFL
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars nickel continued to have Ford as the slot corner with Griffin and Campbell the outside corners, Jack and Wilson were the nickel LB with Allen and Smoot the predominant edge rushers
Jaguars continued to play 5-2 as base front, That has been their base front all season
Jones 16 yards on 2nd + 10 late in 1st quarter came out of 21 straight I versus Jaguars base cover 3, Zone run action with Tannehill under center with 2 man route concept with Westbrook-Ikhine from the field running the deep post and Jones from the boundary running the intermediate sit route
Wilson sack on 2nd + 6 late in 1st quarter came out of nickel on well-schemed 4 man zone exchange pressure with cover 2 behind it versus Titans empty set: Initial front alignment with Jack as a standup 3-technique to the boundary resulted in OC Jones sliding to that side, Jack dropped out and Wilson came off the field edge with no one to account for him, Cover 2 took away the quick throw by Tannehill to slot receiver Rogers on the quick out – Well-designed with disguise and late movement
Jaguars game plan approach in long yardage situations featured multiple front looks, disguise and late movement to zone coverage concepts especially cover 2
Titans pass game must be highly schemed especially on 3rd down: Good example was Firkser 8 yards on 3rd + 3 in 2nd quarter out of bunch to the field, Man down and distance situation for the defense so the Titans featured natural rub element to get Firkser the ball on the out cut
Titans continued to have almost no intermediate passing game, Their overall offense right now is condensed schematically; Titans do not feature intermediate and vertical route concepts-combinations that tactically break down zone coverage concepts
RT Quessenberry beaten off the edge by Smoot late in 2nd quarter, 4 man DL rush with cover 2 behind it – Matchup versus Watt this week, Will the Titans need to give Quessenberry help situationally
Jaguars aggressive with pressure concepts versus the Titans, Tannehill versus blitz: 7-12 for 64 yards with 2 sacks – Tannehill and Titans offense have been blitzed a lot in last 3 games, Tannehill has been efficient: 17-28 for 175 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception wit both sacks coming against the Jaguars
Jaguars featured double mug looks out of nickel with Jack and Wilson in the A gaps, Jaguars showed multiple pressure concepts and different coverages from that look
Titans continued to generate almost no explosive plays in the passing game especially to WR, Longest pass play versus Jaguars was Swain 24 yards in the 3rd quarter
Titans OL has become a little bit of any issue in pass protection, Too many one-on-one breakdowns resulting in pressure and/or sacks of Tannehill
Titans at this time do not have any kind of consistent drop back passing game, They have a very limited offense right now
This was a base personnel game for the Titans with 25 snaps of 12 personnel, and 15 snaps of 13 personnel; The flow of the game and the score dictated they could do this
Tannehill play action versus Jaguars: 6-10 for 78 yards with 1 sack; All 11 play action passes came with Tannehill under center \
TREVOR LAWRENCE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Titans base defense had Skrine at left corner and Fulton at right corner, Titans continued to feature 4-3 stacked front looks out of base with Landry off the ball with Brown and Evans
Titans nickel had Skrine at left corner and Fulton at right corner with Molden the slot corner, Browns and Evans the nickel LB
Titans dime had Skrine and Molden inside with Mabin left corner and Fulton right corner, Brown was the dime LB; Mabin only played in the dime, Skrine played left corner in the base and nickel
Titans predominant dime front had Landry and Adeniyi outside, and Simmons and Autry inside; They showed loaded fronts at times
Landry sack on 3rd + 11 in 1st quarter came out of dime, Double mug look with Molden and Brown in the A gaps; Titans went zero with Molden dropping into the underneath middle, Byard coming off the boundary edge created confusion for the right side of Jaguars protection
