We are proud to share NFL Films Legend and Tape Wizard Greg Cosell’s raw notes from his film observations. We’ll be releasing his notes every week, either on Wednesday or Thursday.
DEREK CARR VERSUS JETS DEFENSE
Jets sub nickel continued to be Hall at left corner, Jackson at right corner, Maulet and Guidry both played slot corner; Hewitt and Langi with both playing every snap
First 3rd and long (3rd + 8) Jets went 2 man out of sub nickel versus Raiders 12 personnel matching Langi on Waller: Waller 18 yards on angle in-breaker
Jets comfortable with Langi matched on Waller in both 2 man and cover 1 blitz when safety Davis was the fifth rusher
Ruggs consistently used as the movement z receiver, often motioning across the formation: 28 yards in the 1st quarter, Jets no adjustment to the motion
Jets 3rd down game plan was aggressive with man-to-man and pressure, In cover 1 blitz safety Davis was the matchup on Waller
Riddick significant snaps as the Raiders 3rd down back, Also snaps on 2nd down; Jets often forced Riddick to pass protect with their pressure schemes
Jets featured inside stunts on 3rd down with Williams often used as the looper but at times he was the picker; Hewitt sack late in the 2nd quarter came on inside stunt with Hewitt the picker
Waller was targeted 17 times, only 3 times on 3rd down – This season only 21 of Waller 77 receptions have come on 3rd down
Waller 38 yard TD on 2nd + 6 late in the 2nd quarter came out of 12 personnel versus Jets sub nickel cover 1 blitz with safety Davis the fifth rusher, Waller boundary x on back side of trips ran 5 step hitch versus corner Hall who then missed the tackle
Davis hurt in the 3rd quarter, Farley replaced him at strong safety
Jets continued to feature 5 man pressures on 3rd down out of sub nickel, Langi was often the fifth rusher – Overall the Jets game plan featured 5 man pressures with both man and zone coverage behind it
Waller receptions came versus both man and zone coverage: In man coverage the Jets matched up safety Davis and LB Langi depending on the pressure call, There were snaps when Waller was the boundary x when corner Hall was the matchup
Jets high percentage blitz versus the Raiders, Almost all 5 man pressures out of sub nickel - Jets brought 5 man pressure on 25 Carr drop backs (51%):12-25, 205 yards, 2 TD; Jets 5 snaps of zero
Jets went zero out of sub nickel on 3rd + 8 just outside the red zone with 2:16 remaining in the 4th quarter and a 4 point lead: Carr perceived pressure, broke down his footwork and base and overthrew well-covered Agholor in the end zone
Ruggs 46 yards TD on 3rd + 10 to win the game came versus Jets nickel zero with Jackson matched on Ruggs, Jackson played the pressure call and reacted to Ruggs slant steps on the sluggo; Carr ran up in the pocket perceiving front side pressure and made a great throw, Richard crossed the formation to make an excellent block on blitzing slot corner Guidry
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS PACKERS DEFENSE
Packers continued to play sub nickel versus 12 personnel, They played some snaps of dime versus 12; That has been their approach all season
Sullivan continued to be the Packers slot corner in nickel and dime, Green continued to be the dime safety playing almost exclusively in the box
Wentz on 2nd + 8 on first possession never planted his back foot, He moved to his right with no pressure and made an inaccurate throw to Goedert – Unforced fundamental breakdown
Packers have tremendous confidence in Alexander in man coverage, At times when they played cover 1 versus 3x1 sets when Alexander is matched on #1 to trips they would cheat the post safety to the boundary side essentially putting Alexander in zero man coverage
Packers continued to feature tilted fronts out of sub dime on 3rd down, LB Kirksey was the wild card opposite the tilt
Scott missed a blitz pickup on 3rd + 6 on first possession, Wentz still completed the quick slant to Goedert for 7 yards but he took a shot from blitzing safety Savage
Wentz is at the point where he is expecting pressure due to the consistently poor pass protection, so his fundamental mechanics break down on plays when they do not need to
Another example of Wentz not seeing things came on 3rd + 10 on first possession: Wentz looked to boundary x Jeffery who was not open on the out cut, Ward wide open on the shallow crosser to the boundary side; Wentz broke down in the pocket with no pressure and missed the easy throw to Ward
Packers continued to play 2 sub nickel fronts: 5-1 with Kirksey the only LB, 4-2 with Kirksey and Martin the LB
Packers game plan featured cover 1 out of sub nickel and sub dime, Alexander played left corner and King right corner; No need to match up versus the Eagles WR
Both LT Mailata and RT Driscoll had some bad snaps in one-on-one pass protection through the early part of the game
