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.
TOM BRADY VERSUS SAINTS DEFENSE
Saints played almost exclusively in their sub defenses: 49 snaps of nickel, 20 snaps of dime (both 4-1-6 with Davis and 3-2-6 with Davis and Alexander), 1 snap of dollar; They played only 3 snaps in base defense
2 man was a foundational game planned coverage for the Saints, both out of nickel and dime; Cover 1 also a foundational coverage at times with a robber – Saints overall coverage approach was man, They challenged the Bucs receivers
Saints showed loaded fronts at times out of dime, Snaps in which Davenport was inside of Jordan to the load side; Davis the wild card in the loaded fronts with his alignments and rush-coverage
Another element of Saints game plan was to disrupt Gronkowski release off the LOS when he was attached or flexed, Take him away as Brady’s first option
Saints matched up multiple defenders on Gronkowski in their man coverage schemes, Jenkins was the matchup in 2 man coverage; P. Williams gives Saints a lot of coverage flexibility with his corner and safety skills
Davis ability to disguise man coverage responsibility with his alignment was a key part of Saints approach, He often lined up in the box not giving Brady a clean pre-snap read
Saints at times did not define coverage to the trips side of the Bucs formation until after the snap and that created some indecision in Brady: Hybrid man-zone looks, brackets, lurkers and robbers all part of Saints multiple coverage concepts
Another tactic the Saints deployed especially from dime was peeling the DE to match the back when he free released from offset alignment, Davis would become the fourth rusher
Saints DL won individual matchups as pass rushers, Pressure and muddied pockets got Brady playing fast beginning in the 1st quarter; There were a lot of snaps in which it seemed Brady was throwing out of a hole
Godwin tore his ACL/MCL early in the 2nd quarter and that was a big loss for the Bucs, Evans also hurt in the 2nd quarter and he did not return
Saints showed multiple pressure fronts out of nickel and dime, Double mug looks out of nickel with Davis and Alexander in the A gaps and diamond fronts out of dime part of that tactic
Jordan 2 sacks in the 1st half, Both came on 4 man DL pass rush in which Jordan won one-on-one matchups; Second sack also had DE Granderson stressing the edge versus LT Smith forcing Brady to climb, Jordan RT Wirfs
Davenport sack on 3rd + 4 late in 3rd quarter came out of dime loaded front with 2 man behind it, Jordan dropped to match Fournette out of the backfield with Davis the fourth rusher on a delayed rush; T/T stunt with Davenport looping behind Onyemata, LT Smith with eyes initially on Davenport was late to wide 9 DE Granderson – Brady felt the pocket squeeze as the pressure came form both inside and outside
Saints at times out of nickel went cover 1 behind 3 man rush with two underneath zone lurk defenders taking away the short middle of the field
Bucs 3 WR in 11 personnel after Godwin and Evans were hurt were Johnson, Miller and rookie Darden; Bucs more 12 personnel with Gronkowski and Brate in the 2nd half
Brady was just off with his ball placement in this game, He was not as precise as he almost always is even when he had a clean pocket – Function of accumulated and then anticipated pressure, mentally and physically playing a little faster?
Onyemata sack on 3rd + 10 in 4th quarter came out of dime loaded front with 2 man behind it, Another T/T stunt this time with Onyemata the looper behind Davenport – Loaded fronts presents issues for the Bucs in pass protection throughout the game
Gardner-Johnson interception late in 4th quarter came out of dime 2 man with P. Williams cutting the crosser by Gronkowski from boundary x; Brady had no throw to trips and Gronkowski was taken away, Brady became unsettled in the pocket and broke the pocket to his right throwing to Miller but Gardner-Johnson undercut the throw
Brady on 1st down versus the Saints: 5-16 for 52 yards; That came against predominantly 2 man and cover 1 with some zone later in the game once the Saints had the 2 score lead
This was much more of a coverage game than a pressure game re: tactics for the Saints, They showed multiple fronts and pressure fronts and featured some zone exchange schemes but overall the pressure foundation was 4 man DL pass rush and they were consistently able to generate pressure on Brady
PATRICK MAHOMES VERSUS CHARGERS DEFENSE
Davis the boundary corner with Campbell the field corner and Harris the slot corner in the Chargers nickel – Chargers a high percentage nickel defense versus the Chiefs with only 6 snaps in base and 2 snaps in dime
Mahomes and Chiefs passing game efficient early with an effective game plan approach versus anticipated zone coverage from the Chargers: Quick game throws that allowed Mahomes to get into rhythm, Mahomes took the schemed easy throws
Mahomes has been less reckless and undisciplined making second reaction movement throws the last 2 games versus the Raiders and Chargers, Better economy of movement with more field awareness
Hill 23 yards on 3rd + 4 early in 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 tight bunch to the field versus Chargers nickel cover 8 with cover 2 to the field, Hi-low concept to the field with Hill the corner route in the outside void behind cover 2 corner Campbell and outside of half field safety James
Chargers showed different front looks out of nickel: Loaded fronts, double mug looks; Nickel LB White and Tranquil were the wild cards
James could only play 28 snaps, Marshall played more snaps at safety due to James injury
Kelce 69 yards on 3rd + 5 mid-4th quarter was a big play in the game: Chargers went cover 1 out of nickel with Marshall matched on Kelce, Out of tight bunch to the field 3 man route concept got Kelce one-on-one with the entire wide side of the field to work with; Marshall fell down and Kelce had room to run for the big gain