Titans featured multiple front alignments and pressure concepts on 3rd down out of dime, Molden continued to be used as a blitzer both from outside and inside
Cover 2 was part of Titans 3rd down coverage approach, including cover 2 invert; They got to it through disguise and late movement and used different players as middle hole defenders
Titans 3rd down coverage approach was built on making Lawrence have to think and decipher after the snap and it was effective, Disguise and late movement to both zone and man coverage
Autry continued to play outside in the nickel front and inside in the dime front, Jones significant snaps inside in the nickel front versus Jaguars
One player who has been a disappointment for the Jaguars this season has ben RT Taylor, He has consistently struggled in one-on-one pass protection and it showed up again giving up a sack to Autry in the 1st quarter
Overall this season the Jaguars OL has not been very good in pass protection and that has significantly hurt Lawrence’s development
What consistently stands out watching the Jaguars passing game is Lawrence rarely gets easy throws, Is that a function of scheme because it looks like everything is hard and covered and contested
Titans second snap of zero came on 1st + 10 in 3rd quarter out of nickel, Jaguars were in an empty set and Roberson clean off the edge; Lawrence quick throw to Jones 5 yards
Treadwell 41 yards on 2nd + 10 late in 3rd quarter came out 11 3x1 with Treadwell #1 to trips versus Titans 4 man zone exchange pressure with Molden the fourth rusher off the slot and cover 3 behind it, Straight go route by Treadwell versus Skrine and Lawrence gave him a chance
Brown interception on 1st + 20 late in 3rd quarter came on a great scheme: Another zero look with Brown dropping out late into underneath zone coverage (just like Molden did on Landry sack in 1st quarter), Lawrence with Adeniyi clean off front side edge threw with confidence to Austin on the tempoed inside slant without any sense Brown was dropping into the passing lane – Great scheme and outstanding individual play working together
Skrine interception late in 4th quarter came out of dime cover 2 with Skrine an underneath hook defender from his slot corner position, Lawrence threw to Treadwell on the dig and Skrine read Lawrence and moved into the passing lane
Lawrence has really struggled on 3rd down in his rookie season completing only 47% of his 3rd down passes, On 137 drop backs he has only 55 completions
FALCONS OFFENSE VERSUS PANTHERS DEFENSE
Patterson is the wild card in the Falcons offense, He lines up both as a running back and WR
Panthers continued to be a foundational big nickel base defense with safeties Chinn, Burris and Hartsfield; The 2 stacked LB are Thompson and Carter
Panthers went with 5-2 front versus Falcons 21 personnel with Burns and Reddick on the outside, and Thompson and Carter stacked
Panthers have played significant snaps out of dime this season (18% of defensive snaps) but against the Falcons they did not play any snaps of dime, They played 70% of defensive snaps in nickel even on 3rd and long
Panthers 3 corner nickel had Bouye the third corner
Gage 36 yards on 2nd + 11 on second possession came on sluggo versus Henderson, Gage the single receiver to the field with a plus split outside the numbers giving him a lot of room to work versus Panthers cover 3; 7 man protection off conventional play action
On 3rd + 9 on Falcons second possession Panthers out of nickel went cover 1 behind 5 man pressure with Gilmore matched on Pitts, They matched Hartfield on Zaccheaus
Pitts continued to line up at boundary x on the back side of trips, This season he has drawn corners as the man-to-man matchup especially when the Falcons are in 12 personnel
Gilmore was the matchup on Pitts when the Panthers went cover 1 out of 3 corner nickel, Hartsfield matched either a WR in 11 personnel or a TE personnel
When the Panthers went cover 1 out of big nickel versus 12 personnel they matched Hartsfield on Pitts, Hartsfield excellent man coverage on Pitts on fade ball in the 2nd quarter; There were times Hartsfield was the matchup on Pitts versus 11 personnel
Panthers showed double mug looks out of nickel with LB Thompson and Carter in the A gaps, Multiple pressures and coverages from that front