Keke sack on 3rd + 11 late in the 1st quarter another example of Wentz breaking down before he plants and moving into pressure, He’s anticipating and expecting pressure – You cannot play NFL QB that way
Packers continued to feature Z. Smith inside as a standup 3-technique in some of their sub dime fronts
Wentz right now is not comfortable with basic concepts, He is playing with almost no sense of timing and rhythm; He looks like a QB whose confidence is shot
Goedert 41 yards on first play of the 3rd quarter came out of 13 personnel versus Packers base defense, Well-designed throwback concept featuring Hightower jet action from the boundary to the field to make it look like a 3 man route concept to the field; Excellent route by Goedert showing corner than breaking to the post, Wentz underthrew it but Goedert was wide open
Hurts replaced Wentz at QB to start the second possession of the 3rd quarter, Herbig also replaced Peters at RG
Reagor 34 yards on Hurts first drop back was a beautiful fade ball, Sanders missed his blitz pickup assignment and Greene got in clean but Hurts had time on the timing spot throw; Reagor used his right arm effectively to create separation and get on top of King
Hurts did not turn it loose to wide open Ward on the in-breaker on 2nd + 22 on his first possession, He got stuck on his first read Jeffery and then left the pocket with no awareness of Ward; Packers one of few snaps of zone coverage
Packers played more zone coverage concepts when Hurts came in the game, They were more concerned about Hurts running
Packers out of sub dime spied Hurts on 2nd + 8 just outside the red zone midway through the 4th quarter, Kirksey was the spy; On 3rd + 8 Packers went 1 robber out of sub dime and used P. Smith as the spy
Ward 32 yard TD on 4th + 18 came out of 11 1x3 versus Packers loose cover 3 out of dime, Eagles ran dagger to the trips side with Ward from the inside slot running the deep over; Hurts never planted leaving the pocket immediately and rolling to his right, One of the few plays in which Alexander did not show field awareness
Hurts in his first significant playing time had little sense of progression reading, He hit his back foot and either threw it (rarely) or broke down and left the pocket; My sense was Hurts got a little more comfortable as he played more snaps
Packers 39 snaps of dime and 18 snaps of nickel versus the Eagles, with only 2 snaps of base
PACKERS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles sub dime: Robey-Coleman the slot corner with Epps the third safety, Singleton the only LB – Singleton again played every snap
Slay matched up to Adams when Adams lined up outside – Slay has been the Eagles matchup corner all season
Singleton and Edwards were the LB in the sub nickel, Riley replaced Edwards when Edwards got hurt in the 2nd quarter
Adams 24 yards on 2nd + 9 late in the 1st quarter came out of 21 2x2 with reduced splits on both sides of the formation versus Eagles nickel cover 1, Packers outside zone to the field off Ervin jet motion grabbed the eyes of Slay matched on Adams and Slay got stuck playing run losing Adams on the shallow crosser – Great use of formation, motion, run action and vertical play side route by Valdes-Scantling to create space for Adams
Eagles played same coverage they played on Metcalf 52 yards last week: Cover 3 concept with the post safety (here Wallace) playing low and boundary corner Slay playing off coverage with outside leverage, This time Rodgers hit Adams in the slant for 12 yards
Eagles game planned to play big nickel versus 12 personnel (and 21 personnel when Ervin was the second back, and fullback Dafney was in the game) with Wallace the third safety with McLeod and Mills; That was personnel approach as opposed to 4-3 personnel
Wallace was the post safety in the Eagles big nickel, He did not play in the box; Wallace missed tackles on Williams 18 yards and Jones 77 yard TD
Mills was the TE matchup and Epps the RB matchup when the Eagles went cover 1 out of sub dime versus 11 personnel
Eagles continued to feature tilted fronts out of sub dime with Singleton the wild card opposite the tilt
Lewis 36 yards on 2nd + 9 on 2nd quarter TD drive came out of 12 personnel versus Eagles big nickel, Rodgers play action boot left off outside zone run action to the field with Lewis running the crosser from the field to the boundary – Formation, run action, boot action attacked both second level defenders and post safety Wallace
Eagles had some coverage busts that resulted in big plays: Tonyan 25 yard TD came versus cover 3 boundary lock and boundary hook defender Singleton was responsible for #3 Tonyan on the deep over, Adams 42 yards from the Packers 1 yard line came out of 22 straight I play action and post safety McLeod hit the run action hard abandoning the deep middle allowing Adams to run the post versus outside leverage corner Slay who was expecting help
