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.
FALCONS OFFENSE VERSUS PANTHERS DEFENSE
Panthers continued to play 4-2-5 big nickel as their base defense, Franklin replaced inactive Burris as the third safety; Panthers corners were Jackson and Pride
Falcons started the game with play action out of 12 personnel with Jones #1 to trips, Jones deep dig versus off coverage corner Jackson in Panthers cover 3: 24 yards
Second play another deep drop off play action out of 22 personnel with Jones running the deep out versus Jackson: 28 yards
Rookie Thomas-Oliver played significant snaps at outside corner in the sub nickel and some snaps in the big nickel, Elder played significant snaps outside in the big nickel and played in the slot in the sub nickel
Falcons game plan featured emphasis on base personnel with 12, 21 and 22 personnel; Falcons also featured some no huddle as part of initial game plan
Panthers a high percentage zone coverage defense, featuring cover 3 and cover 4
Falcons clearly worked the Jones-Jackson matchup on their first 2 possessions, Jackson was the right corner and even though the Panthers were in cover 3 and cover 4 Jackson had to match up to Jones on the outside
Ridley 16 yards on 3rd + 15 on Falcons second possession came versus Panthers 5 under/3 deep coverage behind 3 man rush, Ridley soft spot in the zone resulted from LB Taylor drifting too far inside and corner Jackson staying too low with his focus too much on back Ollison in the flat – Poor zone coverage discipline on 3rd and long
Chinn the predominant TE matchup when the Panthers played man coverage, When Chinn was used as a blitzer in cover 1 blitz Franklin was the TE matchup; There were other 4 and 5 man pressures in which Chinn matched up to the back
Panthers featured multiple front looks out of both big nickel and sub nickel, They also featured disguise and late movement to get to different zone coverages
Panthers showed multiple ways in which they got to cover 2 from different front looks, with multiple players as the middle hole defender
Panthers featured significant snaps of 3 man pressures versus the Falcons, 5 under/3 deep was a featured coverage in long yardage situations
Panthers best pass rush sub front has Haynes and Burns outside as the edge rushers, and Obada and Brown inside at DT; Weatherly inside at DT also effective as a pass rusher
Panthers played 2 man out of sub dime in the high red zone in the 2 minute at the end of the 1st half – 2 man was the Panthers predominant coverage in the high red zone
One pressure concept the Panthers featured on 3rd down out of sub dime was 5 across diamond front with Chinn a second level blitzer, They played cover 1 behind it
Hartsfield replaced Franklin at safety in the big nickel to start the Falcons late 3rd quarter possession
Panthers increased blitz frequency in the 2nd half from different front looks including double mug, They showed multiple pressure concepts both man and zone schemes
Hill looked quicker than Gurley, Gurley looked more like an inside downhill grinder; Gurley featured on straight I formation runs with Smith the fullback: iso lead and zone lead
Burns stood out as a pass rusher off the edge, He showed an explosive inside spin move that was very effective
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
Moseley continued to be the boundary corner with Verrett the field corner, Williams was the slot corner in sub nickel
49ers started the game with a slot corner blitz by Williams: Metcalf -3 yards on WR screen
Moore 7 yards on slant on 3rd + 6 from -6 yard line was an excellent throw by Wilson, 49ers cover 1 blitz with Greenlaw and Hyder executing T/E stunt concept and Greenlaw hitting Wilson just as he delivered; Moore was the boundary x with Metcalf #1 to trips
49ers showed multiple front looks (tilted fronts, diamond fronts) and pressure schemes on 3rd down out of sub dime, They featured multiple stunt concepts; Both Greenlaw and Warner used as blitzers in 5 man pressures
Metcalf was predominantly the boundary x on the back side of trips, That matched Moseley on him
Metcalf 46 yard TD on 2nd + 6 late in the 1st quarter came of 12 3x1 with Metcalf the boundary x, 49ers out of base rushed 5 (safety Harris was the fifth rusher) and played cover 3 match behind it, Boundary corner Moseley lined up with a 9 yard cushion; Metcalf pushed Moseley vertically and ran the in-cut, Moseley slipped and Metcalf turned on the jets and took it to the house
When the 49ers went cover 1 out of sub nickel Ward was the TE matchup with Harris the post safety
49ers high percentage blitz on 3rd down; Multiple 5 man pressures that featured both LB Warner and Greenlaw, and slot corner Williams
Metcalf is a tough matchup as the boundary x on the back side of trips, If he works outside the numbers (verticals, slants, out routes) it becomes man-to-man for the boundary corner
Metcalf 35 yards on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter a great example of Metcalf as the boundary x winning vertically, 49ers were in cover 3 with Moseley locked on Metcalf; Metcalf beat Moseley press man on the fade, Outstanding ball placement throw by Wilson