Running back Davis will stick his nose in there in pass protection versus blitz, He is a tough willing blocker who will stone blitzing LB
Falcons have a 2 back running game with fullback Smith a strong lead blocker – Patterson 5 yard TD came out of 22 straight I with Smith lead block on LB Thompson
Panthers went zero out of big nickel versus 11 personnel on 3rd + 6 in the high red zone late in the 2nd quarter, Pressure forced Ryan into a hurried throwaway incompletion
What continued to stand out is the Panthers play a lot of people on defense, both in their front and their secondary – Melvin played significant snaps at outside corner opposite Gilmore, Taylor also played snaps opposite Gilmore
Ryan’s arm strength (never high-level) has consistently declined in recent years: Deep ball to Sharpe on first possession of 3rd quarter lost energy on the back end, Sharpe double move got on top of rookie corner Taylor
Burns and Reddick have excellent juice off the edge, They can win one-on-one matchups
Panthers give an offense a lot of looks, They feature disguise and late movement with a lot of versatile secondary players
Falcons predominantly feature the zone run game with outside zone the focus, They will run some game scheme and we saw a trap play but zone is the foundation
Falcons have played with a fullback on more than 35% of their offensive snaps this season, They are a base personnel offense
Panthers have been high percentage single high safety coverage all season with cover 1 and cover 3 the foundations, Cover 1 has been the staple and the Panthers are among the league leaders in cover 1 percentage through 13 games
BENGALS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
Rookie Thomas was the left corner for the 49ers with Norman still at right corner, Williams was the slot corner
Harris was the third LB in the 49ers base 4-3 front – Last week versus Seattle the 49ers did not play any snaps of base
49ers continued to show loaded fronts out of nickel and dime, Multiple stunt concepts
It was evident early on what the 49ers game plan approach versus pass was going to be: 4 man DL pass rush with zone coverage behind it, Split safety was foundational coverage approach
49ers played significant snaps of cover 2, It was a foundational coverage versus the Bengals; Warner was almost always the middle hole defender
Burrow came out throwing the ball extremely well: He was decisive with his reads and he was precise with ball placement; He continued to be aggressive throwing to the one-on-ones outside the numbers
49ers first 5 man pressure came at 4:32 in the 2nd quarter with Williams coming off the slot
Key and Ebukam continued to both play inside and outside in the 49ers sub fronts, Armstead continued to play solely inside at DT
Higgins 19 yards on 2nd + 10 in 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Chase the boundary x and Higgins the point man in the bunch to the field, Dagger to the field with hi-low concept versus 49ers nickel cover 2 and Burrow it Higgins on the dig
Al-Shaair hurt late in the 3rd quarter, Harris replaced him in the nickel with Warner
49ers first snap of 2 man coverage came late in the 3rd quarter on 3rd + 5, It came out of first snap of dime (result of Al-Shaair injury?); Key from DT position beat LG Spain and Ebukam beat RT Reiff off the edge
Williams sack on 3rd + 5 in the 4th quarter came out of dime and was a 4 man zone exchange pressure with Williams the fourth rusher and cover 2 invert behind it, Warner initially aligned in the A gap away from Williams to dictate the OC slide to him, Williams clean through the C gap
Higgins 22 yards on 3rd + 6 on tying 4th quarter TD drive came versus 49ers second snap of 2 man coverage out of dime, Higgins from #1 to the boundary in 2x2 set ran the dig and Burrow put the ball on him
49ers played dime on every snap on Bengals tying TD drive in the 4th quarter, Hufanga was the dime safety
Boyd 29 yards on 3rd + 10 on tying 4th quarter TD drive came versus 49ers dime cover 2 and was a cover 2 beater: Higgins from #1 ran vertically to attack half field safety Tartt with Boyd from the slot off scissors action running the wheel outside Tart and behind corner Norman – Great design
