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.
BUCS OFFENSE VERSUS PATRIOTS DEFENSE
Jackson was the matchup on Evans in Patriots high percentage man coverage, Jones was the matchup on Brown with Mills matched on Godwin; Dugger was the TE matchup unless he was part of a pressure package - Patriots played about 60% cover 1 versus Brady drop backs
3rd + 5 on first possession Bucs went empty out of 11 personnel, Patriots matched up with dime cover 1: Jackson matched on Evans and Phillips matched on Brate with Dugger part of 5 man pressure that featured in inside stunt – Brady missed open Brate on crosser with poor ball placement throw
3rd + 7 high red zone on second possession Bucs went empty with 3 WR bunch to the field, Patriots out of dime 4 over 3 box call versus bunch matching releases and man-to-man to twins side with Dugger matched on Brate, 4 man rush with another inside stunt – Brady incompletion to Brate
3rd + 4 on third possession Bucs 11 1x3 out of condensed formation with Evans reduced split boundary x and tight bunch to the field, Patriots dime cover 1 with Jackson matched on Evans and Dugger matched on Brate behind 4 man inside pressure wit Uche attacking A gap from standup Joker alignment; Brown from #1 in bunch out-and go versus Jones with outstanding back shoulder throw by Brady
Patriots out of dime also showed cover 4 behind 4 man rush in high red zone on Bucs third possession
Brady in the 1st half missed 2 routine 3rd down throws with poor ball location that had nothing to do with the Patriots defense
Bucs on 3rd down featured reduced splits and condensed formations to attack Patriots high percentage man coverage
3rd + 3 on Bucs first 4th quarter FG drive Patriots showed cover 1 out of dime then late movement to cover 2 behind 3 man rush, Brady hit Brown on quick out in front of Jones for 7 yards – Disguise did not slow down Brady processing
Patriots went dollar personnel (7 defensive backs with Bryant the dollar player) on 3rd + 6 on Bucs first FG drive in 4th quarter, Patriots went 2 man with Bryant and McCourty the deep safeties and stayed with the matchups they had deployed all game, Another inside stunt from their 4 man rush – Brady scrambled 6 yards for first down
Brate 18 yards on 3rd + 9 on Bucs first 4th quarter FG drive came from the Patriots 24 (within that 30 yard line where Belichick showed different coverages), Bucs 1x3 set with Brate reduced split boundary x with 3 WR bunch to the field; Patriots went zero pressure with Phillips and McCourty blitzing in the A gaps but played off coverage match in the secondary, Brady hit Brate on condensed skinny in front of off coverage Dugger
Belichick showed combination coverages in the tight red zone with both man and zone principles, Bucs had 2 tight red zone plays on 3rd down and did not get in the end zone
Brown 8 yards on 3rd + 6 on final FG drive came out 11 1x3 with bunch to the field, Bucs effective 3 man route combination out of bunch versus Patriots 2 man/1 robber look to get Brown open on out cut
Brady great throw to Brown on go route versus Jones on 3rd + 8 on play before Succop go-ahead FG, Brown dropped the throw, Patriots 2 man concept out of dollar – 2 man was Patriots defense out of dollar versus Bucs
Patriots defensive template on 3rd down: Cover 1 out of dime behind 4 and 5 man pressures out of multiple front looks that attacked inside (the conventional wisdom in pressuring Brady): stunts and second level rushes
Patriots more multiple with coverages on 3rd down when the Bucs got inside the 30 (my sense is Belichick viewed the 30 yard line as a demarcation point), Patriots different coverage concepts that featured both man and zone principles
JUSTIN FIELDS VERSUS LIONS DEFENSE
Lions nickel continued to be Oruwariye and Price the outside corners with Parker the slot corner; Lions dime had Marlowe and Worley at safety with Walker, Worley also played snaps in base and nickel
Fields first drop back was quick game behind 5 man protection with a basic 2 man route concept: Snag-flat with Mooney open on the snag for 4 yards; Fields decisive with read and throw
Bears went no huddle tempo on first possession, a tactic Fields is comfortable with from his Ohio State experience
Fields second throw was also quick game: Mooney hitch to the boundary versus press corner Price for 4 yards
Fields third throw was conventional play action with double post-crosser combination, a vertical route concept that demands protection: Bears 6 man protection with the Lions breaking down in coverage leaving Mooney wide open on the crosser
Mooney 64 yards on 2nd + 11 on second possession came out of 12 2x2 reduced versus Lions nickel what looked like cover 3 (?), Both TE Graham and Kmet chipped edge rushers to slow down pass rush; Fields knew what he had pre-snap and drove the ball with velocity
Bears still featured 5 man protection concepts and quick game concepts just as they did in Fields first start last week, Difference was the throws were there and Fields was under less quick pressure which allowed him to be more decisive – Robinson 8 yards late in 2nd quarter a good example
Lions like many teams in the NFL featured 5-2 fronts as their base front, Anzalone and Barnes for the second consecutive game were the stacked LB in base with Reeves-Maybin also snaps with Anzalone
Fields interception late in 2nd quarter came on basic route concept: Double glance to the field and slant-flat to the boundary, It’s a 3 step quick game concept; Fields worked the slant to Mooney who was wide open but the ball was tipped at the LOS
Robinson 28 yards on 1st + 10 on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of closed boundary twins to the field straight I iso lead run action with dagger concept, Byrd ran the vertical route from the inside and Robinson ran the deep dig versus Lions cover 4; Basic read for Fields with Robinson on the dig the primary read
Mooney 32 yards on 2nd + 9 in 3rd quarter was a perfectly thrown fade ball by Fields to the outside shoulder of Mooney, Mooney got on top of corner Price
Robinson 27 yards on 1st + 10 late in 3rd quarter was a big-time throw by Fields in the deep outside void in cover 2: Timing, firm touch and precise ball placement; 7 man protection which likely meant Bears knew what they were getting from a coverage standpoint and could attack it with fewer eligibles
