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.
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars continued to play 5-2 as base front, Campbell right corner and Griffin left corner; Williams continued to be the slot corner in nickel, Jaguars 100% nickel as sub defense through 4 games
Cisco 59 interception return TD to end Eagles first possession resulted from Hurts not feeling he had Pascal in the first zone window then waiting until he reached the second window to deliver the ball, Hurts left the ball behind Pascal and that allowed Williams to make a play; Hurts did not see Jenkins working outside in but he would have made the play if Hurts led Pascal
Driscoll replaced injured Mailata after the first possession and played LT the rest of the game
There were snaps the Jaguars played base to 11 personnel and there were snaps they played nickel to 12 personnel
Key and Smoot continued to line up both outside and inside in the Jaguars sub fronts
Brown 31 yards to start third possession came out of 11 2x2 versus Jaguars nickel, Misdirection concept with Hurts boot right off sweep action left; Post safety Jenkins and LB Lloyd were impacted by the misdirection and Brown was open on the crosser from the back side; It was a 4 strong concept with a misdirection element
Jaguars showed 3-3-5 nickel on 3rd + 5 on Eagles third possession, Rookie Muma was the third LB and he was stacked with Lloyd and Oluokun on the ball on the edge; They played cover 1 behind the 5-1 front alignment
4th + 3 on Eagles third possession Jaguars went cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel with Jenkins matched on Goedert and Lloyd the spy on Hurts, Hurts no throw within structure leaving the pocket and getting drilled by Allen on the incompletion
Eagles had success in the 1st half throwing the ball off sweep action: Brown 31 yards, Brown 18 yards on first TD drive, both versus zone coverage concepts
Eagles continued to feature an excellent screen game, Goedert 26 yards on first TD drive similar concept to his TD last week versus Commanders: Power run action with the LT the puller and then Goedert leaking out after initial run blocking action opposite the run action
Hurts 13 yards on first TD drive came on Eagles staple high red zone flood concept to the boundary with Goedert the primary receiver but the coverage muddied the throw, Hurts saw open grass in front of him and ran – That was Hurts check down
Eagles second TD drive in the 2nd quarter featured the inside zone run game out of 11 personnel shotgun with Sanders the lead back and Sermon also getting 2 carries, Sanders 5-40 on the drive with the 10 yard TD coming on OC pull concept to the boundary: 4 to the field formation with wide bunch
Gainwell 10 yard TD on 2nd and goal late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Jaguars nickel cover zero, LG Dickerson excellent job reacting to Allen as the looper in the T/E stunt
Brown 22 yards to start 3rd quarter came off split flow inside zone run action with slant-flat to the field (straight play action or RPO?, My sense was if it was an RPO the reaction of Lloyd would have told Hurts to give the ball to Sanders)
Jaguars second snap of 3-3-5 nickel came on 3rd + 20 on Eagles first possession of the 3rd quarter, Muma was deployed as the spy on Hurts behind 3 man rush with shell coverage in the secondary
Sanders 35 yards on 2nd + 7 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Jaguars base 5-2 with reduced front, Split flow inside zone with outstanding second level block by Kelce in coordination with Sanders initial path and cut bringing Oluokun inside and then prevented him from reacting back outside
Eagles run game a big factor as the game progressed with the OL controlling the LOS; Sanders one of his best games as an Eagle running hard inside with decisiveness and competitiveness: 5 yard TD in the 4th quarter came on power strong out of 13 personnel with Opeta pulling, Great cut back inside off Opeta’s block after seeing Griffin outside
Oluokun has played every snap through 4 games and Lloyd has only been off the field for 8 snaps
Seumalo hurt early in the 4th quarter, He was replaced by Opeta who finished the game at RG
RT Johnson another outstanding game especially in pas protection, He is the best RT in the NFL the last couple years and it may not be close
Jaguars more zone based with their coverages than man based, They are not a high percentage cover 1 defense relative to the rest of the NFL
Eagles ran for 210 yards with Sanders 27-134, It was the most carries Sanders has ever had in his Eagles career; Sanders 21-122 out of 11 personnel - Hurts had 6 designed runs excluding QB sneaks and kneel downs
JAGUARS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles continued to play 5 man fronts as a foundation, They played 5-2 base fronts and 5-1 nickel fronts with both at times featured reduced alignments
Scott was the Eagles slot corner with Maddox inactive, Second snap of the game Scott was a dee safety in a 2 shell coverage
5-1 nickel was a foundation of the Eagles defensive game plan, Davis predominantly played in that front; Eagles went to more 4-2 nickel as the game progressed in the 2nd quarter
First 3rd down (3rd + 5) Kirk lined up in the backfield with back Hasty #1 to trips to the field, Eagles went dime with Wallace the dime; 6 man zero pressure with Wallace and Gardner-Johnson blitzing, Lawrence had Kirk open on the flat route to the field but hurried himself knowing the protection could not account for the pressure and made a poor throw
Davis played 0-technique, 1-technique, 2-technique and 2i in the Eagles 5 man front; Davis has played on 3rd down on 4 of his 84 snaps: 3 3rd and 1 plays and 1 3rd and 2 play – Davis a snap at 3-technique in the 4-2 nickel on 2nd + 7 in the 3rd quarter
Slay hurt after 3 plays and did not return, McPhearson replaced him at corner with Bradberry and played every snap the rest of the game
Agnew 24 yards on 3rd + 5 on first possession came out of 11 1x3 with bunch look to the field, Eagles out of single high safety went zone to the field and matched man-to-man to the boundary; Jaguars attacked slot corner Scott with the 3 man route concept and Scott got lost sitting low as the flat defender rather than reacting to Agnew corner route
Jaguars went after Scott on the first possession both on Agnew 24 yards on 3rd + 5 and on the next play with Lawrence designed boot off toss action hitting Arnold crossing the formation in the flat for 26 yards, Arnold reception had a fast flow misdirection element to it and that is tough for the flat defender back side
Agnew 4 yard TD featured tactical use of motion to break down the responsibilities of the Eagles safeties, Agnew from split alignment to the field started to motion across the formation and then went in return motion; Gardner-Johnson and Epps switched with Gardner-Johnson starting to go to the middle but Agnew return motion left him wide open for the TD
Lawrence overthrew open Agnew on a vertical route in the 2nd quarter, He hurried his throw with Davis running at him and was not comfortable
