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.
CHIEFS OFFENSE VERSUS CHARGERS DEFENSE
What has stood out through 2 games has been the Chiefs increased use of 12 personnel: 27% of offensive snaps have come out of 12, They have only been in 11 personnel on 52% of their offensive snaps
Against the Chargers the Chiefs played 26 snaps of 11 personnel and 18 snaps of 12 personnel
McKinnon played the most snaps of the 3 backs versus the Chargers, He played 27 snaps with Edwards-Helaire getting 25 snaps and rookie Pacheco only 5 snaps
Jackson back at corner for the Chargers after missing the first game, He predominantly lined up as the boundary corner
Chargers base front again 5-2 with Murray and Van Noy the stacked LB, In the 4-2 nickel Tranquill and Murray/Van Noy the stacked LB, Chargers dime again 4-1-6 with Van Noy the only LB
Chargers also showed a 5-1 nickel front with Tranquill the only LB – Staley’s defenses are multiple re: personnel and coverages
2nd + 7 on Chiefs second possession Chargers out of 4-2 nickel went with zero coverage concept behind initial 7 man front look, They rushed 4 and dropped out Rumph from over the tight slot and DT Joseph, Right side of Chiefs OL did not sort out the rush and Mahomes was sacked
Chargers featured a big nickel package with Murray and Van Noy the stacked LB and 3 safeties, They played this on 1st down
Hardman 30 yards to start third possession came out of 12 personnel versus Chargers big nickel, James blitzed off the edge in a 5 man pressure and Hardman off switch release ran the deep over versus safety Adderley; Outstanding job by rookie back Pacheco crossing the formation to pick up James and excellent pocket movement by Mahomes
Chargers again snaps of loaded fronts in their sub defenses, Through 2 games they have shown this out of both nickel and dime
Chiefs had some pass protection issues in the 1st half versus Chargers pressure front looks, They struggled to sort out the protection and there were snaps with free first level rushers
Chargers again showed 4 man zone exchange pressure schemes with zone coverage concepts behind it, Against the Chiefs Murray was used as the fourth rusher in 4-2 nickel: Edwards-Helaire 25 yard reception on 2nd + 8 on first 3rd quarter possession came versus 4 man zone exchange pressure, Edwards-Helaire ran over James after he caught angle route
Watson 41 yard TD on 3rd + 10 to end first 3rd quarter possession came out of 2x2 reduced splits versus Chargers 4-2 nickel 5 man pressure with Tranquill the fifth rusher, Chargers matched up to the boundary with Jackson on Watson; Pocket movement by Mahomes with great vision and the rare ability to deliver off-platform and off-balance with distance, Watson beat Jackson on a well-run post route
Edwards-Helaire 52 yards to start late 4th quarter possession came out of 12 1x3 nub closed boundary versus Chargers 5-1 nickel front with James stepping up to make it a 7 man box, Outside zone blocked exceptionally well at the POA
Chargers defense played well, A lot of different looks in the secondary with man coverage the foundation (cover 1 was the predominant coverage) and that limited the explosive plays; Mahomes made a few throws and plays but the Chiefs passing game was held down
CARSON WENTZ VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Harris played outside corner opposite Okudah with Aruwariye inactive due to injury, Hughes continued to be the slot corner in the 4-2 and 5-1 nickel
Lions almost exclusively a nickel sub defense with 62 snaps of nickel and only 4 snaps of dime (all on 3rd and 10+) after playing no snaps of dime week 1 versus the Eagles
Lions snaps of 5-1 nickel with Board the only LB, Hutchinson lined up inside in the 5 man front; That was the Lions predominant nickel front on 3rd down - Board used as a blitzer at times in that front
Lions 4-2 nickel again featured Anzalone and Rodriguez as the LB, Barnes did not play a snap on defense versus the Commanders
For the second game in a row Lions were aggressive with blitz and pressure, They are not an easy defense to play against – That looks like the MO of DC Glenn
Lions showed hybrid man-zone coverages out of split safety looks: Hutchinson sack on 2nd + 10 early in 2nd quarter a secondary sack after Wentz moved in the pocket
Cover 2 was a predominant coverage for the Lions both in 4-2 nickel and 5-1 nickel, Board was the middle hole defender in 5-1 nickel
Lions zero coverage look with all-out pressure on 3rd + 13 in the 2nd quarter, Safety Elliott clean off the edge forced a hurried Wentz incompletion; Elliott was deployed that way with the Ravens
Hutchinson sack on 2nd + 10 late in the 2nd quarter came on a stunt out of a loaded front (4-2 nickel), Hutchinson from inside wide 9 alignment was the looper behind 2i Cominsky and he was clean to Wentz
Dotson 40 yards on second play of 3rd quarter came on post route versus Harris against what looked like cover 8, Dotson ran the post to the quarters side of the coverage
Samuel 10 yard TD on 3rd + 5 to end first 3rd quarter possession came out of 11 3x1 with McKissic split as #1 in tight bunch and Samuel offset in the backfield to the boundary, Lions were in their 5-1 nickel front with Harris the DE to the boundary and they played cover 1 behind it; Nice design to attack the front and coverage with Samuel on the wheel route and Harris the man defender
McLaurin in the slot working against Hughes was a matchup the Commanders featured in the 3rd quarter: 18 yards, 35 yards
Samuel 27 yards on 2nd + 9 in the 3rd quarter came on play action boot left throwback right, Well-schemed play off Samuel tight motion from the field slot
Thomas 20 yard TD on 2nd + 9 in the 3rd quarter came out of 2x2 set versus Lions 4-2 nickel with cover 2 to the passing strength and man-to-man to the side of Thomas and Samuel with Rodriguez matched on Thomas, Switch release beat Rodriguez and Wentz hit Thomas on the post route
Lions snaps of zero coverage both out of 4-2 nickel and 5-1 nickel, It was off coverage but there was no free safety
In the 4th quarter with 2 score lead the Lions played predominantly split safety coverage with cover 2 featured
Lions rushed 5 or more on 20 of Wentz 53 drop backs, Through 2 games the Lions have blitzed on 37% of opposing QB drop backs which is the fourth highest percentage in the NFL