Fields had the throw on sack-fumble by Harris: Post-corner versus cover 3 with Graham wide open on the corner route, Fields perceived the back side pressure before it was there and broke down
Fields showed his throwing traits versus the Lions with some excellent intermediate and vertical throws, He was particularly effective on play action: 5-6 for 86 yards
TREVOR LAWRENCE VERSUS BENGALS DEFENSE
Bengals nickel: Waynes left corner and Apple right corner with Hilton the slot corner, Wilson and Pratt the nickel LB in normal down and distance situations with Wilson and Davis-Gaither the nickel LB on 3rd down and long yardage
Bengals showed 5 man fronts out of their early down nickel with LB Pratt aligned on the ball on the edge
Bengals played 5-2 reduced fronts out of base with Hendrickson and Hubbard on the edge and Wilson and Pratt the stacked LB
Lawrence going through the learning phase of throwing with precise timing and anticipation, and innately understanding what open means in the NFL; He’ll miss some throws both being a beat late and not turning it loose
Safety Bell was the predominant TE matchup when the Bengals went cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel
Jaguars featured Lawrence’s legs more in this game than they had through 3 games, Zone read was part of game plan
Bengals showed cover zero look in the tight red zone late in the 2nd quarter, No middle safety but they dropped LB Wilson from initial inside LOS alignment as an underneath defender
Bengals first of 2 snaps of dime came on 3rd + 7 on Jaguars first possession of 3rd quarter, Corner/safety Davis was the dime; In the first 3 games of the season Bengals had played much more dime
Agnew 27 yards on 2nd + 6 on second possession of 3rd quarter was a big time throw by Lawrence versus cover 1, Lawrence still a beat late but he hit Agnew on the deep crosser with precise touch and ball location
Bengals second snap of dime came on 3rd + 4 on what turned out to be Jaguars last offensive snap of the game – Both snaps of dime Bengals went cover 1, Second snap of dime was 3-2-6 with Wilson and Davis-Gaither the LB
Bengals played more cover 1 versus Jaguars than they had in their 3 previous game, They also played more snaps of cover 2
Jaguars OL must continue to improve in pass protection, It has been an issue through the first quarter of the season
Overall Lawrence looked more comfortable versus Bengals, My sense watching the tape was this game showed incremental but clear improvement; We will see if he can build on this – Having a functional and volume run game with Robinson was also a factor
Bengals a predominant single high safety coverage defense but they also play significant snaps of split safety with cover 2 and 2 man; Bengals played both conventional cover 2 and cover 2 invert
JOE BURROW VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Jaguars nickel: Herndon the slot corner with Griffin left corner and rookie Campbell right corner, Jack and Wilson the nickel LB
Bengals game plan featured misdirection on first 2 plays: Boyd 33 yards on first play, Chase -2 yards on second play (great recognition and play by Campbell versus WR screen)
Burrow is precise ball placement passer and that showed on first 3rd and long (3rd + 12) when he hit Chase on out route versus outside leverage corner Campbell in 3 deep coverage
Bengals tactical counter to double mug was to bring the back right up on the LOS just off the inside hip of the OG, That significantly limits him as a release receiver and also makes you vulnerable to edge blitzes since the back is too far down and inside to respond
Jaguars fewer snaps of dime versus the Bengals than had been their average through 3 games, Bengals only had 9 3rd downs in the game
Jaguars showed double mug looks on 3rd down and at times featured late movement to cover 2 from that look
Chase continued to be the boundary x receiver in the Bengals offense, He has shown detail and nuance to his route running through 3 games (9 yard TD versus Steelers Haden week 3 a great example)
When the Jaguars went cover 1 out of nickel versus 11 personnel safety Jenkins was the predominant TE matchup
Chase 44 yards on 2nd + 10 on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 3x1 tight bunch with Chase the boundary x versus Jaguars cover 3 lock with Campbell playing man technique on Chase, Precise ball placement throw by Burrow on the fade with Campbell losing phase with the ball in the air and Chase separating
Bengals had some success with play action boot left off outside zone, Misdirection element caused some issue for the Jaguars; Bengals started the game with it (Boyd 33 yards) and Uzomah 22 yard TD to end first possession of 3rd quarter also featured it
Jaguars in man coverage on Uzomah 22 yard TD and safety Wingard reacted to the outside zone run action and totally dropped Uzomah working behind and across the formation
Burrow outstanding back shoulder throw to Irwin on second possession of 3rd quarter, Jaguars again man coverage with Campbell matched on Irwin
Jaguars made a coverage adjustment in the 3rd quarter matching Griffin on Chase so Griffin then played significant snaps at right corner
After the Bengals scored TD on consecutive possessions to start the 3rd quarter Jaguars adjusted and played more snaps of zone coverage
Burrow continued to show a refined sense of timing and rhythm, He rarely gets stuck in the pocket with nowhere to go with the ball
Uzomah 31 yard TD on 3rd + 3 came out of 11 empty and became a second reaction movement throw by Burrow, Jaguars out of nickel played the down and distance and went cover 1 behind 3 man rush with 2 underneath zone defenders to take away quick inside routes, Jaguars actually busted the coverage with 2 defenders running with Boyd leaving Uzomah wide open but Burrow could not get him the ball within structure because Allen sitting in the passing lane
Burrow showed great patience on GW FG drive, First 4 throws came versus zone coverage and he took the throws that were there generating momentum and staying on schedule
Fifth pass on GW FG drive was an audible by Burrow when he saw the defensive alignment with no safety in the middle of the field, Burrow out of 11 empty audibled to tunnel screen to Uzomah who was #1 to trips
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS JETS DEFENSE