Chase 32 yard TD with 1:25 remaining in 4th quarter came on sluggo versus Thomas, Ward was on the hash with his eyes on Burrow and Burrow made a great throw dropping it in the bucket at the front pylon; It looked like it might have been cover 3
Bengals started OT with dagger concept, Burrow hitting Higgins 29 yards on the dig versus cover 2; 49ers second 5 man pressure of the game came on second snap of OT with Warner and Ward rushing with 3 DL, Burrow hit Uzomah 23 yards on delayed check down
3rd + 3 in OT from +19 yard line 49ers came with second 4 man zone exchange pressure out of dime with Williams again the fourth rusher and again cover 2 invert behind it; Bengals must have anticipated pressure in that situation with Perine and Uzomah offset in the backfield as blockers and only 3 receivers in the route limiting Burrow’s options, Burrow had no throw and Bosa ran him down for the sack
49ers two 5 man pressures and two 4 man zone exchange pressures in the game, They played 2 snaps of 2 man coverage and I do not remember seeing a snap of cover 1 – 4 of the 49ers 5 sacks in the game came on 3rd down
Burrow was outstanding in this game, He threw the ball very well and he made tough throws under pressure
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS BENGALS DEFENSE
Bengals significant snaps of dime; They featured it predominantly on 3rd down, in the 2:00 at the end of the 1st half and the 2nd half
First 3rd and long (3rd + 11) Bengals went cover 1 out of dime with Flowers the dime matched on TE Dwelley (Kittle not in the game); Loaded front with long stunt by Hendrickson getting sack on Garoppolo, Dime LB Pratt controlling RG Brunskill critical component in the stunt working
Bengals base defense versus 49ers 21 and 12 personnel featured 5 man DL fronts with Pratt and Bachie the LB
Bengals played both 4-2-5 nickel with LB Pratt and Bachie and 5-1-5 nickel with Pratt the only LB
Apple left corner and Awuzie right corner the outside corners, They played sides and did not match up; Hilton the slot corner in sub
Bengals game plan approach was man coverage on 3rd down out of both nickel and dime; In nickel Bates and Bell both matched up on Kittle
Bengals continued to feature both a 4 corner dime with Flowers and more predominantly a 3 safety dime with Allen, There were snaps both Allen and Flowers matched up on Kittle; When Flowers was the dime the Bengals went man (cover 1, 1 robber, 2 man) and he matched up to Kittle (Flowers same tactic versus Ravens TE Andrews)
Bengals dime snaps with double mug look, Bates and Pratt were the A gap defenders
Aiyuk 21 yards on 1st + 10 late in 1st quarter came on classic West Coast offense concept: Slant-flat to the boundary with spacing to the field (concept is called “Dragon”), Garoppolo hit Aiyuk on the slant versus Bengals base cover 4
Kittle 14 yard TD late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Kittle #3 to trips versus Bengals nickel cover 4, Mirrored over routes by Jennings and Samuel attacked the safeties with Kittle shallow crosser working underneath; Garoppolo full progression read from right to left to get it to Kittle
Samuel 22 yards to start first 3rd quarter possession was vintage Shanahan: Conventional play action with dagger concept and the back off the run action expanding the underneath hook defender
Bengals went zero on 3rd + 13 from +24 yard line on 49ers first 3rd quarter possession: Kittle 16 yards from boundary x versus Allen in off coverage giving up the middle
RT Compton at times had some issues in one-on-one pass protection with Hubbard; Bengals also effective with multiple stunt concepts; Garoppolo sacked 3 times on 3rd down all 3 featuring stunts
Aiyuk 17 yards on final drive of regulation came on well-designed 3 man route concept to the field to attack and break down cover 2, Aiyuk from the slot got to the intermediate inside void in cover 2; Bengals out of dime got to cover 2 from double mug look
Bengals snaps of 1 robber out of 3 safety dime on the 49ers final possession of regulation, Bates was the robber; He dropped an interception on the play before Kittle 19 yards which also came versus 1 robber
Kittle 19 yards to set Gould FG to win at end of regulation came versus 1 robber with Bell matched on Kittle, Outstanding pocket movement by Garoppolo to slide left away from Hubbard who beat RT Compton off the edge