Commanders through 2 games have been in 11 personnel on 82% of their offensive snaps which is the third highest percentage in the NFL, That percentage jumped from 70% to 93% versus the Lions because they were playing from behind most of the game
LIONS OFFENSE VERSUS COMMANDERS DEFENSE
Commanders again showed 5-1 nickel versus 11 personnel with Holcomb the only LB, St. Juste again the slot corner; They also played 4-2 nickel with Holcomb and Davis the LB
Jackson again the left corner with Fuller the right corner, They played sides and did not match up
Commanders on 3rd down again featured loaded fronts out of nickel, First 3rd and long (3rd + 12) LB Davis from standup 3-technique was the looper in a long stunt and sacked Goff
Commanders again featured big nickel as a foundational base defense, Butler again the third safety with Forrest and McCain – Swift 50 yards to start second possession came out of 13 personnel versus big nickel
Commanders on 1st down played some 5-2 fronts versus Lions 11 personnel, Holcomb and Mayo were the stacked LB
St. Brown 13 yard TD on 3rd + 5 late in the 3rd quarter was a great throw by Goff off movement to his right under pressure, Goff threw to the one-on-one with St. Brown versus Jackson in the Commanders cover 1 out of 5-1 nickel
Goff efficient through 2 games with play action pass: 13-20 for 152 yards and 2 TD, 16 of those 20 drop backs have come with Giff under center; Reynolds 23 yards on final play of the 1st quarter well-thrown out cut
Lions have a physical run game that features multiple TE and 6 OL personnel, They continued to show a diverse run game that consistently won at the PA; Against the Commanders they played 10 snaps of 6 OL and 7 snaps of 13 personnel
Lions won the battle up front in the run game, They moved the Commanders DT with double teams in both the zone and gap scheme run game; RG Stenberg stood out with some outstanding blocks (but he is not a strong pass protector)
Reynolds 3 yard TD on 1st and goal in the middle of the 2nd quarter was a great call given how successful the Lions had been on that drive with the run game: Play action with OC Brown and RG Stenberg staying low off the snap, Reynolds from reduced boundary split showed run blocking versus safety Forrest then accelerated behind him – Pitch and catch TD
Commanders defense in this game was both physically handled up front in the run game and had too many breakdowns in coverage
RT Sewell much improved in pass protection this season from his rookie season, Much better balance with a firmer base allowing him to stay in phase
Wright 25 yards on 3rd + 2 in the middle of the 4th quarter came out 13 shift to empty versus Commanders base 5-2 personnel, Wright #2 to trips to the field ran the seam route and Goff with great timing and anticipation threw a strike versus 3 under-3 deep coverage – Great situational play call versus anticipated personnel and coverage
Next play after Wright 25 yards was St. Brown 11 yard TD, Great out route versus Fuller
Lions 4 TD in 6 red zone trips, Both of those numbers are outstanding; They consistently moved the ball
Commanders had 26 snaps with 5 DL versus the Lions after having only 5 snaps with 5 DL versus the Jaguars, They played all single high on QB drop backs behind the 5 man DL with equal snaps of cover 1 and 3 under-3 deep
Commanders through 2 games have been a predominant single high safety defense but with significant snaps of split safety, They featured 5 man DL personnel so their 5 man pressure percentage is high but it is not a function of blitz
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Eagles heavy 11 personnel versus the Vikings: 88% of their offensive snaps; They only had 7 snaps with 12 personnel – Opponent specific or will this be Eagles MO going forward
Vikings 100% nickel as their sub defense through 2 games, 86% of their defensive snaps have been in nickel with only 17 snaps of base defense; Slot corner Sullivan played all but 5 snaps versus the Eagles
Vikings have played the lowest percentage of cover 1 in the NFL through 2 games, They are a split safety shell defense that relies primarily on the front four to create pressure in passing situations
Eagles offense a bad matchup for the Vikings defense, Run game elements with Hurts as +1 plus designed movement and Hurts second reaction ability put a tremendous burden on the DL and slows them down
Peterson left corner and Dantzler right corner, They played sides and did not match up
Eagles opened the game with empty sets out of 11 personnel on their first 2 plays – Vikings a shell coverage defense with a low percentage in normal down and distance situations
Hurts second reaction on second play of the game, He moved right after first read on timing drop, The throw was not there and he then hit Goedert 18 yards
Kelce the most athletic OC in the NFL, Saw that again on Sanders 12 yards on third play of the game – Kelce some outstanding blocks in the run game climbing to the second level
Vikings continued at times to move Smith inside in their nickel fronts with Hunter and Wonnum the edge rushers, Jones continued to be part of edge pass rush rotation
3rd + 13 on first possession in some ways set the tone for the game: Brown 19 yards versus Vikings 4 man rush with ¼ ¼ ½ behind it (halves to the passing strength in the Eagles 2x2 set), Hurts clean in the pocket hit Brown in an intermediate void to the halves side of the coverage
Hurts legs a major part of the design of the Eagles offense, He puts tremendous stress on the edge of the defense with the RPO game and the zone read element and the designed boot action game
Hurts another second reaction throw on second possession, Watkins 16 yards on 2nd + 18: Flood concept to the left well covered with front side pressure by Hunter, Hurts escaped right and hit Watkins in a void to the quarters side of the ¼ ¼ ½ coverage
Vikings reduced front out of 5 man DL (Kendricks the only LB) to start Eagles third possession, Eagles wham concept with Goedert wham block on strong side 3-technique Tomlinson: Tomlinson shed Goedert and tackled Sanders for 3 yards