Packers pass game was very rhythmic, Rodgers consistently got the ball out with timing negating the Eagles pass rush
Jacquet replaced injured Slay late in the 3rd quarter, Eagles moved Maddox to line up over Adams – Jacquet a little too upright which slowed his transition and change of direction, He was beaten on corner-post by Valdes-Scantling in the 4th quarter but Rodgers off unnecessary movement was hit and left the throw short
Eagles played almost exclusively zone coverage when Slay went out with his injury late in the 3rd quarter
Eagles played nickel – both big nickel (16 snaps) and conventional nickel – on 77% of their defensive snaps, They played 10 snaps of dime with only 4 snaps of base 4-3
MATT RYAN VERSUS SAINTS DEFENSE
Saints continued to be a high percentage sub package defense, About 90% of their defensive snaps have come out of sub; Gardner-Johnson is the reason for that with his strong combination of safety and corner traits
J. Jenkins inactive, Robinson played corner opposite Lattimore; Robinson hurt early in the 1st quarter, That brought P. Williams to corner opposite Lattimore
Once Robinson got hurt Saints sub dime featured Swearinger at safety with M. Williams with P. Williams at corner opposite Lattimore, Davis was the only LB
Saints played sub nickel to 12 personnel, Nickel LB continued to be Davis and Alexander; They played base to 21 personnel with Baun and Anzalone the LB with Davis
3rd + 6 on Falcons second possession a great example of 2 man coverage taking away the throws to Jones and Ridley forcing Ryan to work through his entire progression before leaving the pocket and throwing an incompletion
Saints continued to feature 2 man out of sub dime, Jenkins was the TE matchup and Davis was the RB matchup; Saints consistently generate pressure on the QB with their 4 man DL pass rush
2 man was the Saints foundational coverage in this game, especially out of sub dime; Saints percentage of 2 man coverage is the highest in the NFL, Almost ¼ of their defensive snaps have been in 2 man
Saints did not match Lattimore on Jones, The reason was the high percentage of 2 man coverage and the undercut/tailgate element of the coverage
In 2 man out of sub nickel Davis was the TE matchup – Davis one of the most versatile 3 down LB in the NFL
Jones 35 yards on 1st + 10 in the 2nd quarter came out of 21 personnel versus Saints base man coverage, Jones beat P. Williams on corner route with a good ball by Ryan
Saints continued to feature inside stunts out of their sub fronts, with Jordan and Hendrickson working one-on-one on the outside
DT Onyemata is a strong inside pass rusher, Effective with the bull rush driving back OG into the pocket, He also shows good lateral quickness to re-direct off efficient hand usage
Saints safeties in 2 man coverage did a great job reading routes and bracketing and double-teaming, Ryan a lot of drop backs in which he had no throw within the timing of the progression
Saints DL one of the best pass rush DL in the NFL, That is what allows the Saints to play as much 2 man coverage as they do
Ridley 27 yards on 3rd + 3 late in the 4th quarter was a big time throw by Ryan versus Saints double A gap blitz out of sub dime, Jenkins and Davis were the A gap blitzers stunting with Davis the picker and Jenkins the looper
There were a lot of snaps in this game in which Ryan could not throw to his primary read due to the Saints coverage, This was an outstanding coverage game for the Saints playing a high percentage of 2 man
Saints only 9 snaps in which they rushed 5 versus 40+ Ryan drop backs, This was a coverage-based game plan and approach
SAINTS OFFENSE VERSUS FALCONS DEFENSE
Hurst started at LT in place of Armstead who is on the COVID list
Saints continued to feature 6 OL personnel as a meaningful foundation of their offense, They play more snaps of 6 OL personnel than any team in the NFL by a wide margin – 15% of offensive snaps come out of 6 OL personnel
Saints 6 OL personnel breakdown for the season, 120 snaps - 22 pass drops; 14-22 for 197 yards, 1 TD; 98 rushes for 452 yards, 4.6 yards per carry, 9 TD with 14 runs of 10+ yards
Saints 11-71, 6.5 yards per carry out of 6 OL personnel versus the Falcons
Falcons sub nickel continued to have Terrell predominantly at left corner with Dennard at right corner and Oliver in the slot; There were snaps in which Terrell matched up on Thomas when Thomas lined up outside
Hill 43 yards came on a second reaction run off a called pass on 1st + 10, Saints 6 OL personnel: Falcons 5 man pressure out of base with 3 under/3 deep coverage, Hill outflanked flat defender Neal