Jennings 25 yards in OT outstanding ball placement by Garoppolo on the slot fade away from Hilton, He put the ball in the only place he could for Jennings to go up and get it
Bengals snaps of zone and man coverage on 49ers winning TD drive in OT, Garoppolo knew where to go with the ball and got it out within the structure and timing of the play concept – Garoppolo on winning OT TD drive: 6-6 for 77 yards and TD
Aiyuk 11 yard winning TD came out of 11 2x2 versus Bengals nickel cover 3, Outside zone action to the field with Aiyuk showing split flow zone blocking across the formation to the boundary; Bell was the flat defender to the boundary and he reacted to the run action away and was not in good position to play Aiyuk on the flat route
Samuel run game: Sweep to the field from offset alignment, Windback from straight I formation, Same side power from offset alignment, Pin-pull from offset alignment (27 yard TD), Outside zone toss to the boundary from straight I formation, Pin-pull from I back alignment with 3 lead blockers
49ers much higher percentage of offensive snaps in 11 personnel versus the Bengals, More than 60% of snaps came out of 11; Only 20% of snaps came out of 21 personnel, Season average prior to Bengals game had been more than 35%
Bengals coverage foundation versus 49ers was single high safety with cover 3 and cover 1, They played some 2 man coverage on 3rd down out of dime
49ers featured play action versus Bengals both with Garoppolo under center and in the shotgun, Overall Garoppolo 10-12 for 114 yards and TD with 1 sack off play action
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS WASHINGTON DEFENSE
Washington continued to feature big nickel as the base defense with Collins, Curl and McCain; They played big nickel versus 12 personnel and at times versus 11 personnel 3
Washington 3 corner nickel continued to have Johnson as the slot corner with Holcomb and Davis the LB
Jackson left corner and Fuller right corner, They played sides and did not match up; That has been the case most of the season
Washington continued to feature 5 man DL fronts out of big nickel, That has been a staple front in the last 5 games; Holcomb the stacked LB and Collins also a box defender at times
Washington also continued to show 5-1 fronts out of big nickel with Davis on the ball on the edge
Washington continued to play snaps of dime, predominantly on 3rd down but also in other selected situations; Collins and Johnson both played in the dime with Holcomb the only LB
Cowboys continued to play significant snaps with 6 OL personnel, Williams and Steele used as the sixth OL; Against Washington they played 18 snaps with 6 OL, 11 coming on 1st down
Washington matched up to 6 OL personnel with 5 DL/2 LB front, Mayo was the LB with Holcomb in that package
Washington continued to show loaded fronts on 3rd down out of dime, Holcomb and Collins the wild cards re: alignment
Washington snaps of double mug out of nickel with Holcomb and Davis in the A gaps
Defenses have focused coverage on Lamb when he is aligned #3 to trips in 3x1 sets, Boundary safety will match him on any vertical route working across the field
Washington continued to show pressure on 3rd down out of dime, That has been consistent since the Bucs game week 10
Curl the predominant TE matchup when Washington went man coverage out of nickel and dime, Holcomb matched up on the running back; In nickel Davis was the free defender
Collins interception on 2nd + 12 in 1st quarter came out of big nickel versus Cowboys 11 personnel, Cowboys 4 strong with Washington matching routes in cover 1 concept; Prescott looked to Gallup at boundary x then threw to Lamb on the crosser from #3 to trips, Throw was scattershot high
Cooper 20 yards late in 2nd quarter came out of 11 1x3 versus Washington conventional nickel cover 4, Well-designed full field route concept to attack cover 4 with Cooper from #2 to trips running the shallow crosser to the boundary; Boundary hook defender Davis matched Elliott out of the backfield creating a void in the coverage
Prescott has been rushing his mechanics in recent weeks, Lower body has been too unsettled; You can see him playing too fast in the pocket, Overall Prescott has not been seeing things as clearly and that has resulted in everything speeded up without the consistently needed clarity
