We are proud to share NFL Films Legend and Tape Wizard Greg Cosell’s raw notes from his film observations. We’ll be releasing his notes every week, either on Wednesday or Thursday.
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS CARDINALS DEFENSE
Simmons started at safety with Baker in the Cards base defense versus Eagles 12 personnel, Snaps at post safety and man-to-man matchup versus Ertz
Simmons played LB in the sub nickel, Banjo was the safety with Baker; Simmons lined up both off the ball and on the ball in the sub nickel
Peterson played left corner and Kirkpatrick right corner, They did not match up
Sanders 26 yard screen to the field on third possession featured Reagor orbit motion to the boundary, Cards cover 1 out of sub nickel but they busted the coverage with no one playing Sanders
3rd + 15 on Eagles third possession Cards used Reddick as a spy on Hurts, They played 1 robber behind it with Simmons matched on Goedert
Cards snaps of 3 corner base defense versus Eagles 11 personnel, Baker was the only safety
Reagor ran by Peterson on post route on second play of 2nd quarter, Hurts good read versus cover 4 but he just underthrew it allowing Peterson to recover; Golden drove back LG Seumalo into the pocket as the looper on T/E stunt
Cards continued to be multiple with their front looks out of sub nickel, Gardeck at times used as a standup Joker
Ward 4 yard TD on 4th + 3 in 2nd quarter was an outstanding anticipation throw by Hurts off designed movement left: Play design was speed out by Ward from the field slot, Ward route adjustment to bend back inside
Hurts continued to be decisive with his throws, getting the ball out with timing and rhythm; His ball placement was consistently precise (much better than his tape showed at Oklahoma)
Hurts also decisive when he when he saw a running opportunity, There was no hesitation to his play
Eagles aggressive attacking on the outside with vertical routes, They particularly went after left corner Peterson
DE Allen was all over the tape, especially in the run game; He played almost 90% of the snaps – Gardeck also flashed playing with urgency, competitiveness and pass rush
Eagles continued to feature zone read concepts with Hurts: Play to his strengths as a runner; Inside zone to Sanders worked off zone read look
Cards have been a high percentage man-to-man defense this season with cover 1 as their foundation, That continued versus the Eagles
Eagles had great success with 2 give-up WR screens: Watkins 32 yard TD on 3rd + 20 early in the 2nd quarter, Reagor 23 yards on 3rd + 29 on 3rd quarter TD drive
In the 2nd half Simmons played predominantly LB with Banjo playing safety with Baker, Simmons significant snaps on the ball as an OLB in the sub nickel
In the 2nd half the Cards played predominantly nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel
Cards did not feature spy tactic as significant part of game plan approach versus Hurts, They used spy tactic just a couple of snaps
Jeffery 39 yards on 3rd + 12 in the 4th quarter was an outstanding spot throw by Hurts with touch and precise ball location on the out route
Hurts broke down in the pocket on Gardeck sack in the high red zone with 3 minutes remaining and Eagles trailing by 7, He perceived back side pressure and left throw to Jeffery on the in-breaker on the field
Cards played predominantly cover 1, some cover 3; Single high was Cards coverage foundation playing about 70%
Cards blitzed 23 snaps on over 50 Hurts drop backs, 2 of their 5 sacks came on blitzes
Overall a strong game for Hurts: Poise and composure, pocket efficiency, designed runs and second reaction scrambles; He was decisive with his reads and throws
Hurts highly efficient out of 11 personnel: 14-18 for 201 yards and 2 TD; He was not efficient out of 12 personnel: 10-26 for 137 yards and 1 TD
CARDINALS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Jacquet was the Eagles right corner (some snaps at left corner), Seymour significant snaps at left corner with Robey-Coleman the slot corner; Mills played strong safety with Epps the free safety – Jacquet, Epps and Mills played every snap
Robey-Coleman also snaps at outside corner, He predominantly played outside in the big nickel
Eagles played big nickel versus Cards 12 personnel with Wallace the third safety with Epps and Mills, Singleton and Edwards were the LB in the big nickel package; Eagles also snaps of base 4-3 versus 12 personnel