Watkins 53 yard TD on 2nd + 8 to start 2nd quarter came out of 12 3x1 versus Vikings 5-2 base front, Vikings ¼ ¼ ½ with quarters to trips and halves to boundary x Smith; Dantzler and safety Bynum got stuck in the grey area when 2 vertical releases attack quarters, Bynum jumped Goedert out cut at 9 yards with Dantzler also reacting to it, That left no one to match and carry Watkins go route and he was wide open for the easy TD
Beginning with Eagles third possession the Vikings incorporated significant snaps of 5-1 nickel often with reduced fronts depending on the offensive formation
If you are an exclusive or high percentage nickel defense that relies primarily on 4 man DL pressure you can get caught with WR matched on LB inside: Smith 19 yards to start 2nd quarter possession, Smith from twins slot in empty set short in-breaker versus Wonnum
Smith 16 yards on next play also came out of 11 empty with Smith in the twins slot, He ran the bender behind the underneath coverage and in front of split safety Smith; Vikings stayed in shell coverage the entire 1st half
Kelce outstanding second level climb off initial double team with R Seumalo to block Kendricks on Scott 16 yard delay draw on 2nd quarter TD drive; Sanders 9 yards later in the drive came on the same play with Kelce and Seumalo again executing well
Hurts 26 yard TD on 3rd + 2 came on same concept as Goedert 27 yards versus Lions on 3rd + 2 versus Lions week 1, Different formation with Goedert crossing behind the formation at the snap; This time Smith the alley run defender matched Goedert flat route and that left Hurts with room on the outside to run
Goedert 24 yards late in the 2nd quarter was the same bender route from the twins slot as Smith 16 yards earlier in the 2nd quarter, Hurts easily recognized the defined coverage and threw with excellent timing and anticipation
Vikings had some assignment issues in their split safety shell coverages, They are split coverages that split the field in half and if they caught in the grey areas that all zones have or have communication problems it can lead to open receivers: Brown 23 yards on Eagles first 3rd quarter possession a good example
Eagles OL was outstanding versus Vikings both run blocking and in pass protection, Hurts lived in secure clean pockets and could deliver with no pressure concerns
Vikings defense static throughout the game especially on the back end where they played split safety coverage on almost every snap, It was a relatively easy defense to attack and break down and the Eagles coaching staff had a great feel for it and Hurts executed at a high level
VIKINGS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles played 5 snaps of dime and they all came on 3rd down, Wallace was the dime safety
Slay almost always lined up to the side of Jefferson and when the Eagles went man coverage and Jefferson was outside Slay matched him, Eagles did not play high percentage cover 1; Slay had snaps versus Jefferson but it was not a Slay-Jefferson matchup
Eagles on first 3rd down (3rd + 6) went 5-1 nickel with Edwards the only LB and played cover 1 matching Slay on Jefferson at boundary x, They rushed 4 with Edwards the fourth rusher from the second level attacking the A gap with edge players Reddick and Graham dropping underneath, Edwards blew up Cook and Cousins was forced to throw falling away – Slay knocked away the pass on Jefferson stop route
Davis again the 0-technique/1-technique in the Eagles base 5-2 front flanked by Cox and Hargrave, and Williams and Tuipolutu; Davis still has an issue playing too high resulting in loss of strength and power
First two 3rd down Eagles went man coverage (cover 1 and 2 man) with Slay matched on Jefferson, On the second 3rd down (2 man out of dime) Jefferson was #1 to trips and Slay undercut him with safety Epps cheating over the top – Cousins went to Smith on the crosser and Bradberry made the play
Second 3rd down Reagor was offset in the backfield to the trips side with Cook in the inside slot, Reagor wheel route matched by White in Eagles 2 man coverage
Reagor 17 yards on 3rd + 1 came on jet sweep, Vikings clearly will integrate Reagor into their offense with his speed and explosiveness
Cousins was not sharp mentally or physically right from the start, He was not as precisely accurate as he often is and there were snaps he was tentative not turning it loose when the throws were there
Maddox did an excellent job playing deep to short as the flat defender in zone concepts, That is the way it is taught – Late 3rd quarter interception a good example although Vikings spacing on flood concept was poor
Davis played 4 consecutive snaps on the Vikings third series and you could tell on his fourth snap which was a pass that he did not have the energy to rush the QB, He stood straight up at the snap and was easily blocked OC Bradbury
Eagles loaded front out of nickel on 3rd + 6 on third possession, Jefferson zin motion from #1 to trips running the over route; Eagles cover 3 with Edwards immediately getting eyes on Jefferson motion and dropping with depth right off the snap to take away the over
3rd + 2 middle of 2nd quarter Eagles went cover 1 out of 5-1 nickel rushing 5 with Slay in off coverage matched on Jefferson, Slay outstanding job never getting out of his pedal and planting and driving on Jefferson stop route – Cousins again went to Smith on the shallow crosser and Edwards made the play
Johnson strong speed-to-power pass rush versus RT O’Neill on that 3rd + 2 in the middle of the 2nd quarter
Smith dropped a 63 yard TD late in the 1st half, Eagles cover 8 (¼ ¼ ½ with halves to the field) with Slay the cover 2 corner and Gardner-Johnson the half field safety; Slay jumped the out cut by Jefferson from the slot and Smith got over the top wit Gardner-Johnson taking too sharp an angle – Great throw by Cousins with back side pressure
Eagles nice pressure concept on 3rd + 10 late in the 2nd quarter out of dime versus Vikings 11 empty, Coverage had a zero look with the Eagles rushing 6 occupying the interior 3 of the OL which allowed Gardner-Johnson to get in clean through the B gap and hurry Cousins
Eagles continued to feature 5 man fronts in their nickel, 5-1 fronts a foundation of their sub defense; Eagles have played 107 snaps of nickel and only 5 snaps of dime through 2 games with all 5 dime snaps coming versus the Vikings and all on 3rd down
There were some 5 man fronts in which LB White aligned on the edge in what was 4-2 personnel, White at times used as an edge rusher