Moseley competed hard versus Metcalf but at times was just overmatched physically
Overall the 49ers featured an aggressive game plan approach on 3rd down with multiple 5 man pressures and a good amount of cover 1, They also played zone match concepts
Metcalf through 7 games this season as the boundary x receiver: 18-339, 18.8, 3 TD; 18 of 36 receptions have come as the boundary x
JIMMY GAROPPOLO / NICK MULLENS VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Reed was the slot corner for the Seahawks in this game, Flowers played right corner and Dunbar left corner with Griffin inactive
Seahawks predominant coverages this season have been cover 3, cover 1 and cover 2; They are clearly more zone-based than man-based in their coverage schemes
Seahawks in their base 4-3 defense almost always align LB Wright on the ball, both to the weak side and strong side of the offensive formation depending on the Seahawks front
One of Garoppolo’s main issues has been the longer he is in the pocket the less efficient he is, He is not a consistently strong late-in-the-down pocket passer and he is not a second reaction QB; That’s why he is a highly schemed QB, He needs the pass concepts to define the throws
Reed interception on 3rd + 5 in the 1st quarter was a good example of Garoppolo making a bad read and throw late in the down
Seahawks aggressive with blitz in this game (almost 50% of the 49ers QB drop backs), Likely a function of Garoppolo being a pocket QB with limited movement ability – They showed a mike-star blitz on 3rd + 7 in the 2nd quarter with slot corner Reed and Wagner
Seahawks featured 5 man zone pressure schemes and 4 man zone exchange schemes, They also showed cover 1 blitz schemes from diamond fronts; Wagner featured as a blitzer in multiple pressure concepts and he was effective both in man and zone schemes
Slot corner Reed also featured in multiple pressure concepts – Wagner and Reed were the featured blitzers in this game
Seahawks featured 5-1 reduced fronts in their sub nickel with Wright on the ball and Wagner the stacked LB, That front had two 3-techniques and a 0-technique
Seahawks not a high percentage cover 1 defense but when they played cover 1 out of sub nickel and sub dime versus 11 personnel safety Neal was the TE matchup
Seahawks did not play many snaps of sub dime but Randall continued to be the dime safety
Seahawks continued to feature tilted fronts out of both sub nickel and dime, with Wagner the wild card opposite the tilt deployed in multiple ways
Brooks played snaps with Wagner in the sub nickel as the game progressed
Seahawks aggressive with blitz on Mullens first possession in the 4th quarter, with different pressure concepts on several snaps; They went zero blitz out of sub nickel on 3rd + 5 from the high red zone, Safety Diggs unblocked but he came from the most distance so Mullens was able to get the ball out to Bourne versus Reed 4 yards
Seahawks showed disguise and late movement out of sub nickel to get to cover 2 on first play of Mullens second possession: Zone exchange concept with boundary corner Dunbar the fourth rusher, Neal replacing Dunbar at corner and Reed dropping as a half field safety; DT Reed dropped out as an underneath defender with Wagner the middle hole defender
Sullivan played significant snaps at DE throughout the game, He is long and athletic and the Seahawks are trying to develop him as an edge pass rusher
Seahawks featured disguise and late movement to cover 2 on multiple snaps out of sub nickel, with different middle hole defenders, corners and half field safeties
Aiyuk 33 yards on 2nd + 1 in the 4th quarter came versus Seahawks disguised late movement to cover 2, Aiyuk post route beat retreating half field safety Reed; A better throw by Mullens might have been a 71 yard TD, It was too far inside forcing Aiyuk to slow down
Disguised looks and multiple pressure schemes were significant parts of Seahawks approach in the 4th quarter, Seahawks played a lot of cover 2 in the 4th quarter
Seahawks played some snaps of zero in the 4th quarter, all in the red zone and all out of sub nickel
DALVIN COOK VERSUS PACKERS DEFENSE
Cook showed great vision reading post-snap defensive front movement and then decisiveness and short area explosive burst getting through the first and second levels of the defense
Cook 12 yards on 2nd + 8 in the 1st quarter featured an excellent double team by RG Cleveland and RT O’Neill on 3-technique Clark, That made it difficult for stacked LB Martin to get a feel for Cook’s downhill path
Packers DC Pettine continued to feature dime as his higher percentage sub defense: 48% of Packers defensive snaps this season have been out of dime with only 21% out of nickel
Cook 21 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end first possession came out of 22 closed to the boundary versus Packers 3-4 front: It had the look of a designed cut back? with RT O’Neil and TE Rudolph doubling 4-technique Adams with Rudolph climbing to the second level to seal stacked LB Barnes, Smith split flow action to kick out OLB P. Smith