First Tannehill sack came on first possession: 1st down bang iso lead run action with quick game, Reynolds went deep on his quick in-breaker and Tannehill got stuck in the pocket with no throw; Mosley added in as green dog rusher and sacked Tannehill
Rookie Carter continued to be Jets slot corner with Hall and Echols the outside corners, Mosley and Williams the nickel LB – Guidry replaced injured Echols in the 1st quarter
Converted college safety Sherwood was the third LB with Mosley and Williams in the Jets base defense – You play a lot of snaps of base defense versus the Titans
Reynolds fade versus Echols on 1st + 10 from high red zone on first possession, Tough catch but Reynolds must make it; Reynolds reduced split boundary x on back side of trips
Williams sack on 3rd + 8 in high red zone to end first possession came out of nickel cover 1 blitz, I believe Williams had McNichols in coverage but the Jets front-pass rush opened a lane and Williams took it; With McNichols free releasing there was no one to account for Williams
Bills ran trap to start third high red zone possession with Saffold the trapper: Henry 4 yards
Titans worked the boundary x one-on-one with the fade and back shoulder in the high red zone: They did it with Reynolds on first possession and they went back shoulder to Batson versus Hall on third possession with both throws incomplete
Second 3rd down red zone sack result of Jets defending 3 man route combination to the field in cover 3 and E/T stunt breaking down Lewan who went too far inside allowing looper Williams a direct path to Tannehill, Franklin-Myers cleaned up for the sack
Sack on 3rd + 3 late in 2nd quarter was on Tannehill, He had to recognize the front and coverage and know that Hall would be blitzing off his front side edge; Lewan also beaten on that play by DE Huff
Jets effective with multiple stunt concepts, DT Williams used as a looper both outside in E/T stunts and inside in T/T stunts
Jets predominant coverage on 3rd down was cover 1 out of nickel, Titans WR struggled to separate and win versus man coverage; Williams sack on 3rd + 7 in 3rd quarter resulted from tight man coverage on quick game timing drop by Tannehill
Some of Tannehill sacks resulted from Tannehill getting stuck in the pocket on 3 and 5 step drop timing throws – Williams sack on 3rd + 6 in 4th quarter was on Tannehill, He had a throw to Reynolds in short in-breaker but did not turn it loose; Rankins drove back RG Davis into the pocket and Williams cleaned up
DE Huff flashed as an edge pass rusher both working against LT Lewan and RT Quessenberry
Tannehill sacked 7 times versus, 5 of those sacks came on 3rd down and 2 of them came in the high red zone
One of the things that makes Henry special is that he can start his path downhill and then bounce outside and out-flank the defense
For the second consecutive week Titans could not generate any explosive pass plays to their WR, They only had 1 pass play of 20 yards to a WR and it came on 3rd + 21
Right now the Titans are a condensed offense built solely on the running of Henry who has had 96 carries in the last 3 games
2 main issues with the Titans offense right now: They can’t generate any explosive plays in the pass game, and they cannot score TD in the red zone
Henry on 1st down through 4 games: 70-349, 5 yards per rush; Surprisingly Henry has more 1st down runs out of 11 personnel than any other personnel package: 27-122, 4.5 - Tannehill has 61 drop backs on 1st down so Titans clearly a 1st down rushing team
ZACH WILSON VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Jackson continued to be the Titans slot corner with Jenkins at left corner and Fulton at right corner
Titans continued to show 2 front looks out of base: 5-2 with Landry on the ball on the edge, and 4-3 with Landry the SAM stacked LB or bumped out depending on the offensive formation
Wilson started the game the way he has played much of the early season: A little undisciplined, a little frenetic, a little reckless on the move, and somewhat scattershot with his ball placement
Wilson started to settle in a little bit on the possession after he threw the interception (which was not on him, Davis slipped on his break), Wilson more disciplined on his drop and plant and set with a better feel for the timing of routes
Titans 3rd down snaps out of nickel in which they disguised their coverage with late movement, Goal was to make Wilson work things out after the snap when everything is moving fast
Landry sack on 3rd + 6 at 2:00 of 1st half came out of loaded front with Landry long stunt from 3 man side looping behind Autry and Simmons, LB Brown standup 3-technique in 5 man front look to occupy back side OG away from the load so the OG could not slide to the 3 man side and pick up Landry stunt
Loaded fronts continued to be part of Titans 3rd down package, Simmons almost always the 1-technique with Autry outside of him
Titans nickel late in 3rd quarter became Fulton the corner with Borders at right corner and Jenkins still at left corner
Wilson has much work to do re: seeing things that are there based on the route concept versus the coverage, Continued to leave some throws on the field
Cole 54 yards on 3rd + 6 late in 3rd quarter came on Wilson second reaction movement throw 57 yards down the field, Another disguised-late movement coverage from the Titans showing double mug with a post safety then spinning to cover 2 invert, Coverage took away slant-flat to the boundary and Wilson had no progression read so he left the pocket to his right – Big-time throw
Davis 53 yard TD on first play of 4th quarter drive came out of 11 3x1 with conventional outside zone run action to the boundary with Wilson boot to the field, Wilson had Cole wide open on deep out but got greedy and directed Davis from the back side to take his deep crosser vertical; Post safety Byard cut the crosser by Crowder so there was no deep safety in the middle of the field – Big-time confidence and throw by Wilson
Titans showed 5 man loaded front on 3rd + 10 late in 4th quarter with Adeniyi the standup 3-technique, It was a 5-1-5 personnel package that essentially showed a diamond front, Titans went cover 1 behind it
What stood out was Titans played with post safety low in single high safety coverages, Byard a tendency to do that when he was the post safety
