CARSON WENTZ VERSUS STEELERS DEFENSE
First possession out of 11 personnel Fulgham lined up at boundary x on the back side of trips, As the game progressed Fulgham lined up in multiple locations
Steelers went cover 1 out of sub dime on first 3rd and long with Hilton matched on Ertz #2 to trips – Dupree drove back LT Mailata into the pocket with speed-to-power rush, Steelers diamond front
First two 3rd downs Steelers went man coverage (cover 1 and 1 robber), Both came out of sub dime with the second 3-2-6 dime with Bush and Williams the LB and Williams deployed as a spy
Hilton and Nelson matched up man-to-man on Ertz on the first two 3rd downs with Ertz the boundary x on the second 3rd down
Eagles took 2 deep shots to Hightower on their first 3 possessions, The second was a shot play out of 6 OL personnel
Steelers game plan featured man coverage on 3rd down with different matchups on Ertz depending on where he lined up: Hilton, Nelson, Sutton and Edmunds all matched up on Ertz in the 1st half, There were no dedicated double teams
Mulaita had some bad pass protection snaps versus Dupree on 3rd down: Speed-to-power and re-direct underneath after losing his base and balance
6 OL personnel part of Eagles game plan approach, They used it to throw the ball: Shot play to Hightower, and Fulgham 18 yards in the 1st half
3-2-6 was part of Steelers sub dime package with LB Williams used as a spy on Wentz, That package was specific to Wentz
Eagles at times chipped both Dupree and Watt on 3rd down to help LT Mulaita and RT Johnson with Dupree and Watt, Good example was Fulgham 20 yards on 3rd + 17 late in the 2nd quarter
1 robber was a featured coverage concept for the Steelers: Take away the in-breaking routes that are a staple of the Eagles passing game
Wentz special throw to Hightower late in the 2nd quarter: Moving to his left, 55 yards in the air to the back of the end zone; It went right through Hightower’s hands
Steelers a few base personnel snaps versus Eagles 12 personnel in which Hilton played safety with Fitzpatrick, Steelers also snaps of sub nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel in the 2nd half
Fulgham 31 yards on 3rd + 12 in the 3rd quarter a big-time seam throw by Wentz versus 2 man, Outstanding ball placement; Eagles again chipped both Watt and Dupree
Driscoll replaced injured Johnson at RT to start late 3rd quarter possession – Eagles continued to chip both Watt and Dupree on 3rd down: Fulgham 18 yards on 3rd + 8 late in the 3rd quarter
What stood out with Ertz was he struggled to win versus man coverage, Steelers played a good amount of man with different matchups on Ertz and Ertz was pushed around physically
Tuitt sack on 1st + 10 with just 5 minutes remaining and the Steelers up by 2 may have saved a TD: Fulgham stutter-go beat Nelson but Wentz did not have time to make the throw (Did Wentz come off Fulgham too quickly?)
Fulgham impressive with his size, hands and ability to high point the ball versus man coverage; There was also a physicality to Fulgham’s game
Eagles 33 snaps in 11 personnel (58%) with 12 snaps in 12 personnel (23%), They had 10 snaps of empty
STEELERS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Wallace for the second consecutive week was the safety with McLeod in the Eagles base defense; Singleton was the third LB with Gerry and Riley, Gerry was the MIKE with Singleton the SLB aligning both on the ball and off the ball
Steelers featured 11 snaps with 6 OL personnel, Hawkins was the sixth OL; Eagles at times featured 5-2 front versus 6 OL with Gerry and Singleton the LB
Singleton showed some athleticism in space, He ran with Ebron in man coverage and was not athletically over-matched
Eagles played sub dime on 3rd down with LeBlanc and Robey in the slot, Epps was the safety with McLeod, Gerry was the only LB – 12 snaps of sub dime, 2 snaps of sub nickel
Eagles again showed tilted fronts out of sub dime on 3rd down, Gerry was the wild card LB
When the Eagles went cover 1 out of sub dime versus 11 personnel Epps was the predominant TE matchup
Steelers featured empty sets on 3rd down, Roethlisberger has always been comfortable in empty sets – Roethlisberger empty on 3rd down: 3-3, 46 yards, TD
Claypool 7 yards on 3rd + 4 in 1st quarter came out of 01 empty with Claypool quick slant from inside slot to trips
Eagles went zero out of sub dime on 3rd + 6 in the 1st quarter, Washington 12 yards on shallow crosser from boundary x on the back side of trips
Claypool 15 yards on 3rd + 11 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Claypool #1 to trips versus dime cover 6 with tilted front – Ebron ran the seam versus LB Gerry in the split safety coverage (was this the play that set up the Claypool TD in the 4th quarter?)