Packers played 3-4 personnel versus Vikings base personnel groupings: 12, 21, 22 and 13
There was not much mystery to the Vikings offensive game plan, They featured Cook out of base personnel groupings
2 traits best describe Cook: decisive and explosive; He sees it and he goes, He gets to speed in a heartbeat and that generates explosive velocity and power – Cook looked faster than everyone else on the field
Packers in the 2nd half started to become more multiple with their defensive fronts out of base 3-4 personnel, Z. Smith used as a standup stacked LB almost in a Joker position behind a 4 man DL front
Cook 50 yard screen TD on 3rd + 9 in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 1x3 nub with Cook offset to the boundary, Packers out of sub dime disguise late movement to cover 2; Beautifully executed screen with 3 excellent OL blocks and then Cook making safety Scott miss in the open field
Cook 17 yards on 2nd + 7 in the 4th quarter came out of 22 personnel and was the same concept as 21 yard TD but out of a different formation look: It had the look of a designed cutback with LT Reiff and TE Rudolph doubling 4i Lowry with Rudolph climbing to seal stacked LB Barnes, Smith again split flow action to kick out P. Smith; Cook so decisive hitting the cutback lane
Vikings featured zone run game concepts with Cook, You rarely see gap scheme with pulling OG
Cook running breakdown versus Packers – 21 personnel: 5-57, long of 37 yards; 22 personnel: 9-59, long was 21 yard TD; He had his most success out of those 2 personnel groupings – 26 of Cook 30 rushes came out of base personnel groupings
PACKERS OFFENSE VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Vikings sub nickel: Boyd and Dantzler the outside corner with Gladney in the slot, Kendricks and Wilson the LB; Gladney and Dantzler were the outside corners in the base defense with Dye the third LB
Dantzler hurt after playing 14 snaps, Boyd then played in the base defense with Gladney; In sub nickel Fields (until he got hurt) and Hands played outside opposite Boyd
Packers featured jet action as a foundational part of their offense, They use different players to run jet action; Ervin featured in jet action
Holmes and Wonnum lined up both outside and inside in the Vikings sub nickel fronts, Both are long and athletic
Rodgers has been excellent this season with play action passing, He has played with more consistent timing and rhythm from the pocket
Vikings continued to show double mug fronts out of sub nickel with LB Kendricks and Wilson in the A gaps, Vikings featured mike-star blitz out of sub nickel with Kendricks and Gladney
Packers feature zone concepts with an emphasis on outside zone as the foundation of their run game
Vikings have a lot of young DL that could well develop into good players with more experience: Odenigbo, Holmes, Johnson, Wonnum, Watts, Mata’afa
When the Vikings play cover 2 out of sub nickel Kendricks is the middle hole defender, He showed the speed to carry WR vertically; Great example was Kendricks running with Adams from #3 to trips and making a play on the ball
Vikings played much of the 3rd quarter and almost the entire 4th quarter with Boyd and Hand the outside corners
TE Sternberger continued to show flashes of athleticism and hands as an intermediate and vertical receiver – My sense is you might see the Packers work in more 12 personnel groupings as the season progresses
Packers were unable to create any big pass plays in this game, Rodgers only one completion of more than 20 yards (Tonyan 45 yards in the 3rd quarter) until the Packers final TD drive in the 4th quarter
Vikings given all the injuries at corner played high percentage zone coverage in the 2nd half and their young corners did not make any glaring assignment mistakes that resulted in big plays
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS PATRIOTS DEFENSE
Gilmore inactive for the Patriots, Jackson and McCourty were the outside corners – Patriots matched Jackson on Diggs
Bills went 10 personnel on their first offensive play, Patriots matched up with dollar personnel and went cover 1 with 4 corners matched on the 4 WR
Patriots played both sub dime and sub dollar to the Bills 10 personnel, In sub dime D. McCourty matched up to one of the WR
Patriots also snaps of sub dollar versus Bills 11 personnel on 3rd and long
Sub dime was the Patriots game planned personnel approach versus Bills 11 personnel, Phillips and Brooks both played every snap
Bills first possession ended with TD: Moss 21 yards outside zone out of 11 personnel versus Patriots sub dime, Moss 8 yard TD outside zone out of 10 personnel versus Patriots sub dollar
Diggs 20 yards to start second possession came on a great route versus Jackson: The subtleties of route running using your vertical stem and your head
Starting with second possession the Bills moved Feliciano to OC and Boettger played LG – Morse hurt after 3 snaps and was out for the game
Bower and Uche played significant snaps for the Patriots, both playing in the sub dime with Uche also some snaps in the sub dollar; Uche snaps both on the ball and off the ball