Reddick drove back RT Taylor into the pocket on a power bull rush forcing Lawrence out of the pocket, Lawrence fumbled and the Eagles recovered
There were not many true man-to-man matchups with Scott on Kirk, There was one on first possession of 3rd quarter and Scott made a play on the ball
Davis beat OC Fortner on first play of Jaguars second 3rd quarter possession and tackled Etienne for -1 yard, Davis short area quickness and confined space strength
Davis as he has had in each of the 4 games had some excellent reps in the run game and on 2 specific plays showed his speed: He ran at Lawrence impacting his throw to open Agnew, and he made an outstanding pursuit play tackling Etienne outside the numbers
Edwards always shows up on film, Outstanding key and diagnose and that allows him to play faster than his athleticism and timed speed; Edwards plays with his eyes extremely well
Eagles played 39 snaps of nickel and only 2 snaps of dime, They only played 5 snaps of base 5-2; This was a nickel game for the Eagles defense
Bradberry interception on 2nd + 7 in the high red zone came on what was essentially an Eagles bust, It looked like a zone pressure concept (Gardner-Johnson should not blitzed) but they still voided an area to the field; Bradberry with great eyes in his zone technique came off M. Jones and made the pick, Lawrence did not account for Bradberry
Reddick sack-forced fumble-recovery on 2nd + 10 in the 4th quarter came out of 4-2 nickel and he beat RT Taylor with push-pull move to clear the edge
Reddick second sack-forced fumble with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game, Again he beat RT Taylor this time with power driving him back into the pocket and reaching out and getting his hand on the ball
Slot corner Scott after the first Jaguars possession was never exposed, and Lawrence never went after backup outside corner McPhearson; Jaguars only ran 46 offensive plays and only had 3 drives in which they gained more than 15 yards (both TD drives and the drive that ended with the Bradberry interception)
Eagles a good mix of coverage versus Jaguars, They played more zone and zone match concepts than cover 1
KYLER MURRAY VERSUS PANTHERS DEFENSE
Cards two main personnel groups were 11 and 12 personnel, They played 39% of their snaps out of 12 personnel versus the Panthers which was a far higher percentage of 12 personnel than they had played in their first 3 games
Moore was back for the Cards, He played 86% percent of the offensive snaps versus the Panthers
Panthers base front is 5-2, Burns and Luvu were the predominant edge players with Haynes also getting snaps; Jackson and Horn were the outside corners
In the Panthers sub 4-2 nickel Luvu moved to off the ball LB with Thompson with Burns and Gross-Matos the predominant edge rushers, There were nickel snaps in which LB Little ton was used as an edge pass rusher opposite Burns in a 5 man front
Panthers are an almost exclusive nickel sub defense, 70% of their defensive snaps through 4 games have come out of nickel; They have only played 2 snaps of dime all season
Panthers nickel had Henderson and Jackson the outside corners with Horn in the slot, Hartsfield (replacing injured Chinn after 6 snaps) was the TE matchup in cover 1 versus 11 personnel
Panthers also played snaps of nickel with Jackson and Horn outside and Hartsfield in the slot
Panthers showed multiple front looks out of nickel including double mug with different pressure schemes that challenged pass protection and the QB
Gross-Matos and Haynes lined up both outside and inside in the Panthers 4-2 nickel fronts
Luvu 33 yard interception return TD on 3rd + 6 in the 2nd quarter came out of nickel, Panthers disguise late movement to cover 2 from a cover 1 look versus cards 1x3 set with LB Thompson in press man over boundary x TE Ertz; Murray with the pocket squeezed drifted back and threw the shallow crosser to Brown, Luvu as an underneath defender read the route and the throw
Panthers a multiple personnel, multiple front and multiple coverage defense that challenges offenses; They deployed a lot of people in different positions including a big nickel package with Chandler the third safety when Hartsfield was the slot defender
Brown 21 yards to start 2nd quarter possession came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field following Moore motion across the formation, Cross country dagger concept versus Panthers 3 under-3 deep coverage behind 5 man pressure; Murray off pistol play action hit Brown on the over route in the void in the coverage
Panthers not a high percentage cover 1 defense relative to the rest of the NFL but when they do play it they will be aggressive with press
Murray was outstanding off play action versus the Panthers: 7-8 for 107 yards and TD with 6 of those 7 completions resulting in first downs – Cards featured play action versus Panthers more than the had in their 3 previous games
Panthers featured 3 man rush at times with 2 underneath spy defenders and shell coverage behind it, Limit Murray’s second reaction movement and make him attempt window throws versus zone coverage
Panthers objective with their fronts and rush tactics/techniques was to keep Murray in the pocket and make him read coverage and throw the ball
One thing that always stands out with Murray is his ability to make off-balance throws and throws falling away, He has been doing that his whole life because of his size
Brown 23 yard TD on 3rd + 2 in the 4th quarter came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field versus Panthers base cover 1 with Hartsfield matched on Brown in the slot, Brown slot fade with an outstanding throw by Murray
Murray was more efficient in the pocket versus the Panthers than he was the week before versus the Rams, Cards still struggling to make explosive plays in the passing game
PANTHERS OFFENSE VERSUS CARDS DEFENSE
Cards only played 18 snaps of nickel versus the Panthers, Whittaker had been the slot corner the last 2 games but he was returned to the practice squad
Wilson and Murphy were the outside corners in the base 5-2 front, In nickel on 1st down and some 2nd downs Simmons was the slot defender; Simmons was back playing significant snaps after 2 games in which he played 15 and 16 snaps
When the Panthers went empty out of 11 personnel on 3rd + 2 on their second possession Cards matched Baker on McCaffery #1 to twins with safety Thompson on Moore #2 to trips and LB Vigil on TE Thomas with Simmons the post safety, Cards rushed 5 with LB Collins the fifth rusher
Collins has become the stacked LB foundation, He played every snap versus the Panthers; The second stacked LB is a rotation with Vigil, Vallejo and Niemann
3rd and 10 late in the 1st quarter Cards went conventional nickel for the first time: Murphy moved inside in the slot with Mullen at left corner and Wilson at right corner; Cards played a 2 shell zone coverage
Panthers ran an effective trap play late in the 2nd quarter with McCaffrey getting 10 yards – Could we see the Eagles run that versus the Cards?