Eagles tendency was to play cover 3 out of big nickel, Epps was the post safety – Arnold 23 yards late in the 2nd quarter came on cover 3 beater route concept
In the Eagles conventional 3 corner sub nickel Singleton and Riley were predominantly the LB
Eagles snaps of dime on 3rd down with Wallace the third safety, Snaps of cover 2 out of dime on 3rd and long with Singleton the middle hole defender
Eagles also snaps of cover 3 out of dime on 3rd down, They showed 3 under/3 deep concept in which Riley was used as a spy on Murray
Williams 42 yards on Cards first TD drive was on Mills: Eagles were in cover 1 and Williams initially showed pass protection, Mills stepped up abandoning his coverage responsibility
Singleton beaten on Edmunds 6 yard TD reception, Eagles were in man coverage with LB Riley and Singleton responsible for Edmunds based on his release; Edmunds released through the formation and Singleton did not make the recognition until it was too late
Jacquet sack leading to forced fumble came on corner blitz from the boundary – Jacquet looked the part of an NFL corner with his size, length and movement traits
Sweat hurt early in the game and only played 4 snaps, Avery played 12 snaps at DE
Fitzgerald 14 yard TD late in the 2nd quarter was well-defensed by Robey-Coleman in cover 4, Cards 3 man route concept to the field and Robey-Coleman carried Fitzgerald; A great second reaction throw by Murray and catch by Fitzgerald
Epps red zone interception on 2nd and goal in the 3rd quarter resulted from Murray not making an easy read and delivering to Kirk on time, 2 man boundary route concept and Kirk was wide open on the in-breaker in front of Seymour; It should have been an easy TD
Murray continued to be a splash player capable of special individual plays but lacking the needed consistency to play at a high level
Hopkins 44 yards on 3rd + 8 and Hopkins 20 yard TD on 3rd + 2 both came versus Jacquet playing man coverage to the boundary; 44 yards came versus dime cover 1 behind tilted front, 20 yard TD came versus nickel cover 1 with Riley spy on Murray in empty set
Cards significant snaps of no huddle tempo throughout the game, That’s a foundation of the Air Raid offense under Kingsbury
Eagles played predominant zone coverage with cover 3 and cover 2 the main concepts, Eagles only played 8 snaps of cover 1; Eagles did not blitz much at all versus the Cards
Cards 11 snaps in 10 personnel: Murray 6-8 for 82 yards with 2 TD and 1 interception; Murray out of 11 personnel: 12-17 for 170 yards and 1 TD; Murray out of 12 personnel: 8-10 for 109 yards
Overall the Eagles pressure and coverage approach played to their personnel in the secondary, DC Schwartz strong game plan given his personnel
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers sub nickel: Sherman left corner, Witherspoon right corner (Verrett inactive), Williams slot corner
Cowboys OL from left to right: LT Knight, LG Williams, OC Looney, RG McGovern, RT Steele
49ers base defense had Al-Shaair as the third LB with Warner and Greenlaw; 49ers at times reduced fronts out of base
Gallup 3 yard TD came on nice misdirection design with Pollard toss action to the field impacting Warner, Moore and Sherman; Gallup slow played his release on the slant from reduced split to the field
Dalton is a cautious risk-averse QB, He will not drive the ball down the field more often taking short throws and check downs; Dalton will push it down the field on orchestrated shot plays and designed vertical route concepts but he is not a natural turn-it-loose thrower
Armstead sack on 3rd + 6 in the 2nd quarter came on well-executed inside stunt with Kinlaw the picker and Armstead the looper, 5 across diamond front
3rd + 7 late in the 2nd quarter 49ers went dime for the first time with Moseley the dime, They played cover 1 behind 5 man pressure with Sherman playing safety and matched on RB Pollard
49ers success with stunts in the 1st half, Both of Armstead sacks came on stunts: The first he was the looper, the second he was the picker out of tilted front; Both times they occupied OC Looney so he could not help
Willis also a big hit on Dalton late in the 2nd quarter as the looper on T/E stunt with Armstead out of a tilted front
Ward hurt late in the 2nd quarter and did not return, Harris replaced him at safety with Moore