Patriots used spy tactic on Allen at times on 3rd down out of sub dollar, Calhoun was used as the spy
Patriots snaps of disguise and late movement to get to zone coverage concepts, Allen better in this game staying patient in the pocket and making late-in-the-down throws
Outside zone was the predominant run for the Bills, both with Singletary and Moss; My sense is Moss has a better intuitive feel as a runner than Singletary, Moss a little more nuanced
Singletary 18 yards on Bills first possession of the 3rd quarter showed the problem the Patriots can have defending the run game out of sub dime: Outside zone concept with fold block to better block the over front, OC Feliciano to the second level just eats up Phillips at 215 pounds
Moss 14 yards on final FG drive another example of outside zone attacking Phillips with LG Boettger climbing to the second level
Bills ran to Phillips side 15 times, It was clearly game planned; Phillips is a good player in the context of the Patriots defense but he is not a strong play side box run defender
Patriots out of sub dollar at times featured spy tactic, and also showed cover 1 behind 3 man rush with 2 underneath zone defenders
Bills 40 snaps of 11 personnel, That was predominant run game personnel package: 25-144 and 2 TD
Singletary, Moss and Allen designed runs: 31-169, 5.5 yards per rush
Bills 11 snaps of 10 personnel versus the Patriots: Allen 4-4 for 50 yards, 7 rushes for 42 yards and Moss 8 yard TD
Patriots 39 snaps of sub dime, and 14 snaps of sub dollar versus the Bills; They played only 4 snaps of sub nickel
PATRIOTS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
Hyde inactive for the Bills, Marlowe was the safety with Poyer
Wallace back at field corner opposite boundary corner White
Klein continued to play the high percentage of snaps with Edmunds in the sub nickel; Milano played some snaps especially on 3rd down, in the 2 minute at the end of the 1st half and on the Patriots final possession
Newton designed runs a foundational part of the Patriots offense: Zone read, QB draw, QB sweep
Smith was the third LB with Edmunds and Klein in the Bills base 4-3 versus Patriots 21 personnel
Bills 4 man zone exchange pressure concepts with cover 3 behind it, Klein was the predominant fourth rusher; Also some 5 man pressure concepts on 3rd down
Bills in the 2 minute at the end of the 1st half featured a 5 man pressure with Poyer the fifth rusher and cover 1 behind it, Milano matched up to Burkhead and Edmunds matched up to White
Bills another 5 man pressure in the 2 minute with Poyer again the fifth rusher and cover 1 behind it, Milano matched up to the TE and Edmunds matched up to Burkhead
Patriots continued to try to get Newton in rhythm with bang play action concepts: Byrd 22 yards (Newton’s best pocket play of the game), Byrd 9 yards on 4th quarter TD drive
Newton still struggling with his field vision, He is not seeing things within the structure of the route concept, Result is often a lack of timing in the pass game
Patriots significant snaps out of 20 personnel with White and Burkhead, There were 15 snaps of 20 personnel with both on the field
Poyer was featured as a blitzer, They were man blitzes with cover 1 behind them; Poyer continued to be a factor as a box player in the run game
Harris runs: Gap scheme out of both I back and shotgun, pin-pull as single I back and straight I, zone lead out of straight I, duo out of 21 strong I
Harris 22 yard TD on 2nd + 5 late in the 3rd quarter came out of 21 strong I, Gap scheme concept to the weak side blocked as well as you can do it versus Bills under front; Harris explosive short area burst with light quick feet
Patriots executed gap scheme run game concepts well: Harris 22 yard TD, Harris 18 yards in the 4th quarter
Harris ran predominantly out of 21 personnel with 13 of his 16 carries: 13-91, TD out of 21; Fullback Johnson a big factor in the run game, Patriots featured straight I and strong I as predominant formations out of 21
DREW LOCK 4TH QUARTER VERSUS CHARGERS DEFENSE
Lock 4th quarter numbers: 14-18, 155 yards, 3 TD
Campbell was the Chargers slot corner in their sub nickel and sub dime, Addae was the dime safety; Murray and White were the nickel LB with Murray the dime LB
Jeudy 43 yards on 3rd + 16 on first 4th quarter TD drive came out of 11 1x3 nub, Dagger concept with Hamilton from #2 to trips running the go route and Jeudy from #1 to trips the deep dig, Chargers cover 4 out of sub dime; Outstanding timing throw by Lock reading the coverage and turning it loose into the zone void just as Jeudy started his break
Chargers continued to feature Ingram as a standup Joker in their sub dime fronts with Bosa and Tillery the wide 9 rushers
Jeudy significant snaps as the boundary x, He also lined up at #1 on the multiple receiver side of the formation
Okwuegbunam 9 yard TD on 2nd + 5 in the 4th quarter came out of 12 2x2 with Okwuegbunam the LOS TE to the boundary, Chargers cover 3 out of sub nickel; Mirrored seams by Okwuegbunam and Fant with no underneath defender carrying them, Another good throw by Lock