Nsekhe replaced injured Smith at LT in the 3rd quarter, Steele snaps as sixth OL throughout the game and then he took over at RT for ejected Collins in the 4th quarter
Lamb used as an I back on 3rd + 1 on first possession of 3rd quarter, Elliott offset fullback alignment: Pin-pull concept for 10 yards, Elliott lead blocker
Washington continued to be a high percentage zone coverage defense in the 5 games since week 10 versus Bucs: Cover 3, cover 3 and cover 4 have been their predominant coverages; They have played snaps of cover 1 predominantly on 3rd down
Washington run defense last 5 games has allowed 79 yards per game, and the most passing yards they allowed in that stretch was 233 yards to the Seahawks – Defense has played at a high level since week 10 versus the Bucs when they made the change from being a man-based coverage defense to a zone-based coverage defense
Cowboys ran 78 offensive plays and only gained 323 total yards which was 4.1 yards per play, They still showed no meaningful running game re: production and it was interesting that Clement had more carries than Elliott
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS TEXANS DEFENSE
Curhan made his first start at RT for the Seahawks, Shell was inactive
Pierre-Louis inactive for the Texans, Rookie Wallow was the third LB with Kirksey and Grugier-Hill in the base defense; Wallow was the WILL
Texans continued to have King at right corner and Mitchell at left corner with Thomas the slot corner
Penny looked quick and explosive, the best he has looked since he came into the NFL
Lockett 29 yards on 3rd + 10 on first possession came on Wilson second reaction throw: Texans went cover 8 with quarters to the boundary to take away Metcalf in-breakers and cover 2 to the field to play over the top of Lockett, Wilson out of 11 empty looked to Metcalf but had no throw then broke the pocket to his right and made a great movement throw to Lockett in the outside void in cover 2
Lockett 24 yards on 1st + 10 from -16 yard line on second possession came out of 12 closed to the field twins to the boundary versus Texans cover 3, Outside zone run action to the boundary with Metcalf attacking vertically to threaten the corner and the safety with Lockett slow playing an inside release then running the wheel route into the outside void – A well-designed post-wheel concept to get 2-through-a-zone
Dissly 25 yards on 2nd + 7 on second possession came out of 12 3x1 versus Texans first snap of cover 1 out of base with Grugier-Hill matched on Dissly, Dissly shallow crosser ran away from Grugier-Hill
Penny 32 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end second possession came out of 13 personnel with all 3 TE closed to the field in a 5 man surface, Zone concept with WR Eskridge crossing the formation to block corner Mitchell
Wilson missed an opportunity to Metcalf on 3rd + 5 from +43 yard line in the 2nd quarter: Empty set with Metcalf in the slot to twins, Texans cover 1 out of nickel with post safety Reid sitting low and not reacting at all to Metcalf’s go route versus outside leverage corner Mitchell; Throw was there but Wilson went to Lockett on the trips side on the wheel route with a tougher throw that was incomplete
Lockett 55 yard TD late in 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Texans nickel cover 3, Lockett from #1 to the boundary ran the corner post versus Mitchell; DT Collins inside spin move versus RG Jackson forced Wilson to move to his right but the integrity of the play remained
In the 2nd half Johnson played corner opposite King, Johnson matched up to Metcalf and King lined up over Lockett; Hewitt replaced injured Grugier-Hill early in the 3rd quarter
Both LT Brown and RT Curhan had some struggles in one-on-one pass protection, Brown has not been the same player this season
Texans continued to play more snaps of man coverage as the season has progressed, with more single high safety coverage overall; The percentage of cover 2 has decreased significantly
What stood out watching this tape was the Texans defense competed, They played with energy and commitment
