At Fantasy Points this season, we’re going to be posting the Raw Film Notes from NFL Films legend Greg Cosell each and every week. These are quite literally Greg’s scribblings and observations he throws on his notepad as he watches all-22 tape.
As Greg is just one man, he can’t get to everything each week, but we’ll be bringing you everything he sees in raw — and unedited — form. This is something all-22 nerds will love, and certainly something fans who want to learn more about their teams should read.
SAM DARNOLD VERSUS SAINTS DEFENSE
Saints nickel: Roby right corner and rookie Abedo left corner with P. Williams the slot corner, Davis and Baun the nickel LB; Saints dime was 3-2-6 (just as it was in 2020), Davis and Baun were the LB
Saints high percentage man coverage defense (more than 75% man with cover 1 and 2 man and some 1 robber), Panthers attacked that on first Darnold drop back with McCaffrey angle route out of the backfield versus LB Baun 32 yards; Panthers kept Saints in base defense with 12 spread formation and McCaffrey working to the boundary
Moore 20 yards on first possession came out of 11 1x3 nub set with McCaffrey offset to trips: 4 man route concept to the field with 2 outside verticals, Moore from inside slot the corner route and McCaffrey the flat route – 4 strong is tough to handle in zone coverage
Panthers excellent job tactically attacking Saints man coverage on first 2 possessions: McCaffrey 32 yards, Arnold 19 yards
Darnold still has a tendency when he’s in second reaction mode to make some throws he shouldn’t make, Lacks great vision on the move
Saints played snaps of dime on 3rd down (and some other selected downs) with Trufant the fourth corner, In cover 1 out of dime Roby moved inside to match the slot receiver with P. Williams matched on the TE
Roby played in the slot in dime, In cover 1 dime P. Williams matched the TE; In 2 man dime P. Williams played on the back end with Jenkins matched on the TE
Trufant also played snaps in the base defense and the sub nickel at left corner with Adebo at right corner, Adebo played well versus the Panthers given how much man coverage the Saints play
Darnold has predominantly worked out of the shotgun through 2 games but he has the third most drop backs when under center of any QB in the NFL (Cousins, Herbert)
Moore 2 yard TD on 3rd and goal late in 3rd quarter featured calculated use of motion by McCaffrey to declare the defense pre-snap, Motion confirmed cover 1 to Darnold giving him Moore versus Adebo on the bang slant
Zylstra 13 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter came on smoke, Called run out of 22 personnel with 5 man surface to the filed with Darnold reading corner Adebo 9 yards off Zylstra; Pitch and catch on quick slant
Panthers pass game well-schemed giving Darnold defined reads and throws within the structure and timing of the route concepts, Darnold is an executor and ball distributor who still needs to get better after the snap
McCaffrey a tough assignment for LB in man coverage when he works from the offset alignment in the backfield
Panthers ran same 4 strong route combination that produced Moore 20 yards on first possession early in the 4th quarter, That time Saints defense recognized and both over the top safety Williams and weak stacked LB Baun defended Moore’s out route from the inside slot
Through 2 games the Panthers have been balanced re: 11 personnel and base personnel, They are a talented offense at the skill positions
PATRICK MAHOMES VERSUS RAVENS DEFENSE
Ravens nickel predominantly had Humphrey left corner and Averett right corner with Young the slot corner, Queen and Harrison were the nickel LB with Board also getting significant snaps in nickel; There were nickel snaps with Stephens left corner and Humphrey the slot corner
Ravens coverage approach versus Mahomes with all their injuries in the secondary featured a much higher percentage of zone coverage with split safety the foundation
Robinson 33 yard TD in 1st quarter another example of closed boundary twins to the field creating one-on-one matchup for the #1 receiver in twins, Chiefs 21 straight I with Kelce attached to the boundary; Ravens cover 3 out of base with Hill from the slot running deep over to attack post safety Clark with Robinson running the post-corner-post versus outside leverage corner Humphrey
Ravens dime personnel was part of game plan but injury to Elliott late in the 2nd quarter limited ability to play dime, Ravens moved Stephens to safety with Clark;
Safety Stone was the dime defender late in 3rd quarter and 4th quarter, Stone also played safety with Clark in the nickel
There were zone coverage snaps in which the Ravens matched up to Kelce when he was the boundary x, at times with double teams; LB Board lined up in press position with Stephens just outside of him to disrupt Kelce off the LOS, Kelce’s route dictated who doubled him
Board played snaps in both nickel and dime, A good athlete who can play effectively outside the box
Pringle 40 yard TD to end first possession of 3rd quarter came out of Williams shift to empty set, Slot corner Young blitzed from trips side of the offensive formation and Mahomes hit Pringle #3 trips in the open void with run-after-catch
Both the Pringle TD and the Kelce TD resulted from poor tackling by the Ravens, Neither should have been TD
What stood out throughout the game was the Ravens tactical approach versus Kelce when he was aligned close to the formation, They consistently disrupted his release using different players – Great example was 3rd + 9 in 4th quarter: Kelce boundary x with Board and DE Oweh both aligned over Kelce preventing him from getting off the LOS, 2 man coverage concept with Averett outstanding coverage on Hill out route from #2 to trips
Ravens sacrificed pass rush pressure on Mahomes to disrupt Kelce, Result was Ravens featured some 3 man pressures late in the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter
Ravens predominantly played split safety coverage out of nickel and dime behind 3 and 4 man pressures late in the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter, They took a coverage-based approach rather than a pressure approach
Mahomes has been outstanding out of empty sets: 14-15 for 269 yards and 4 TD; All empty snaps have come out of 11 personnel