Mahomes made some big second reaction movement throws on 3rd down in the 4th quarter: Kelce 69 yards, Hill 20 yards on tying TD drive, both coming versus Chargers nickel cover 1
In the 4th quarter Mahomes movement and his legs were a big factor in the game, He made throws off movement and he scrambled for big gains
Kelce 27 yards on second play of OT came out 11 2x2 versus Chargers 3 under-3 deep behind 5 man pressure, Kelce initial stack behind Pringle but then walk motion tighter to the formation resulting in LB Tranquill bumping inside a few steps; 3 man flood route concept to the boundary that attacked 3 under-3 deep coverage with Kelce running the intermediate out route with leverage on Tranquill
Overall Mahomes played more comfortably versus the Chargers especially from the pocket, He worked through progressions and did not play fast; He will always break the pocket and look to make second reaction plays, That’s part of who he is
Chiefs are a heavy play action passing team with a good percentage coming out of the shotgun which includes RPO concepts; Mahomes at the top of the NFL in shotgun play action pass attempts: 77-111 for 710 yards with 11 TD and 4 interceptions, The low yardage total is representative of the RPO game with quick throws
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS PANTHERS DEFENSE
Brown was the LT with Williams moving back to RT, Ford was the RG
Panthers continued to feature big nickel as foundation personnel package with Chinn, Hartsfield and Burris; Thompson and Carter were the nickel LB in normal down and distance situations, Thompson and Luvu were the nickel LB in passing situations
Panthers continued to play dime on 3rd down, Chandler was the dime safety with Hartsfield the playing the slot
Gilmore was the predominant matchup on Diggs when Diggs lined up outside (it was 100%), Henderson and Melvin both got significant snaps opposite Gilmore
Bills ran a trap play on 2nd and long on third possession, RG Ford trap block on 3-technique Jones: Singletary 8 yards
What continued to stand out is the Bills are aggressive on 3rd and short (and at times 4th and short): Knox 15 yards on 3rd + 2 on third possession
Singletary 16 yard TD in 1st + 10 to end third possession came out of 11 personnel, C/G pull scheme with RG Ford the kick out on Reddick and OC Morse leading into the hole; Outstanding cut off block by TE Knox on play side stacked LB Carter
12 personnel and 6 OL personnel part of Bills game plan, Bates was the sixth OL – Bills 14 snaps with 12 personnel and 6 snaps with 6 OL
Diggs 14 yard TD on 2nd + 7 to end fourth possession came out of 12 3x1 with Diggs the boundary x, Panthers red zone 2/4 with Gilmore playing man technique on Diggs; Allen drove the ball early to Diggs on what was essentially a fade route before Gilmore could get a chance to play both Diggs and the ball
Panthers predominant coverage approach was zone, They played snaps of cover 1 and a few of 2 man but primarily they played zone concepts both cover 3 and split safety
Panthers aggressive with multiple pressure concepts, They featured both man and zone pressures; Panthers pressure front looks, simulated pressures and disguised late movement to coverage caused problems at times for both the Bills protection and for Allen
There are still too many snaps in which Allen is a little unsettled in the pocket and too quick to move out of the pocket, The next stage in his development is to eliminate the unnecessary movement and work the pocket more efficiently
Allen still struggles at times with coverage disguise and late movement, He must continue to become more consistently refined in the pocket – Bills pass game had little rhythm to it versus the Panthers
Brown needs to get stronger to become a viable starting OT in the NFL, He has plus athleticism and good movement but there were too many snaps in which he was physically controlled
C/G pull scheme was a foundation of Bills run game versus the Panthers, Bills also showed trap and wham-trap: Singletary 12 yards to start 4th quarter possession came on wham-trap
Davis 28 yards on 3rd quarter TD drive looked like an RPO with Allen reading back side stacked LB Thompson then throwing the slant to Davis versus off coverage corner Melvin, Run action was both counter with TE Sweeney aligned in the backfield and McKenzie orbit reverse action
Davis 20 yard TD on 3rd + 12 to end 3rd quarter TD drive came out of 11 3x1 versus Panthers disguised late movement to 2 man out of dime, Panthers showed cover 1 with pressure before the snap but it became 2 man after the snap with Gilmore a deep player to the boundary; Allen started to break down in the pocket but then settled himself and hit Davis late in the down on a rocket ball when he saw Melvin’s back
Bills got the ball with 6:11 remaining in the 4th quarter and a 10 point lead and ran the ball on 8 consecutive plays, seven by Singletary; They featured the zone run game out of 12 personnel
While the Bills ran the ball in the 4th quarter with a 2 score lead their offense overall was still pass heavy, and it was an inconsistent and scattershot performance
This was not a good game for Allen, He was too undisciplined in his overall play; he must become more settled and refined in the pocket
PATRIOTS OFFENSE VERSUS COLTS DEFENSE
Ya-Sin and Rodgers both played snaps as the Colts third corner, He played outside with Moore moving inside to slot corner; Willis and Sendejo were the safeties
Colts continued to be an almost exclusive nickel sub defense, They have played only 6 snaps of dime all season
Colts 3rd down out of nickel: Loaded fronts with Leonard the wild card, 3-3-5 nickel with Speed the third LB with Leonard and Okereke, Diamond fronts, Cover 2 (Okereke the middle hole defender), Cover 1 (at times with bracket/double on Henry), Cover 3 – Colts 3rd and long snaps in which Buckner was the wide 9 DE with Paye inside at DT, Turay also snaps inside at DT