Cole 29 yards on 3rd + 2 in OT was a big-time deep corner throw by Wilson but there was confusion about the coverage between Fulton and Jenkins, It was cover 1 and Jenkins was badly out-leveraged off the snap by Cole
Wilson made a few outstanding throws/plays in this game but he still had issues with ball placement, He missed too many throws he must make routinely – It will be interesting to see if this game is a stepping-stone game for Wilson or if he just made a couple of special second reaction throws which we know he is capable of
Titans a predominant single high safety defense through 4 games featuring cover 1 as their predominant coverage, Against the Jets they played more snaps of cover 1 than they usually do
What showed up too many times on the tape was communication issues in the Titans coverage, It caused some problems throughout the game
RAMS OFFENSE VERSUS CARDS DEFENSE
Cards nickel: Alford left corner and Wilson right corner with Murphy the slot corner, Simmons and Hicks the nickel LB
Rams continued to feature motion as a staple of their offense, They use it predominantly in the run game not the pass game; Rams also feature shifts as a staple
Cards showed loaded fronts on 3rd down out of nickel, First 3rd and long (3rd + 7) they went cover 1 behind loaded front with Simmons matched on Higbee
Rams continued to feature empty sets as an offensive foundation, Against the Cards they did not have much success the way they did in their first 3 games with Stafford 8-15 for 58 yards
What continued to stand out was Higbee being used more this season split from the formation with significant snaps both #1 to the field and the boundary
Rams shot play on second possession out of 12 personnel with Jackson wide open on deep post crossing the field versus Cards base cover 4, Stafford left the ball too far behind Jackson allowing Murphy to recover and make the interception
A default coverage for the Cards versus Rams empty sets was cover 2, Rams again showed 4x1 sets out of empty; Another coverage the Cards showed versus empty sets was off coverage zero behind a 6 man pressure front look, They also featured late movement from that initial look to cover behind 4 man rush
Rams had good success running the ball out of 11 personnel on third possession which ended in TD: Henderson 3-39, Michel 2-11
Jefferson 14 yard TD on 1st + 10 to end third possession came out of 12 personnel but the Cards stayed with their nickel, Designed shotgun boot left with Stafford holding the mesh point then looking for Higbee on the crosser; Great example of a second reaction throw staying within the general structure of the play design
Cards predominantly went nickel to the Rams 12 personnel, They also showed base personnel at times versus 11 personnel; Simmons position versatility on display as he lined up on the ball on the edge in some 5-2 base and nickel fronts
Kupp 35 yards on 3rd + 16 in 2nd quarter was a big-time throw by Stafford out of empty versus Cards nickel 2 man coverage, Deep middle seam throw with slot corner Murphy tailgating Kupp
Designed boot part of Rams pass game: Jefferson 14 yard TD in 1st quarter, Higbee 18 yards on 2nd quarter FG drive
Cards did not blitz as much versus Rams as they had in their first 3 games, Cards DC Joseph has been a high percentage blitzer relative to other NFL teams
Cards have not played as high a percentage of cover 1 through 4 games this season as they did a year ago, They have played far more zone coverage with split safety a more significant part of their coverages
KYLER MURRAY VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
Rams continued to feature 5-1 front out of nickel with Ramsey the star, Young was the stacked LB in that front which featured reduced looks; Rams also played 4-2 front nickel front with Young and Reeder the LB
First 3rd down (3rd + 5) Rams out of nickel went cover 1 and matched Ramsey on Hopkins, They used LB Young as a spy on Murray; Cards 10 personnel so the Rams needed a safety to match a WR and it was Fuller on Kirk in the inside slot to trips
Hopkins 25 yards on 2nd + 12 on second possession he lined up on the right side of the formation, Cards 12 3x1 with Kirk the single receiver in reduced split; Rams out of 4-2-5 nickel matched Kirk and back Edmonds and played cover 2 to the trips side with Hopkins, Hopkins got on top of zone corner Long on corner route and Murray delivered a good ball
Green 41 yard TD on 3rd + 6 to end second possession came out of 10empty versus Rams dime cover 3 with Ramsey the slot corner to trips (not matched over Hopkins), Green from #2 to twins ran a go route versus Long and won at the catch point
Murray worked the boundary effectively with 2 man route combinations and quick game throws versus Rams predominant zone coverage
Williams 14 yard TD on 2nd + 13 in 2nd quarter came out of 11 3x1 with Williams #3 to trips versus Rams 4-2 nickel cover 4 boundary lock; Outstanding timing and anticipation throw by Murray to beat back side safety Rapp who was responsible for 3 vertical (Williams down the seam) if the LB is not going to carry him, Murray knew what he had pre-snap and looked at Rapp on his drop to hold him in place
Murray 18 yards on 3rd + 18 in 2nd quarter a great example of his second athleticism and explosiveness, Young had a clean shot at Murray (and Young is a good athlete) and Murray easily beat him to the perimeter
Rams came back to cover 1 on 3rd + 7 middle of 2nd quarter, The were in dime and they again matched Ramsey on Hopkins; Hopkins beat Ramsey on corner route but Murray left the ball behind Hopkins allowing Ramsey to make a play
Murray continued to show increased efficiency from the pocket, That’s a big reason why he has played with more consistency through 4 games
What stood out on some snaps on 3rd down was what Murray’s mobility does to pass rush schemes, It changes the way defenses scheme pressure often minimizing their own best rushers: 3rd + 14 in 2nd quarter a great example with Donald
There were 4 1st half snaps in which Ramsey matched up man-to-man on Hopkins and 2 came in the final :20 in the tight red zone
One thing we’re seeing more and more with the Cards (and other teams) is 4 man route combinations to one side of the field versus zone coverage, Those overload route combinations are tough to handle in zone
Overall Kingsbury is doing some good things with personnel, formations and route combinations; He has an excellent feel for attacking zone coverage with intermediate and vertical route concepts