Slay first interception in the high red zone was on Jefferson not Cousins with Jefferson giving his QB the inside break indicator then cutting behind Slay, But it was still an excellent play by Slay again never getting out of his pedal and squeezing Jefferson
Eagles defense very disciplined and assignment sound versus the Vikings, They did not dominate in any one area but they played with awareness and higher level execution snap-after-snap
Davis did not play many snaps in the 2nd half with the Eagles playing pass defense with a 24-7 lead, Eagles heavy zone coverage with a good percentage of split safety shell – Davis played 21 snaps overall
DC Gannon went zero blitz on 1st + 10 in the 4th quarter after many consecutive snaps of 4 man rush with zone coverage behind it, Edwards got in clean through the A gap
Cox sack-forced fumble on 3rd + 10 in the 4th quarter, It came on T/E stunt with Cox the penetrator driving back RT O’Neill into the pocket; Eagles 2 man behind it with Slay matched on Jefferson undercutting him, Jefferson beat Slay on the in-breaker
Gannon again zero blitz on 2nd and goal in the middle of the 4th quarter, Reddick off the edge and Edwards though the A gap got in clean; Slay dropped the easy interception
Gannon came back on the next play with another zero blitz, This time Slay made the interception off a hurried Cousins throw with Sweat clean off the edge
Eagles 17 snaps with 5 DL alignment, That is a foundation of the Eagles defense
Two Eagles defenders who stood out on tape were DE Sweat and LB Edwards, Edwards has gotten better and better each game
TREVOR LAWRENCE VERSUS COLTS DEFENSE
Colts DC Bradley brought pressure on Jaguars first 3rd down, Excellent pickup by Etienne on Okereke; Franklin got in clean on the blitz stunt but Lawrence delivered on time and with precise outside ball placement to M. Jones on the stop route
Colts played 49 snaps of nickel with no snaps of dime, Moore was the slot corner with Facyson the outside corner with Gilmore
Colts on 3rd down showed loaded fronts out of nickel, They predominantly played single safety as their foundational coverage but there were snaps of split safety
Kirk 10 yard TD on 3rd + 4 came out of 11 personnel with Kirk shift to offset alignment in the backfield along with Robinson, Colts 2 man coverage out of nickel and with Kirk offset in the backfield slot corner Moore and LB Franklin treated the formation to the field as bunch and played releases with Franklin taking first in and Moore first out; Play was designed for Kirk to run an option route depending on the leverage of the defender and with Moore playing hard outside Kirk ran the angle route
Lawrence very good throwing on the move to his left and right both off designed movement and second reaction movement, That’s a strength of his game: Kirk 26 yards on 1st + 20 in the 2nd quarter
In the first 2 games Lawrence has been effective with play action from under center: 10-14 for 157 and 2 TD with 9 of those completions resulting in first downs; Overall Lawrence is 13-20 for 195 yards and 2 TD off play action
McLeod part of 3 man safety rotation with Blackmon and rookie Cross, Blackmon played 86% of the snaps with Cross playing 65% and McLeod 49%
Kirk 21 yards on 1st + 10 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 empty with Kirk the slot to the boundary, Colts out of nickel rushed 5 in a zone pressure and zone matched out of single high; Kirk was matched on LB Speed and he beat him on juke route
You can see the transformation starting to take place with Lawrence as he looked more comfortable in the quick timing and rhythm passing game that is a fundamental foundation of Pederson’s pass game, Lawrence feet quicker on his drop and set in the pocket and he is becoming less of a strider on his delivery
Jaguars pass game had a strong rhythmic feel to it, A lot of throws in which Lawrence hit his back foot and the ball came out; This game may have been the most rhythmic I have seen Lawrence in his 19 game career
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Farley and rookie free agent Avery were the outside corners with McCreary the slot corner in the Titans sub defenses, Amadi also snaps at slot corner with McCreary outside
Jackson also snaps at outside corner for the Titans – Titans were looking for quality outside corner play with Fulton injured and inactive
Titans played predominantly single high safety coverage with cover 1 and cover 3 but they also played snaps of cover 2 and cover 4, Titans also snaps of 2 man coverage
Johnson was the dime safety for the Titans, On the Bills first 3rd down (3rd + 9) the Titans went 2 man out of dime with Hooker matched on Knox; Titans 2 man out of dime on Bills first two 3rd downs, Hooker the matchup on Knox
Dupree strong speed-to-power pass rush versus LT Dawkins on Bills first possession, He drove back Dawkins into the pocket preventing easy Allen completion to Diggs who beat McCreary on the crosser
Bills feature quick outs by Diggs in their RPO game, With reduced splits to the boundary and corners off it is pitch and catch for Allen and Diggs – This is a foundation of the Bills offense
FB/TE Gilliam played 18 snaps and scored the first Bills TD on a fullback screen from weak I alignment
One thing about Allen as he has grown as a QB is he gets the ball out of his hand quick and gets completions, That is how you sustain drives when you are a passing team
McKenzie 28 yards to start first 2nd quarter possession came out of 11 2x1 with Knox offset I alignment in the backfield versus 4-2 nickel with Amadi the slot corner, Conventional play action with McKenzie from the field slot running the post versus the open middle in what looked like cover 2 but there was no middle hole defender to match McKenzie
Kumerow 39 yards on 1st + 10 on 2nd quarter TD drive came out of 6 OL personnel, Kumerow was the boundary x with Farley matched man-to-man in press position; Conventional play action with Kumerow getting cleanly into his route versus Farley mirror match technique and then showing a subtle move to get Farley to stop his feet – Allen strike
Johnson matched up to Knox when the Titans went 2 man on 3rd down in the low red zone