Buckner on 3rd down aligned at multiple positions along the defensive front including wide 9 and 0-technique
Colts continued to play a lot of cover 1, That has been a staple coverage for much of the season; There were cover 1 snaps with Leonard matched on the slot WR
Colts aggressive playing the Patriots run game: Slanting DL, Second and third level defenders shooting gaps
Jones big-time throw on fade ball to Meyers on 3rd + 9 late in 1st quarter, Meyers got on top of Rhodes in man coverage but he could not make the catch
Safety Willis a key player in Colts defensive game plan versus Patriots: He was a box player versus the run playing downhill and shooting gaps, He played post safety, He matched up man-to-man to TE Henry, He was used as a blitzer
Jones continued to be decisive with his reads and throws, He knows where to go with the ball re: route concepts versus coverage; Ball placement continued to be a strong trait of his game
Leonard interception in the high red zone late in 2nd quarter came out of nickel versus Patriots 21 personnel: Colts cover 3 with Leonard the hook defender to the boundary, Jones on 3 step drop looked to boundary x Harry and then came to Henry on the crosser from the field to the boundary; There was no route to control Leonard so he was sitting in his underneath hook zone, Either Jones did not read the coverage or he thought his look to Harry would move Leonard out of his coverage responsibility
Okereke interception on 3rd + 1 on Patriots first possession of the 3rd quarter came out of nickel 1 robber with Willis the robber, Patriots ran mesh concept with Henry and Meyers and Jones looked to Henry on the crosser from the boundary to the field but Willis robbed it and took it away; Jones came to Bolden on the check down short out route but Okereke jumped in front of the throw
Nature of the game took the Patriots out of their 2 back personnel grouping, Fullback Johnson only played 10 snaps and sixth OL Onwenu only played 6 snaps – This was much of an 11 personnel game: 44 snaps (68%)
Jones showed the progression reading ability to come back side off front side reads, He has a refined feel for elimination and isolation
Jones also showed enough functional movement in the pocket to come off the initial progression and find secondary reads: Henry 12 yard TD to start 4th quarter a good example of that
Harry 43 yards on Patriots final TD drive came out of 11 3x1 with Harry the single receiver to the field versus Colts nickel cover 4 with Rodgers the outside leverage corner on Harry, Jones read the coverage and turned it loose
Henry 7 yard TD on 3rd and goal in 4th quarter was a big-time read and throw by Jones: 3 man flat-curl-seam seal route concept to the boundary with Jones throw needing to beat hook defender Leonard, Great timing and ball placement by Jones
Jones showed he can be aggressive throwing at the intermediate and deeper levels when the situation demands, He has been consistently good this season executing schemed throws into zone windows
Jones has consistently done a good job reading coverage and his elimination and isolation traits within the structure and route concepts are refined for a rookie QB
JONATHAN TAYLOR VERSUS PATRIOTS DEFENSE
Patriots predominantly matched up with big nickel to Colts 12 personnel, Big nickel with Dugger and Phillips hybrid safeties/LB has been Patriots base defense this season
Patriots defensive front game plan was 5-2 at times with reduced fronts to cover the OC and the OG and limit the movement of the interior OL to get to the second level
Patriots some snaps out of base versus Colts 12 personnel, Defensive front alignment still featured 5-2 with 0-technique
Taylor patience and vision and short area burst, It was all there on his first run of the game for 11 yards: Inside zone with Taylor reading the block of OC Pinter on 0-technique Davis
Inside zone was the foundation run the Colts started with, Colts run game was almost completely zone based with almost no pulling OL
First Taylor run with a pulling OL came with 5:14 in the 3rd quarter on 3rd + 3 from +29 yard line: It was a trap concept with RT Smith pulling across the formation but Collins crossed the LOS too fast forcing Taylor to cut back side into unblocked defender Phillips for a 2 yard loss
Taylor outstanding understanding of how to press the hole and manipulate both first and second level defenders
Taylor consistently showed an excellent feel for the fluidity of gaps and defensive flow as he followed his initial path
Patriots still showed reduced front alignments with 0-technique when they went 3 corner nickel with Bryant versus Colts 11 personnel
At times out of conventional 3 corner nickel the Patriots went with more of a 4-3 1-gap front alignment, You saw that more as the game progressed
Colts clearly believed they could run the ball with volume and needed efficiency versus the Patriots, That was their game plan and they stayed with it
Taylor ability to see and dictate defensive front movement with his path, and then move laterally from gap to gap before bursting vertically is as good as any back in the NFL
Patriots more snaps of base defense versus Colts 12 personnel once Dugger was ejected in the 3rd quarter, Dugger a key component of the big nickel and that personnel package does not really exist without him
Taylor 67 yard TD with just over 2 minutes remaining to seal the win came out of 13 personnel versus Patriots base defense with a 5-2 front and Phillips on the ball to the attached 2 TE side, Inside zone with Taylor cutting away from filling unblocked safety McCourty and inside of clean scraping LB Hightower; Patriots fire x concept with LB Hightower and Collins, OC Pinter outstanding job recognizing it and stepping back inside to pick up Collins