Hamilton 40 yard TD on 1st + 10 on Broncos second possession of the 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Chargers nickel cover 3, Hi-low concept with Fant the sit route underneath and Hamilton the in-breaker behind the underneath coverage, Post safety Adderley took a bad angle and slipped
What was interesting was Lock always worked to the passing strength of the formation in 2x2 sets, He worked the 3 man route concept to the side of the offset back – I’m sure that’s how he is being coached
Lock showed excellent patience on the winning TD drive, It was a 14 play/81 yard TD drive
PATRICK MAHOMES VERSUS JETS DEFENSE
Jets sub nickel: Desir and Austin the outside corners with Poole in the slot, Maye and Davis the safeties
Chiefs show a lot of backfield action to grab the eyes of defenders, They were effective on first possession with bang action slants off jet action and split flow zone action: Hill 13 yards, Robinson 15 yards
Hardman 30 yard TD on jet action pass came out of 12 2x2 versus Jets nickel cover 2, Front side DT and DE not blocked in the scheme LG Allegretti and LT Fisher immediately climbing to the second and third levels of the defense; Hardman’s explosive speed easily beat safety Davis
When the Jets went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus Chiefs 11 personnel safety Davis was the matchup on Kelce
Hill 36 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end second possession came out of 11 2x2 with reduced splits on both sides of the formation, Jets cover 2 out of sub nickel with LB Hewitt the middle hole defender; Hill from #1 to the boundary ran an explosive corner post route beating safety Davis, Hewitt looked to Hill but saw the corner part of his route and leveled off – Mahomes knew what he had and looked left on his drop before coming back to Hill on the right
Chiefs featured reduced splits in this game, predominantly out of 2x2 sets with both 11 and 12 personnel
Jets multiple with their front looks, their pressure schemes and their disguised late movement zone coverage concepts – Jets played a lot of split safety with cover 2 a foundation, That’s always been the case with DC Williams
Jets came out in the 3rd quarter with a different approach: Different front (5 across reduced front) and 5 man pressure on 3rd and long with cover 3 boundary lock with zone match to the field
Overall Jets increased pressure frequency in the 3rd quarter with multiple schemes including 4 man zone exchange concepts and 5 man pressures
Kelce 25 yards on 1st + 10 in the 3rd quarter came on RPO concept out of 11 1x3 set versus Jets 5 across front with Hewitt the stacked LB, Jets cover 3 out of sub nickel with corner Desir in off coverage versus Kelce giving up the slant
Hardman 19 yards on 2nd + 2 in the 3rd quarter also came on RPO concept out of 11 2x2 versus Jets cover 2 to the boundary, Slant-flat to the boundary with Hardman catching the slant with room to run
Chiefs pass game excellent in 2 areas: the ability to scheme route concepts that attack the voids in zone coverage, and the ability to create one-on-one matchups versus zone coverage through route concepts and combinations (Robinson 26 yard TD)
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
Scott 19 yards on first offensive play came out of 11 personnel with jet sweep action by Ward from the boundary to the field, Outside zone to the boundary to the boundary with the jet action grabbing the eyes of both stacked LB Vander Esch and Smith; Scott then made unblocked safety Woods miss in space – Value of motion
Scott 9 yards to start second possession was the same play the Eagles opened the game with: Outside zone to the boundary off jet action by Ward from the boundary to the field, Cutback lane was widened with slot corner Lewis expanding with the jet action
Scott 17 yards on second possession again the same play with Ward jet action from the boundary to the field, This time Wentz was in the shotgun but it was still outside zone
Jet action was featured part of Eagles run game, Their tendency was to run away from Ward jet action but they ran to the same side as Reagor jet action: Scott 11 yards in the 2nd quarter
Ward jet action from the boundary to the field with Scott outside zone to the boundary was an Eagles staple in this game
LB Smith still struggling with what he is seeing, He is a little lost mentally which is negatively impacting his reaction time
11 of Scott’s 15 carries featured motion or shift, That’s a change for the Eagles who had rarely featured pre-snap movement in their first 7 games – Specific to a bad Cowboys defense that had struggled mightily with eye discipline, or a sign of things to come after the bye
12 of Wentz 27 pass attempts featured motion or shift- Again motions and shifts more a feature of the Eagles offense in this game
Eagles 47 snaps out of 11 personnel (81%) with only 6 snaps of 12 personnel – The last 2 games have been high percentage 11 personnel
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Slay did not match up to either Cooper or Gallup in this game