Lockett 29 yards on 3rd + 9 in 4th quarter came out of 11 empty with a 4x1 set with Metcalf the reduced split boundary x, Texans matched up with nickel cover 2; Lockett from #4 to the 4 receiver side ran the deep over into the outside void to the boundary, Wilson felt front side pressure and moved to his left to make the throw
Both of Penny long TD (32 yards and 47 yards) came out of 13 personnel; Second one in the 4th quarter had all 3 closed to the boundary with Eskridge plus split to the field, Mid-zone to the field with Penny showing re-acceleration burst and speed
This was a big play offensive performance by the Seahawks both in the run game and the passing game, They had 8 plays of 20+ yards with 6 of them coming in the passing game
Seahawks were 7-13 on 3rd down, their best 3rd down efficiency in any game this season
Play action was part of Seahawks pass game versus Texans, Play action with Wilson under center: 4-7 for 78 yards; Overall play action including shotgun: 6-10 for 87 yards
DAVIS MILLS VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Seahawks nickel continued to have Jones at left corner and Reed at right corner with Amadi the slot corner; Austin played snaps at left corner
Seahawks did not play any snaps of dime versus the Texans, Will they be an exclusive nickel sub defense with Adams out for the season and Neal now at safety with Diggs
Seahawks continued to feature 5-2 as base front with Wagner and Brooks the stacked LB, It was predominantly a reduced front
Mayowa always lined up to the boundary in the 5-2 front and he was the flat defender to the boundary in cover 3
Collins 30 yards on 1st + 10 on first possession came out of 12 2 back set and was staple post-cross combination versus cover 3, Mills hit Collins on the crosser to the boundary with boundary hook defender Brooks showing little awareness of the route; Mills totally secure in the pocket behind 7 man protection
Cooks 15 yards on 2nd + 16 early in 2nd quarter was high-level quarterbacking by Mills, Play concept was “Dragon” with snag-flat to the boundary and spacing to the field with the initial read to the boundary; Mills did not have the snag or the flat so he came back to Cooks on the sit route in the middle
Mills showed good poise in the 1st half, He was composed in the pocket with awareness of his route concepts versus the coverage
Seahawks continued to show loaded fronts on 3rd down out of nickel, Wagner and Brooks were the wild cards re: alignment opposite the load
Seahawks do not generate any consistent pressure on the QB with their 4 man DL pass rush, That has been the case all season
Seahawks played some snaps of 2 man coverage out of nickel versus 11 personnel with Brooks matched on the TE and Wagner on the running back
As the game played out in the 2nd half Mills became a little more unsettled in the pocket, That is why he needs all the snaps and experience he can get; Mills is a pocket passer at his core and needs to be protected and secure
Seahawks continued to show double mug looks out of nickel with Wagner and Brooks in the A gaps, Slot corner Amadi at times used as a blitzer
Seahawks will show a tendency to get more aggressive with pressure when they have the lead and the down and distance is favorable
Seahawks defensive template this season has predominantly been zone coverage behind 4 man DL pressure, They are not a man coverage defense and they are not a pressure defense; They are selective with man coverage and pressure
Seahawks continued to be a high percentage zone coverage defense, Their percentage of cover 1 is among the lowest in the NFL and they played significantly less cover 1 versus the Texans; Seahawks coverage foundation versus Texans was split safety zone
MATTHEW STAFFORD VERSUS CARDS DEFENSE
Cards nickel continued to have Wilson right corner and Alford left corner with Murphy the slot corner – Cards an almost exclusive nickel sub defense with only 7 snaps of dime this season
Kupp lined up offset in the backfield on 1st + 10 late in the 1st quarter, He ran an option route breaking to the outside versus inside leverage stacked LB Simmons for 11 yard reception
Rams went back to featuring more empty sets, Against the Cards Stafford 7-9 for 77 yards and TD out of empty; Rams still feature most empty sets in the NFL with Stafford 149 drop backs: 90-138, 8 yards per attempt, 10 TD, 1 interception