Taylor had 29 carries versus the Patriots, On only one of those runs did they feature a pulling OL; Run game was zone based with Taylor using his patience and vision and short area burst to clear the first level of the defense
KYLER MURRAY VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Lions nickel had Oruwariye and Harris at outside corner with Parker the slot corner, Harris was a safety in college and has been a safety in the NFL; Moore and Marlowe were the safeties, Safety Breeze was the dime
Anzalone hurt early in the game, Barnes and Reeves-Maybin were the predominant nickel LB with Pittman also getting snaps
Lions predominant edge rushers in their sub fronts were Harris, Lemonier and Bryant with Berry also getting significant snaps
Harris sack on 3rd + 3 to end Cards second possession came out of nickel double mug look with Reeves-Maybin and Barnes in the A gaps, Murray in an empty set so the protection had to squeeze inside to account for the double mug leaving Harris clean off the edge; Lions played a 5 across zone match coverage, There was not a true middle of the field safety
Cards 4th and goal from the 3 yard line late in 2nd quarter knew they would get man coverage and went with a man beater concept that had a natural rub element: Wesley quick slant underneath Kirk but slot corner Parker switched and played Wesley resulting in the incompletion
Lions played a good mix of single high and split safety coverage, Cover 1 was the Lions predominant 3rd down coverage out of nickel and dime
Lions were aggressive with multiple pressure schemes out of their sub defenses, Overall they challenged the Cards offense with man coverage and pressure
Oruwariye interception to end Cards second possession of the 3rd quarter resulted from Murray not seeing things clearly from the pocket, The read was to the left side with Ertz running the crosser to that side and he was wide open; Murray did not process that and came all the way to the right to Green, Oruwariye jumped in front of the out ball and made the interception
Murray always capable of special reaction plays like Green 19 yards on 3rd + 9 in the 3rd quarter, Lions 6 man pressure from double mug look with Reeves-Maybin driving back Edmunds into the pocket forcing Murray to move
Lions went zero out of nickel on 3rd and goal in the high red zone in the 3rd quarter, Safety Moore got in clean through the A gap and Murray made the only throw he had to Ertz on the crosser but it was short of the end zone and was incomplete
Cards had some issues with the Lions pressure concepts, Lions featured multiple pressures especially on 3rd down when their blitz percentage was over 50%: Man pressures and zone pressures plus some 4 man exchange pressures, They also played 5 snaps of zero coverage with 3 coming on 3rd down
Cards pass game never developed any rhythm within structure, Murray often walks a fine line between being comfortable and composed in the pocket and being unsettled with too much unnecessary movement
Harris flashed versus Cards as an edge rusher, He looked explosive with short area burst and closing speed – Overall Harris has had a strong season as a pass rusher
Lions featured double mug looks out of both nickel and dime, In nickel the A gap defenders were both LB while in dime the A gap defenders were Reeves-Maybin and safety Moore
Kirk 26 yard TD on 3rd + 10 late in the 4th quarter came versus Lions dime zero, Kirk from #2 to trips beat slot corner Parker on a post route
This was a strong performance by the Lions defense from a tactical standpoint: DC Glenn was aggressive and challenged the Cards offense with players in different positions and free agents getting significant snaps
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS WASHINGTON DEFENSE
Washington continued to play big nickel as a foundation base defense, With Curl inactive Reaves was at safety with Collins and McCain
Washington continued to play big nickel versus 11 personnel in normal down and distance situations
Washington big nickel featured both 4-2-5 and 5-1-5 personnel, 5 DL personnel has been part of Washington defense all season
Johnson continued to be the slot corner in conventional nickel, Washington showed loaded fronts on 3rd down out of conventional nickel
Goedert 19 yards on 3rd + 6 on second possession came out of 11 3x1 bunch versus Washington nickel disguise late movement to cover 2, Levels concept to attack zone coverage with Smith running the shallow crosser and Goedert the intermediate crosser; Good read and throw by Hurts
Hurts sack-fumble to end second possession came on a well-designed high red zone play with Goedert the boundary x and Smith offset in the backfield to the boundary, It was a boundary read for Hurts versus Washington 3 under-3 deep coverage behind 5 man pressure and he had Goedert on the skinny post but did not turn it loose; Hurts not yet advanced enough as a pocket QB to come back to the trips side where Gainwell from #1 was open on the delayed in-breaker – A learning play for Hurts in his continuing development
Sanders 16 yard reception on 3rd + 2 on third possession came out of shotgun Pony package with both Sanders and Howard offset in the backfield, Nice design with zone read/inside zone action and then misdirection with Sanders releasing into the flat
Goedert 45 yards on 2nd + 9 on fourth possession came out of 13 personnel versus Washington 5-2-4 personnel, Post-wheel combination to the boundary with Jackson running the post and Goedert the wheel; Play designed for Goedert and safety Reeves came off Jackson and was in great position to make a play but Goedert made the contested catch on the underthrown ball