Thompson interception came out of conventional nickel with the Cards playing cover 1, Murphy from the slot was matched on Moore and he undercut the route; Mayfield poor ball location threw it behind Moore who got a hand on it and Thompson from his post safety alignment made the pick
A staple of DC Joseph sub fronts is to move people around in different position to create favorable matchups: Watt, Allen and Golden each lined up both inside and outside; Cards also featured 5 man diamond fronts, Allen sack to end Panthers first 3rd quarter possession came with Allen standing up at 0-technique
In the 2nd half Cards played more snaps of conventional nickel with Mullen at left corner and Wilson at right corner with Murphy in the slot, Simmons and Collins were the LB; They predominantly played zone including cover 2
In this game versus Panthers Simmons played slot corner on 1st and 2nd down and LB on 3rd down in the conventional nickel with Murphy in the slot, Cards almost always played zone with Simmons in the slot
Cards featured double mug looks out of conventional nickel with Simmons and Collins in the A gaps
Cards are not a high percentage cover 1 defense through 4 games this season, They have featured much more zone coverage concepts
Cards have been one of the highest percentage blitzing defenses through 4 games, They will play cover 1 when they pressure but many of their pressures feature zone coverage behind it
RAMS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers played nickel on every snap versus the Rams, Lenoir for the second consecutive game was the nickel slot corner
Ward left corner and Moseley right corner for the 49ers, They played sides and did not match up
Rams OL left to right: Noteboom, Evans, Shelton, Jackson, Havenstein; Both OG Evans and Jackson were OT in college – Kolone replaced injured Shelton in the 2nd quarter
Skowronek again snaps as an I formation fullback for the Rams, Rams first play was lead weak; He was again used as a lead blocker later in the first possession
Rams OL and pass protection some mental breakdowns on first possession, Physically they also struggled to get the 49ers front four blocked
49ers outstanding depth along the defensive front: Hyder, Omenihu, Ridgeway and rookie Jackson all get significant snaps
49res good mix of 2 shell coverage and single high safety coverage on Rams first possession, They played predominantly zone
When 49ers went cover 1 blitz versus 11 personnel on 2nd + 8 on Rams second possession Warner was the fifth rusher and safety Gipson was the TE matchup, Warner unblocked through the A gap and Bosa drove back LT Noteboom into the pocket
Bosa sack on 3rd + 8 to end Rams second possession came out of loaded front with Warner the standup 3-technique opposite the load, Coverage was 3 under-3 deep with match principles; 5 man pressure with T/E stunt to the 2 man side and Bosa long stunt into the A gap from the load side – Great design and execution
An issue for the Rams passing game is LT Noteboom struggles in one-on-one pass protection versus quality edge rushers
49ers second loaded front came on 3rd + 9 on Rams third possession, Again 5 man pressure with E/T stunt opposite the load; 49ers cover 1 behind it with Gipson again the TE matchup, Lenoir outstanding job on Kupp taking away Stafford first read
49ers defense playing with tremendous energy, That is evident in the way in which everyone is pursuing hard to the ball on every snap
3rd and goal in the 2nd quarter from the 11 yard line 49ers played 2 shell zone coverage versus Rams 3x1 set, Warner the stacked LB aligned to the trips side had to match #3 and that was Kupp; Warner outstanding job locking down Kupp resulting in incompletion
Omenihu sack on 2nd + 2 late in the 2nd quarter came out of loaded front with another 5 man rush and another stunt, Warner long stunt behind Armstead and Omenihu but Omenihu’s slant inside as a penetrator beat LG Evans and he sacked Stafford; Warner was clean through the A gap on his loop
Lenoir sack on 3rd + 13 was the next play after Omenihu sack: 49ers showed cover 1 look before the snap but Gipson slowly moved to cap Lenoir, Lenoir blitz beat Higbee who initially helped on Bosa; Again a stunt was part of the pressure with Omenihu and Bosa executing T/E stunt, 49ers 3 under-3 deep match coverage behind the 5 man pressure
Pass protection was an issue for the Rams both versus 49ers 4 man DL pass rush and 5 man pressures featuring Warner and Lenoir as the fifth rusher
Lenoir was featured as a blitzer beginning late in the 2nd quarter into the Rams first possession of the 3rd quarter
49ers in their zone coverage concepts showed a strong tendency to lock the boundary x receiver man-to-man
Rams only 4 snaps of empty versus the 49ers and it was not a factor in the game – Was that a function of their pass protection struggles?