Claypool 32 yard TD on 3rd + 6 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Claypool #1 to the boundary, Eagles cover 1 out of sub dime with Mills matched on Claypool; Slant-flat with Claypool running a nuanced slant with an outside stick to beat Mills press then straightening his stem to create separation, Post safety Epps bad angle trying to tackle Claypool
Steelers did an excellent job on 3rd down with bunch and rub concepts to attack and defeat man coverage
Claypool 5 yard TD early in the 3rd quarter came on well-designed concept out of 12 personnel versus Eagles base personnel: Claypool motioned out of the backfield to 4x1 wide bunch set, Quick WR screen with 3 blockers out in front
Steelers came back to slant-flat concept on 3rd + 4 in the 4th quarter, Same 11 2x2 set but this time Claypool was #1 to the field matched versus Slay press man; Big body route with Claypool using his hands to gain leverage on Slay
Claypool 35 yard TD on 3rd + 8 late in the 4th quarter came out of 01 empty with Claypool the inside slot to trips versus Eagles dime cover 4, Steelers nice route concept with both slot receivers releasing vertically to threaten and occupy the safeties resulting in one-on-one matchup of Claypool on LB Gerry on the middle seam
Claypool 35 yard TD was a schemed big play that would have worked versus man or zone, If the Eagles went cover 1 as they had on the high percentage of 3rd downs throughout the game then Claypool would have been matched on either Robey or LeBlanc and that would have been a mismatch; Roethlisberger saw the zone coverage and the inside matchup on LB Gerry and checked to the seam route by Claypool
Eagles on 3rd down versus the Steelers: 8 snaps of cover 1, 1 snap of zero, 3 snaps of cover 2, 3 snaps of cover 4/6
Eagles played almost 50% cover 1 versus the Steelers, with cover 2 and cover 3 the next most played coverages
Roethlisberger out of empty sets through 4 games: 22-25, 146 yards, 4 TD; Roethlisberger out of empty on 3rd down: 9-9, 93 yards, 2 TD
BENGALS OFFENSE VERSUS RAVENS DEFENSE
Ravens sub nickel: Smith and Peters the outside corners with Humphrey the slot corner, Queen and Fort the LB with Harrison snaps with Queen in normal and distance situations
Ravens also showed a 5-1-5 sub nickel package in which they lined up in a diamond front with two 3-techniques, and a 5-6 sub dime package also with a diamond front
Ravens featured 5-1-5 front on 1st + 10 as well as in passing down and distance situations, Safety Clark predominantly a box player in that personnel package
Higgins continued to show refinement and nuance as a route runner: 26 yards versus Peters on second possession a good example
Smith continued to play safety in the Ravens sub dime, with Averett the outside corner with Peters; Ravens also sub dime snaps with Smith at corner and Gilchrist the third safety
Peters interception on 3rd + 10 late in the 1st quarter came out of dime zero blitz, 6 man pressure front versus Bengals empty set with 5 man protection; Safety Clark clean through the A gap to force a hurried Burrow throw
Ravens base front featured a 5 man front with Queen and Harrison the stacked LB, It at times had a 3-4 look to it but it was not a traditional 3-4 re: gap concepts
Ravens a predominant single high safety defense out of their sub packages, with cover 1 the higher percentage coverage; Ravens 19 snaps of zero in 5 games
Burrow continued to show a strong sense of timing and anticipation, Against the Ravens the Bengals pass protection was overmatched
Ravens multiple with their sub front looks and their pressure concepts, with blitz and stunt concepts; What consistently stands out is how often they get rushers clean to the QB, They put a major burden on your pass protection
Ravens feature multi-dimensional athletes like Judon and Bowser who can both rush the QB and drop into coverage; Safety Clark another player who is used in multiple ways and stands out on film, He is an excellent box safety who is also effective as a blitzer
A lot of moving parts and multiple looks in the Ravens defense with multiple pressure concepts – Humphrey sack on 2nd + 17 early in the 4th quarter
Through 5 games Ravens have played about 85% of their defensive snaps in a sub package with nickel about 50% and dime about 32% with some snaps of dollar
LAMAR JACKSON VERSUS BENGALS DEFENSE
Bengals base defense: Jackson and Sims the outside corners with Bynes, Pratt and Davis-Gaither the LB
Bengals sub nickel: Davis-Gaither and Wilson the LB with Phillips the slot corner, Bynes played some snaps in the nickel depending on down distance
Bengals sub front could become a strong pass rush unit: Dunlap and Lawson on the outside with Hubbard and Atkins inside