Lamb 45 yards on 3rd + 7 on second possession of the 3rd quarter came off Dalton reaction movement, 49ers out of nickel played cover 4 boundary lock and Lamb from inside slot to trips beat boundary safety Harris across the field on deep crosser
3rd + 5 late in the 3rd quarter the 49ers went 4 corner nickel with Moseley the fourth corner in place of safety Harris, They played cover 1 behind tilted front with 5 man rush and inside stunt
49ers same 4 corner nickel on 3rd + 4 on Cowboys next possession: 4 man pressure with Greenlaw part of the rush with cover 1 with 2 underneath zone defenders behind it
4 corner nickel was 49ers 3rd down package beginning late in the 3rd quarter, They played cover 1
Gallup strained hip forced him out of the game giving Brown and Wilson more snaps at WR
Witherspoon played every snap but one at right corner and had an excellent game in coverage, especially man coverage where he showed toughness and competitiveness
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS COWBOYS DEFENSE
Skule was the RG for the 49ers, Compton on IR and McKivitz on COVID list
Diggs was back for the Cowboys, He played 43 snaps at right corner rotating with Brown; Awuzie is the left corner
Cowboys continue to be a high percentage nickel defense, playing about 70% of their defensive snaps out of nickel with Lewis the slot corner
Cowboys played some snaps of dime before Woods got hurt, They played with 3 safeties
Cowboys continued to play 5 DL in multiple front looks versus base personnel, They predominantly aligned in 5-2 fronts with Smith and Vander Esch/Lee the stacked LB
Thomas also got snaps with Smith at stacked LB when Vander Esch got hurt in the 3rd quarter
Against the 49ers the Cowboys showed a 4-3 front versus 22 personnel with DE Armstrong playing off the ball in stacked LB alignment
There were some snaps of 22 personnel in which the Cowboys matched up with nickel
Cowboys out of their sub defenses at times feature LB Smith as a blitzer from different on the ball alignments
Slot corner Lewis also featured as a blitzer in the Cowboys sub defenses – One indicator/alert that Lewis might be coming is when the offense motions from the twins or trips side and Lewis does not follow across the formation: Sack versus 49ers
Wilson continued to impress with his combination of downhill urgency and competitiveness, and speed to the perimeter; Wilson showed explosive downhill short area burst
49ers significant snaps of gap scheme versus Cowboys, and they had success
Woods hurt in the 2nd quarter and did not return, Thompson replaced him at safety with Wilson
Juszczyk 25 yard reception on 1st + 10 in the 3rd quarter a concept we have seen many times from Shanahan: 22 straight I with iso lead run action attacking the play side stacked LB (Vander Esch on this play) who is then responsible for Juszczyk wheel off the run action, Stacked LB is the conflict defender with a run and pass responsibility
LIONS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Titans 3rd down dime: Butler and Smith the outside corners with the Jackson the slot corner, Kalu again was dime (Vaccaro inactive) with Hooker playing Vaccaro’s position
Titans continued to feature 3-2-6 dime with Evans and Long the LB, Evans continued to be used as a pass rusher from multiple alignments
Titans showed tilted fronts out of 3-2-6 dime, Evans was part of the tilt; They showed stunt concepts out of that front
Jackson snaps outside in the sub nickel opposite Butler, with King the slot corner; Smith also snaps outside opposite Butler in the nickel
Titans showed 1 robber out of sub dime on 3rd and long with Byard the robber, That’s a staple 3rd down coverage for the Titans; Hooker was the TE matchup
Titans also showed 2 man out of sub dime on 3rd and long, They did that behind both 3 and 4 man pass rush
Titans significant snaps of nickel versus Lions 12 personnel with King the slot corner, Titans also played base versus 12 again showing 4-3 front looks with Landry in an off the ball alignment
Jones 2 yard TD on 3rd and goal in the 1st quarter came on Stafford no-look pass, Not only was it no-look but the anticipation and ball location into a tight zone window was extraordinary
Roberson played significant snaps in the sub fronts as an edge pass rusher, He and Landry were the predominant edge rushers
Butler for the second consecutive game was used as a matchup corner: Last week it was Chark, Against the Lions it was Jones
Titans continued to show double mug looks out of dime, with Hooker and Long the A gap defenders versus the Lions