One area Hurts needs continued improvement is the deep ball, He does not have a naturally strong arm and his throwing mechanics further limit his ability to get the ball out with distance; His deep balls show a tendency to lose energy on the back end
Eagles with their route concepts did a good job attacking Washington high percentage zone coverage, They featured hi-low levels concepts
Goedert 21 yards on 2nd + 6 on 2nd quarter TD drive came out of 12 3x1 bunch versus one of few snaps of Washington cover 1 out of big nickel with Reaves matched on Goedert, Goedert crosser from point position in the bunch; What stood out was Hurts pocket movement sliding left while maintaining his downfield focus
Jackson hurt in the 2nd quarter, Johnson replaced him at left corner in the big nickel; Johnson stayed inside at slot corner in conventional nickel with Elder playing left corner
Sanders 38 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 12 personnel, It was outside zone out of pistol; Eagles caught Washington DL play side slanting inside which allowed LT Mailata to get to the second level cleanly to lay some wood on Holcomb
Collins hurt in 3rd quarter, Everett replaced him at safety in the big nickel; With Collins out Washington played more snaps with 4 defensive backs
Washington played predominant 5-2 fronts once Collins went out and they still struggled to stop the Eagles run game
There were snaps in which Hurts was focused on the huddle call and he looked only to the primary receiver regardless of the coverage, and there were snaps in which he showed elimination and isolation traits, Watkins 9 yards on 2nd + 7 in the 4th quarter a good example of working the progression
Reagor 34 yards on 3rd + 6 on 4th quarter TD drive came on an audible by Hurts, He saw the pressure front with the double mug look out of dime and the man coverage on the outside with a single high safety and he checked to a boundary screen to Raegor with Goedert and RT Johnson out in front – Excellent pre-snap recognition by Hurts
What consistently stood out with the Eagles run game was the overall athleticism and mobility of the OL, and the cohesion with which they executed the different blocking schemes both zone and gap scheme
Washington continued to be high percentage zone coverage with few snaps of cover 1, That has been their coverage profile since week 10; In the 6 games since week 10 Washington has played the lowest percentage of cover 1 in the NFL (less than 15%)
Eagles 32 snaps of 12 personnel and 8 snaps of 13 personnel, with 4 snaps of Pony personnel; It was a predominant base personnel game plan
Sanders 18-131 with 10-68 out of shotgun and 2-42 out of the pistol, part of another dominating running performance by the Eagles: 41-238 and was without Hurts being a significant part of it from a designed run standpoint
Hurts out of the shotgun: 18-23 for 223 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception (not on him), 27 of his 32 drop backs came out of the shotgun
WASHINGTON OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Charles was the RG and Cosmi the RT with Ismael the OC for Washington
Eagles featured 2 nickel LB personnel packages: Edwards and Avery with Avery on the ball in a 5 man front, and Edwards and Singleton behind 4 man DL front
Eagles continued to feature 5-2 as a base front, with Avery the SAM LB on the ball and Edwards and Singleton the stacked LB
Slay lined up over McLaurin, Slay had been the left corner and Nelson the right corner but against Washington he travelled with McLaurin
Eagles played some cover 1 as has been their tendency over the last month or so but they played a much higher percentage of zone coverage versus Washington, Cover 2 was a foundation coverage versus Washington
Eagles featured some disguise and late movement to get to different zone coverage concepts, In cover 2 out of nickel Edwards was the middle hole defender with Maddox at times a deep half defender
Rookie DL Williams continued to flash: First play of Washington second possession he physically controlled LG Flowers and made a play in the run game; Williams made another play on 3rd + 1 in the middle of the 2nd quarter when he was aligned at 3-technique and got inside of RT Cosmi and tackled Gibson for a 1 yard loss; Williams third play that showed his POA power came on 2nd + 10 in 4th quarter when he controlled and displaced OC Ismael with Jackson cleaning up o Gibson no gain
Williams predominantly played in the 5 man fronts both in base and nickel lining up inside at 3-technique and 4i, He also had some snaps in the 4-2-5 nickel
McLaurin 46 yards on first play of third possession came out of 11 personnel with McLaurin #1 to the field, Eagles out of nickel went cover 1 with Slay off coverage on McLaurin; McLaurin got on top of Slay, Gilbert underthrew it just a little
Eagles on 3rd and goal on third possession went cover 1 with 2 underneath zone defenders behind 3 man rush, Gilbert had no defined throw
Cox sack late in 2nd quarter came on T/E stunt with Sweat, Cox as the penetrator drove back RT Cosmi into the pocket
Cox lined up at wide 9 DE with Barnett the standup 3-technique out of dime on 3rd + 11 in the 3rd quarter – Cox has lined up at wide 9 DE in sub fronts at times this season
Epps played snaps in both the base and nickel defenses, and he was the dime safety; Epps always shows up on tape
Eagles went zero out of nickel on 2nd + 9 with 10 point lead in the 4th quarter, Washington excellent job picking up the 6 man pressure with Gilbert hitting Sims on the dig for 13 yards
Williams finished a strong game with an outstanding pass rush versus RG Charles on 3rd + 7 with less than 3½ minutes remaining in the game, Quickness off the ball with a club-rip move
Cox and Hargrave completed the win with inside pass rush on 4th + 9 with less than 3 minutes remaining, They squeezed the pocket on Gilbert and forced a fumble