Bengals sub dime again featured safety Williams as the dime player, They featured 3-2-6 dime keeping LB Wilson and Davis-Gaither on the field
Empty sets continued to be a significant part of the Ravens offense, They had averaged more than 7 empty snaps per game through 4 games but had not been explosive in the passing game with 16 Jackson completions for only 134 yards
Against the Bengals Jackson out of empty sets: 6-10, 69 yard, 0 TD, 1 interception – Again not a lot of production out of empty sets
When the Bengals went cover 1 and 1 robber out of sub dime versus 11 personnel they matched safety Bell on TE Andrews
Bengals just outside the red zone went zero blitz on 2nd + 14 in the 1st quarter, They did it out of sub nickel; There was no deep safety but they rushed 5 dropping LB Bynes into the underneath middle
Bengals have been a high percentage blitz defense this season, Against the Ravens they blitzed 31% of Jackson drop backs; Jackson versus blitz: 4-12, 28 yards, 1 TD, 1 interception
Jackson versus blitz through 5 games: 32-53, 303 yards, 2 TD, 2 interceptions, 3 sacks, 73.1 QB rating – Will more defenses start pressuring Jackson?
Bengals second snap of zero came on 3rd + 8 in the 2nd quarter, This time it came out of sub dime – Bengals third snap of zero came on 3rd + 10 late in the 2nd quarter, It came out of sub dime; Result was Wilson interception off Hubbard tipped pass, Wilson initially showed blitz then backed out into the passing lane
Jackson was frenetic in this game, He rarely was settled in the pocket with comfort and a firm base, Too much unnecessary movement
There was no rhythm to the Ravens passing game – Defenses now starting to blitz Jackson and the Ravens passing game and having some success
Bengals did a good job taking the boot action game of the Ravens, Jackson could not get clean to the perimeter
There were almost no designed runs for Jackson in this game – Will that be a trend going forward, or was that just a function of the Ravens getting ahead early and allowing their defense to be the dominant force?
RAMS OFFENSE VERSUS WASHINGTON DEFENSE
Washington continued to play 2 sub nickel packages: One with Curl the slot corner, and on 3rd down and long yardage with Moreland the slot corner – Washington an almost exclusive sub nickel defense playing only 5 snaps of dime through 5 games
Bostic has played every snap through 5 games, Pierre-Louis has played 87% of the snaps – Against the Rams Davis was the third LB in the base 4-3, Hamilton was active but only played on special teams
What continues to stand out this season is the increase in empty sets the Rams have used – They went empty on first 3rd down versus Washington: Everett 17 yards on slant from #1 to trips versus 2 man with Bostic the matchup, Washington used both deep safeties to double Woods and Kupp
Rams featured no huddle on their opening possession, It wasn’t necessarily fast tempo – Rams came back to no huddle throughout the 1st half
Rams continued to feature a multiple and excellent WR / TE screen game: Everett 23 yards on first possession a good example, It came out of 11 empty
Everett played significant snaps at free safety in rotation with Apke; Strong safety Collins does not come off the field, He has played every snap but one through 5 games
Reduced splits, jet motion (at times just motion across the formation), play action and empty sets have all been foundations of the Rams passing game through 5 games
Everett 40 yards on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter came out of 12 personnel with Everett aligned as the fullback in the straight I formation and the formation closed to the boundary: Reynolds jet motion from the field to the boundary, Iso lead run action with Everett the iso lead blocker, Washington cover 4 out of sub nickel with Curl the slot defender; Curl was the isolated defender with a run-pass responsibility: He hit the iso lead run action and was not in position to play his flat responsibility in coverage
Fuller interception near the end of the 1st half resulted from Young power rush versus LT Whitworth driving back Whitworth into the pocket; Washington also nice disguise and late movement to get to cover 2 after showing 2 man coverage pre-snap
Kupp 49 yards on 3rd + 4 in the 3rd quarter an excellent example of matchup football on what is a high percentage man-to-man down and distance for the defense: Kupp motion across the formation to get a pre-snap read of man coverage, 3x1 set with the complementary routes (Woods shallow crosser and Higbee vertical) setting up Kupp one-on-one matchup versus Curl