49ers at times showed reduced 5 man fronts with Greenlaw aligned on the edge on the ball
3rd + 3 in the 3rd quarter 49ers versus Rams empty set went cover 1 with Gipson again the TE matchup (that was the case all game in man coverage) and Warner dedicated double on Kupp from #3 to trips, Stafford went to Robinson on speed out from the slot to twins for 2 yards – 49ers another stunt this time T/T inside
49ers multiple with pressure concepts out of loaded fronts featuring both stunts and 5 man pressures, 3rd + 10 early in the 4th quarter 49ers went cover 1 with Hufanga the fifth rusher as the looper in an inside stunt
Hufanga 52 yard interception TD in the 4th quarter came versus Rams 2x2 with Hufanga lined up over Higbee, 49ers looked like they were playing cover 1 and that was the first cover 1 snap of the game in which Hufanga not Gipson was the matchup on Higbee; Hufanga read Higbee outside stem and saw Kupp screen action back to the LOS and made an outstanding play
In the 4th quarter Hufanga was the matchup on Higbee when the 49ers went cover 1
Ridgeway 4th quarter sack on 2nd + 10 came on another stunt: 4 man DL rush with Ridgeway and Ebukam executing T/E stunt, Ridgeway was the penetrator and he attacked the inside shoulder of LT Noteboom and beat him for the sack
Ebukam sack-forced fumble late in the 4th quarter came out of loaded front, 4 man DL rush with Ubukam the wide 9 opposite the load; Ebukam re-directed back inside off edge rush and hit Stafford forcing the fumble
Overall an outstanding defensive performance by the 49ers both tactically and physically, They dominated the Rams offense – 49ers featured 17 5 man pressures in 56 Stafford drop backs, They sacked Stafford 4 times and he only threw for 62 yards on 8 completions versus blitz
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
49ers only snaps of 11 personnel (35%) with 12 and 21 personnel combined for 55% of offensive snaps
Aiyuk 15 yards on first play was 49ers offense: Motion to force defensive reaction creating passing window for Garoppolo on quick slant to Aiyuk versus off coverage corner Kendrick
Rams base front continued to be 5-2, For the second consecutive week Ramsey and Kendrick were the outside corners in base
Rams dime had 3 safeties with Rapp, Scott and Fuller with Haley the third corner as he was a week ago versus the Cards, Wagner the only LB in dime; In dime Ramsey played outside
Haley played outside in nickel when Ramsey was the slot, Kendrick was the boundary corner in that alignment
Burford started at RG but Brunskill rotated with him throughout the game, Burforf played 29 snaps and Brunskill 21 snaps
McKivitz played 32 snaps at LT with Moore playing 18 snaps after McKivitz was injured
First 3rd and long (3rd + 9) Rams loaded front out of dime with Donald the wide 9 opposite the load, LT McKivitz one-on-one versus Donald with late help from LG Banks
Rams continued to play snaps of big nickel with 3 safeties, They did that versus 49ers base personnel
Wilson 32 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end first possession came out of 12 2x2 with Wilson the I back versus Rams 5-2 base front, Wham concept with TE Woerner wham block on 1-technique Gaines and outstanding combo block by RT McGlinchey and RG Burford on 4i Copeland and LB Wagner; Wilson was not touched
Samuel 15 yards to start second possession came out of 21 personnel great use of motion and power run action to help create void in Rams 5-2 base cover 3, Garoppolo window throw to Samuel on the crosser
Rams went 6-1 front out of base (4 DL) versus 49ers 12 personnel on second possession, It was part of game plan since they continued to play the 6-1 front on the 49ers third possession – They played quarters shell behind the 6-1 front
In the Rams base defenses (5-2/6-1) Ramsey almost always was the boundary corner, He did not specifically match up to receivers
Garoppolo poor ball placement throw to open Jennings on in-breaker on 3rd + 10 on third possession, It should have been pitch-and-catch but Garoppolo sailed it high
Rams showed a 3rd and long dime front in which Donald was a standup Joker in the middle of the defense
Samuel 57 yard TD on 3rd + 3 late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Rams 4-2 nickel cover 1 behind 5 man pressure, Play was designed for Samuel with Jennings release from the slot the natural pick for Samuel to cut underneath; Corner Kendrick great reaction to play inside the pick and he just missed making a play on the ball – LG Banks excellent one-on-one pass protection versus Donald
Kittle 20 yards on 2nd + 9 on first 3rd quarter possession came out of 21 2x2 versus Rams base 5-2 cover 2, Good ball by Garoppolo hitting Kittle on the bender behind underneath coverage LB Jones
Rams played 21 snaps of base defense versus the 49ers predominant base personnel groupings, That was their most played defense
49ers a methodical offense that rarely varies from their foundation, They are base personnel driven with a heavy emphasis on the run game and quick game throws in the passing game including multiple WR screen concepts
Samuel 29 yards on 3rd + 13 in the 4th quarter came on tunnel screen to the field, 4 excellent blocks allowed Samuel to be untouched until he was 20 yards down the field; Jennings and Kittle, OT Moore and OG Banks were the blockers
Wagner still a strong stacked LB, He continues to show an excellent feel for reading blocking schemes and navigating through traffic to makes tackles in the run game
Rams continued to be a zone based coverage team, Ramsey is not used as a matchup corner in the context of their defense
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Seahawks are not a high percentage 11 personnel offense relative to the rest of the NFL, Only 51% of their offensive snaps have come out of 11 personnel
Seahawks fourth highest percentage of 12 personnel in the NFL (28%) and the highest percentage of 13 personnel (13%)