DEREK CARR VERSUS STEELERS DEFENSE
What immediately stands out watching the Raiders offense is their extensive use of 13 personnel: 21 snaps through 2 games; They are multiple with their formations out of 13 including empty sets
Sutton and Pierre the outside corners with Haden inactive, Fitzpatrick was predominantly the slot corner in this game with rookie Norwood the nickel safety; Layne was the dime corner, He played outside with Pierre with Sutton moving inside
When the Steelers went 2 man Norwood played slot corner and Fitzpatrick went back to his safety position, at times used to double/cut Waller; Norwood played snaps at slot corner as the game progressed
Raiders have featured significant snaps out of empty sets through 2 games: Carr 15-21 for 137 yards and 1 TD with an interception; They have been in empty 7 times out of 13 personnel
Raiders rookie RT Leatherwood has had some issues in one-on-one pass protection though 2 games, Watt beat him for sack-forced fumble on first possession
Steelers continued to play high percentage zone coverage concepts (cover 3, cover 2, cover 4, cover 6) with not many snaps of man coverage, Steelers through 2 games among the lowest percentage cover 1 of all defenses in the NFL
Two things with the Steelers defense: Ingram was the wild card who moved all around the front as a Joker, and they featured zone exchange 4 man pressure concepts with multiple zone coverage concepts behind it
Steelers different personnel groupings versus Raiders 13 personnel including snaps of nickel: Moreau 25 yards in 2nd quarter on 4 verticals concept came out of 13 personnel versus cover 1 with Moreau back shoulder inside vertical versus LB Schobert
In the 2nd half Norwood played more snaps at slot corner with Fitzpatrick at safety
Steelers more blitzes versus Raiders than versus Bills week 1 but still they were not a higher percentage blitz defense as we have come to expect, Their profile was 4 man pressure with multiple zone coverage concepts behind it
Steelers snaps of nickel on 1st down versus Raiders 12 and 13 personnel, My sense was they believed they could defend the Raiders run game out of nickel
Renfrow 23 yards on 3rd + 9 in 3rd quarter came out of 11 empty versus Steelers dime cover 3, 3 man route concept to trips with both Ruggs from #1 and Renfrow from #2 running stutter verticals that caused both outside corner Pierre and slot corner Norwood to stop their feet; Carr excellent timing and ball location in the void behind Norwood and inside of Pierre
Ruggs 30 yards on 2nd + 9 in 3rd quarter came out of 11 empty with Carr working the hi-low on the twins side versus Steelers 2 shell coverage (3 over 2 to twins), Ruggs in a reduced split and Waller flexed were the twins receivers with Ruggs split resulting in corner Pierre playing with outside leverage; Waller quick out route with Ruggs in-breaker behind him with run-after-catch
Moreau 9 yard TD ended 3rd quarter TD drive in which Carr was feeling it with some outstanding throws: Moreau at boundary x matched one-on-one with Schobert running corner route, Great touch and ball placement throw by Carr – Steelers cover 1 out of nickel versus 12 personnel in low red zone
Carr has been excellent through 2 games out of 12 personnel: 16-25 for 240 yards and 2 TD; He’s been good out of 11 personnel as well: 27-37 for 369 yards and 2 TD
Steelers could not generate consistent pressure on Carr with their 4 man DL pass rush, and they did not blitz much at all
Ruggs 61 yard TD on 3rd + 10 in the 4th quarter came on one of Steelers few blitzes of the game, Steelers matchup blitz coverage with Fitzpatrick the post safety; Waller the boundary x on back side of tight bunch trips released vertically and Carr looked to him with a quick pump impacting Fitzpatrick who was then not in position to play over the top of Ruggs deep post versus Witherspoon
Carr had an outstanding 2nd half, He was poised and composed in the pocket and he threw the ball extremely well at all 3 levels
Less than 50% of Raiders offensive snaps came out of 11 personnel (42%) with the remaining 58% coming out of different base personnel packages, Gruden features base personnel groupings as much as any offense in the NFL (49ers, Ravens)
KYLER MURRAY VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Vikings nickel: Peterson right corner and Breeland left corner with Alexander the slot corner, Kendricks and Vigil the nickel LB – Vikings an exclusive nickel sub defense through 2 games, No snaps of dime
Cards motion on first play of the game out of 11 personnel with Moore jet sweep action from the boundary to the field
Vikings used Wonnum as spy on Murray on first 3rd and long (3rd + 16) and played cover 2 behind 3 man rush/spy concept, Weatherly and Hunter the wide 9 edge rushers; Same defense on 3rd + 16 in 2nd quarter with Murray throwing strike to Kirk on deep stop route versus middle hole defender Kendricks, Aggressive throw by Murray
Cards again featured motion on second possession again out of 11 personnel with Green motion across the formation from the boundary to the field to inside slot in trips left formation – Hopkins 15 yards on curl route part of 3 man route concept: Green over, Moore from #2 wheel and Hopkins from #1 curt; Vikings cover 3 out of nickel
Cards have integrated more motion into their offense, using different players crossing the formation: Moore jet action, Green and TE Williams on first 2 possessions – Moore was predominant motion receiver
Based on personnel and receiver distribution and location there were snaps in which Hopkins was the boundary x (always on the left side of the formation) and snaps in which Green was the boundary x (always on the right side)
Vikings showed first double mug look on 3rd + 6 on Cards second possession, Vigil rushed with 3 under-3 deep behind it; Vikings a different 5 man zone pressure on same possession with Kendricks the fifth rusher and again 3 under-3 deep behind it
Hopkins 15 yard TD on 3rd + 10 to end second possession another second reaction TD by Murray, It came out of 10 empty with Murray initial read to trips to the field; Murray did not have a throw then broke down in a clean pocket and ran to his left, Hopkins adjusted in-breaking route and ran to the back pylon to mirror Murray, Peterson lost his coverage and Hopkins was wide open