Slay hurt late in the 2nd quarter, He was replaced by undrafted rookie free agent Jacquet; Jacquet played left corner with Maddox at right corner in both base and sub
Eagles base defense had Edwards at MIKE, Singleton at SAM and Riley at WILL; Eagles played significant snaps in their base defense
Cowboys came out on the first 7 plays of the 3rd quarter and ran the ball effectively, all out of 12 personnel versus Eagles base defense: Elliott 4-25, Pollard 3-18
Eagles sub nickel had Robey-Coleman in the slot, Sub dime had Epps as the dime playing inside
Sweat has developed into a very solid DE, both as a run defender and pass rusher; Eagles an excellent DE rotation with Graham, Barnett and Sweat
On 1st + 10 early in the 4th quarter Jacquet moved from left corner to right corner matching up on Gallup with Maddox moving to left corner to match up on Cooper, Cowboys challenged Jacquet vertically but DiNucci made a poor throw
Jacquet played both left and right corner in the 4th quarter, matching up to both Gallup and Cooper; He predominantly played off coverage but had a snap on Cooper in which he jammed him with force
Eagles picked up blitz frequency in the 2nd half with multiple pressure concepts, both man and zone
Edwards effective in the run game, Showed a good feel for play recognition and hitting gaps, Took on blocks with power and leverage
Jacquet hurt in the middle of the 4th quarter, Mills moved outside to corner and Parks came in to play safety in the base defense
McLeod fumble recovery TD on 3rd + 6 in the 4th quarter came on a well-disguised zero blitz out of sub nickel with Edwards and Mcleod in the A gaps, McLeod raced up to the LOS right before the snap; Edwards got in clean through the A gap and forced the fumble, DiNucci did not process the zero pressure with his eyes looking outside when he had TE Schultz in the middle for a throw
Edwards and Riley were the predominant sub nickel LB in the 4th quarter
Eagles showed a sub dime front on 3rd and long late in the 4th quarter with Cox and Hargrave at DE, and Graham and Barnett in stand up Joker alignments inside; Eagles ran a long stunt out of this alignment with Barnett looping behind Graham and Hargrave, Hargrave got in clean and forced DiNucci out of the pocket into a hurried undefined throw
Eagles played 36 snaps of base defense, 26 snaps of sub nickel and 16 snaps of dime; Eagles blitzed (5 or more rushers) on almost 30% of DiNucci drop backs
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS BENGALS DEFENSE
Bengals game planned 5-2 front versus Titans 12 and 21 and 22 personnel, Bell was also aligned in the box; Bynes and Pratt were the stacked LB
At times in the 5-2 front the Bengals showed a Bear look with two 3-technique DT and a 0-technique
Alexander was the Bengals slot corner in sub nickel, Wilson and Davis-Gaither continued to be the nickel LB
Bengals continued to play snaps of sub dime on some 3rd downs, Both Williams and Wilson were the dime players; They continued to feature 3-2-6 dime with LB Wilson and Davis-Gaither but also snaps of 4-1-6 dime with Wilson the only LB
Safety Bell continued to be the TE matchup versus 11 personnel when the Bengals went cover 1 out of sub nickel, and 2 man out of sub dime
Bengals went man coverage on the Titans first two 3rd downs: First was cover 1 out of sub nickel, Second was 1 robber out of sub dime; Bell was the TE matchup in sub nickel, Wilson was the TE matchup in sub dime with Bell the robber
Davis 27 yards on 3rd + 6 on first possession came out of 11 2x2 with reduced splits to the boundary versus Bengals dime 1 robber, Davis #1 to the boundary out-and-go got on top of Jackson; Outstanding ball placement throw by Tannehill
Titans personnel game plan was clearly base with multiple TE sets and fullback Blasingame: Run game with the play action pass game working off that, including play action boot
Bengals game plan featured a strong emphasis on man coverage, out of base and sub – Davis 27 and 24 yards on first 2 Titans possessions came versus man coverage, beating Jackson both times
LT Sambrailo some issues on Titans second possession: Beaten by Covington on 1st down run by Henry, and beaten off the edge by Lawson on 3rd + 8 resulting in hit on Tannehill which prevented completion to Humphries
Titans came out on third possession trailing 10-0 looking to establish their identity: First 3 plays were Henry runs – 8 consecutive runs started that 2nd quarter TD drive, 6 by Henry and 2 by Foreman; Henry finished the drive with 3 yard TD on 3rd and goal out of 13 personnel
Bengals still showed 5 man front out of sub nickel with LB Wilson on the ball versus Titans 11 personnel in normal down and distance situations, In that sub nickel Wilson and Bynes were the LB
Davis 23 yards to start first 3rd quarter possession came out of 21 strong I with Davis the reduced split boundary x, Davis deep out versus Sims with an accurate spot throw by Tannehill
Bengals more zone coverage as the game progressed with some 3rd and long snaps with disguise and late movement to cover 2: Great example was 3rd + 12 on Titans first possession of 3rd quarter, Bell excellent play on Brown 7 stop as a cover 2 corner with Jackson rushing off the boundary as the fourth rusher