Washington is not a cover 1 defense, They are a zone-based defense with cover 3 and cover 4 their foundations; When they do play cover 1 out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel Collins is the TE matchup
Everett lined up at fullback both in the straight I and the offset I, In the gap scheme run game from an offset alignment he was used as the wrapper
All 9 of Akers runs came out of 12 personnel, Akers showed some natural quickness and short area burst
RYAN FITZPATRICK VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers sub nickel: Verrett and Allen the outside corners with Taylor the slot corner; Allen was the boundary corner with Verrett the field corner
First throw of the game Fitzpatrick went after Allen with Williams running the go route, 49ers were in cover 3 but it’s man outside the numbers; Allen played zone technique staying on the inside hip of Williams through the vertical route looking back inside, Great throw by Fitzpatrick to the outside where Allen could not play the ball – 47 yards
Parker 28 yards came versus Allen in 49ers cover 1, Allen in press man versus Parker on the LOS did not put his hands on Parker and Parker released cleanly into his fade route, Allen stopped his feet in the middle of the route and Parker got on top of him – Allen was in recovery mode from the beginning of the rep
49ers continued to feature double mug looks and tilted fronts out of sub nickel, Warner continued to be used as a blitzer with Alexander at times also a blitzer out of the tilted fronts
Barrett strong speed-to-power pas rush versus RT Hunt early in the 2nd quarter – Fitzpatrick 17 yard scramble versus 49ers nickel cover 4
Allen in press man versus boundary x receivers did not get his hands on the receiver (both Williams and Parker) and immediately opened the gate to the outside, No route disruption
Williams 19 yards in the 2nd quarter came versus Allen, Allen opened the gate to the outside, It was pitch and catch; What compounded it was the 49ers were in nickel cover 1 with post safety Ward on the boundary hash, Allen should have forced Williams inside to the help
Parker 22 yard TD came on 3rd and goal in the 2nd quarter out of 11 2x2 with Parker #1 to the field, 49ers changed up on this snap and had Allen the field corner matched on Parker; Allen again opened the gate to the outside and immediately put himself in recovery mode – That was Allen’s last snap of the game, replaced by Witherspoon
Williams 32 yard TD on 2nd + 8 in the 3rd quarter was another poor defensive play by the 49ers: Dolphins empty set with trips to the field, 49ers zone blitz concept from the passing strength of the formation with split safety coverage; 2 man route concept by #2 Ford and #3 Williams distorted coverage responsibilities of LB Alexander and safety Ward and Williams was wide open on the middle seam
49ers blitzed on 40% of Fitzpatrick drop backs – This season the 49ers have been a high percentage blitz defense pressuring on 37% of QB drop backs
49ers played about 48% man coverage concepts versus the Dolphins: 35% cover 1 and 13% 2 man; 49ers played very few snaps of cover 3 (which used to be their foundation)
PANTHERS OFFENSE VERSUS FALCONS DEFENSE
Sheffield and Terrell were the outside corners in the Falcons base defense, Oliver was the slot corner in sub nickel – Falcons snaps of 5-1-5 sub nickel with multiple front looks and pressures including stunts
Falcons snaps of 3 corners-1 safety versus Panthers 11 personnel, Saw that predominantly on 1st + 10
Falcons nice coverage disguise and concept on 3rd + 3 on Panthers first possession: Panthers 4x1 set out of 11 personnel with back Davis #1 to the 4 receiver side, Falcons put LB Jones over him making it look like man coverage but they rotated to cover 2 at the snap with Jones a cover 2 corner to the field
Falcons showed tilted front out of sub nickel; DT Jarrett one of the best 3-techniques in the NFL
Bridgewater continued to show good functional mobility to make plays outside of structure when needed
Panthers on 3rd + 6 on second possession went 01 personnel with Samuel offset in the backfield: Samuel 7 yard reception on angle route
Samuel 17 yards on 3rd + 10 on second possession came on cross country dagger behind mesh with Samuel running the deep dig, Route concepts gave Bridgewater a throw and an answer versus both man and zone coverage
Davis runs hard with natural velocity and power, He is tough to tackle and is an excellent finisher, He is your classic sustaining grinder; Davis ran right through LB Jones on outside zone late in the 1st quarter
Falcons out of sub nickel featured both 5 across Bear fronts and tilted fronts, At times they played with 5 DL but out of multiple looks