Titans also featured disguise and late movement to get to multiple zone coverage concepts, They showed inverted cover 6 with cover 2 to the boundary (Byard was the underneath corner) and cover 4 to the field
Bryant 44 yards on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter came out of 13 closed to the boundary twins to the field with Bryant in the slot, Titans out of base with Jackson and Butler the corners played cover 4/6; Bryant post route versus quarters safety Hooker, Excellent throw by Stafford
Lions 2 biggest pass plays came versus split safety coverage: Bryant 44 yards and Jones 39 yards; Jones 39 yards late in the 2nd quarter came versus nickel cover 4 with Jones post beating outside leverage corner Butler
Cephus 26 yards on 1st + 10 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Cephus the boundary x versus Titans cover 1 blitz with Smith matched on Cephus, Cephus stutter-go got on top of Smith and Stafford put the ball right on his hands
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Lions game plan approach was base personnel versus Titans 21 personnel and big nickel versus 12 personnel in normal down and distance situations
Ford started at corner opposite Oruwariye with Myres also getting significant snaps as the game progressed, Coleman continued to Lions slot corner; Kearse continued to be predominant TE matchup in sub versus 11 personnel
Smith 19 yards on 2nd + 14 on first possession attacked anticipated cover 3 with mirrored seams and hi-low concept to the 3 receiver boundary, Empty set out of 12 personnel versus Lions sub nickel
Bryant getting more and more snaps at DE opposite Okwara as the season progresses
Titans featured no huddle tempo on their second possession, They used different tempos
Davis 75 yard TD on first play of second possession came out of 21 closed to the field twins to the boundary (it is almost always the opposite) versus Lions base 4-3 with post safety Harmon, Davis showed crosser/over (which is tendency from slot to twins) then broke to the outside on the deep sail and easily beat Harmon – Great design by OC Smith
OC Jones has been effective much of the season with reach blocks in the mid-zone and outside zone run game
Titans featured some snaps with 6 OL personnel, Brewer was the sixth OL; We saw this last week for the first time
Tannehill 17 yard TD great example of the impact Henry outside zone run game has on the back side DE who is the contain player for Tannehill on boot action away from the zone action, Okwara raced down the LOS and totally abandoned his responsibility
Tannehill safety by Okwara came on poorly executed cut block by LT Quessenberry, Play design was 3 step timing stick route by Smith but Tannehill did not turn it loose
Lions out of sub dime played 2 man and 3 under/3 deep behind 5 man pressure in the 2 minute at the end of the 1st half
Lions started 3rd quarter playing base to Titans 12 personnel, including some 5-2 reduced fronts; Coleman was the outside corner opposite Oruwariye
Tannehill threw the ball well versus the Lions; Titans pass game is based on timing and rhythm, especially off play action and Tannehill hits that back foot and delivers the ball with precise ball location
Henry 33 yards on 3rd + 1 on first play of the 4th quarter came out of 11 shotgun – I couldn’t tell if this was called as inside zone or a designed cutback putting Henry one-on-one with the unblocked corner Oruwariye, Henry’s path suggested it was designed cutback but he could have immediately seen the slanting DE Bryant working down the LOS
Tannehill 3 yard TD another example of DE not playing his contain responsibility, This time it was Bryant
16 of Henry 24 rushes came out of 12 personnel, for 103 yards and a TD – This game very representative of the Titans offensive philosophy and approach
BAKER MAYFIELD VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
Bradberry inactive for the Giants, Love played outside corner opposite Yiadom with Peppers and Ryan the safeties in the base defense; Yiadom was the boundary corner
McKinney was the Giants nickel, He played both on the back end and in the box depending on defensive call
What continued to stand out with Mayfield was how decisive he was, playing within the timing and structure of the pass game; Also his ball placement continued to be precise
Mayfield was spinning it at a high level versus the Giants, Ball came out with velocity