Beckham 2 yard TD on 3rd and goal early in 2nd quarter was designed for him in what is a man-to-man situation for the defense: Beckham was the boundary x on the back side of trips with Michel offset to the boundary, Michel motion to the field bringing his man defender Hicks with him and clearing the boundary for the Beckham quick slant versus Wilson
Cards continued to play 2 man coverage on 3rd down out of nickel, It has been one of their 3rd down staples this season – Beckham 17 yards on 3rd + 8 in 2nd quarter big-time throw by Stafford under pressure from Hicks green dog, Stafford looked to Kupp on the out route to the field then came back to Beckham on the dig from the boundary
Cards continued to show double mug looks out of nickel with Hicks and Simmons in the A gaps, Multiple pressure concepts and coverages come from that front
Beckham 40 yards on 3rd + 4 late in 2nd quarter came on schemed concept out of empty versus anticipated man coverage: Mesh concept (man beater concept) with Beckham shallow crosser to the field and Blanton and Jefferson both running shallow crossers to the boundary, Alford had too much traffic to work through and Beckham was wide open with run after catch
Jefferson 52 yard TD to end first 3rd quarter possession came on staple Rams shot play concept: Stafford play action boot left off outside zone run action right Post-cross combination with Beckham running the cross and Jefferson the post; Post safety Thompson had his eyes on Beckham crosser and Jefferson got on top of Alford with no safety help in the middle, Big time throw by Stafford 60 yards in the air
Blanton 23 yards on 1st + 10 in 3rd quarter came out of 12 empty with Blanton #3 to trips versus Cards base cover 3, Full field route concept that attacked the short and intermediate areas with Blanton running the crosser behind the underneath coverage and in front of post safety Baker
Kupp 44 yards on 1st + 20 early in the 4th quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Beckham the boundary x and Kupp #2 to trips versus Cards nickel cover 1, Stafford play action boot right off outside zone run action; Kupp deep over versus Murphy with an absolutely perfect throw by Stafford
Outstanding game for Stafford: He threw with velocity when needed and touch when needed, He threw with precise ball location versus man coverage, He hit the open schemed windows versus zone coverage, He hit the called shot play throws, He took hits and competed
AARON RODGERS VERSUS BEARS DEFENSE
Bears nickel had Johnson and Burns the outside corners with Crawford the slot corner, Vildor also snaps at outside corner opposite Johnson - Johnson matched up to Adams
Bears also played big nickel with Houston-Carson the third safety with Jackson and Gipson, They predominantly played big nickel versus 12 personnel
Houston-Carson was the third safety when the Bears went dime, Bears played 9 snaps of dime versus the Packers
Irvin was the predominant edge rusher opposite Quinn in the Bears sub fronts, Gipson also significant snaps as a edge rusher
Lazard 32 yards on 3rd + 18 from -12 yard line on second possession a big-time throw by Rodgers: Bears went dollar personnel with 7 defensive backs and played cover 3 behind 3 man rush, Lazard deep over route from #3 to trips; Boundary corner Burns did not recognize the route quickly enough and did not get the needed depth to get underneath Rodgers throw, Outstanding awareness of Burns by Rodgers
Packers through scheme and tactics attacked the Adams-Johnson matchup: Natural rub elements
Lazard 2 yard TD on 4th and goal was designed for him: Trips to the field with Lazard #2 versus Bears press man coverage, Adams from #3 to trips immediately released horizontally to the flat and Rodgers from the shotgun inside zone action to the trips side to impact stacked LB Smith; Passing lane was open to Lazard who beat slot corner Crawford off the LOS
Bears at times out of conventional nickel lined up in 5 man diamond front with Ogletree on the ball on the edge and Smith the stacked LB, Dictate one-on-one matchups in pass protection especially versus LT Nijman who struggled in this game
Bears also featured some 5 man diamond fronts out of dime with LB Smith aligned as the standup 0-technique