Moore 57 yard TD on 3rd + 4 in the 2nd quarter came out of 3x1 set off Anderson motion across the formation with Moore the reduced split boundary x, Falcons cover 1 out of sub nickel with Oliver matched on Moore (that’s the matchup the Panthers wanted, It’s why the initial formation had Anderson outside of Moore before the motion); Moore pivot route to beat Oliver and then speed for the TD
There’s an efficiency and consistency to the way Bridgewater plays, He is not a strong power thrower but he is quick decision-maker and he is accurate at the short and intermediate levels
Panthers have featured Anderson at times as a contested catch receiver outside the numbers and he has made some tough catches, Anderson also featured on quick slants
Panthers went 00 personnel in the tight red zone late in the 2nd quarter, Samuel offset in the backfield; They went 00 on 4th quarter FG possession with Samuel running inside zone for 17 yards
Panthers multiple with their personnel groupings and formations, Samuel is a wild card with his ability to line up in the backfield
Bridgewater is not a naturally aggressive turn-it-loose thrower but if the play call presents a downfield opportunity that’s defined he will let it go, What also stands out is he will throw to the one-on-ones outside the numbers
Davis carried the ball 7 times for 34 yards on Panthers final 14 play FG drive, Downhill mentality
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Jackson was the Titans slot corner in sub nickel and sub dime
DT Jones made the first play of the game beating RG Ford to tackle Singletary for 3 yards, Jones played off contact with an excellent arm over move
DT Crawford strong play on the second play of the game versus Singletary delay draw, He played off RG Winters block to slow down Singletary and allow Byard to make the tackle
DT Jones and Murchison had some excellent snaps in the run game through the Bills first 3 possessions
First 3rd down (3rd + 4) the Titans out of sub dime went disguised late movement to cover 2 behind 3 man rush, Clowney and Beasley were the edge rushers with Landry an underneath zone defender
Titans DL was dominant in the run game through the Bills first 2 possessions, Along with run blitzes by Jackson and Vaccaro the Bills could not get Singletary started
Bills showed 20 personnel with Singletary and Yeldon, Also snaps with Singletary and Jones; They also featured empty sets out of 11 personnel
Disguise and late movement out of both sub nickel and sub dime were foundations of the Titans defensive game plan, Another tactic was 3 man pass rush with 8 in zone coverage
Titans also featured zone exchange 4 man pressures with a LB or defensive part of the pass rush and 7 in zone coverage behind it, both cover 2 and cover 3; Twice on the second possession the got a defensive back in clean: Vaccaro and Jackson
It was evident from the Bills first 2 possessions what the Titans defensive approach was, especially on 3rd down and long yardage: 3 and 4 pass rush with zone behind it, often through disguise and late movement
When the Titans went cover 2 out of sub nickel and sub dime they featured multiple players as the middle hole defender
Titans first snap of man coverage came on 3rd + 7 on Bills 3rd possession, They went cover 1 out of sub dime with Vaccaro matched on the TE and Byard the underneath lurk/spy defender
Titans sub dime pass rush again predominantly featured Clowney inside at DT with Landry and Beasley the edge rushers
Titans showed a 3 robber coverage with the post safety playing lower to take away in-breaking routes at the intermediate level, a staple of the Bills passing game; Byard was the robber
Titans went 2 man out of sub dime on 3rd + 8 on Bills 4th possession, Vaccaro again the TE matchup with Byard and Hooker the deep safeties
Titans continued to feature tilted fronts out of sub dime, Beasley and Landry at times lined up on the same side in the tilt; Brown the only LB
Titans featured some nice wrinkles in their zone coverage concepts, In cover 3 they at times had the flat defender to the boundary expand and jam the boundary x receiver disrupting his release
Slot corner Jackson outstanding job playing the down and distance on 3rd + 9 as the flat defender in cover 3 (3:15 in the 2nd quarter), He got depth and did not react to Knox on the short route in front of the sticks instead staying in position to play the ball on the deeper curl by Diggs
Titans first 5 man pressure on an Allen drop back on 2nd + 2 on the Bills first possession of the 3rd quarter, Vaccaro was the blitzer