Giants played some snaps of nickel versus Browns 12 personnel, Peppers predominantly a box defender
Njoku 22 yards on 1st + 10 late in the 2nd quarter came out of 12 1x3 set with Njoku the LOS TE to trips versus Giants nickel cover 3, Mayfield decisive throw on over route behind the boundary hook defender and inside the boundary corner
Giants continued to play snaps of dime on 3rd down, In this game Colbert was the dime; Giants also continued to show tilted fronts on 3rd down
Landry 20 yards on 1st + 10 late in the 3rd quarter another impressive throw by Mayfield into zone window, Giants 3 under/3 deep behind 5 man rush; Wide seam throw had to beat boundary corner Yiadom and Mayfield drove the ball with velocity and precise ball placement
Mayfield made excellent timing tight window throws versus zone coverage in this game; A function of decisiveness, timing and ball location
TOM BRADY VERSUS FALCONS DEFENSE
Falcons sub nickel: Sheffield right corner, Terrell left corner, Oliver the slot corner; Jones and Oluokun the nickel LB
Neasman was the post safety in single high coverages but there were cover 1 snaps out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel in which he matched up to the TE
Jones sack on 3rd + 3 in the 2nd quarter came on well-designed 4 man zone exchange pressure: 5 across diamond front with Jones a second level defender looking like he was matched man-to-man on TE Brate in cover 1, Jones was the fourth rusher and he was accounted for too late by the OL
Falcons aggressive with multiple blitz concepts and man coverage: They challenged Bucs OL and Brady, and the Bucs receivers to separate and win
Falcons snaps of 2 man coverage out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel with LB Oluokun the matchup on Gronkowski
Neasman sack on 3rd + 9 in the 2nd quarter came on well-schemed 5 man pressure out of double mug look that became a 6 man pressure, Neasman aligned over inside to trips was unaccounted for by the protection
Bucs started the 3rd quarter with a Brady staple from the Patriots: Bang play action with a crosser, Brown from the field slot beat Oliver for 20 yards; Bucs picked up safety Neal blitz
Evans 32 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter was a big-time throw by Brady versus 2 man coverage, Brady drove the ball with velocity with pressure in his face
Bucs worked some basic 2 man boundary route concepts in the 3rd quarter to get and keep Brady in rhythm
Evans 26 yards on 3rd + 5 on second possession of 3rd quarter came on mesh concept versus Falcons nickel cover 1 behind 3 man rush with two underneath zone defenders Neal and Tuioti-Mariner, Tuiti-Mariner no awareness of Evans on shallow crosser
Gronkowski 17 yards on third possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 1x3 set versus Falcons nickel 2 man coverage with Oluokun matched on Gronkowski, Back shoulder fade – Matchup football
Jones was a featured blitzer in the Falcons pressure concepts, He was never used as the TE matchup
Falcons coverage confusion with Sheffield and Hall in cover 1 on Brown 46 yard TD on the 4th quarter, Hall (a backup) made the assignment mistake and Brown got on top of him
Falcons high percentage blitz and man coverage versus Brady and the Bucs, They blitzed on about half of Brady 48 drop backs; Brady versus blitz: 12-20, 178 yards, 1 TD, 2 sacks
What stood out was Falcons less aggressive with pressure as the 3rd and 4th quarter progressed, More 4 man DL rush and more zone coverage snaps
Brady out of 12 personnel for the season: 62-92, 67%, 743 yards, 8.1 yards per attempt, 9 TD, 3 interceptions
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS BRONCOS DEFENSE
Ojemudia and Bausby were the outside corners for the Broncos, Parks was the slot corner in sub with Holder continuing to be the dime corner playing inside
Knox 9 yard TD on 2nd and goal to end first possession another example of Allen second reaction ability: Well-designed misdirection concept with Allen shotgun play action boot and Davis back side crosser the primary read, Allen didn’t feel he had the throw or the late leak check down to Smith so he kept moving to his right and hit Knox on the out route
Beasley outstanding short area and separation quickness as a route runner: 17 yards versus Parks in 2nd quarter a great example