Cards have highest percentage of 10 personnel snaps in the NFL through 4 games: Almost 24% of offensive snaps have come out of 10 personnel – Murray out of 10 personnel: 29-36 for 481 yards and 4 TD and 2 interceptions
Rams are a predominant zone coverage defense, playing cover 3 and split safety concepts; They are near the bottom of the NFL in percentage of cover 1 – Ramsey is not a man coverage corner in the Rams defense
Empty sets continued to be a part of Cards offense out of multiple personnel packages, Murray through 4 games out of empty: 22-25 for 304 yards and 3 TD
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers nickel: Kirkpatrick and Moseley the outside corners with Johnson the slot corner; Harris again the third LB with Warner and Al-Shaair in the base defense
Kirkpatrick responsible for Ford sack-forced fumble on 3rd + 7 to end Seahawks second possession, He blanketed Lockett on out route and Wilson off 3 step timing had no throw; Ford beat RT Ogbuehi off the edge in one-on-one matchup resulting from diamond front with Warner over the OC
When 49ers went cover 1 out of nickel behind 5 man pressure Ward was the predominant TE matchup
Bosa sack on 3rd + 7 to end Seahawks third consecutive 3-and-out resulted from Bosa getting off the snap before LT Brown; Another diamond front look by the 49ers dictating one-on-one matchups
49ers featured Ward as a blitzer off the edge both in base and nickel – Ward one of the most versatile safeties in the NFL
Ford sack on 3rd + 15 to end Seahawks fourth consecutive 3-and-out resulted from outstanding man coverage in nickel 1 robber with Ward the robber, Wilson had no clean throw and tried to work the pocket; 49ers loaded front with Ford re-directing inside from wide DE alignment on the load side
Seahawks first 5 possessions all ended in 3-and-out; 49ers aggressive on 3rd and long with 5 man pressures and man coverage, They matched up man-to-man on the Seahawks WR with their patchwork corner trio
Seahawks 6th possession started with Collins 28 yard reception which was the result of a bust by the 49ers defense, My sense was LB Al-Shaair was the defender who busted
Metcalf 28 yards on 3rd + 1 on 6th possession (which ended in TD) was an aggressive call by the Seahawks out of 12 personnel with reduced splits by both Metcalf and Lockett, Wilson wanted Dissly off motion in the flat but Warner with his awareness took that away; Wilson recognized that and came back to Metcalf on the over route versus Moseley who collisioned with Ward running across the formation to match Dissly who was his man-to-man responsibility
Metcalf 12 yard TD at 2:00 of 1st half came out of 13 empty with Metcalf in the slot to the boundary, 49ers out of base went cover 3 with man match behind 5 man pressure with Harris blitzing off the edge, Al-Shaair was responsible for #2 to the boundary and with the empty set that put him on Metcalf
Seahawks ran 23 plays in the 1st half, 17 came out of the shotgun – 99 of Wilson’s 130 drop backs through 4 games have been in the shotgun; Wilson has been outstanding under center: 22-26 for 335 yards with all but 2 of those play action
49ers continued to be aggressive with man coverage on first 3rd and long on Seahawks first possession of 3rd quarter, Metcalf stutter-go beat Moseley but Metcalf dropped a well-throw ball by Wilson – Overall 49ers game plan featured a good amount of man coverage and blitz especially on 3rd down
Wilson 16 yard TD on 2nd + 8 in 3rd quarter came out of 12 2x2 reduced versus 49ers base cover 1, Wilson saw open space to his left and beat DT Kinlaw to the pilon
Swain 13 yard TD was the first play of the 3rd quarter the Seahawks ran out of 11 personnel, It was their 13th play of the quarter
Seahawks clearly felt they had a personnel and tactical advantage with 12 personnel versus 49ers base defense
Collins 14 yard TD on 2nd + 6 in 4th quarter came out of 11 2x2 reduced versus 49ers base defense, Outside zone to the field with Collins showing excellent patience and vision and short area quickness
First play of the possession after Collins TD Seahawks called a cove r4 beater concept with Metcalf to the post and Lockett on the corner route from 12 closed boundary twins to the field, Lockett wide open but Wilson came off the conventional play action fake and immediately felt pressure breaking down in the pocket – A missed big play opportunity
Seahawks featured 12 personnel versus the 49ers, 28 of their 54 offensive snaps came out of 12 with 16 runs and 12 called passes (same number of called passes in 11 personnel)
One area the Seahawks must improve is first down rushing: Through 4 games they have 50 1st down rushes and are averaging 3.7 yards per rush
TREY LANCE VERSUS SEAHAWKS DEFENSE
Jones and Reed were the Seahawks outside corners with Amadi and Blair again splitting snaps as the slot corner
Seahawks had not played any snaps of dime through the first 3 games, Against the 49ers they played 24 snaps of dime with Neal the dime safety
Seahawks continued to feature 5-2 fronts (often reduced) out of base with Wagner and Brooks the stacked LB, They featured 5 DL versus 49ers 21 personnel
Post safety Diggs continued to show outstanding ability to play top down in the run down and make tackles on the move and in space
When the Seahawks showed double mug out of dime Wagner and Neal were the A gap defenders, Double mug and loaded fronts part of Seahawks dime package with Neal consistently a box/LOS defender
Sermon predominantly ran out of 21 and 12 personnel, 14-65 out of those 2 personnel groupings; He ran zone, zone counter and gap scheme (at times counter try) – Sermon a decisive competitive downhill runner
49ers have run power more going back to 2020, My sense is Sermon can be effective running gap scheme with his downhill traits – I also believe Sermon is a volume runner who develops a rhythm the more he carries the ball
DL Nkemdiche continued to get significant snaps in the base defense, He flashed in the run game
3rd + 4 on Lance second possession 49ers ran base route combination: Double glance to the boundary and slant-flat to the field, Lance went to Samuel #1 to the field on the glance route and was scattershot inaccurate