Smith 15 yard TD to end second possession came out of 6 OL personnel: Mirrored crossers by Thomas and Smith
Smith 21 yards on 3rd + 13 on 3rd possession a good read by Hill versus Falcons man-zone match coverage concept out of nickel blitz, Hill worked the boundary side of the formation; 7 man protection prevented the overload to the field side of the formation
Sanders 18 yards on 3rd + 8 on late 2nd quarter TD drive another good read by Hill: Falcons out of sub nickel disguise and late movement to cover 2 with hook defender Oliver going too far inside with Smith, Hill read that and hit Sanders in the inside void between the hash and the numbers
Cook 11 yard TD to end late 2nd quarter drive came on same play call as Brees-Cook 16 yard TD versus Bears week 8, Falcons cover 3 out of sub nickel
Thomas 17 yards on 2nd + 5 in the 3rd quarter came out of 12 closed to the boundary twins to the field: Dagger concept with Thomas running the dig
Saints featured TE lead with Kamara as an I back, A good run concept versus 4 man DL front because you get angles and leverage versus the 1-technique and the 3-technique
Saints predominant run with Hill is QB power with some counter but they also showed sweep with a lead blocker out in front
Hill showed a strong arm throwing with good velocity on intermediate throws, Ball came out with juice
Hill threw the ball versus the Falcons, He read coverage and made strong throws versus both man and zone coverage within the timing of the play design and route concept
49ERS OFFENSE VERSUS BILLS DEFENSE
Bills started the game playing sub nickel versus 49ers 12 personnel with Reed and Dwelley, Slot corner Johnson has been aggressive and competitive as a run defender
Klein continued to play with Edmunds as the sub nickel LB in normal down and distance situations, Milano (first game back) played with Edmunds in the sub nickel on 3rd down
First 3rd and long Bills went 2 man out of sub nickel: Titled front with Edmunds the standup 3-technique opposite the tilt, and Milano matched on TE Reed – Edmunds rushed and McKinnon stoned him
Bills game planned to play sub nickel versus 49ers 12 and 21 personnel – White also continued to be the boundary corner, He did not match up to any specific WR
Bills been a sub nickel defense the last 3 games, Johnson has played over 90% of the snaps in each of the last 3 games including games of 98% (49ers) and Cards (100%)
Bills showed some 5-1 fronts out of sub nickel with Edmunds on the ball and Klein the stacked LB, They predominantly featured reduced fronts out of this look
When the Bills played cover 1 out of the 5-1 front versus 12 personnel Johnson and Poyer were the TE matchups
3rd + 6 on 49ers first possession just outside the red zone the Bills went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel with Hyde matched on TE Reed and Milano/Edmunds matched on RB McKinnon
Bills 4 man zone exchange pressure with cover 3 behind it on 3rd + 5 in the 2nd quarter, Slot corner Johnson was the fourth rusher with DE Addison dropping as an underneath hook defender
Bills another 4 man zone exchange pressure with cover 3 cloud behind it on 3rd + 6 late in the 2nd quarter, Milano was the fourth rusher and he beat OG Compton to pressure Mullens; Again it was Addison who dropped out as an underneath hook defender
Aiyuk continued to show refinement as a route runner: 20 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter a good example beating Wallace on out route, 49 yards late in the 3rd quarter another example o go route versus Wallace
Zone exchange pressures part of Bills game plan versus 49ers pass game: Johnson, Milano and Klein all used as the fourth rusher – Johnson used as a blitzer in both 4 and 5 man pressures
Wallace had a tough game in coverage, 49ers clearly went after him not throwing much to White on the boundary side
49ers did some good things offensively with their staple concepts: multiple formations, motion, play action, misdirection – Mullens played a solid game, He is an executor of a well-schemed offense not a playmaker
White interception on 3rd and goal in the 4th quarter came versus 49ers 11 empty, Mullens initially worked to the trips side of the formation but the stick-nod to Reed and the underneath in-breaker to Bourne were not there; Mullens moved to his right into looper Butler on the T/E stunt with Hughes, Mullens avoided Butler and threw to Wilson crossing the field but left the ball a little too far inside
Bills played high percentage single high safety coverage with cover 3 the foundation
BILLS OFFENSE VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
49ers sub nickel: Sherman left corner, Verrett right corner, Johnson the slot corner; 49ers some snaps of big nickel with Harris the third safety with Ward and Moore