Smith out of 12 personnel through 4 games: 30-36 for 286 yards and 4 TD; Smith versus blitz (5 man or more pressure): 28-35 for 286 yards and 3 TD; Smith play action including play action boot: 34-39 for 326 yards and 2 TD
Lions started rookie Joseph at safety with Elliott, Lions base 4-3 had Barnes as the third LB with Anzalone and Rodriguez with Barnes predominantly lining up on the ball
Lions showed 5-1 nickel on 3rd down with 5 DL and Anzalone the only LB, Board continued to be the LB with Anzalone in the 4-1 nickel on 3rd down
Lions predominantly matched Okudah on Metcalf, Lions clearly trying to form Okudah into a high-level man-to-man corner; Okudah beat by Metcalf for 54 yards on 2nd + 14 in the 2nd quarter, Seahawks 11 empty versus Lions nickel cover 1
First 3rd and long (3rd + 7) Lions doubled both Metcalf and Lockett in an overall man concept, Smith saw open grass and ran for 17 yards
Seahawks feature spread formations out of 12 personnel versus opponents base defense
Dissly 17 yard TD on 1st + 15 to end first possession came out of 12 closed boundary twins to the field versus Lions nickel cover 1, Dissly was the inside TE with safety Joseph matched on him; Y/Y verticals part of 4 vert concept with an excellent throw by Smith high and away to Dissly away from Joseph who was playing with inside leverage
Lions very aggressive and reactive versus play action, Stacked LB Anzalone and Rodriguez hit the run action hard which opened the passing game
Metcalf 23 yards on 1st + 10 on second possession came out of 21 Pony empty versus Lions nickel ¼ ¼ ½, Smith hit Metcalf in the seam to the halves side of the coverage
Smith seeing things clearly staying tough in the pocket and delivering the ball with confidence
Smith 8 yard TD to end second possession came out of 12 empty versus Lions base cover 1, Smith designed QB draw with the middle wide open
Smith has more than functional mobility, He can make second reaction throws and runs and can also give you the designed QB run depending on the situation
Smith worked the Metcalf-Okudah matchup on the first play of the 3rd quarter, Okudah had good coverage on the vertical route but Smith made a great throw for 26 yards
Seahawks continue to feature snaps with the Pony package, They predominantly do that with a TE on the field
Penny 15 yards on 2nd + 5 in the 3rd quarter came out of 13 personnel with a 5 man surface to the boundary, Toss to the boundary
As the game progressed through the 2nd half Okudah was not always matched on Metcalf, Okudah did not travel with him
Penny 36 TD on 3rd + 16 late in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 versus Lions nickel zero, Power with LG Lewis the puller and with no second level defenders Penny made Oruwariye miss at the third level
Lockett 34 yards on 2nd + 10 in the 4th quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Lockett the boundary x versus Lions nickel zero, Smith with Hutchinson hitting him as he delivered made a great throw to Lockett who beat Oruwariye on the post route
Lions rushed 5 or more 12 snaps versus Smith 34 drop backs and they did not sack him; Smith versus blitz: 8-12 for 92 yards and TD
Lockett 11 yards on 3rd + 2 on 4th quarter TD drive came on great 2 man concept versus man coverage, Switch release with Lockett stemming outside underneath Goodwin inside stem then breaking back inside, Corner Hughes worked outside and was not in position to play Lockett
Penny 41 yard TD on 3rd + 5 late in the 4th quarter came on gap scheme concept with LG Lewis and LT Cross pulling, Lions pressure front with 7 on the LOS, Board in man coverage squeezed down inside with TE Fant and there was no edge player to defend the run
Seahawks 555 total yards of offense averaging almost 9 yards per play, They were 9-12 on 3rd down
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS RAVENS DEFENSE
Ravens played 41 snaps of nickel and 16 snaps of dime versus the Bills, Humphrey and Peters were the outside corners with Stephens the slot corner – Humphrey played right corner and did not match up to Diggs
Rookie safety Hamilton was the dime for the Ravens, Queen was the dime LB; Hamilton was the TE matchup when the Ravens went 2 man and cover 1 robber
2nd + 9 and 3rd + 9 on Bills first possession Ravens played 2 shell coverage out of nickel and dime, On 3rd + 9 (Humphrey interception) they Stephens and safety Clark off the edges as part of 5 man pressure and played match coverage underneath with Williams and Hamilton the deep safeties
Ravens went 1 robber out of dime on 3rd + 7 on Bills second possession with Clark the robber and Hamilton matched on Knox, Allen hit Diggs on the slant versus Peters for 18 yards
3rd + 7 in the high red zone on Bills second possession Ravens played 2 man and used Oweh to spy on Allen
Ravens defensive game plan featured disguised pressure and coverage looks with multiple pressure concepts and late movement into coverage
Ravens predominantly played zone out of dime on the Bills late 2nd quarter TD, They played both single high and 2 shell coverage; As the Bills crossed the 30 yard line Ravens mixed in some man coverage
McKenzie 4 yard TD at the end of the 1st half came out of 11 3x1 with bunch to trips, Ravens in the tight red zone matched up with cover 1 out of nickel; Well-designed concept with natural rub element as McKenzie from #3 in the bunch ran into the flat underneath Knox and Davis, Slot corner Stephens could not work through Knox and it was pitch and catch
Ravens again used Oweh as a spy on Allen on 3rd + 10 on first 3rd quarter possession, They played cover 1 robber out of dime behind Oweh and the 3 man rush
Diggs 23 yards to start second 3rd quarter possession came off McKenzie jet motion from outside Diggs on the field side of the formation, Diggs one-on-one to the field versus off coverage Peters ran a deep out cut; Allen strong in the pocket made an excellent throw