Samuel 76 yard TD on Lance third possession came on 2 man route to the field out of twins with Aiyuk running the in-breaker and Samuel the wheel from the slot, Corner Jones in Seahawks cover 3 followed Aiyuk inside and no one reacted to Samuel wheel; In that defense Adams aligned over Samuel did not have a deep responsibility in coverage unless a third receiver released to that side (Lance factor as a runner), It was corner Jones and post safety Blair who were responsible for Samuel and Aiyuk
Taylor continued to flash as an edge pass rusher with his desired combination of lateral quickness and deceptive strength
Lance needs to learn what open is in the NFL both versus man and zone coverage: On 1st + 10 to start 4th quarter drive 49ers ran post-cross combination off pistol play action versus Seahawks cover 3, Aiyuk wide open on the crosser with Wagner trying to hunt it up; That’s a throw Lance has to turn loose, Instead his helmet was not calm and he broke down in the pocket and ran for 3 yards
Lance too many snaps in which he did not get a clear picture when he dropped back and hit that back foot, Result was he broke down immediately and left the pocket
Lance in this game was impatient in the pocket too often breaking down prematurely not allowing the route concepts to develop, He showed a tendency to drop his eyes
My sense watching the 49ers pass game through 4 games is that RT McGlinchey has struggled in one-on-one pass protection
Seahawks continued to be a high percentage zone coverage defense out of nickel and dime, On 3rd down the Seahawks have played the second lowest percentage of cover 1 of any team in the NFL while playing among the highest percentage of split safety zone coverage
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS CHIEFS DEFENSE
Hurts first 2 throws one read off misdirection: Ertz in the flat 13 yards, Smith tunnel screen 22 yards; Third drop back was power run action with pop pass to Goedert 21 yards (another one read concept)
Chiefs nickel: Hughes predominantly boundary corner and Baker field corner with Sneed the slot corner, Hitchens and Bolton the nickel LB with Niemann playing in 3rd down nickel with Hitchens
Chiefs dime had Thornhill as the third safety and Niemann the only LB (same as last season) – Through 4 games Chiefs playing significantly less snaps of dime than they did in 2020
Hurts from Chiefs 16 yard line overthrew wide open Ertz on seam ball for a TD on well-designed 3 man route concept that broke down Chiefs cover 3, Then next play on 3rd + 8 Hurts broke down in the pocket prematurely and missed TD opportunity to open Smith on post route
Eagles featured run looks/action with both OL and backfield action to throw the ball, Emphasis on one read throws for Hurts
Gainwell used as a split receiver, His first 3 snaps in the passing game came out of empty sets: 12 yards on 4th + 2 on second possession well-designed man beater with natural rub element, 15 yards on second possession came when Eagles anticipated zero blitz in high red zone (Spagnuolo staple) and threw tunnel screen to the boundary
All 3 Gainwell receptions in the 1st half came out of empty sets in which he aligned at #1 to the boundary, Third reception resulted from Hurts missing a big play: Eagles ran dagger to the field and Watkins got on top of the Chiefs secondary on his inside go route, Hurts came off Smith and never processed Watkins breaking down prematurely in the pocket and then making a late frantic throws to Gainwell
Eagles started third possession with QB power off backfield zone run action opposite, Another misdirection concept: Hurts 12 yards – All part of well-schemed offensive game plan to maximize Hurts
Hurts must continue to improve his sense of timing and anticipation versus zone coverage, Again left some throws on the field in open zone windows not processing it and breaking down in the pocket
Eagles had success with tunnel screen game out of different formation looks, both to the field and the boundary: Smith 22 yards on first possession, Watkins 18 yards in 2nd quarter
Hurts poor ball placement throw to wide open Ward on 1st and goal in 2nd quarter, It was a pitch and catch throw for a TD – Eagles had to kick a FG to end that drive
Rookie Smith has shown excellent route quickness with the ability to separate at the top of his route stem – Best compliment you can give him is he looks like he did at Alabama with his ability to separate and win on multiple routes versus man coverage
Slot corner Sneed as he was as a rookie in 2020 is a factor as a blitzer in the Chiefs sub defenses, especially dime
Hurts missed another TD on 3rd and goal on first possession of 3rd quarter in a 21-13 game: Smith wide open on crosser near the back of the end zone with the route combination opening the window, Hurts had some front side pressure but he broke down and dropped his eyes; He could have stepped up and delivered the ball for a TD
LT Dillard a second consecutive strong game in one-on-one pass protection, That’s the strength of his game
Ertz 19 yards in 4th quarter an excellent throw by Hurts in the outside void in cover 2, Chiefs one of best in NFL with disguise and late movement to get to cover 2 and Hurts read the coverage and executed the high throw in the hi-low concept to the boundary
Hurts has had 37 3rd down drop backs through 4 games, He has been blitzed on almost 45% of those drop backs; Hurts has gone 6-12 for 86 yards and TD with 1 sack and 3 scrambles, It will be interesting to see if defenses continued to blitz Hurts and Eagles offense on 3rd down
Hurts continued to show flashes of quality QB play in his 8th NFL start, The question is whether is he can develop the patience and pocket poise needed to make the throws that he leaves on the field when he breaks down prematurely and drops his eyes
CHIEFS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
One change Eagles made was at times lining up Slay over Hill when Hill was outside, Slay had played exclusively left corner with Nelson at right corner through 3 games
First 3rd and long (3rd + 12) Eagles out of nickel versus Chiefs 11 1x3 set went cover 8 which is cover 2 to the field and cover 4 to the boundary with Slay locked on boundary x Kelce man-to-man on the quarters side of the coverage, With 3 vertical releases to the field slot corner Maddox ran with #2 Hardman rather than playing a landmark; It was a zone match concept on both sides