Foreman looked good as the Titans second back: He showed quick active feet, was a desirable mix of patient and decisive, and showed short area burst through the first level of the defense
Wilson sack on 3rd + 9 on Titans second possession of the 3rd quarter came on a green dog, Bengals cover 1 blitz out of tilted front with Bell the fifth rusher and Wilson matched on back McNichols; McNichols stayed in to help with protection and Wilson then added in as the sixth rusher with no one to account for him
Firkser 26 yards on Titans final TD drive in the 4th quarter was an outstanding seam throw by Tannehill versus cover 2
Davis significant snaps versus the Bengals as the boundary x, He was clearly Tannehill’s number one target in this game
What stood out was the Titans never got away from their offensive identity of running the ball and working their pass game off that, They did not generate enough explosive plays
JOE BURROW VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Titans sub defense had Jackson at slot corner with Butler and Joseph on the outside – Titans predominantly Butler on Green, and Joseph on Higgins
Bengals OL featured 4 backups including both OT: Johnson at RT and rookie 6th round pick Adeniji at LT (Adeniji started 48 games at Kansas including his final 2 seasons at LT)
3rd + 5 on the Bengals first possession the Titans out of sub dime went cover 1 with Brown and Landry playing underneath zone coverage behind a 3 man rush, Burrow second reaction movement throw with a great catch by Higgins over Joseph for 24 yards – Both edge rushers Clowney and Beasley created pressure forcing Burrow to move
Titans featured some different front looks out of sub nickel including 5 across reduced fronts with LB Brown and Evans on the edge and Clowney stacked behind the DL, Clowney clean on A gap rush from this front on 2nd + 10 from the high red zone but he could not get Burrow to the ground: Perine 2 yard reception off Burrow movement
Titans game plan approach featured man coverage: cover 1 and 1 robber, Byard continued to be the robber in 1 robber
One issue for the Titans is that neither Butler nor Joseph can run – You could make the argument that they are among the slowest pair of corners in the NFL, That may be one reason they play so much off coverage
Clowney had some good rushes versus LT Adeniji making his first NFL start, Clowney showed good lateral quickness
Orr snaps on the outside opposite Butler so he predominantly matched up to Higgins and Tate, He also played some snaps in the slot
Titans continued to feature disguise and late movement from multiple and pressure front looks to get to both cover 3 and cover 2
Titans tried to get Clowney involved as a pass rusher by lining him up in different positions, both scheming pressure and creating one-on-one matchups
Boyd 13 yards on 2nd + 14 in the 2nd quarter a great example of Burrow timing and precise ball placement, Burrow has a natural feel for when to turn it loose and where to place the ball
Green ran by Butler on stutter-go on 3rd + 5 late in the 2nd quarter but Burrow threw it with a little too much trajectory and left it short – Titans a little changeup on that 3rd + 5 with Byard the post safety and Hooker matched on the TE on cover 1 versus 11 personnel
Higgins 22 yards on 4th + 5 late in the 2nd quarter a good summation of the Titans pass defense: 3 man rush out of sub dime with 2 underneath zone defenders and cover 1 behind it, Bengals formation put slot corner Jackson on Higgins; Burrow under no pressure navigated the pocket and hit Higgins on the route adjustment
Titans featured some 3 man rushes out of sub dime playing with 8 in coverage, with both zone and man concepts behind the 3 man rush
Burrow consistently showed poised and composed pocket movement both within and outside the pocket, A comfortable mover who keeps his eyes up and sees the field
Boyd 7 yard TD on 3rd + 1 early in the 4th quarter another example of Burrow precise ball placement, His throw on the out route to Boyd beat Joseph trying to undercut it; Bengals switch release off the ball with Higgins and Boyd put Joseph on Boyd in the man coverage concept
Tate significant part of outside receiver rotation getting 33 snaps with 7 targets and 7 reception; He is effective on screens, hitches, slants and back shoulder throws with his big body and strong hands
SAINTS OFFENSE VERSUS BEARS DEFENSE
Bears base 3-4 front with Mack and Quinn the OLB, Mingo also significant snaps at OLB in the base front; Hicks 5-technique in base front
In sub nickel Skrine was the slot corner with Johnson the right corner and Fuller the left corner
Bears featured 2 sub nickel fronts: 4-2 with both Trevathan and Smith the stacked LB, and 5-1 with reduced front and Smith the stacked LB
Kamara 20 yards on first possession came out of 11 3x1 versus Bears 5-1 nickel front: Split flow inside zone with outstanding double team by LG Peat and LT Armstead on 3-technique Robertson-Harris