McKenzie hurt in the 3rd quarter, Rookie Shakir became the third receiver with Crowder already out of the game; Shakir lined up both outside and inside, He showed his run-after-catch ability on his first reception
Ravens coverage foundation versus the Bills was single high safety (as it has been through 4 games) but they more split safety coverage than they had in their previous 3 games, likely a function of the Bills having no viable run game
Bills high percentage 11 personnel versus the Ravens (87% of their offensive snaps), Fullback Gilliam was not a factor in the game plan
Allen 11 yard TD on 2nd + 3 late in the 3rd quarter came on designed naked run off power run look opposite, Allen got to the edge cleanly
Oweh sack on 3rd + 9 early in the 4th quarter came out of 3-3-5 nickel and resulted from inside stunt with LB Phillips the penetrator and LB Harrison the looper clean into the A gap, Harrison forced Allen to move and Oweh who had beaten RT Brown off the edge was there for the sack
Knox 20 yards on 3rd + 2 on winning FG drive was an excellent late-in-the-down progression throw by Allen, Allen looked to Diggs on the slant but it was muddied so he went over the top of Diggs to Knox on the corner route; Ravens were in nickel cover 1 and safety Clark dropped Knox as he was reading through to Allen who started his delivery on the slant
Shakir 9 yards on 2nd + 3 on winning FG drive was the result of the Allen factor: Second reaction movement then finding an open receiver
Ravens rushed 5 on 13 of Allen’s 42 drop backs (31%): Allen 5-11 for 68 yards and his one interception; Only 3 of those pressures came on 3rd down
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS COLTS DEFENSE
Colts nickel had Gilmore and Facyson the outside corners and Moore the slot corner, Rodgers ended up playing more snaps as the third corner as the game progressed
68% of Colts defensive snaps through 4 games have been nickel, They have only played 2 snaps of dime – Colts a nickel sub defense and a predominant single high safety defense
Second play of the game rookie RT Petit-Frere beaten off the edge by Paye but Tannehill was able to get off the throw to Hilliard 2 yards
First 3rd down (3rd + 6) Colts out of nickel played cover 2 with Leonard the middle hole matching any inside route, Ngakoue beat LT Daley off the edge resulting in Tannehill running for 9 yards
Henry 14 yards on first possession was a called flat screen not a run, Titans getting Henry involved in the passing game early
Woods 7 yard TD on 1st and goal to end first possession came out of 11 personnel with Swain aligned in the backfield, Run look with Swaim inserting into the LOS with lead blocking action and the OL fifing off the ball with hats low; Tannehill did not expect Woods to be wide open on the condensed over route but single high safety Thomas got lost and did not react to Woods
With Leonard having missed the first 3 games Speed has gotten more snaps at LB and he has consistently flashed with his plus athleticism and speed
Henry 22 yard reception on second possession came out of 11 3x1 and was a designed screen to the boundary, LG Brewer got the initial block on safety McLeod – Titans clearly wanted to involve Henry in the passing game
Okonkwo 23 yards on 1st + 10 on second possession came out of 22 personnel with Okwonkwo the weak I fullback and Tannehill under center, Lead run action to the boundary with Okwonkwo then running the rail route; LB Franklin was the defender put in conflict with his primary run responsibility but also responsible to match Okwonkwo – Outstanding design
Henry 19 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end second possession came out of 12 closed to the field twins to the boundary which left corner Facyson the primary outside run defender to the field, Henry initial downhill path brought LB Franklin and safety McLeod inside so when Henry bounced outside only Facyson was outside
Titans personnel breakdown versus Colts was 50% 11 personnel and 50% base personnel – Colts played snaps of nickel versus Titans 12 personnel
Foundation of Titans run game is zone with Henry the I back, 20 of 22 Henry carries versus the Colts came with him as an I back: 20-100 with 4 runs of 10+ yards – 65 of his 76 rushes this season have come as an I back
Only 26 of Henry 76 rushes this season have come out of 11 personnel and the production has not been that good: 26-95, 3.65
Colts played predominantly single high safety defense with McLeod the box safety and Thomas the post safety
Burks open on 3rd + 7 just outside the red zone in the 2nd quarter, Well-designed 2 man concept to the field with switch release natural rub element; Burks open on the wheel but Tannehill had to throw it a beat early with blitzing LB Franklin beating block of Hilliard
Woods aligned in the backfield and caught 3 yard pass in the flat on 2nd quarter TD drive
Okwonkwo 8 yard TD on 2nd + 7 in the 2nd quarter came out of 13 1x3 with Okwonkwo #3 to trips versus Colts red zone cover 2/4, Okwonkwo pivot route versus Leonard with Tannehill initially looking to the 2 receiver boundary then coming back to Okwonkwo
Leonard hurt on Okwonkwo TD, Okereke and Franklin became the nickel LB – Franklin has played well this season
Titans passing game still limited, They do not create many explosive plays with the result being they can go longer stretches without scoring on offense; No big plays to compensate for any sustainability issues with the run game – Tannehill 17 completions for 137 yards versus the Colts
LG Brewer continued to have some tough reps in the run game, DT Stewart snaps in which he was just too strong for Brewer; Brewer can also be a liability in one-on-one pass protection, he struggled to handle speed-to-power and bull rushes