Eagles only played 3 snaps of dime with Epps the third safety, All 3 snaps came on 3rd down – Eagles have only played 23 snaps of dime all season, They have been a high percentage nickel sub defense
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
Bradberry and Williams were the outside corners with Ryan and McKinney the safeties in the Giants base defense
Crowder and B. McKinney were the stacked LB in the Giants base 5-2 front, J. Smith also some snaps with Crowder in the base defense
Ragland continued to play in the nickel with Crowder with McKinney also getting snaps, Giants both 4-2 and 5-1 fronts out of nickel
Crowder continued to be the constant at LB playing every snap in all the packages
Crossen was the dime corner versus the Cowboys, Ryan and Love played both onside and at safety in the dime
Giants 3rd down dime front at times featured rookie Ojulari and Carter outside with Williams and rookie Smith inside, Smith also snaps on the edge in the nickel front; Roche also significant snaps as an edge pass rusher in nickel and dime fronts
Giants coverage on 3rd down out of dime more zone heavy than man heavy – Overall Giants are a high percentage zone coverage defense, Their percentage of cover 1 is among the lowest in the NFL
Giants played both nickel and dime on 3rd down depending on yards to go and field location, They showed some cover 2 out of both nickel and dime with Crowder the middle hole defender
Elliott 13 yard TD on 2nd + 10 to end second possession came out of 11 2x2 versus Giants 2 man out of dime, Delay draw with RG Martin folding behind OC Biadasz to block Crowder
Love continued to be the predominant TE matchup when the Giants went man coverage out of dime
Giants DC Graham at times went nickel versus Cowboys 12 personnel, He featured 5-1 fronts out of nickel versus both 12 and 11 personnel
Cowboys had success with the delay draw on 2nd and long in the 1st half: Elliott 13 yard TD in the 1st quarter, Pollard 12 yards on 2nd + 10 in the 2nd quarter
Ojulari-Roche split sack on 3rd + 4 in high red zone late in 2nd quarter came on zero blitz out of nickel, Both Roche and Ojulari were clean off each edge
Giants will show some disguise and late movement out of nickel and dime, They will also show trap concepts especially off pressure – Giants a lot more disguise and movement in the 3rd quarter
Giants also showed loaded fronts out of dime, also with disguise and late movement behind it; They featured multiple stunt concepts out of loaded fronts
J. Smith played in all 3 packages – base, nickel and dime; At the end of the 1st half he was used as an edge pass rusher
Cowboys have not been able to make big plays in the passing game in their last 3 games, Prescott in last 3 games is averaging only 5.7 yards per attempt with 3 TD and 3 interceptions and only 35 of his 76 completions in that 3 game stretch have resulted in 1st downs
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS FALCONS DEFENSE
Falcons showed a 3-3-5 nickel with Walker the third LB with Jones and Oluokun, Hall was the slot corner; Terrell was the left corner and Moreau the right corner, They played sides and did not match up
Falcons continued to play both Hall and Grant at nickel slot corner depending on down and distance, Hall played on 3rd down and defined passing situations
Falcons at times on 1st down and normal down and distance situations matched up with Grant at nickel versus 49ers 21 personnel
Samuel continued to be used as a running back both in the I formation and offset in the shotgun, He is a naturally powerful runner with contact balance and finishing traits – Samuel 10 yard TD late in 2nd quarter came out of I formation: Counter to the boundary behind puller Brunskill and wrapper Kittle
Kittle 28 yards on 1st + 10 on second possession came out of 21 personnel with Aiyuk motion across the formation from the field to the boundary, Falcons nickel cover 2 with Grant the slot corner; Power run action to the field with Garoppolo half boot to the same side, Kittle seam from attached TE alignment to the boundary with the run action holding down middle hole defender Oluokun – Strong throw by Garoppolo
Falcons showed zero coverage on 3rd + 8 in high red zone, Hall was the slot corner; They initially showed a 6 man pressure but Jones then dropped into the underneath middle to defend Garoppolo strong tendency to work between the numbers
Aiyuk 36 yards to start third possession came out of 21 personnel with Juszczyk shift from I formation fullback to slot to the field inside of plus split Aiyuk, Falcons cover 3 out of their base 5-2 front; 49ers basic 3 step drop concept with slant-flat to the field and double glance back side to the boundary, Garoppolo hit Aiyuk on the slant in front of off coverage corner Terrell with run after catch
Wilson 17 yards on the play after Aiyuk 36 yards came out of same personnel and same motion/formation, It was outside zone to the field with Wilson taking the edge because the Falcons defense never forced him to cut back inside
Falcons featured disguise and late movement especially on 3rd down to try to disrupt Garoppolo timing and force him to get stuck in the pocket where he is far less effective
Juszczyk 6 yard TD to end third possession came out of 21 strong I left to the boundary, Inside handoff behind LT Williams and Kittle with Garoppolo boot action holding on-the-ball OLB Means
Samuel 30 yards to start fourth possession came out of 12 personnel with Aiyuk motion across the formation from the boundary to the field, Falcons cover 3 out of base 5-2 front; Split flow stretch zone run action to the boundary with Aiyuk running the go route and Samuel the crosser – Well-designed concept to attack and break down cover 3
Samuel 21 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 12 3x1 with Samuel the boundary x versus Falcons base 5-2 cover 3, Shotgun outside zone run to the field with Samuel quick slant – RPO or straight play action?