Murray 12 yard TD late in 2nd quarter came out of 10 empty and was a designed QB draw, Great concept with uncovered OC Hudson the lead blocker and #3 to trips Kirk tempoing his release to show stick nod action to grab eyes and attention of LB Kendricks
Moore 77 yard TD late in 2nd quarter came on what was initially 4 verticals concept out of 10 personnel versus Vikings 5 man rush with 3 under-3 deep behind it, Murray spun left away from Weatherly who was clean off the back side edge as a result of 5 man pressure; Moore wide open in deep void on the outside and Murray threw the ball 45 yards in the air running hard to his left
Williams 25 yards in 3rd quarter came out of 12 empty with Hopkins slot and Green plus split to the field and both TE attached with Edmonds split to the boundary, Vikings cover 3 with post safety Smith cheated outside the boundary hash playing the passing strength of the formation with Hopkins and Green; No one carried Williams on the seam and it was pitch-and-catch for Murray
Green 9 yard TD came on “smoke” alert: Play call was shotgun power out of 12 personnel but Murray saw Breeland playing 8 yards of Green and threw him the quick screen
Green 29 yards in 3rd quarter came on fade versus press corner Breeland, It was one of Vikings few snaps of cover 1
Dantzler replaced Breeland at left corner in the 4th quarter, Breeland struggled on the outside again versus Cards
Kirk 35 yards on 4th + 5 in 4th quarter came out of 10 3x1 versus Vikings only zero blitz of the game, My sense was slot corner Alexander did not anticipate Kirk from #2 to trips running a vertical route against the zero pressure; Great ball by Murray falling away from pressure – Similar situation as week 1 when Breeland burned over the top by Chase 50 yard TD versus blitz (although not zero)
Murray out of 10 personnel versus Vikings: 9-11 for 192 yards and 2 TD with an interception; Murray out of 10 through 2 games: 15-19 for 294 yards and 3 TD
Vikings played fewer snaps of cover 1 versus Murray than they did versus Burrow and the Bengals week 2, Against the Cards Vikings featured cover 2 as predominant coverage with significant snaps of cover 3
Cards again a good mix of personnel packages: 28 snaps out of 11 personnel, 16 snaps out of 12 personnel and 13 snaps out of 10 personnel
Murray out of empty through 2 games: 13-13 for 173 yards and 2 TD; Murray 14 snaps in empty sets through 2 games
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Brown inactive for Titans, Long started with Evans in the base defense he played in all the sub defenses
Jenkins was the left corner versus the Seahawks after playing right corner week 1 versus the Cards, Fulton was at right corner with Jackson the slot corner
First 3rd and long (3rd + 8): Titans dime with Jackson the slot corner and Cruikshank the third safety matched on the TE in 1 robber concept with Byard the robber, Loaded front with Landry long stunt behind Autry and Simmons forcing Wilson out of the pocket
Lockett 51 yards to start second possession came on shot play concept: 12 1x3 nub with Lockett in the slot and Metcalf split both inside the numbers, Outside zone run action to trips with Wilson pulling up off boot look; 2 man route concept with Metcalf the intermediate curl and Lockett the deep sail behind him, Titans split safety cover 4 look with Lockett running his route on safety McDougald and getting over the top of him – Excellent design
When the Titans went cover 1 out of dime versus 11 personnel Byard was the predominant TE matchup – Dime was the Titans 3rd down personnel package and they played it on many selected other down and distance situations, They played 19 snaps of dime versus the Seahawks
Molden played in the nickel in normal down and distance situations versus both 12 and 11 personnel, He’s more physically aggressive as a run defender than Jackson
Titans out of dime showed some disguise and late movement on 3rd down, They showed pressure out of cover 1 look then dropped to split safety zone with Jackson one of the deep safeties
Titans showed cover 2 invert out of nickel (with Molden) on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter, McDougald dropped from post safety to middle hole defender with Molden and Byard the flat defenders – Wilson had a throw to Lockett but didn’t turn it loose and was sacked by Autry
Titans on 3rd down featured multiple stunt concepts from different sub front alignments; Titans featured inside stunts with Simmons and Autry in dime front, Autry predominantly the picker and Simmons the looper and they had success with it
Simmons and Autry inside, with Landry and Dupree outside was the predominant dime front for the Titans
Simmons showed strong hands to control and displace OL in the run game, He’s not twitchy and sudden in his movement but he’s explosive and powerful
Titans showed a 5 man front out of nickel on 3rd down and medium, They played cover 1 behind that front
1 robber part out of dime of Titans game plan on 3rd and long, Byard was the robber with Cruikshank matched on the TE; Loaded front part with multiple stunt concepts part of this 3rd down tactic – Simmons sack on 3rd + 14 in 2nd quarter with Simmons looper behind Autry
Titans also showed loaded front out of dime with straight cover 1 behind it, Byard the TE matchup with Cruikshank the RB matchup and McDougald the post safety
Lockett 63 yard TD in 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Lockett #2 to trips versus Titans nickel cover 1 with Molden matched on Lockett, Lockett beat Molden and post safety McDougald with detailed route running on deep crosser/over route
Molden some tough moments in man coverage through 2 games: Kirk TD week 1 and Lockett TD versus Seahawks
Slot corner Jackson snaps in dime cover 2 in which he was one of the deep safeties – Cover 2 significant part of Titans nickel and dime defenses
Titans 2 personnel adjustments to start 3rd quarter: Jackson replaced Molden in the slot on 1st down and normal down and distance situations, and Cruikshank replaced McDougald at safety in base and nickel wit McDougald only playing in dime
Swain 68 yard TD on 3rd + 12 early in 4th quarter came on secondary bust by Titans, Fulton played like a cover 2 corner allowing Swain from reduced split to run by him while Byard played like a robber sitting inside