Titans started the 3rd quarter with Jackson and McCreary the outside corners and Kalu in the slot, Then they went to McCreary inside with Jackson and Avery outside
Diggs 46 yard TD on 2nd + 10 to end first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 2x1 with Knox offset in fullback alignment, Titans out of nickel played cover 2 invert with the outside corners Jackson and Avery the deep half field defenders and Byard dropping down as the middle hole defender; Avery was too close to the LOS almost in press position and could not get back to half field responsibility to play over the top of Diggs post route – Great ball by Allen
Diggs 14 yard TD on 2nd + 10 in the 3rd quarter came on Bills staple high red zone concept: Bang play action out of the shotgun with Diggs running the glance route, Titans man coverage with corner Jackson playing with inside leverage to prevent Diggs from crossing his face; Great route by Diggs to get Jackson turned and a bullet throw by Allen – Big-time execution by Diggs and Allen
Titans unable to generate any meaningful pressure on Allen throughout the game, Allen rarely left the pocket in this game; Bills have become an efficient quick game passing team with RPO concepts part of the foundation
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
Lewan hurt on the first play of the game (out for the season), Daley replaced him at LT for the rest of the game
Bills continued to play nickel as their foundational defense, They rarely line up in base with 3 LB and they don’t play dime
Jackson and rookie Benford were the outside corners for the Bills with Jackson the boundary corner, It was the second consecutive start for Benford
Bills did not play much man coverage versus the Titans, They played high percentage zone coverage with some disguise and late movement
On the Titans first possession the Bills went 4-3 on a 1st + 10 play, Titans 21 personnel with Swain at TE; Rookie Bernard was the third LB
Bills stayed 4-3 on the next play (2nd + 1) versus Titans 2 back/6 OL personnel – Titans went play action out of the straight I and Tannehill hit Hooper 19 yards on the intermediate out route in the flood concept versus Bills cover 4
Bills another snap of 4-3 on the Titans first possession versus 2 back/6 OL personnel: Henry 4 yard loss on toss to the field with Benford making the tackle – Overall the Bills played 3 snaps of 4-3 on the Titans first possession
Bills game plan was to play 4-3 personnel with Bernard versus Titans 2 back/6 OL personnel
What continued to stand out was how aggressive and competitive slot corner Johnson was as a run defender
Bills featured some reduced fronts out of nickel versus Titans 12 personnel, They also featured run blitzes; Edmunds sack on first play of the 2nd quarter was a run blitz but the Titans went play action, Milano run blitz in 2nd quarter resulted in Henry 1 yard loss
Burks 16 yards on 3rd + 14 early in the 2nd quarter came on a WR screen concept with Burks running a shallow cross and the receivers to the side of the cross blocking – Well-designed play
Elam came in at field corner in the 2nd quarter, Jackson continued to play boundary corner – Elam excellent play on 3rd + 10 in the 2nd quarter: Press position in cover 2 reading the flat throw to Haskins and making the tackle
Jackson hurt late in the 2nd quarter, Benford then played boundary corner with Elam staying at field corner
Rousseau sack late in the 2nd quarter came with Rouuseau lined up inside and Phillips aligned at wide 9 opposite, Rousseau power rush drove back LG Brewer right into Tannehill
Poyer green dog on 2nd + 6 on first possession of 3rd quarter resulted in Henry 1 yard loss, Great reaction by Poyer
Bills snaps of loaded fronts on 3rd down, They went cover 1 robber behind it on 3rd + 7 on first 3rd quarter possession
Bills different coverage looks in the secondary at times with disguise and late movement, Saw that on 3rd + 11 to end Titans second possession of 3rd quarter with slot corner Johnson retreating as the half field safety in cover 2 and Hyde rotating inside as the middle hole defender (great job by Benford physically slowing down Burks release off the LOS)
What consistently stands out watching the Bills defense is their corners tackle in the run game
Poyer interception to end third 3rd quarter possession resulted from a poor ball placement throw by Tannehill on Woods crosser
Milano 43 yard interception return TD on 2nd + 12 late in the 3rd quarter came in cover 2, Tannehill did not read the coverage and threw the stick route right to where Milano dropped as the underneath defender in the coverage
Daley has the size/length and physical traits to play LT, The biggest concern in pass protection is his balance and body control and his tendency to be a waist bender
Titans offense lacks speed, It is one of the slower offenses in the NFL; If they are not controlling the pace and tempo of the game with Henry they get stuck
RAIDERS OFFENSE VERSUS CARDS DEFENSE
Cards defense was totally different from a personnel standpoint than it was week 1 versus the Chiefs, Against the Raiders the Cards played conventional nickel with Whittaker the slot corner on 41 snaps whereas against the Chiefs they only played conventional nickel on 9 snaps
Simmons/Vallejo/Vigil and Collins were the LB in the conventional nickel – Simmons only played 15 snaps versus the Raiders after a poor performance week 1
Cards did not play many snaps of cover 1 versus the Raiders, They played predominantly zone with a good mix of split safety and cover 3; They showed some disguise and late movement to get to cover 2
Raiders continued to feature 21 and 22 personnel with fullback Johnson, More than ¼ of their snaps had Johnson on the field
Cards showed both 4-3 stack and 5-2 fronts out of their base 4-3 personnel, Gardecki was the movable chess piece who lined up both off the ball and on the ball
Cards 5-2 fronts versus Raiders 21 and 22 personnel often were reduced with a 0-technique and two 3-techniques
Hollins 20 yards on first 3rd and long (3rd + 11) came out of 11 3x1 with Adams the plus split x and Hollins #1 to trips versus Cards cover 3 cloud to Adams side, Carr worked the trips side with dagger hi-low concept and settled Hollins in the intermediate void between the numbers and the hash
McDaniels has always loved the wham concept in the run game, A foundation in New England and how you see it with the Raiders