It looked like the Titans played “quarters special” on 1st + 10 on the Bills first possession of the 3rd quarter, Bills empty set out of 11 personnel with Yeldon #1 to trips with Brown matched man-to-man on Yeldon and cover 4 versus the 2x2 set
Titans mixed in more coverage as the game progressed into the 2nd and especially the 3rd quarter, They also featured a couple of 5 man pressures
Late in the 3rd quarter the Titans on 3rd + 3 out of sub dime went cover 1 with 2 underneath zone defenders (Landry and Brown) behind 3 man rush – Patriots featured this coverage versus the Chiefs week 4
Orr played significant snaps at slot corner in the 2nd half in place of Jackson, Smith played significant snaps at outside corner
Cover 2 was a foundational coverage for the Titans, and once they got the big lead in the 2nd half, they played it consistently
Titans a defined game plan approach: Zone coverage concepts, often with disguise and late movement, behind 3 and 4 man pressures; Make Allen read coverage and find the voids with progression reading, A lot of snaps in which Allen had to play off schedule
Titans played zone coverage on more than 75% of Allen drop backs, That’s an exceedingly high number
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
White inactive for the Bills, Norman and Lewis were the outside corners, Jonson continued to be the slot corner
Milano also inactive for the Bills – Their base defense had Edmunds, Klein and Dodson at LB; Edmunds and Dodson played in the sub nickel
Brown 16 yard TD on Titans second play of the game came on stutter-go versus press corner Norman, Norman did not put his hands on Brown; Brown got on top of Norman and Tannehill made an excellent throw
Raymond 20 yards on 3rd + 10 late in the 1st quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Raymond in the slot, Bills went 2 man out of sub nickel with Dodson matched on Firkser and slot corner Johnson matched on Raymond; Raymond slant beat Johnson with room to run
Titans had success versus man coverage on their first 2 scoring drives: Brown 16 yard TD, Raymond 20 yards, Brown 16 yards
Bills continued to play snaps of big nickel with Marlowe the third safety versus 12 personnel, They played both big nickel and 4-3 versus Titans 12 personnel
Bills game plan featured a high percentage of man coverage, predominantly cover 1; Some might see that as surprising given their outside corners were Norman and Lewis
Bills mixed and matched man and zone coverage in the 2 minute at the end of the 1st half – Titans 12 play TD drive ending with Tannehill 10 yard TD out of 12 1x3 set, Boundary side with Firkser and McNicholas was the man side of the route concept with trips the zone side of the route concept with double smash
On the Titans 2 minute TD drive at the end of the 1st half the Bills rushed 4 on 8 of Tannehill’s drop backs, They played cover 1 on 2 of the 9 drop backs with zone on the other 7 featuring both cover 2 and split safety
When the Bills went 2 man and 1 robber out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel Dodson was the matchup on the TE
Smith 4 yard TD on 1st and goal late in the 3rd quarter was a specific tight red zone play: Shift to empty set out of 13 personnel with Smith now #1 to trips, 2 man route concept with Brown from #2 to trips stemming his fade to the outside as a natural rub for Smith to work underneath on the now slant versus Marlowe – Well-designed concept in the tight red zone
Tannehill 23 yards on 2nd + 8 on 4th quarter TD drive came versus Bills cover 1 blitz with boundary corner Lewis the fifth rusher, Hughes beat RT Kelly to the inside forcing Tannehill to leave the pocket to his right
Henry is a strider, He needs room and space at the POA to open up otherwise his feet slow down and he loses velocity and power; Henry is not a change of direction runner
With Henry struggling to find space through the first quarter and a half the Titans went with pin-pull concept to allow Henry have some space to generate stride length and velocity
Titans knew they were struggling to run inside so they tried to get Henry on the perimeter to play to his strengths
TEXANS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars sub nickel: Jones and Claybrooks the outside corners with Herndon the slot corner, Schobert and Allen the LB; Marsh was the third LB in the base defense and was an edge pass rusher in the sub nickel
Claybrooks and Herndon were the corners in the Jaguars base defense
Jaguars featured double mug looks out of sub nickel with LB Schobert and Allen in the A gaps
Texans featured significant snaps of shifting and motion, especially across the formation; Man-zone indicators for Watson
Texans 3rd down and long yardage snaps in which Da. Johnson and Du. Johnson were on the field together, Both are excellent receivers