Fulton has played well through 2 games, He has shown the traits and execution needed to match up man-to-man on the outside
When the Titans went 1 robber out of dime on 2nd + 10 in OT McDougald was the robber with Byard the post safety and Cruikshank matched on the TE
Adeniyi sack on 3rd + 10 in OT came out of 5 man diamond front with cover 1 behind it, Adeniyi from 4i alignment long stunt behind 3 slanting rushers and he was clean to Wilson
20% of Titans defensive snaps through 2 games have come out of dime, 47% have come out of nickel
Titans through 2 games have been a predominant single high safety coverage defense with cover 1 predominant but also significant snaps of cover 3, Against the Seahawks the played more split safety with almost 50% of coverages versus Wilson drop backs featuring 2 shell looks (against Cards week 1 cover 1 and cover 3 accounted for almost 60% of Titans coverages versus Murray drop backs)
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Lewan inactive, Sambrailo started at LT with Quessenberry at RT
Seahawks continued to feature 5 man fronts out of base defense, They showed 5 DL with Wagner and Brooks stacked versus Titans base personnel
Titans featured iso lead and zone lead out of both 21 and 22 straight I on 1st down – Henry 22-141 on 1st down versus Seahawks, He leads the NFL in 1st down rushing after 2 weeks with most carries (32) and most yards (178)
Titans featured Henry out of multiple base personnel groupings: 12, 21, 22, and 13 personnel; Only 5 of Henry 22 1st down runs came out of 11 personnel
Titans are not a gap scheme run offense, They rarely pull OL unless it's pin-pull scheme with an outside pull to get Henry on the perimeter
Seahawks on 1st down at times stayed base with 5 DL front versus Titans 11 personnel to defend Henry run game, Adams an overhang defender to the slot side of the offensive formation
Adams almost always aligned in the box or on the ball on the edge versus Titans base personnel on 1st down, There were some snaps in which post safety Diggs played downhill and was effective in the run game
Some Seahawks 5 man fronts versus base personnel were reduced inside (they showed the same front alignments versus Colts week 1), Seahawks good mix of both odd and even fronts
What stood out was the Titans stayed with 1st down run game out of base personnel despite being down 24-9 to start the 3rd quarter, Henry is the foundation of the offense
Brewer replaced injured Saffold at LG on first possession of the 3rd quarter, Saffold did not return
Nkemdiche played 36 snaps for the Seahawks, He aligned at DE and 3-technique and showed the strength to control and displace OL in the run game
Henry 60 yard TD on 1st + 10 early in 4th quarter came on a zone counter strong concept out of 12 personnel, Henry made unblocked corner Flowers miss in space and ran away from safety Diggs
Henry ended up with big numbers as a result of the 60 yard TD (35-182) but overall the Titans base personnel run game still needs much work, OL dealing with injuries struggled at the POA most of the game
Seahawks 100% nickel as sub defense through 2 games, Amadi and Blair have both played significant snaps as the slot corner
Seahawks showed loaded front on second 3rd down of the game, Taylor was the wide 9 DE opposite the 3 man load
There were some 3rd down snaps in which Dunlap lined up inside at DT, More quickness and speed along the defensive front; Look to create mismatches
Seahawks showed zone exchange 4 man rush concepts out of nickel on 3rd down, They wanted to get a LB on a back with a 4 man rush
Titans ran dagger with hi-low concept built into trips in 1x3 sets: Jones 17 yards on 3rd + 5 in 1st quarter a good example
Titans featured significant snaps in 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel with multiple route combinations to the trips side including hi-low concepts
Jones 51 yards on 2nd + 6 in 2nd quarter was a shot play: 12 personnel conventional play action with post-cross combination versus Seahawks cover 3, Post safety Diggs read Tannehill quick drop off play action and sat low on Brown in-breaker tendency; Tannehill read Diggs and went over the top to Jones on the post versus outside leverage corner Flowers
Titans ran 2 designed screens to Henry 15 yards and 14 yards – I wonder if we will see more of that as the season progresses
Titans continued to feature conventional bang play action out of base personnel: Jones 19 yards on 1st + 10 in 2nd quarter another good example
Seahawks at times stayed with base personnel – 5 man front and 2 stacked LB – versus Titans 11 personnel; Seahawks a predominant zone defense so it fit their coverage profile
Seahawks not a high blitz percentage defense through 2 games relative to other NFL teams, Adams has not been deployed as a blitzer as much as one might expect
Seahawks high percentage zone coverage concepts through 2 games with cover 2 and cover 3 predominant but also significant snaps of cover 4; Only the Eagles have played a lower percentage of cover 1
MATTHEW STAFFORD VERSUS COLTS DEFENSE
Colts nickel: Carrie right corner and Ya-Sin left corner with Moore the slot corner; Leonard and Okereke the nickel LB
First Stafford throw (2nd + 8) Colts went cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel, Jefferson from boundary x 16 yards on slant route; Higbee shift into offset weak fullback alignment
Continued to see reduced splits and play action as foundation staples of Rams offense, 11 has been high percentage personnel grouping through 2 games (84% of offensive snaps)
Stafford outstanding on play action through 2 games: 16-19 for 267 yards and TD through 2 games
Colts continued to feature multiple stunt concepts from 4 man DL pass rush, and slot corner Moore as a blitzer – Colts have rushed 5 on 26% of QB drop backs through 2 games
Stafford worked the back side dig off initial trips front side read: Jefferson 14 yards on first possession
Empty sets continued to be meaningful part of Rams pass game: Stafford 15-19 for 216 yards and 2 TD out of empty through 2 games; All 19 empty sets have come out of 11 personnel