Hollins 23 yards on 3rd + 12 later in the first possession came out 11 3x1 with Adams again the x, Bunch look to the trips side with stack element; Cards matched up in 2 man to get a safety cheated over the top of Adams, Hollins separated from Wilson and Carr hit him late in the down
Jacobs continued to look quick both laterally and vertically, He showed sudden lateral quickness in confined space with the burst to re-accelerate
Moreau played more snaps than Waller versus the Cards, Raiders very few snaps of 12 personnel but they did play 8 snaps with multiple TE; 11 personnel was their highest percentage personal package (67%)
There were snaps in which the Cards clearly played over the top of Adams and snaps in which they bracketed Adams, It was a function of his location within the formation but they clearly game planned to minimize his impact
There were one-on-one situations outside the numbers in which Adams did not win, Murphy some good snaps versus Adams
Abdullah 23 yard reception came out 11 1x3 with Waller the boundary x and Abdullah offset to trips making it a 4 strong alignment, Cards 1 robber with Simmons matched on Waller who released inside looking like a shallow; Outstanding screen concept with Abdullah crossing the formation to the boundary
Waller 3 yard TD came on a fade from boundary x versus LB Turner, Raiders 23 personnel versus Cards defense that only had 1 defensive back on the field (safety Baker)
As the game progressed the Cards played more 5 man fronts often rushing 5 which dictated one-on-one matchups, There were 5 man front snaps in which LB Collins was an on-the-ball defender on the edge
2nd and goal in the red zone late in the 3rd quarter Raiders 1x3 nub set with Waller the attached TE and Adams #3 to trips, Cards rushed 5 from 5 man front and played man coverage with a bracket on Adams and safety Thompson matched on Waller; Thompson excellent coverage on Waller for the incompletion
3rd and goal on the next play Cards doubled both Renfrow and Adams, Raiders same 1x3 set with Waller detached in a reduced split; Cards rushed 4 with LB Niemann the matchup on Waller with both safeties part of the bracket doubles on Renfrow and Adams, DT Allen beat RG Cotton to the inside and pressured Carr into moving and throwing an off-balance incompletion
Cards DL had dominant snaps in the 2nd half most of which came out of 5 man fronts, In addition they increased their pressure frequency in the 2nd half with multiple blitz concepts (DC Joseph MO is pressure)
Carr missed open Adams on intermediate crosser in OT (the play before the fumble recovery TD by the Cards), It was a big play missed; Carr threw without a firm base and no core torque and weigh transfer and that resulted in the poor throw
TUA TAGOVAILOA VERSUS RAVENS DEFENSE
Dolphins continue to feature 21 personnel as a foundation, They played 28 snaps versus the Ravens after playing 20 snaps versus the Patriots week; 38% of their offensive snaps have come out of 21 personnel
Dolphins continued to feature motion as a foundation, No team through 2 games has thrown the ball off motion more than the Dolphins and they have had excellent success
Ravens base front was 5-2 with Queen and Bynes the stacked LB
Ravens played almost equal snaps of nickel and dime, Rookie Hamilton was the dime safety with rookie Williams the slot corner; Queen was the dime LB (he played every snap)
Rookie Armour-Davis played significant snaps at outside corner (he was one of my favorite corners in the draft)
Ravens snaps of big nickel versus Dolphins 21 personnel and at times 11 personnel in normal down and distance situations, Hamilton was the third safety with Clark and Williams
Waddle 59 yards on 2nd + 13 from -3 yard line came out of 21 empty versus Ravens base defense, Waddle from #2 to trips ran the stick-nod-go versus LB Queen, Post safety Williams was cheated to the boundary where Hill was the slot; Tagovailoa held Williams outside the boundary hash and from his own end zone threw a good ball to Waddle with run-after-catch
Dolphins use misdirection element so effectively to generate defensive flow one way then come back the other way with quick rhythm and timing throws into open voids or screens with space and reduced pursuit
Play action a foundational part of Dolphins pass game, RPO concepts and quick throws off flash fake run action – Tagovailoa second most play action drop backs through 2 games
Ravens played much more zone coverage than man coverage versus the Dolphins which was not surprising given the speed of Hill and Waddle, They played significant snaps of split safety; Only about 25% of their coverage was man
Gesicki 14 yard TD on 3rd + 13 in the middle of the 3rd quarter came on big time throw by Tagovailoa: Ravens dollar personnel playing red zone 2/4 behind 2 man rush, Tagovailoa hit Gesicki over the top of middle hole defender Clark; No risk to the throw with Tagovailoa doing what you are taught: Throw it high at the back of the end zone
What stood out with Tagovailoa was his ball placement was consistently precise when he could deliver with timing and rhythm
Hill 48 yard TD on 3rd + 10 in the middle of the 4th quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Hill the boundary x, Ravens out of dime overload zone blitz from the field that was picked up by the Dolphins; Hamilton was the post safety in the 3 under-3 deep coverage and no ball can go over him, Hill ran right by Peters and Hamilton with his body and eyes turned inside was not in position to react – A busted coverage
Both Hill 4th quarter TD came on 3rd down and were busts by the Ravens coverage, The second one (60 yards) was particularly bad with Hill running by Armour-Davis who clearly thought he had help over the top
Ravens in the 4th quarter had all kinds of issues in coverage when they pressured with blitz, Coverage did not synch up with the pressure and they allowed Hill to get over the top
Overall Ravens coverage played with poor discipline both with eyes and getting to the necessary landmarks with the proper drops and depth and then there just were some outright busts, It was a bad performance all around and that stood out much more than Tagovaoloa