49ers run game out of 21 personnel started to dominate on second possession of 3rd quarter, It was all zone lead concepts
Jennings 4 yard TD to end second possession of 3rd quarter came 11 2x2 with Aiyuk return motion versus Falcons nickel zero, Jennings quick out cut from slot to the field beat Hall who was playing with inside leverage in the zero call
Falcons played high percentage zone coverage versus the 49ers, They did not play many snaps of cover 1
This game was 49ers offensive football at its best: A sustaining running game that controlled the pace and tempo of the game, and an efficient passing game with no sacks or negative plays
Garoppolo outstanding on play action versus Falcons: 7-10 for 126 yards; High percentage was shotgun play action
Garoppolo also outstanding on 1st down: 7-9 for 149 yards – 1st down passing must be a critical component of 49ers offense
FALCONS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
Warner and Harris were the 49ers nickel LB, Thomas was the left corner with Norman the right corner; Flannigan-Fowles was the third LB in the base defense
49ers goal line stand on Falcons opening possession featured 3 great individual plays: Warner staying with his coverage responsibility and breaking up the pass to Smith, Armstead blowing up RG Lindstrom and working down the LOS to tackle Patterson and Tartt recognizing the rub concept and playing over the top to break up throw to Pitts
49ers on 1st down showed some 5 man DL fronts versus Falcons 22 personnel, Warner and Harris were the stacked LB
49ers continued to show loaded fronts out of nickel on 3rd down, They featured multiple stunt concepts out of that front – Key sack on 3rd + 8 early in 2nd quarter came out of E/T stunt with Key the long looper behind Ebukam the inside penetrator from wide 9 alignment opposite the load
49ers continued to be a high percentage zone coverage defense, They played some cover 1 versus the Falcons but they predominantly played zone with split safety being the foundation – 49ers played more cover 1 versus Falcons than they did last week versus the Bengals when they played no snaps of cover 1
49ers played 8 snaps of cover 1 versus the Falcons, Ryan 2-6 for 41 yards and TD with 2 sacks; Both completions to Gage versus Thomas (20 yard TD and 21 yard fade in the 3rd quarter)
When the 49ers went cover 1 versus Falcons 11 personnel Ward was the matchup on Pitts – Ward one of the most complete and multi-dimensional safeties in the NFL
49ers also continued to rely primarily on 4 man DL pressure, They are not a higher percentage blitz defense
Key and Ebukam continued to be multi-positional players in the 49ers nickel fronts aligning both at DE and DT
Gage 20 yard TD later in 2nd quarter came on stutter-fade versus press corner Thomas, 49ers cover 1 out of 5-2 personnel; Gage plus split to the field dictating one-on-one matchup versus Thomas
49ers started 3rd quarter with a blitz, Ward came from the field with 3 under-3 deep behind it, DL to the side of the blitz slanted inside; Falcons split flow outside zone run action away from the blitz and the slant and that put TE Hurst on Ebukam, Ebukam ran through Hurst for the sack
Bosa sack-forced fumble to end Falcons first possession of 3rd quarter came from nickel 5 man pressure with cover 1 behind it, Warner was the fifth rusher; Armstead forced Ryan to move and Bosa cleaned up
Zaccheaus 49 yards on 2nd + 16 in 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Zaccheaus #1 to trips versus 49ers nickel cover 4, Cover 4 beater concept with Gage from #2 to trips running vertically to force Ward to match him leaving Zaccheaus one-on-one on his post route versus outside leverage corner Norman; Norman had to squeeze more inside to play the post route
Falcons OL continued to have issues in pass protection, It has been a problem all season with Ryan under duress and getting hit too much
Pitts 49 yards in 4th quarter came with Pitts the boundary x on the back side of trips versus 49ers base cover 4, Pitts go route versus Thomas with the trips route concepts keeping boundary safety Tartt with his eyes inside dictating the one-on-one matchup on the outside; Pitts got on top of Thomas and Ryan made a great throw dropping it in the bucket
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS STEELERS DEFENSE
Steelers dime had Haden at left corner and Witherspoon at right corner with Sutton and Norwood inside, Allen was the dime LB – Steelers only played 8 snaps of dime versus the Titans
Sutton was at right corner with Maulet continuing to be the slot corner in nickel with Bush, Schobert and Spillane all getting snaps at nickel LB – Steelers played 44 snaps of nickel
Titans shot play on first play of the game: 12 personnel versus Steelers base 5-2 front with cover 4 behind it, Jones from reduced split to the field quickly got on top of Sutton on the go route but Hilliard off the run action bumped LG Brewer who lost leverage and control on Wormley and Wormley sacked Tannehill