Kupp 16 yard TD to end first possession came out of 11 1x3 with Kupp offset in the backfield to the boundary, Colts out of nickel played single high concept with post safety Blackmon cheated to the trips side of the formation; 4 verticals concept with Kupp running the inside seam from the backfield – High red zone concept versus anticipated single high safety coverage
Colts again showed loaded fronts on 3rd down out of nickel again featuring multiple stunt concepts, They went 1 robber behind loaded front on 3rd + 4 in 2nd quarter: Higbee versus Leonard 8 yards on slant from #1 to trips in empty set
Colts more snaps of single high and more snaps of man coverage versus Rams than they played week 1 versus Seahawks
Higbee has become the wild card in the Rams offense, He lines up in multiple locations including in the backfield and boundary x
Colts could not generate any consistent pressure on Stafford with their 4 man DL pass rush, They increased blitz frequency later in 2nd quarter; One pressure front they showed was LB Okereke on the ball on the edge
Henderson strong block on rushing Leonard on 3rd + 10 in 2nd quarter: Kupp 11 yards; Another play in which Colts featured loaded front and played cover 1
Slot corner Moore and strong safety Willis again featured as blitzers when Colts dialed up pressure, Colts also showed mike-star blitz with Leonard and Moore
Colts had a stretch in the 3rd quarter where they were able to generate some pressure on Stafford with pressure concepts, They also played more snaps of split safety in the 3rd quarter
Kupp 10 yard TD in 4th quarter came out 11 empty with bunch to the field versus Colts nickel cover 3, Hi-low concept with Michel and Kupp and Jefferson grabbing eyes of LB Okereke and attacking post side safety Blackmon; Stafford held Blackmon by looking left then coming back to Kupp versus outside leverage zone corner Ya-Sin
Colts played almost 60% single high safety coverage versus the Rams with cover 1 the predominant coverage, Through 2 games Colts have played a significantly higher percentage of single high than split safety
JUSTIN HERBERT VERSUS COWBOYS DEFENSE
Kazee and Kearse were the Cowboys safeties, Kearse played almost every snap with Wilson inactive; Kearse was the predominant TE matchup in cover 1 versus 11 personnel
Cowboys continued to play big nickel versus 12 personnel, Hooker was the third safety; Smith and Vander Esch were the LB in big nickel
Neal and Smith the predominant LB in the conventional 3 corner nickel but Vander Esch also snaps with Neal; Vander Esch sack on 3rd + 13 in 2nd quarter out of double mug front
Lewis continued to be the slot corner, He played some man coverage snaps outside when Diggs matched up to Allen in the slot
Parsons played DE with the Cowboys down bodies on the DL, He played DE in both nickel package; Parsons showed some explosive quickness and change of direction as an edge rusher, Some strong pass rush snaps versus backup RT Norton
Parsons showed an understanding of how to set up OT: In the 3rd quarter on 3rd + 11 in the high red zone he tempoed his burst off the ball and then accelerated to the outside beating Norton off the edge
Diggs matched up on Allen both outside and at times in the slot when the Cowboys played man coverage, Cover 1 was predominant man concept
Cowboys showed double mug front out of nickel on 3rd down with Neal and Smith in the A gaps
Cowboys defense looked and played fast, They featured pressure concepts predominantly on 3rd down out of nickel – Cowboys have been an exclusive nickel sub defense through 2 games, They have not played one snap of dime
Cowboys continued to show multiple front looks and they featured coverage disguise with late movement, Cowboys snaps in which they showed man coverage and then played cover 2; Diggs snap as middle hole defender in cover 2
Cowboys DC Quinn more multiple with his front looks and coverages than he has been in the past, His defensive approach has evolved over time – Against the Chargers Cowboys featured cover 1 as predominant coverage with cover 4 also foundational, They did not play many snaps of cover 3
Cowboys have not been a cover 3 defense through 2 games, It’s been cover 1 and split safety with cover 4 and cover 2
Cowboys showed diamond front out of nickel with Smith aligned on the edge, They played cover 1 behind it; They also showed loaded front on 3rd and long in 3rd quarter with 2 man behind it
When the Cowboys played cover 1 out of big nickel versus 12 personnel Kearse and Hooker were the TE matchups with Kazee the post safety
Chargers have featured 14 snaps of empty through 2 games: Herbert 8-13 for 127 yards and TD; 12 snaps of empty in 11 personnel and 2 snaps in 01 personnel
Cowboys pass rush, predominantly from their 4 man DL, was a big factor in the 1st half; Parsons 3 or 4 snaps in which he beat RT Norton to the inside after an outside stick move - Herbert had to move on a lot of drop backs
Allen 42 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter was a big-time throw by Herbert versus 2 man coverage, Far hash back shoulder throw to the opposite sideline on a line with velocity, Diggs tailgating Allen got a hand on the ball; Ball travelled at least 50 yards in the air
Cowboys featured cover 2 and cover 4 in the high red zone, Cover 4 became 3 over 2 and 4 over 3, That’s the math you want in zone coverage; They played man coverage in the low red zone
Chargers significant snaps in 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel with Cook the boundary x, Allen almost always inside at #2 and #3 in that formation
Allen 30 yards on tying FG drive came out of heavy 12 personnel versus Cowboys big nickel cover 1, Allen shift to nasty split on 4 man side; Post-cross combination off inside run action with Allen running a great crossing route to beat Diggs
One player who has stood out for the Cowboys is Kearse, He has been active and aggressive
Cowboys played almost 45% cover 1 and more than 30% cover 4 versus Chargers, Those have been their foundation coverages through 2 games; They played both of those coverages more versus the Chargers than they did versus the Bucs week 1
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS CHARGERS DEFENSE
Chargers nickel had James in the slot with Davis at boundary corner and Samuel at field corner, Safety Gilman was the nickel defender – Corner Harris was inactive