Colts showed loaded fronts out of nickel on 3rd down, They featured multiple stunt concepts from those fronts
Paye sack on 3rd + 8 in the 4th quarter came on an E/T stunt with Paye the penetrator and Buckner the looper versus RT Petit-Frere and RG Davis, Paye got inside both Petit-Frere and Davis knocking Davis down and sacking Tannehill
COLTS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Hooker and Cunningham inactive versus the Colts, Adams was the safety with Byard and Cole was the LB with Long in the nickel
McCreary played outside with Fulton in the base defense and was the slot corner in nickel and dime, Schobert snaps as an on the ball edge player in the base 5-2 front and stacked LB in the base 4-3 front
Mitchell played outside corner in the nickel and dime with McCreary in the slot, Farley also played snaps at outside corner opposite Fulton; Kalu was the dime safety and he also played snaps in the nickel; Fulton almost always lined up to the boundary regardless of personnel
Simmons drove back OC Kelly on the first play of the game: Taylor 1 yard; Simmons blew up wham block of TE Granson and tackled Taylor for 2 yard loss on the fourth play of the game - Simmons may be the strongest DT in the NFL
First 3rd and long (3rd + 12) Titans out of 5 man dime front (Long on the ball as a stand up 1-technique) fire x cross dog blitz with Byard and Adams, Edge defenders Weaver and Dupree dropped into coverage in this 5 man pressure
Titans at times on 3rd down showed 5 man fronts with Long the only LB, Simmons and Autry were inside; That personnel/front was part of pass rush package
Edwards played multiple DL positions depending on the personnel and front, He played inside and outside as an edge rusher including snaps at wide DE in the dime front with Simmons and Autry inside – Edwards played 34 snaps in his first game with the Titans
Autry sack-forced fumble on 3rd + 15 to end first possession, 4 man DL rush out of dime with Autry beating LG Nelson to the outside
Cole flashed on tape, He played with awareness and decisiveness and was active; Tartt also flashed on film especially inside in the run game where he controlled the POA and at times displaced OL
Titans predominantly played single high safety coverage with cover 1 and cover 3 but they also played a good percentage of split safety, Their coverage percentage did not change in nickel or dime
Colts continued to play snaps of their Pony package with Taylor and Hines on the field, Hines often was used as a detached receiver and a motion receiver although there were snaps he lined up in the backfield with Taylor detached
Woods 33 yards on 1st + 10 on 2nd quarter TD drive came on flood concept to the boundary with Woods the intermediate receiver versus Titans nickel cover 3, With flat defender Byard playing with depth Ryan settled Woods into the void rather than leading him into Byard – Well-designed and well-executed play
Alie-Cox 14 yard TD on 2nd and goal late in the 2nd quarter came on shallow cross versus Titans nickel cover 1, Colts Pony personnel and Hines motion across the formation away from play side caused a moment’s hesitation in Fulton who was matched man-to-man on Alie-Cox; Fulton late to run with Alie-Cox on the shallow and it was pitch and catch
Pierce from boundary x contested back shoulder catch versus Mitchell 25 yards on Colts first 3rd quarter possession
Motion across the formation caught the Titans defense on both Alie-Cox TD with the first being Hines motion and the second Granson motion, Titans in man coverage on both TD and the man defender on Alie-Cox shallow crossers hesitated both times reacting to the motion
Colts first possession of the 3rd quarter (which ended in TD) Titans played nickel to 12 personnel, After that drive they went back to playing base to 12
In the 2nd half Schobert played snaps with Long in the Titans 4-2 nickel, Autry lined up at DE in the nickel and inside at DT in dime
Overall the Titans defense physically handled the Colts OL, Titans were able to rely primarily on 4 man DL pass rush to generate consistent pressure on Ryan
Alie-Cox 34 yards to start first 4th quarter possession came out of 11 2x2 with Cox attached to the boundary versus Titans nickel cover 4, Alie-Cox bender beat safety Kalu who matched him in his quarter but was late reacting to the route and the throw
Pierce 44 yards on final Colts possession came on go route versus Farley that was badly underthrown with Pierce adjusting to the throw, Farley lost contact with Pierce and did not locate the ball
Titans only 6 5 man pressures versus Colts but they also had some 4 man zone exchange pressures, Titans also played more split safety zone coverage in the 4th quarter
Autry sack on 3rd + 8 on what was the Colts last offensive resulted from T/E stunt with Autry the penetrator and Edwards the looper, Autry split LG Nelson and LT Pryor and then Nelson reacted to Edwards on the loop
Titans played 43 snaps of nickel and 11 snaps of dime versus Colts, Through 4 games the Titans have played nickel on 63% of their defensive snaps
JETS OFFENSE VERSUS STEELERS DEFENSE
Wallace left corner and Sutton right corner the outside corners in Steelers base defense with Jack and Bush the stacked LB
Maulet was the slot corner in the sub defenses, Steelers played 44 snaps of nickel and only 3 snaps of dime
Steelers 3rd down nickel had Jack and Spillane the LB in the 4-2, Steelers also snaps of 3-3-5 nickel with multiple alignment looks including pressure fronts
When the Steelers went cover 1 behind a 5 man pressure versus 11 personnel safety Edmunds was the TE matchup, There were nickel cover 1 snaps in which Fitzpatrick matched the TE
Steelers showed base 4-3 personnel versus Jets 22 Pony package, and 12 personnel, Spillane was the third LB with Jack and Bush; Steelers base fronts were 5-2 with 2 stacked LB and 4-3 with 3 LB