Hill 44 yards on first possession came out of 13 3x1 with Hill the boundary x versus Eagles base 5-2 front with cover 6 behind it with halves to the boundary, Slay lined up over Hill but it was cover 2 so Slay did not carry and Hill settled in the void with run-after-catch room
Hill 6 yard TD on 3rd + goal to end second possession came out of 11 empty with Hill #3 to trips versus Eagles nickel cover 3 match, Chiefs 3 man route concept to the field isolated LB Wilson on Hill quick out cut; Chiefs dictated a mismatch versus the coverage
Chiefs ran tunnel screen to Hardman out of tight bunch off zone read backfield action, The zone read action grabbed the eyes of play side DE and minimized his ability to chase the screen – Nice wrinkle
Pringle 19 yards on 2nd + 8 Mahomes out of empty set beat unblocked blitzer Wilson with a timing bender to Pringle from #3 to trips, Singleton in 5 man zone pressure concept had to match Pringle but allowed Pringle to run his route cleanly in the open middle
Hill 32 yards on fade ball in 2nd quarter came with Nelson matched on Hill, Nelson left corner on that play
Wilson interception on 3rd + 9 in 3rd quarter resulted from Sweat pressure beating LT Brown inside, Mahomes should never have thrown the ball
Hill 12 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 4th quarter was structured as an RPO but it was not an RPO: Chiefs knew they had cover 3 in the high red zone, Hill shift from the backfield to #1 to the boundary outside Kelce, Basic 2 man slant-flat concept with Hill and Kelce with the zone run action impacting LB Singleton and opening the window to Hill who beat Nelson on the slant
Eagles went zero with no deep safety on 3rd + 6 with 2:37 in the 4th quarter trailing by 12, That matched safety Harris on Hill in the field slot; Hill post-corner-post overmatched Harris and the result was a 44 yard TD to seal the win
Chiefs used Kelce as an insert blocker in the inside run game on Edwards-Helaire first carry
Edwards-Helaire 15 yards and 17 yards late in 2nd quarter were shotgun outside zone runs to the field out of 11 2x2 spread versus Eagles split safety and single high safety, Chiefs ran to the slot side knowing slot corner Maddox would match the slot WR – 16 yards in the 4th quarter came on same concept to the slot side
Edwards-Helaire 10 yards late in 3rd quarter was same shotgun outside zone run out of 11 2x2 to slot corner Maddox, LB Wilson looked to get outside so Edwards-Helaire cut back inside
Mahomes played much more within the structure of the passing game versus Eagles, Almost no second reaction movement throws; Reid helped him play that way with a lot of quick game timing concepts
Eagles played almost 90% of defensive snaps versus Chiefs in nickel, They only played 8 snaps in base defense – Clearly a function of the opponent because the Chiefs ran 29 plays in base offense
Eagles coverage approach was different versus Chiefs than it had been in the first 3 games, They played significant snaps of cover 1 and in their zone concepts they matched receivers based on routes
PANTHERS OFFENSE VERSUS COWBOYS DEFENSE
Parsons played stacked LB in the 1st and 2nd down nickel - Cowboys a high percentage nickel defense, Through 4 games they have played more than 87% of their defensive snaps out of nickel which includes both conventional nickel with 3 corners and big nickel with 3 safeties
Cowboys do not play a lot of dime, They play it predominantly on 3rd down; Safety Hooker is the dime
Cowboys a high percentage man coverage defense, They have played almost 60% cover 1 versus opponent QB drop backs (only the Patriots have played more cover 1 through 4 games)
Cowboys cover 1 concepts included 1 robber out of dime versus 3x1 sets with the robber safety in position to cut crossers by the boundary x receiver
Cowboys featured split safety coverages out of dime on 3rd and long, with cover 2 part of the mix; They also played cover 2 out of nickel
Here were the predominant matchups: Diggs on Moore, Brown on Anderson and Lewis on Marshall; Kearse matched up to the TE – If Kearse was part of pressure concept out of dime Hooker was the TE matchup
First 3rd down (3rd + 6) Cowboys out of dime featured loaded front with 4 to one side of the OC with Parsons on the ball outside of 1-technique Odighizuwa and inside of Golston, Gregory at wide DE on the load side long stunt with velocity/speed-to-power drove back OC Paradis into the pocket and sacked Darnold
Cowboys at times showed 5-2 fronts versus Panthers 12 and 21 personnel with Parsons on the ball on the outside with Smith and Vander Esch stacked LB – Hubbard early success running the ball out of base personnel
Gregory and rookie DT Odighizuwa consistently show up on film as pass rushers; Gregory looked quick and explosive, He was used as a Joker at times on 3rd down; Basham also showed up as an edge pass rusher
Rookie Golston played in his first game (49 snaps), played snaps at both DE and DT and flashed as a pass rusher
Panthers felt like they need to help OT Erving and Moton with chips on 3rd and long, That limits route combinations with only the WR releasing immediately into routes – LT Erving and RT Moton struggle in one-on-one pass protection
Cowboys multiple with their front looks out of dime including double mug, loaded fronts, diamond fronts and Gregory as a standup Joker
Kearse has been a big factor in the Cowboys defense through the first quarter of the season with his scheme versatility, He has played more than 93% of the defensive snaps in each of the last 3 games
Diggs first interception on 3rd + 5 in 3rd quarter I believe he made a mistake in his coverage assignment and he got lucky, It was cover 2 with Kearse the middle hole and Diggs a deep half player but he was uncertain of his responsibility and stayed low; Marshall was wide open on the vertical route where Diggs was supposed to be but pressure by Gregory versus LT Erving forced Darnold to make a hurried inaccurate throw
Diggs second interception similar to his interception return TD versus Eagles last week: Off coverage, reading the triangle from the QB to the receiver, then jumping the route before the ball is thrown – Big time play
Cowboys defense plays fast with a lot of energy, They are multiple with their fronts and consistent with their high percentage of man coverage; They are in some ways taking a page from the Belichickian defensive template: front multiplicity and coverage consistency