Chargers 3-4/5-2 as base defense with 2 stacked LB, They also had snaps of 5 man reduced fronts in sub nickel – This has become a trend in the league
Pollard a significant part of Cowboys game plan, He played 21 offensive snaps and had 16 touches (13-108 rushing, 3-31 receiving); Pollard 2 snaps with Elliott including 4 yard TD on jet sweep to end first possession (15 plays, 78 yards)
Jarwin 20 yards on 2nd + 12 on first possession came on hi-low concept versus nickel cover 3: Lamb ran the shallow cross and Jarwin ran the intermediate sit route; Both Gilman and Adderley played post safety in cover 3
Chargers game plan featured significant snaps of split safety, That’s a foundational secondary alignment for Staley
Lamb 17 yards to start second possession came out of 12 closed to the boundary (with Elliott offset to the boundary) twins to the field, Lamb plus split ran out route versus Samuel playing off coverage in Chargers cover 4; One-on-one on the outside, Pitch-and-catch for Prescott
Cowboys came back to same concept later in 1st quarter: closed to the boundary twins to the field, Lamb 10 yards versus off coverage zone corner Samuel
RT Steele outstanding one-on-one block on 4-technique Tillery on Elliott 8 yards, Outside zone cut back run by Elliott – Steele had some dominating snaps as a run blocker: Elliott 5 yard TD
RG Martin excellent one-on-one block on 4-technique Tillery on Pollard 16 yards to start Cowboys possession after Prescott interception – Pollard showed vision and burst
Chargers played snaps of nickel versus Cowboys 12 personnel, James the reason for that with his size and multi-dimensional traits
Cowboys good mix of 11 and 12 personnel through 2 games: Almost 60% 11 personnel and almost 30% 12 personnel – Prescott 37-51 for 380 yards and 2 TD and 3 sacks out of 11 personnel
Lamb 13 yards on mid-zone run from offset alignment in the backfield out of 01 personnel
Chargers snaps of 2 man out of dime on 3rd + 10 and 4th + 5 in 2nd quarter, Corner Hall was the dime matched on Jarwin with James matched on inside slot Wilson
Cooper and Lamb both snaps at boundary x on the back side of trips in 11 personnel, Wilson predominantly lined up inside; Cowboys also snaps of 1x3 with both attached and detached TE alignments
James-Tillery sack on 3rd + 9 in 3rd quarter came out of loaded front with cover 1 behind it, Chargers were in dime with Hall matched Cooper #2 to trips and Adderley matched on #3 Wilson; James was the fifth rusher aligned in stand-up Joker alignment
Pollard 28 yards late in 3rd quarter came on outside zone to the boundary: OC Biadasz, RG Martin and RT Steele all outstanding blocks plus boundary x Lamb on corner Davis
Pollard 23 yards early in 4th quarter came on shotgun counter to the boundary, Great double team by TE Schultz and RT Steele on 5-technique Tillery with LG Williams the puller
Cowboys snaps in which they featured 4 routes to the boundary when they anticipated zone coverage, Overload the zone getting receivers into voids
Cowboys had a lot of success running to the right side in both zone schemes and gap schemes, They had dominating snaps in the run game
James an outstanding player with his multi-dimensional traits, What stood out was his ability to match up man-to-man on WR
Chargers predominant zone coverage concepts versus Cowboys, Split safety was most played coverage (cover 4, cover 2); They played more cover 1 versus Washington week 1
This was a different game for the Cowboys offense due to the tactical nature of the opponent: Bucs week 1 present an aggressive defense that plays predominant cover 1 with higher percentage blitz, Chargers a predominant zone coverage defense that featured split safety as a foundation and that’s the kind of defense you line up and run the ball against; That’s the reason Prescott only had 27 pass attempts while Elliott and Pollard combined for 29 carries, The other factor was the flow and pace of the game with the Cowboys not needing to match the opposing offense TD for TD
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles continued to feature 5 man fronts out of base with SAM LB Avery/Johnson on the ball
Eagles continued to feature high percentage zone coverage concepts, with split safety predominant; They have played the lowest percentage of cover 1 through 2 games of any team in the NFL
They did not match up their corners with Slay again playing left corner and Nelson right corner; Maddox was the slot corner in nickel – Eagles have been an exclusive nickel sub defense through 2 games, They have not played any snaps of dime
Singleton and Edwards were the Eagles base defense stacked LB, Singleton and Wilson were the nickel LB with Wilson playing in the base if it was 3rd down and the 49ers stayed with base personnel
Taylor played some snaps in the base defense as a stacked LB with Edwards, Eagles continued to show reduced fronts in their base defense
Eagles profile defensively versus pass: zone coverage with split safety predominant, and 4 man DL pass rush; Eagles among the lowest blitz percentage defenses in the NFL
Hargrave continued to be dominant inside both versus the run and as a pass rusher, Sweat also continued to flash as an edge pass rusher
Eagles tendency versus 12/21 closed to the boundary twins to the field continued to be to overhang their passing strength LB and stay with both safeties split
49ers are a base personnel offense, Through 2 games they have the highest percentage of 21 personnel plays (30%) and only one team has a lower percentage of 11 personnel plays with the 49ers at less than 32%
Garoppolo through 1½ quarters had issues with his ball placement, He missed 3 throws at the intermediate levels that he must make; Garoppolo stayed within the game plan and remained methodical and patient in his approach
Samuel 40 yards late in 2nd quarter came out of 11 empty versus Eagles nickel cover 3, Precise ball placement throw by Garoppolo on the in-breaking bender by Samuel into a tight window between LB Wilson and Singleton giving Samuel run-after-catch room
Jennings 11 yard TD at the end of the 2nd quarter to end 12 play/97 yard drive was the result of a coverage bust by right corner Nelson
Eagles first blitz of the game came on 3rd + 6 on 49ers first possession of the 3rd quarter, It was a man blitz with Singleton the fifth rusher and Wilson green dogging behind him when Hasty blocked Singleton; Eagles cover 1 behind the blitz with Nelson almost intercepting the out throw by Garoppolo to Samuel