Waddle 7 yard winning TD came on an improvised route that saw him break inside into open space, Ravens doubled Hill at boundary x and matched Hamilton on Gesicki at #3 to trips with Armour-Davis on Waddle
Tagovailoa versus Ravens dime: 17-23 for 251 yards with 4 TD and one 1st half interception; In the 4th quarter versus dime Tagovailoa was 10-12 for 187 yards and 3 TD
LAMAR JACKSON VERSUS DOLPHINS DEFENSE
Ravens through 2 games have only played 12 snaps with 11 personnel which is the fewest in the league by a wide margin, It’s only 11% of their offensive snaps
Dolphins base 5-2 front predominantly had Roberts and Riley the stacked LB and Baker and Ingram the on-the-ball edge players, There were snaps with Baker as a stacked LB and Phillips an edge player
Kohou again got significant snaps at slot corner and meaningful snaps at outside corner opposite Howard
First 3rd and long (3rd + 7) Dolphins out of dime blitzed including a corner cat from the field, It was a zero pressure concept with post safety Holland matched on Bateman who was the single receiver to the field, Holland was late to his assignment with Jackson reading the blitz immediately and hitting Bateman for 17 yards
Dolphins game plan was aggressive with pressure fronts and man coverage, They challenged the Ravens offense
Bateman 75 yard TD in the 2nd quarter came out of 12 personnel with Picard the back, Dolphins matched up with zero man out of their base 5-2; Duvernay motion across the formation put Howard on Bateman with no safety in the middle, Bateman great slant route to create separation inside and Jackson put the ball on his hands to run-after-catch, Bateman explosive speed to run away from Howard
Dolphins showed a lot of same fronts and coverages they used in last year’s game: Pressure fronts with off coverage zero looks, Inside defenders dropping at the snap – Rowe was the predominant matchup on Andrews
Ravens feature motion as a foundational part of their offense and they use it effectively: Andrews 25 yards on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter came out of 22 closed to the boundary with Picard motioning from the field slot across the formation to the 2 TE closed side, Y/Y verticals versus 5 man pressure with 3 under-3 deep behind it, Picard motion expanded the corner allowing Andrews to get inside on his vertical with Oliver vertical occupying the post safety – Precise ball placement by Jackson
Likely 34 yards late in the 2nd quarter great design breaking down Dolphins cover 3: 2 through the outside zone with Likely wheel route underneath Duvernay vertical release, It was a 4 man concept with both Andrews and back Hill controlling and holding the underneath coverage
Robinson 12 yard TD at the end of the 1st half came out of 11 1x3 with bunch to the field versus Dolphins cover 1 with post safety Holland cheating to Andrews and safety Br. Jones the spy on Jackson, Nice 3 man route concept to open the passing lane to Robinson on the condensed post – Good ball by Jackson
Dolphins continued to feature Ingram as a standup Joker on 3rd down in their dime defense
Jackson 79 yard TD on 3rd + 2 late in the 3rd quarter came on a well-designed basic power gap scheme run with jet motion and back Davis showing lead blocking action to impact the defense, Jackson was untouched
Dolphins stayed aggressive throughout the game challenging the Ravens offense with pressure front looks and man coverage including the off coverage zero concept with no free safety
Ravens had success with dagger concept in the 2nd half, Duvernay on the dig was the receiver and he caught 2 balls on dagger
Dolphins defensive approach could be summed on 3rd + 9 from the +33 yard line with less than 3 minutes remaining and the game tied at 35: They showed a pressure front out of nickel with off coverage zero look in the secondary, Ingram drove back LT Mekari into the pocket and Jackson after re-setting went to Andrews on the inside vertical but overthrew him
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
49ers much higher percentage of 21 personnel versus the Seahawks than versus the Bears week 1
Seahawks continued to be a 5-2 base front with Brooks and Barton the stacked LB, Brooks predominantly the strong side LB
Bryant was the slot corner in the nickel, Seahawks 46 snaps of nickel and only 1 snap of dime; Seahawks played significant snaps of nickel versus 49ers 21 personnel
Seahawks predominantly played single high safety coverage with significant snaps of cover 1, That was a different approach from week 1 versus the Broncos when they did not play much man coverage
Davis 20 yards in 1st quarter came out of 21 straight I with reduced WR splits, Zone lead weak with excellent job by LG Banks on the initial double team with Williams then climbing to the second level to block Barton, OC Brendel and RG Burford also excellent with the initial double on 1-technique Woods allowing Burford to reach him with Brendel climbing to seal LB Brooks; Davis-Price made safety Diggs miss in space
First play Garoppolo got drilled by Nwusu clean off the edge but completed the pass to Aiyuk 4 yards – Toughness in the pocket
Seahawks some double mug looks on 3rd down out of nickel with Brooks and Barton in the A gaps
Johnson played 18 snaps at DE in the sub fronts, Long and athletic young pass rusher with some speed-to-power traits; Showed an effective one arm stab
Dwelley 38 yard TD on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter great use of motion and the Samuel factor, Samuel motion across the formation impact on flat defender Barton in 3 deep-3 under coverage behind 5 man pressure; 49ers flood concept with McLeod lifting the corner and Dwelley running the intermediate corner route into the void – Well-designed concept
Both second year LG Banks and rookie RG Burford are athletic with light quick feet and fit the 49ers run game approach well
You could make the argument that Samuel is the best receiver (runner) in the NFL with the ball in his hands: Strong, powerful, short area quick, excellent contact balance with finishing traits
Aiyuk 14 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter was the kind of throw Garoppolo makes with confidence and conviction: Shotgun gap scheme run action with quick in-breaker versus cover 3