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS PANTHERS DEFENSE
Elliott 19 yards on first possession speaks to an issue you can have with 5 man fronts and only 1 stacked LB, Cowboys out of 11 personnel ran away from the overhang slot corner and there was no second level defender to play side
Panthers continued to be multiple with their use of personnel in their nickel and dime packages, They continued to play snaps of big nickel versus both 12 and 11 personnel (that’s been a staple under DC Snow)
Panthers 3rd down nickel: Jackson and Melvin the outside corners with Bouye the slot corner, Henderson snaps on the outside in the nickel on 1st and 2nd down and he also played outside in the dime
Panthers continued to feature 5-1-5 nickel with 5 man diamond fronts and Thompson the only LB, Burns and Reddick the edge pass rushers
Bouye used in some nickel packages as a slot corner/safety versus Cowboys 12 personnel, Bouye used in the dime as an edge blitzer at times both in 4 man zone exchange and 5 man pressure concepts
Jarwin 18 yard TD on 1st + 10 early in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 2x2 with reduced splits to both sides of the formation versus Panthers 5-1-5 nickel cover 1 with Chinn matched on Jarwin, Cowboys attacked the man coverage with a basic stack/rub concept that forced Chinn to go over the top of corner Melvin and get stuck too far outside on Jarwin tempoed slant route
Panthers continued to feature double mug looks out of dime with Thompson and Chinn in the A gaps, Panthers multiple front looks showing pressure then backing out into zone coverage behind 4 man pressures
Focus of Panthers pressures versus Cowboys was off the edge using defensive backs with speed, They got some rushers clean to Prescott throughout the game
Cooper 35 yard TD to end first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 11 2x2 versus Panthers big nickel with fire x inside blitz by Thompson and Carter, Pollard excellent job in pass protection and Cooper out-and-go got on top of Henderson
Cowboys 10 snaps of 6 OL personnel versus Panthers – 15 of Elliott 20 rushes came out of 12 and heavy personnel (2 TE and 6 OL): Elliott 15-116 out of power personnel
Cowboys also featured 6th OL McGovern as an offset FB in the tight red zone: Lead block on LB Carter on Pollard 7 yards
Elliott 47 yards on 1st + 10 in 3rd quarter came out of 12 personnel with Cooper zin tempoed motion to closed boundary formation versus Panthers nickel with Bouye the slot corner, Outstanding double team by RG Martin and RT Steele on 3-technique DT Brown driving him back into the lap of stacked LB Carter, Excellent combo block by TE Schultz and Jarwin on DE Burns with Jarwin working to second level to block Chinn; Elliott great vison to cut inside away from unblocked corner Melvin and then run away from safety Franklin
Cowboys wore out the Panthers defensive front with double teams driving back DT into the second level and making it hard for LB to make plays
Wilson 23 yard TD on 2nd + 10 late in 3rd quarter came on a schemed play off a quick game throw to the TE the Cowboys feature, Again Panthers fire x inside blitz out of nickel
Pollard two +10 runs in the 2nd half that came out of heavy personnel (2 TE and 6OL), Both went to the closed 5 man surface with the back side OG pulling across the formation
Elliott last 3 games on 1st down: 34-220 for 6.5 yards per rush – Elliott has looked good running the ball: Patience, vision, cut back ability, short area burst, finishing power - Pollard last 3 games on 1st down: 22-171 for 7.8 yards per rush
Cowboys have been remarkably efficient on 1st down the last 3 games – Prescott last 3 games on 1st down: 22-25, 88%, 326 yards, 2 TD
LAMAR JACKSON VERSUS BRONCOS DEFENSE
Broncos continued to play snaps of dime on 3rd down, Rookie safety Sterns the dime; Callahan the slot corner in nickel and dime
Broncos snaps of 3-2-6 dime with Johnson and Strnad the LB, Also dime snaps of 4-1-6 with Johnson the only LB
Watkins 20 yards to start second possession came with Jackson under center, Power run action out of 22 personnel with Jackson 5 step drop hitting Watkins on the condensed bang 8 – That was Jackson’s first completion under center this season, and only his fourth drop back under center
Jackson continues to show a tendency to climb the pocket unnecessarily, Result is that he at times creates own pressure moving up into the bodies
Brown 49 yard TD on 2nd + 10 in 2nd quarter came out of 21 empty with Brown #2 to trips versus Broncos base cover 4 lock to twins, Brown ran deep post and beat route side safety Simmons getting over top of back side safety Jackson whose eyes did not grab Brown
Broncos heavy dose of zone coverage concepts versus Jackson and Ravens passing game with good mix of split safety and single high
Dime safety Sterns effectively used as a blitzer recording 2 sacks, First sack came on 3rd + 15 in high red zone versus Ravens empty set: Sterns blitzed inside of Miller and RT Mekari got stuck first blocking Miller then reacting inside to Sterns, Broncos front alignment created the 2 on 1 versus Mekari; Broncos zone match concept out of 2 shell behind the blitz
What was interesting was how many snaps of base the Broncos played versus Ravens 11 personnel in normal down and distance situations
Sterns second sack came on 3rd + 11 in 3rd quarter out of 3-2-6 dime versus Ravens 11 personnel with Bell offset to the boundary, Simmons late movement into the pressure look kept Bell to the boundary and there was no one to account for Sterns coming inside of Miller from the field side of the formation
My sense watching the tape was the Ravens looked to attack with the passing game more at the intermediate and vertical levels, They have been expanding the pass game through the first quarter of the season
Empty sets continued to be meaningful part of Ravens offense – Jackson out of empty through 4 games: 16-27 for 281 yards with 3 TD and all 3 of his interceptions
Jackson has been effective out of play action through 4 games, especially out of pistol formation: 18-27 for 314 yards; He has been even more efficient out with shotgun play action: 13-15 for 161 yards
Where Jackson has struggled this season is on 3rd down: 13-26 for 173 yards with 3 TD but all 3 of his interceptions, He has been sacked 7 times on 3rd down