Fells 44 yard TD on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter came out of 12 empty with Fells the inside slot to trips versus Jaguars base cover 3 boundary lock, Fells ran the over route and boundary hook-to-curl defender Allen showed no awareness; Watson made the wrong throw but still got the ball to Fells between the underneath coverage
Texans ran play action concepts than they had under O’Brien but they had little success: Watson 3-9, 36 yards, 1 TD, 1 interception
Texans continued to feature empty sets as a foundational part of their passing game, They had averaged about 10 empty snaps per game through the first 4 games – Against the Jaguars Watson out of empty was 7-7, 118 yards, TD
Jaguars struggled to generate any consistent pressure on Watson and it started to become a factor as the game progressed into the 3rd quarter: Cooks 22 yards on 1st + 10 late in the 3rd quarter came versus cover 3 boundary lock, Cooks ran the crosser from #2 to trips and caught the ball outside the numbers to the boundary
Jaguars through 3 quarters relied on 4 man DL pass rush to pressure Watson and had little success, They featured some stunt concepts that were effective at times
Rookie Chaisson had a tough time in his one-on-one matchups with LT Tunsil and RT Howard
Cooks 2 big catches on slot fades, one in the 1st quarter o Watson’s first pass and one in the 4th quarter; Both outstanding throws by Watson, the second one came out of empty versus nickel cover 1 with Claybrooks matched on Cooks
Cooks 28 yard TD on 4th + 4 in the 4th quarter came out of 20 personnel with Cooks the boundary x versus Jaguars nickel zero with Claybrooks matched on Cooks, Claybrooks played with hard inside leverage but Cooks gave him a stick outside and that allowed him to get inside and win
Watson made some excellent throws versus the Jaguars, arguably one of the worst defenses in the NFL; It was a step in the right direction
Brown at times lined up as a straight I formation fullback, He was often used as a misdirection piece in the run game with his path opposite Da. Johnson run
Johnson has a methodical measured feel to his running style but he looked smooth and efficient with needed short area burst, He is much more of a glider than an explosive runner
Johnson rushing breakdown versus Jaguars, with 6 of his 17 runs coming in the 4th quarter: 6-58 out of 12 personnel, 8-18 out of 11 personnel, 2-18 out of 6 OL personnel
RAIDERS OFFENSE VERSUS CHIEFS DEFENSE
Raiders started the game with consecutive strong side outside zone runs by Jacobs out of 21 personnel, Chiefs out of base were in under fronts with SLB Wilson on the ball
Sorensen continued to be the Chiefs sub nickel player versus 11 personnel with Mathieu moving to slot corner, Hitchens and Wilson were the sub nickel LB
Chiefs sub dime had corner Fenton as the dime player with Niemann as the only LB; Fenton also played snaps on the outside opposite both Ward and Breeland in the base and sub nickel, Niemann also snaps in the base 4-3 and the big nickel
Chiefs continued to play snaps of big nickel with Sorensen the third safety versus 12 personnel
Chiefs continued to feature disguise and late movement out of sub dime to get to cover 2, That’s been a staple all season – Ruggs 46 yards on 3rd + 10 on first possession came versus disguised cover 2 with Fenton late to get to his half field responsibility
No matter how the Chiefs would get to cover 2 out of sub dime Mathieu was almost always the middle hole defender
Raiders continued to feature Waller as the boundary x on the back side of trips, both out of 11 and 12 personnel
It’s still a struggle at times for Carr to turn it loose and make tighter window throws, He is not a naturally aggressive thrower with the result being some throws left on the field – Booker 5 yard reception early in the 2nd quarter a good example, Ball had to go to Waller on the skinny post between the underneath zone defenders
Agholor 59 yard TD on 2nd + 5 in the 2nd quarter came out 12 personnel versus Chiefs base 4-3, Post-cross combination with Waller running the crosser and Agholor the post with the Chiefs playing a 4 across matchup coverage behind a 5 man pressure; Agholor post got inside and on top of Mathieu
What consistently stands out with Gruden is the number of different personnel packages and formations he deploys – The illusion of complexity
Ingold 23 yard reception on 2nd + 9 in the 2nd quarter came out of 22 closed to the field with Ingold offset to the boundary, Well-designed flood / hi-low concept to attack the gray areas in zone coverage (both cover 3 and cover 4) – The wrinkle was Ingold in the offset backfield alignment