Diggs 15 yards on 1st + 10 in 2nd quarter another good example of the dramatic improvement in Allen’s ball location: Diggs out route/comeback versus inside leverage corner Bausby, Allen placed it perfectly on the outside away from Bausby
Allen 24 yard TD on 3rd + 5 in the 2nd quarter came versus Broncos dime 2 man coverage, Allen saw the middle open and he took the running opportunity; Bausby played Diggs slant tendency with hard inside leverage and part of that was boundary safety Simmons expanding to play over the top if Diggs ran vertically; Inside stunt also opened the middle for Allen
One of Bills featured vertical concepts is double post from the field with the crosser from the boundary, They run it out of different formations with different personnel: Knox 27 yards late in the 2nd quarter – Allen great touch throw under pressure, Throw demanded more touch because he had to throw it early; High level quarterbacking
Kumerow 22 yard TD on 2nd and goal late in the 2nd quarter came out of 10 3x1 with Kumerow the inside slot to trips versus Broncos split safety cover 6, Kumerow inside seam with no route controlling either safety; This was an Allen play with his arm strength
Diggs 55 yards in 3rd quarter was Allen’s best vertical throw of his career - Beautiful mechanics: hip, shoulder, arm; Base and balance with weight transfer
A foundation run for the Bills is outside zone to the right side of the formation, Moss was featured – Moss running skill set starting to show more consistently: 10 yards in 4th quarter a good example
Beasley 27 yards on 3rd + 3 on 4th quarter TD drive another example of Allen’s growth as a QB: He read the slot blitz pre-snap, then hit Beasley on second window slant when LB Jewell expanded into the first window at the snap
BRONCOS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
Bills continued to play nickel versus 12 personnel, That has been approach all season; Against the Broncos the stayed nickel versus 13 personnel
White continued to be the boundary corner with Wallace the field corner – White not used as a matchup corner
Bills first 3rd down they showed double mug front with Edmunds and Milano in the A gaps, They rushed 5 with Edmunds the fifth rusher and played 3 under/3 deep behind it
Bills second 3rd down they played 2 man versus 11 personnel with Milano the TE matchup
White at times used as a blitzer from his boundary corner position – Bills a higher blitz percentage defense versus QB drop backs than people might think
Bills featured both 4 man zone exchange pressure concepts and 5 man zone blitz concepts
Bills third 3rd down they played cover 2 behind 4 man DL rush, Edmunds was the middle hole defender
Poyer continued to play at a high level, He plays in the box more than Hyde and is effective as a run defender – I believe Poyer is one of the most complete and best safeties in the NFL
Bills played both single high safety and split safety coverages on 3rd down; They played cover 2, cover 4 and cover 6
Gordon 10 yard TD on 3rd + 8 in the 2nd quarter came on shotgun power, RG Glasgow was the puller
Lock still showed a tendency to be loose and undisciplined with his lower body mechanics, Tendency to open his hips and step in the bucket throwing without a firm base
Hughes 21 yard fumble recovery TD to start Broncos first possession of 3rd quarter came on 5 man pressure with White the fifth rusher as the boundary corner blitzer, Broncos went shot play with post-cross combination off pistol play action; Lock climbed the pocket moving into pressure which forced him to move, White ran him down for the sack
SAM DARNOLD VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
Rams continued to feature two sub nickel fronts: 4-2 with LB Reeder and Young, 5-1 with Reeder the stacked LB and reduced fronts
Rams sub dime had safety Hughes as the dime – First 3rd down Rams played 1 robber out of dime with Hughes the robber and Johnson the TE matchup
Ramsey played outside in the Rams sub defenses, Williams was the other outside corner; Hill was the slot corner – Ramsey predominantly played boundary corner versus the Jets
Rams continued to show tilted fronts out of sub dime, They featured multiple stunt concepts out of that front; When they rushed 5 out of dime they played 3 under/3 deep
Hollins has become a more significant part of the Rams sub defenses as the season has progressed, He was the wild card standup Joker in the tilted fronts out of dime