Urban and Edwards got significant snaps inside in the sub nickel with Urban also snaps in the base front at 5-technique, Mingo also snaps in the nickel fronts
Bears continued to play snaps of sub dime on 3rd down (and selected other situations), Houston-Carson continued to be the dime used as an underneath defender in zone coverage concepts; McManis a few snaps as the dime – 15% of Bears defensive snaps have been in dime
Bears featured tilted fronts out of sub nickel and sub dime, Stunt concepts to the 3 man side were part of that front look
Brees missed wide open Cook late in the 1st half with a poor ball placement throw: 2 man hi-low boundary route concept with Cook and Kamara, Safety Gipson drove on Kamara low route leaving Cook open on the seam versus outside leverage corner Fuller – It should have been a pitch-and-catch TD
Next play with :08 remaining in the 1st half Brees hit Cook for 16 yard TD: Well-designed 3 man route concept to the field isolating Cook from reduced split #1 to trips on outside leverage zone corner Johnson, This time Brees made the pitch-and-catch throw
Bears did not play many snaps of cover 1 out of sub nickel, When they did both safeties Jackson and Gipson matched up on Cook
When the Bears went cover 1 out of sub dime on 3rd + 6 in the 3rd quarter versus Saints 11 empty they matched Houston-Carson on Cook, corner Johnson on #1 to twins to Kamara and safety Jackson on #3 to trips Smith
Bears showed some 4 man zone exchange pressure concepts with both LB and slot corner Skrine the fourth rusher
Kamara continued to be effective working from boundary alignments in 2 man route concepts, either offset in the backfield or split
Hill 5 snaps as the wildcat QB and 4 of those 5 runs were successful, Gap scheme concepts were featured; He also caught a TD pass in the 4th quarter
Bears defense has been outstanding on 3rd down all season, leading the NFL allowing less than 30% conversion
BEARS OFFENSE VERSUS SAINTS DEFENSE
Massie hurt early in the game, Spriggs replaced him at RT and went the rest of the way
Saints continued to play dime on 3rd down with P. Williams the dime, He was the predominant TE matchup when the Saints went cover 1 with Jenkins matched on the back
When the Saints went 2 man or 1 robber out of sub dime Jenkins was the TE matchup
Saints will show double mug looks out of sub dime with Davis and Jenkins in the A gaps
Saints featured tilted fronts out of sub dime on 3rd down, They played a lot of man coverage behind it including 2 man and 1 robber with P. Williams the robber
Davis and Anzalone were the LB in sub nickel; Gardner-Johnson was the slot in both sub nickel and sub dime, He played every snap but one versus the Bears
Bears featured 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel with both Graham and Kmet the boundary x TE
Davenport-Rankin sack on 2nd + 11 late in the 1st quarter came out of sub nickel: Cover 4 behind a 4 man rush with T/E stunt by Rankins and Davenport, LG Coward no recognition of the stunt and looper Davenport was clean to Foles with Rankins also getting there; Basic stunt concept and Coward no awareness or accelerated vision
Mooney 50 yards on 2nd + 5 in the 2nd quarter was a schemed shot to Mooney getting him one-on-one on the outside versus Jenkins, Saints were in cover 1 out of sub nickel and Miller from the slot and Robinson from reduced split boundary x attacked post safety Williams with their routes leaving Mooney versus Jenkins to the post; Mooney great release off the LOS immediately putting Jenkins in trail position
Robinson 24 yard TD on 2nd + 9 in the 2nd quarter came out of 12 3x1 with Robinson the reduced split boundary x versus Saints nickel cover 1 with Lattimore matched on Robinson, Great corner route with Robinson sticking inside at the top of his route stem and creating needed separation
One tactic you consistently see with the Saints is green dogs when they play man coverage, Jenkins sack on 3rd + 9 early in the 3rd quarter a good example: Saints 1 robber out of sub dime with Jenkins matched on the TE and Davis on the back, Both TE Kmet and back Montgomery stayed in to pass protect so Jenkins and Davis green dogged; Davis got on clean and Jenkins finished it off for the sack – Saints again in tilted front
RT Spriggs struggled at times in one-on-one pass protection, He was particularly susceptible to the speed-to-power rush getting driven back into the pocket
There were sub front snaps in which Hendrickson lined up inside at DT with Davenport and Jordan the edge rushers
Jordan sack on 2nd + 10 late in the 4th quarter came out of sub dime: 2 man behind 4 man rush, Tilted front with Jordan the wide 9 DE opposite the tilt; Jordan beat RT Spriggs immediately to the inside with a club-arm over move
2 man was a foundational 3rd down coverage out of sub dime for the Saints in this game, Tilted fronts also foundational out of sub dime
Miller 15 yards on 3rd + 18 late in the 4th quarter to set up tying FG was an excellent throw by Foles on out route versus Saints dime 2 man, Good route by Miller using his vertical stem to create separation from Gardner-Johnson