Beasley 31 yards on 1st + 10 on first possession came out of no huddle tempo with a quick snap, 49ers defensive call was cover 3 but Ward did not get to the deep middle staying on the field hash; Allen hit Beasley on the boundary seam, Verrett stayed too wide running with #1 Davis rather than mid-pointing the 2 vertical routes
Beasley lined up offset in the backfield in the tight red zone on 3rd + goal on Bills first possession: Diggs tunnel screen 5 yards, Allen check at the LOS versus 4pers double mug look
Smith played significant snaps at TE, far more than he had in any previous game this season
Bills success with no huddle quick tempo on first 2 possessions: Beasley 31 yards on seam route, Beasley 35 yards off Allen second reaction movement versus 49ers cover 4
Davis 22 yards on 2nd + 12 on first TD drive came out of 12 personnel with wing TE Knox motion across the formation to make it a 1x3 nub set, 49ers cover 4 out of sub nickel (Sherman rushed on his own from the boundary when he saw nub TE Smith initially block); Dagger concept to the field with Diggs from the slot running the 9 route and Davis from #1 running the dig, Outstanding timing and precise ball placement throw by Allen over underneath LB Warner
Beasley 5 yard TD on 1st and goal came out of 11 tight bunch to the field versus 49ers nickel cover 1: Sherman matched on #1 Beasley played off coverage with depth and width due to bunch, Outstanding timing and precise ball placement throw by Allen to beat Sherman
Cover 3 and cover 4 were the 49ers foundational coverages, They played high percentage zone coverage
Beasley 12 yards on 2nd quarter TD drive came on RPO concept: Beasley quick slant from inside slot to trips with Allen reading stacked LB Warner, 49ers cover 4
Knox 4 yard TD on 1st and goal came out of 12 personnel with initial closed boundary twins to the field formation, Knox from wing TE alignment started motion with the ball snapped when he was behind Smith, Outside zone run action out of the shotgun to the closed side of the formation; Knox crossed the formation with Greenlaw eyes in the backfield and no sense that Knox was the flat receiver to the field – Nice design by OC Daboll
Allen made some outstanding second reaction throws in the 1st half, ending with Beasley 20 yards with less than 20 seconds remaining
Bills not many snaps of 10 personnel in this game, 11 was the personnel foundation
49ers could not generate any consistent pressure on Allen, Design of Bills pass game versus 49ers high percentage zone coverage allowed Allen to play with timing and rhythm plus Allen made second reaction plays when there was some pressure
49ers featured multiple stunt concepts out of 4 DL pass rush but did not have much success
McKenzie 19 yard TD on 2nd + 9 to end first possession of the 3rd quarter came out of 11 personnel with McKenzie motion across the formation from the boundary to the field, 49ers matched up to the field side of the formation with Verrett press man versus field x Diggs and safety Moore mentally reacting late to McKenzie motion; Moore went underneath Diggs and at that point he was beaten by McKenzie wheel route
Bills had good success with flat-curl-seam seal concept versus 49ers cover 4 and cover 3, Flat defender expanded with the flat route and the hook defender was kept inside by the seam route
49ers went dime on 3rd + 5 early in the 4th quarter with Witherspoon the dime corner; They went 1 robber out of double mug look with Sherman and Warner in the A gaps, Sherman dropped out as the robber
Allen 2 big completions to Diggs versus Verret in man coverage on 4th quarter TD drive, one on 3rd + 5 and the second on 4th + 2
Overall the 49ers did not play many snaps of man coverage, They played high percentage zone
This was one of, if not the best, game Allen has played in his 3 year NFL career: Precise ball placement throws both inside and outside the pocket, second reaction ability; Allen is a high level arm talent with outstanding movement ability
BROWNS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
Butler continued to play right corner with Borders at left corner – Titans do not match up their corners
Titans opened the game in their base defense versus Browns 12 personnel: Landry and Skipper were the outside LB with Evans and Long the stacked LB
Skipper played in the base defense, Hooker also some snaps in the base and sub nickel defenses
Titans continued to feature both 3-4 and 4-3 front looks out of base defense, In the 4-3 looks Landry was an off the ball LB
Higgins 35 yards on 2nd + 7 on first possession came out of 11 2x2 versus Titans nickel cover 2, Field corner Borders saw Peoples-Jones initially show run blocking and attacked the LOS losing his coverage discipline; Higgins settled in the zone void to the field between the numbers and the hash – Why did middle hole defender Evans open to the boundary, to the TE side?