Another missed opportunity for the Titans came when Westbrook-Ikhine dropped a go route in the 2nd quarter, He ran by Haden and Tannehill put it on him; Brewer beaten by Heyward and Tannehill hit just after he released the throw
Heyward-Watt split sack on 3rd and goal late in 2nd quarter resulted from coverage versus Titans 3x1 set: Steelers doubled the boundary x and played a zone box concept to the 4 man side with the back offset to the field; Tannehill had the timing throw to Firkser on the sit route at the goal line but he did not process it quickly enough
Steelers on 3rd down out of dime anticipated the Titans would slide their protection to Watt to help RT Quessenberry, A tactic they used had Allen attack the B gap opposite Watt which resulted in back McNichols having to protect versus Allen – Watt sack on 3rd + 13 in 3rd quarter
Foreman carried the ball 22 times with 10 of those runs coming on 1st + 10 for 59 yards, 8 of those 10 runs came out of 11 personnel
All but one Foreman 1st down run was a zone concept, Titans did not feature gap scheme concepts with Foreman – Foreman 20 yards in 4th quarter a strong run
Foreman looked measured and methodical as a runner, He was decisive and showed some short area burst getting downhill in the zone run game; Foreman did not show a second gear or the juice to re-accelerate once past the first level of the defense, More of a one speed back
Hilliard a quicker more explosive runner than Foreman but not as big and not as suited to be a volume runner in a run-first offense
Steelers showed multiple fronts out of base: 5-2 and 4-3 looks with both 1-gap and 2-gap principles based on the alignment, Watt was a stacked LB at times both in base fronts and nickel fronts
4th + 7 from the Steelers 16 yard line with less than a minute remaining: Titans 3x1 set versus Steelers 1 robber out of dime with all 4 corners playing with outside leverage, Allen the fifth rusher opposite Watt forcing McNichols to block him; Tannehill a beat late with the throw to Westbrook-Ikhine on the in-breaker off the natural rub by Rogers which allowed Haden to drive on Westbrook-Ikhine and make the tackle
Titans ran 78 plays for only 318 yards, 4.1 yards per play; Tannehill longest completion was 18 yards to Foreman, His longest completion to a WR was 13 yards to Rogers
Titans have played 6 games without Henry, One byproduct has been the lack of any explosiveness in their 1st down passing game: Tannehill 37-60 for only 331 yards, 5.5 yards per attempt
STEELERS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Fulton right corner and Skrine left corner were the outside corners in the Titans base defense, Evans and Cunningham were the stacked LB in the base 5-2 front
Molden was the slot corner in the Titans nickel with Cunningham and Evans the nickel LB, Autry continued to be an edge pass rusher in the nickel front
First 3rd and long (3rd + 8) Titans went 2 man out of dime with Mabin playing left corner, Skrine moving inside to slot corner and Molden at safety; Byard was the matchup on Freiermuth with Brown the only LB matched on the back
Second 3rd and long (3rd + 10) Titans went cover 2 and they got to it from disguised late movement, Hooker dropped down as the middle hole defender and Skrine from initial slot alignment retreated to half field safety with Byard; Landry and Dupree were the edge rushers with Simmons and Autry inside
Titans showed 3 different coverage concepts out of dime on the Steelers first three 3rd and long plays, 2 zone and one man; Late movement was a feature of the zone concepts
Cover 2 was game planned 3rd down (and at times 2nd and long) coverage out of dime, Titans got to it in different ways with disguise and late movement; Different players were deployed as middle hole defenders: Hooker, Molden, Byard, Brown
Titans also showed loaded fronts on 3rd down out of dime featuring multiple stunt concepts, That has been a 3rd down tactic all season
Titans did not play many snaps of cover 1, It was not a meaningful part of the game plan; They played it for the first time on 3rd + 4 in the high red zone in the 2nd quarter, Byard was the matchup on Freiermuth
Harris at this point is a grinder without much juice, He lacks the ability to re-accelerate in the hole, He is a tough physical runner who fits the 3 yards and cloud of dust profile; There were also some snaps in which he did not hit the hole that was there
Autry sack on 3rd + 5 in the 4th quarter resulted from disguise and late movement to cover 2 out of dime, Roethlisberger had no defined throw from the pocket within the timing of the play design and his internal clock led him to climb the pocket into Autry; Titans showed a cover 1 look pre-snap with a double mug front
Steelers gained 168 total yards on 45 plays, 3.7 yards per play; Harris 12-18 in the run game – Titans defense played at a high level throughout the game, They were fast and active