One thing that stood out was Darnold’s movement, both by design and second reaction; He almost always moved to his right – Crowder 24 yards in the 3rd quarter a great example of Darnold second reaction movement to his right
Rams showed a 6-1 front out of base versus Jets 12 personnel, Reeder was the stacked LB
Perriman 21 yards on 1st + 10 on first possession of 3rd quarter came on well-designed concept out of 11 personnel versus Rams nickel cover 3: Jets ran basic post-cross combination but added Crowder motion across the formation to the side of Perriman crosser to grab the eyes of flat defender Reeder in Rams 3 under/3 deep coverage behind 5 man pressure – Darnold needed a better ball location throw, He did not give wide open Perriman a chance to run after catch
Jets had success on first possession of 3rd quarter versus Rams cover 3: Perriman 21 yards followed by Herndon 22 yards
Darnold a splash thrower capable of excellent throws with touch, velocity and ball location but those traits do not show up consistently; He still shows a tendency to throw across his body not stepping to his throws – Darnold strong tendency to be an thrower without needed transfer of weight
Herndon 14 yards on 2nd + 2 on second possession of 3rd quarter a good example of route design creating a void for Herndon, and Darnold delivering with timing and precise ball location
Rams are a zone -based pattern matching coverage team, They do not play a high percentage of straight man coverage
Ramsey snaps in the slot in the sub nickel in the 4th quarter, He has done that throughout the season; At times he is used as a blitzer from the slot
Crowder was the Jets motion man, Snaps in which crossed the formation from the field to the boundary
SAINTS OFFENSE VERSUS CHIEFS DEFENSE
Sneed continued to be the slot corner in the Chiefs sub nickel, Hitchens and Niemann were the nickel LB with Wilson again inactive
Thornhill continued to be the dime safety – Chiefs have played an almost equal number of snaps of dime and nickel this season
First 3rd down the Chiefs out of sub dime went zero pressure with match coverage behind it
First play of Saints second possession the Chiefs showed game plan approach to Kamara as a receiver: DE Clark immediately peeled to defend Kamara release into the flat from offset alignment, Brees did not expect that and threw incompletion to Kamara
Sneed interception on 3rd + 5 to end Saints second possession came out of dime 2 man with the safeties doubling the slots in the 2x2 set and zero man on the outside, Sneed on the outside physical through Humphrey route and then undercut the out route
Chiefs 1-technique DT Nnadi consistently shows up on tape every week in the run game
2 man was a game planned coverage on 3rd down out of dime for the Chiefs, Safeties looked to double the inside receivers in 2x2 sets and the inside slot in 3x1 sets
Sneed sack on 3rd + 7 early in the 2nd quarter resulted from match coverage behind 5 man zone pressure with Sneed and Sorensen part of pass rush, Brees had time in the pocket but the coverage did not give Brees a defined throw
Cover 2 continued to be part of Chiefs 3rd and long coverage package, They often got to it with disguise and late movement; Mathieu almost always the middle hole defender
Mathieu the middle hole defender in cover 2 and the robber in 1 robber coverage, Chiefs continued to feature both coverages out of sub dime
Kamara in the pass game was significant part of Chiefs game plan, They used DE in bullseye approach to limit free releases when he was offset in the backfield
Brees snaps in which he did not see things well in his first start back, Too many uncharacteristic forced throws into coverages
Mathieu man-to-man coverage ability allows the Chiefs to keep an outside corner on the TE versus 11 1x3 sets, Mathieu can match up to the inside slot WR to trips
Zero coverage continued to be part of Chiefs sub dime package, Sometimes it was straight man across the board and other times it had a zone match element to it
LB Niemann was the TE matchup out of sub dime in the Chiefs 2 man and 1 robber coverage versus 11 personnel, with Sorensen matched on Kamara; For much of the season Sorensen has been the TE matchup
In critical situations (3rd down, long yardage, end of half and end of game) the Chiefs out of dime played 2 man, 1 robber and cover 2; Those were their staple coverages
Saints pass game was not in rhythm, Brees did not look comfortable with the result being not many timing throws that we are used to seeing