Kittle outstanding block on stacked LB Wilson on Mitchell 10 yard outside zone lead toss on second half TD drive
Samuel 15 yards on 3rd + 7 on 16 play/92 yard 2nd half TD drive another big completion that came out of 11 empty versus Eagles nickel cover 4, Hi-low concept with Kittle the out-breaking route from #3 to trips and Samuel from #2 the in-breaker behind Kittle, Garoppolo well-timed throw beat closing safety Harris
Hasty 21 yards on second half TD drive came out of 22 personnel and featured excellent blocking coordination between Kittle and Juszczyk, It was outside zone lead toss and it also featured an outstanding reach block by RG Brunskill on slanting 3-technique DT Cox and a second level block by OC Mack on back side stacked LB Wilson
Juszczyk played 41 snaps versus the Eagles, That was 59% of the 49ers offensive snaps; His alignment versatility and use as a motion player is a foundation of the offense in both the run and pass games
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
Harris was the third LB with Warner and Al-Shaair in the 49ers base defense, Norman started at right corner with rookie Lenoir at left corner
Eagles opened the game with wham, Goedert was the wham blocker on 3-technique DT Jones but Jones displaced Goedert and tackled Sanders for 2 yards
Eagles wham-trap concept on second play but no one blocked MIKE LB Warner and he tackled Sanders for 2 yards
First 3rd down (3rd + 6) 49ers went cover 1 blitz out of nickel with Warner the fifth rusher versus Eagles 12 personnel, Slot corner Williams matched up to Ertz and safety Ward matched up to Goedert – Smith was the boundary x on the back side of trips, He lined up at boundary x a significant number of snaps
Eagles shot play on first possession: Play action boot out of 11 reduced split formation with tight bunch to the field, Smith on deep over route got on top of cover 4 safety Tartt but Hurts underthrew Smith – A throw Hurts must make
49ers loaded front on second 3rd down of the game: 5 man rush with Warner the fifth rusher as the picker in an inside stunt concept – 49ers also featured diamond fronts out of nickel with both Warner and Al-Shaair lined up on the ball
Ward is a critical part of the 49ers defense and it shows up versus 11 1x3 personnel/ sets, 49ers can keep a corner outside to match up to the boundary x TE because of Ward’s coverage ability to match up to the inside slot WR
Ward was the predominant TE matchup on 3rd down versus 11 personnel, There are snaps in which Tartt will match up to the TE
Eagles started second possession with base snag-flat route concept to the boundary off Watkins jet sweep motion from the boundary to the field: Smith 11 yards
49ers featured a good percentage of split safety coverage playing cover 4 and cover 2, Against the Eagles they played a significant percentage of cover 2
Ward on Goedert with Williams on Ertz were the matchups on 3rd down when the 49ers went cover 1 blitz out of nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel
Through 2 games 49ers have been a predominant single high safety coverage team (cover 1, cover 3) but they have played more than 35% split safety versus QB drop backs
Eagles showed speed option on second possession, Hurts pitched to Sanders for 10 yards
49ers played significant snaps of nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel, Slot corner Williams number of snaps in the box
Eagles have featured empty sets through 2 games: Hurts 7-8 for 55 yards and TD – My sense is we will see more empty sets as the season progresses: Spread the defense to give Hurts cleaner coverage indicators, define reads for him and create space for second reaction runs
49ers attacked Eagles pass game with pressure, They rushed 5 on 13 of Hurts 30 drop backs; Hurts 4-10 for 136 yards including Watkins 91 yards, He was sacked once and ran twice
Watkins 91 yards to start 2nd quarter possession came out of 11 3x1 with Watkins the boundary x on back side of trips versus 49ers cover 1 behind 5 man diamond front pressure, Watkins got on top of Lenoir and Hurts made a great throw with proper trajectory and precise ball placement
Warner and Al-Shaair both made excellent plays in the low red zone in the 2nd quarter on 49ers goal line stand, Warner hitting the gap in run game on 2nd down and Al-Shaair playing with discipline to string out Hurts on 3rd down
Eagles opened 3rd quarter out of 13 personnel with counter duo concept that featured 3 double teams: Sanders 7 yards; They stayed with 13 personnel on second play: Bosa beat Goedert off the edge for a sack/strip on play action 7 man protection with Ertz wide open on the crosser
49ers loaded front out of cheetah package on 3rd + 12 on first possession of 3rd quarter, Ford inside of Bosa part of the load with Ebukan the wide 9 opposite the 3 man side
Eagles had success with run game on first 2 possessions of the 3rd quarter, They featured inside zone/dup concepts with Sanders; Rookie RG Dickerson showed both POA strength and functional mobility working to the second level
Hurts at this point is a defined reader where the route concept versus the coverage presents the throw, and a half field reader; If those things are not there he will leave the pocket
49ers used Ward as the fifth rusher in some blitz packages in the 3rd quarter – Ward may be one of the most overlooked multi-dimensional safeties in the NFL
Eagles OL at times had some issues with 49ers 5 man rush concepts which often featured stunts, 3rd + 10 in 3rd quarter a good example with RG Dickerson getting beat to the outside by Key – Overall Eagles OL struggled with stunts especially in side stunts
Eagles pass game needs to be better, The WR were not a factor in the game; Hurts missed some opportunities and 49ers pass rush pressure was consistent throughout the game
PACKERS OFFENSE VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Lions nickel: Oruwariye right corner and rookie Melifonwu left corner with Parker the slot corner, Collins and Anzalone the nickel LB
Lions showed 5-2 reduced front out of base with Collins and Anzalone the stacked LB versus Packers 12 personnel