Wilson 16 yards on first 3rd quarter possession another example of the effective use of motion: 11 personnel with Samuel jet motion resulted in stacked LB Brooks and Barton bumping over 1 gap, That set up the zone blocking scheme with 2 double teams and 2 climbs to the second level – Excellent offense
Samuel 15 yards on 3rd + 9 in the 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Samuel offset in the backfield to the boundary, Samuel leaked out of the backfield into the void created by Barton blitz in what was a 4 man zone exchange pressure
Methodical offensive performance by the 49ers, They will expect more from their run game with Wilson and Davis-Price going forward and Garoppolo will give them a more consistent pass game that can convert 3rd downs
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
Ward the left corner and Moseley the right corner, Womack continued to be the 49ers nickel slot corner with Warner and Greenlaw the nickel LB
49ers continued to feature Hufanga as a box safety, He has been outstanding as a run defender through 2 games; 49ers playing to his strengths
Hufanga has also been effective as a quarters safety matching routes in the matchup zone concept, He has shown the ability to plant and drive with burst
49ers continue to feature loaded fronts on 3rd down out of nickel, In their loaded fronts they will at times line up Warner as a stand up 3-technique opposite the load - 49ers have only played 1 snap of dime through 2 games
49ers showed some 5 man reduced front looks out of base 4-3 personnel with Al-Shaair on the ball on the edge
Gipson interception on 2nd + 12 in the 2nd quarter resulted from excellent coverage by Hufanga on Lockett, 49ers quarters shell coverage with Hufanga matching #2 Lockett on the bang 8; Hufanga undercut the throw and made a play on the ball
Seahawks featured inverted wishbone formations with 2 TE offset in the backfield, In the 2nd quarter in the high red zone they showed an inverted wishbone with 4 running backs with Walker taking the direct snap; They ran that on consecutive plays with the second one being an interception thrown by Dallas
Both rookie OT Cross and Lucas have continued to play well especially in pass protection, You could make the argument that Lucas has been more consistent in his execution snap-after-snap
Bosa sack to start 3rd quarter was on Smith: Quick boot action left with speed out by Metcalf, Ball had to be thrown
Seahawks featured inverted wishbone out of 12 personnel on a meaningful number of snaps, That significantly limits your pass game concepts
Split safety shell coverage was a foundation for the 49ers with quarters being a staple
Bosa 4th quarter sack on 3rd + 12 came out of loaded front with Bosa the wide 9 opposite the load and T/E stunt with Armstead the penetrator and Jackson the looper to the load side, Jackson forced Smith to move and Bosa cleaned up
Seahawks needs to open up their offense, They have only been in 11 personnel 53% of their offensive snaps through 2 games, That percentage must increase to get speed on the field and challenge defenses vertically – You cannot hide your QB in the NFL
Seahawks have run the fewest offensive plays in the NFL through 2 games, They have run only 96 plays
BRONCOS OFFENSE VERSUS TEXANS DEFENSE
Grugier-Hill and Kirksey were the Texans nickel LB with King the slot corner, Through 2 games the Texans have been a 100% nickel sub defense playing nickel more than 63% of their defensive snaps
Pierre-Louis/Cashman was the third LB in the Texans base 4-3 front, Safety Pitre predominantly was a box or downhill alley player; My guess is it is Pitre that accounts for the Texans significant increase in single high safety coverages
Rookie Stingley matched up on Sutton throughout the game, Sutton beat him on the first possession with an out route for 21 yards: Good route by Sutton with tempo changes to get Stingley to turn his body
Stingley had some good reps and some tougher reps in his matchup with Sutton, He played both press man and off man coverage in addition to zone coverage
Broncos offense features a high percentage of 12 percentage of 12 personnel, Through 2 games 32% of their offensive snaps have come out of 12 personnel which is the third highest percentage in the NFL
When the Texans went cover 1 versus 12 personnel Pitre matched up man-to-man on one of the TE, Pitre was also the TE matchup in cover 1 versus 11 personnel
Texans disguise and late movement caused a problem for Wilson on 1st + 10 early in the 2nd quarter, They showed single high and then rotated to cover 2 at the snap; Wilson wanted the flat throw to TE Saubert off play action but the cover 2 corner took it away with the pressure then forcing a throwaway
Wilson did not see things well or quick enough, He was slow with his elimination and isolation; Green sack on 2nd +10 early in the 2nd quarter a good example of Texans disguise and late movement getting Wilson stuck in the pocket when he had a throw
Wilson through 2 games has not played with any refined sense of timing and rhythm, He is much more of a one read QB than a late-in-the-down processor; Wilson will not run as much as he did years ago so there are more snaps in which he gets stuck in the pocket without a throw
Sutton 34 yards on 3rd + 5 late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 empty with Sutton #1 to twins versus press man corner Stingley, Sutton fade route with Wilson back shoulder throw and Stingley never located the ball
Broncos ran the ball in the 3rd quarter as their offensive foundation using both Williams and Gordon, They ran predominantly out of 11 personnel
In the 2nd half the Broncos played much more out of 11 personnel than they had through the first 6½ quarters of the season – Will that continue?
Saubert 22 yard TD on 1st + 10 early in the 4th quarter came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field, Route concept was 4 verticals with Y/Y to the boundary versus Texans cover 1 out of base with Kirksey matched on Saubert; Good ball by Wilson off play action with an excellent catch by Saubert versus good coverage
Wilson was a little sharper mentally on some reps in the 2nd half and made some excellent reads and throws including a few versus blitz
Through 2 games the Broncos offense has been a little tough to watch, One thing that was evident versus the Texans was Wilson clearly looked to Sutton as his main target