Ruggs 72 yard TD on 3rd + 2 late in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 tight bunch with Ruggs #1 to the bunch, It looked like the Chiefs were in zero out of sub dime with Sorensen playing back Jacobs; Ruggs ran by Ward on the deep post
Both Sorensen and Mathieu matched up on Waller in the Chiefs man coverage concepts, Sorensen predominantly the TE matchup versus 11 personnel
What stood out watching the Raiders offense was the focus on reduced splits out of all the personnel groupings
Carr versus Chiefs blitz: 7-13, 171 yards, 3 TD, 1 interception, 1 sack – Overall the Chiefs played about 60% zone coverage and 40% man coverage
Raiders this season through 5 games have played over 50% of their offensive snaps in a base personnel grouping, That’s Gruden’s approach
CHIEFS OFFENSE VERSUS RAIDERS DEFENSE
Raiders continued to play nickel as their base defense, with Joyner the slot corner; Robertson played snaps in the slot when Joyner missed some snaps with an injury
Littleton and Kwiatkowski continued to be the LB in the 1st and 2nd down sub nickel, Morrow played in the sub nickel and sub dime
Chiefs continued to be a high percentage 11 personnel offense – Through 5 games they have been in 11 personnel on 72% of their offensive snaps
Osemele hurt after 5 plays (lost for the season), Remmers replaced him at LG
First 3rd and long the Raiders went 3-2-6 sub dime (only 5 snaps of dime in the first 4 games), The played 2 man with corner Johnson the dime player matched on Kelce; Littleton and Morrow were the LB with Morrow used as a spy on Mahomes
Second 3rd down Raiders also went 3-2-6 dime, this time with corner Nixon the dime player; Raiders played cover 1 with Abram matched on Kelce – Abram snaps of man coverage on Kelce both in sub nickel and sub dime, Littleton was the matchup in 2 man coverage out of sub nickel
Hill outstanding at showing over routes with his vertical stem then breaking back to the outside, Explosive route and separation quickness – 26 yards in the 1st quarter a good example
Sub dime on 3rd down was clearly game planned by the Raiders, They played both corners Johnson and Nixon as the dime player
Kelce 32 yards on 3rd +7 in the 1st quarter came out of 11 2x2 with Kelce #2 to the boundary, Raiders out of sub dime blitzed from the field with Littleton matched on Kelce
Raiders again showed tilted fronts out of sub fronts, featuring stunts and blitzes; They used safety Abram as an edge rusher in one of their 3-2-6 dime fronts – DC Guenther different personnel packages and tactics than what they normally do
Chiefs outstanding in the red zone playing off their motion concepts with misdirection and deception to create scoring plays – Hill 10 yard TD run a great example
Hill 37 yards on 2nd + 5 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 1x3 set with Hill #2 to trips, Raiders disguise and late movement to cover 2 out of sub nickel; Hill slot fade with corner Mullen late dropping to be a half field safety, Mullen disguised himself out of the coverage
Raiders 4 man DL pass rush was a factor in the 1st half, They forced Mahomes to break down and leave the pocket – Raiders did not blitz much at all, That was not a meaningful part of their game plan
Raiders featured snaps of split safety coverage, with cover 2 a significant part of their approach; They played snaps of 2 man on 3rd and long, When they went 2 man out of 3-2-6 sub dime Morrow was used as a spy on Mahomes
Mahomes the last 2 games has at times been breaking down and leaving the pocket prematurely, with the result being some throws left on the field – He left a TD to Robinson on the field with :47 remaining in the 1st half, 3 verts from trips versus split safety with Robinson #2
3rd + 9 in the 4th quarter the Raiders out of sub nickel used Key as a spy on Mahomes behind a 3 man rush, It was the second time they played man to the boundary and split safety zone to the field; Both times it was 1x3 set with Kelce the boundary x, Raiders pressed him with a corner
3rd + 7 with 5:55 in the 4th quarter was the same concept versus 1x3 set with press man on Kelce to the boundary and split safety to the field, and Key the spy on Mahomes – Kwiatkowski critical to the concept
In the 1st half the Raiders used Morrow as a spy on Mahomes out of 3-2-6 sub dime, and in the 2nd half they used Key as a spy out of sub nickel
Mahomes has struggled versus some of the zone heavy defenses he has faced this season: Chargers, Patriots, Raiders; He has not consistently found clean throwing windows and that has resulted in him breaking down in the pocket prematurely and relying too much on his second reaction ability