Cover 1 has been the Steelers predominant coverage through 4 games this season, Steelers have also played significant snaps of 2 man coverage
Rookie Leal got significant snaps versus Jets, the most he has gotten in any of the 4 games; Leal predominantly played in the base defense but there were nickel snaps as an edge pass rusher
When the Steelers play dime Norwood is the dime safety and Spillane is the dime LB, When the Steelers went cover 1 robber out of dime Spillane was TE matchup with Norwood matched on the back
What stood out on tape was the Steelers were comfortable with Spillane matched on TE in man coverage, Spillane used in multiple ways in the Steelers nickel (and dime)
Highsmith a strong pass rusher who lines up on both sides of the defense, Steelers predominant edge rushers on 3rd down are Highsmith and Reed
Moore 20 yards on 3rd + 7 was a big-time far hash deep comeback throw by Wilson with great timing and anticipation and precise ball placement, Steelers cover 1 blitz out of 3-3-5 nickel with pressure front featuring double mug with Bush and Jack in the A gaps and Spillane on the edge, Back Carter stepped inside with an excellent block on blitzing Bush; Moore excellent route versus Wallace
Moore 28 yards on 2nd + 7 on first play of 2nd quarter came out of 12 empty versus Steelers base 4-3 split 2 shell coverage with cover 2 to the boundary and man to the field, Wilson worked the hi-low to the boundary sticking Moore in the skinny in the cover 2 void with run-after-catch
Pony package part of Jets offense with both Hall and Carter on the field, Both are excellent receivers who can line up in multiple locations
Steelers featured multiple stunt concepts out of both nickel and dime fronts, They showed loaded fronts at times
Norwood replaced injured Edmunds at safety in the 2nd quarter, Steelers did not play any snaps of dime after that
Conklin 18 yards on 3rd + 5 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 versus Steelers 3-3-5 nickel 6 pressure front with double mug look, Steelers dropped both Jack and Bush into underneath hook-to-curl defenders in cover 3 and rushed 4; Wilson read the coverage and hit Conklin in the middle void between Jack and Bush, Good ball with velocity and location
Wilson live loose arm with easy velocity, Snap thrower with a quick compact delivery who can deliver with location without stepping to his target: Wilson 35 yards on 3rd + 6 in the 4th quarter a good example, It came versus cover 1 robber
Steelers coverage foundation was man with snaps of cover 1 and 1 robber, They played it on almost all 3rd downs and on 4th + 7 in the 4t quarter
Wilson made some critical throws versus man coverage in the 4th quarter: Wilson 35 yards on 3rd + 6, Davis 22 yards on 4th + 7, Davis 5 yard TD on 3rd and goal – Wilson also made some strong throws in the middle of the field versus cover 3: Conklin 18 yards, Davis 15 yards
Davis 17 yards on 2nd + 9 late in the 4th quarter was a big-time throw by Wilson versus cover 2, Precise ball location away from middle hole defender Bush
Overall Wilson played a strong game getting more comfortable as the game progressed; Wilson in the 2nd half: 12-20 for 161 yards and TD; Wilson on 3rd down in the 2nd half: 4-7 for 66 yards with TD and interception
JUSTIN HERBERT VERSUS TEXANS DEFENSE
Rookie Salyer was the Chargers LT with Slater out for the season, Rookie Johnson has been starting all season at RG
Wallow was the third LB with Kirksey and Grugier-Hill in the Texans base 4-3 personnel
Everett 18 yard TD to end first possession came out of 11 2x2 with Everett the slot to the boundary, Texans matched up in nickel cover 1 with rookie safety Pitre in press man on Everett; Herbert versus single high first looked to the slant-flat combination (the way it is taught) but Kirksey drop took away the Williams slant, Herbert on 3 step drop timing came back to Everett on the seam, Everett had beaten Pitre off the LOS
Texans continued to play snaps of 3-3-5 nickel with Cashman the third LB with Kirksey and Grugier-Hill, 4-2 is higher percentage nickel; Texans have played nickel on 63% of their defensive snaps, They have not played any snaps of dime
King continued to be the nickel slot corner with Nelson and rookie Stingley outside, Stingley has been used as a matchup corner at times
Stingley predominantly lined up over Williams but he did not play a high percentage of man coverage, It was much more zone concepts
Texans under Lovie Smith still play high percentage cover 2 relative to the rest of the NFL but their cover 1 percentage is much more in line with what you see around the league
Williams 50 yards on 2nd + 7 in the 2nd quarter came on post-cross combination out of 12 personnel off play action that had boot look to it, LB Grugier-Hill and Wallow got lost in their coverage responsibilities off the play action and there was no underneath defender anywhere near Williams in the Texans base cover 3
Herbert does an excellent job of coming off his primary read and working his progressions, Everett 14 yards on 3rd + 3 in the 2nd quarter a great example: Herbert primary read was the stack to the field with Williams and Carter working the hi-low concept but it was not clean versus the man coverage, Herbert came back to Everett on the crosser from the boundary
Both safeties Pitre and Owens matched up to the TE when the Texans went cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel
Texans rushed 5 on 10 of 40 Herbert drop backs, Herbert 7-10 for 101 yards versus blitz – Herbert has been up and down versus blitz through 4 games: 27-49 for 306 yards with 3 TD and 2 interception, He has only been sacked twice but his yards per attempt is only 6.24
Bandy 24 yards late in the 1st half an excellent throw by Herbert off pocket movement into the outside void in cover 2
What consistently stands out with Herbert is his patience in the pocket and his willingness to make contested late-in-the-down contested throws