Lions game plan approach was to play with 2 high safeties and see if Rodgers and Packers offense could stay patient running the ball coming off a poor offensive performance
Tonyan 19 yards on 2nd + 12 on first possession beautifully designed and executed misdirection screen: 11 1x3 nub with Jones motion behind Rodgers form boundary to the field to make it 4 to the field, Looked like a swing to Jones with blockers out in front and Tonyan on the back side initially pass protecting; Tonyan then released and Rodgers came back to him with only play side defender outside the hash
Packers opening possession 11 play TD drive featured 7 called runs with 6 by Jones, Packers countered Lions 2 high safeties look with run game
Lions for second consecutive game showed double mug look on 3rd down, They did it out of nickel with Collins and Anzalone in the A gaps; Anzalone rushed with Collins dropping out
Packers stayed patient with the run game versus Lions 2 high safety looks, They ran out of predominantly 11 and 12 personnel with some snaps of 21 personnel
Jones was foundation of Packers offense in the 1st half, He was featured in the run game and with schemed concepts in the pass game including both TD receptions – 1st half stats: 9-49 rushing, 4-27 2 TD receiving
Packers almost perfectly balanced with run-pass play calls in the 1st half, They only ran 24 offensive plays and were patient and efficient
Adams 50 yards on 3rd + 12 on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 empty versus Lions nickel cover 1 (one of few snaps of man coverage they had played to that point in the game), Adams out-and-go versus rookie corner Melifonwu; Great ball by Rodgers with perfect trajectory and ball placement – Rodgers read the man coverage and went after it with Adams vertical
Tonyan 22 yard TD on 3rd + 6 to end first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Tonyan inside slot to trips versus Lions nickel 2 man with Anzalone matched on Tonyan, Rodgers went after the open middle and when he saw Anzalone’s back he turned it loose – Big-time throw by Rodgers: a missile with precise ball placement
Lions stayed in a 2 shell look throughout the game, That was their approach; They were comfortable with the Packers running the ball and they did not want to isolate their young corners
Jones 11 yard TD reception late in 3rd quarter was great design that began with motion across the formation by Adams to 1x3 nub, Adams motion confirmed man coverage with safety Harris dropping down to match Adams, Bunch receivers all ran crossers from the field to the boundary with Jones offset to the boundary taking a jab step to the right before working inside the formation on his flat route; Collins and Anzalone were keying Jones based on his release and his jab step caused Collins to lose him when he crossed the formation
Packers came back to misdirection screen to Tonyan 11 yards on the first play of the 4th quarter
Lions not many snaps of man coverage (they got burned at times with big plays when they played man), Their foundation was split safety zone with some snaps of cover 3
Packers coaching staff outstanding job mapping out a game plan specific to the opponent, Packers offense patient and methodical and efficient with some Rodgers big-time throws mixed in
LIONS OFFENSE VERSUS PACKERS DEFENSE
Packers a base 3-4/5-2 front with Barnes and Campbell the stacked LB, At times it was reduced inside
King right corner and Alexander left corner in the base defense, In nickel Alexander stayed outside with Sullivan the slot corner, In dime Alexander moved inside with Sullivan with rookie Stokes at left corner
Stokes played on the outside in both nickel and dime, There were nickel snaps in which King moved inside in the slot
Packers also featured a 3 corner-3 safety dime with Black the third safety
Packers loaded front on first 3rd and long, It came out of dime; Campbell was the only LB in dime – Loaded fronts part of Packers sub dime
Packers showed 5-1-5 nickel sub defense with 5 man diamond front and Campbell the only LB; They also showed a 4-1-6 dime sub defense with a 5 man diamond front, Campbell was again the only LB
Gary and P. Smith were the predominant edge pass rushers in the Packers nickel and dime sub fronts
Packers high percentage cover 1 through 2 games, Almost 50% of their snaps versus QB drop backs; That has been their most played coverage by a wide margin
MAC JONES VERSUS JETS DEFENSE
Hal again left corner and Echols right corner with rookie Carter again the slot corner, Mosley and Williams were the nickel LB – Guidry again snaps at right corner in nickel
Maye sack on 3rd + 4 in 1st quarter came out of dime cover 1 blitz, Maye was the fifth rusher coming off the field edge; Reduced front created one-on-one matchups on the edge: Maye beat RT Durant to the outside and Huff beat LT Wynn off the other edge
White 28 yards on 1st + 10 in 1st quarter came on a well-designed misdirection weak side boundary screen off fake tunnel screen strong to the trips side
Meyers 24 yards on 1st + 10 in 2nd quarter resulted from Jones pre-snap recognition: 11 2x2 with Myers reduced split to the boundary, Jets cover 1 out of nickel with post safety Colbert cheated to the field; Jones great fade throw to Meyers versus Guidry with precise ball location, Colbert pre-snap alignment made him a non-factor on the boundary fade
Jets continued to play snaps of dime on 3rd down, It was 4 corner-2 safety dime with Carter and Guidry inside
One thing that stands out with Jones is that he can’t really drive the ball with velocity, This tended to show up more off pocket movement
Henry 32 yards on 1st + 10 in 3rd quarter came on a schemed Patriots staple concept out of 12 closed twins opposite versus Jets nickel cover 3 with post safety Colbert cheated hard to twins, Bang power play action with quick seam pass to Henry behind the second level
Patriots at this point do not ask Jones to do very much re: kinds of throws, difficulty of throws; He has clear limitations as a passer and his overall traits strongly suggest the pass game concepts must present the reads and throws for him
Jones must master the mental part of the game (and all indications are that he will with experience) and win a high percentage of the time before the ball is snapped so that he can consistently play with timing and rhythm