Titans continued to play snaps of 1 robber out of sub dime with Byard the robber, Hooker the post safety and Vaccaro the TE matchup
In Titans 2 man coverage out of sub dime Vaccaro was also the TE matchup with Byard and Hooker the deep safeties, and LB Long matched on the back
Titans game planned to play man coverage in the red zone on 3rd down: 1 robber, 2 man
Chubb 26 yard screen reception on 1st + 15 on second possession came out of 22 straight I closed to the boundary versus Titans base cover 1, Well-designed screen concept to the field with only Chubb man-to-man defender Long to be blocked
Peoples-Jones 75 yard TD came on first play of possession after Titans scored to make it 17-7: 13 personnel closed to the field with Peoples-Jones the z receiver to the boundary, Post safety Hooker was cheated to the 2 TE closed field leaving Borders one-on-one with Peoples-Jones; Power run action to the field with Mayfield boot to the boundary, Peoples-Jones stutter-go beat Borders with no safety help over the top
Long played in the sub nickel and sub dime packages, He was the matchup on the back in the dime man coverage concepts; Compton also snaps in the sub defenses
Titans out of sub dime continued to feature disguise and late movement to cover 2: Higgins 21 yards on 3rd + 10 in 2nd quarter an excellent read by Mayfield hitting Higgins in the weak side boundary void between the numbers and the hash, Middle hole defender Hooker opened to the trips side/field which was the passing strength of the formation
Titans have become more multiple with their matchups out of cover 1 in sub dime, Hooker used more now to match up to TE with Vaccaro matching up at times to backs and TE
Borders had a tough day at left corner, He was beaten by Peoples-Jones stutter-go for 75 yard TD and Higgins stutter-go for 17 yard TD
Browns continued to feature flood concepts in their passing game, They get to it in multiple ways out of different personnel packages and formations
Mayfield decisive playing with timing and confidence delivering with excellent ball location, Well-schemed passing game defined the reads and throws
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS BROWNS DEFENSE
With Ward again inactive Mitchell and Johnson were the outside corners for the Browns with Stewart the slot corner
Sendejo continued to play every snap at safety for the Browns, Joseph played majority of snaps with Sendejo but Redwine played significant snaps
Browns opened the game versus Titans 12 personnel with a 5 man DL front, with Goodson and Wilson the LB; Front had a reduced look: two 3-techniques and 0-technique Ogunjobi – This front was Browns game plan versus base personnel, and they featured different alignments out of that personnel
Browns also played 5-2 front versus Titans 11 personnel with Goodson and Smith the LB, Goodson and Smith continued to be the Browns nickel LB
Browns also played base 4-3 front versus Titans 12 personnel with Goodson the MIKE flanked by Wilson at SAM and Takitaki at WILL
Davis 18 yards on second play of the game came on Titans staple bang play action with Davis running the crosser from #1 to tight bunch to the field
Titans want to get Henry on the perimeter to stride and generate velocity: They ran pin-pull on his second carry
Saffold missed block on 3-technique Richardson on 4th + 1 to end first possession, That came after 3rd + 1 play when the Titans called a pass to sixth OL Brewer running the shallow cross that was incomplete
Brown 40 yards on 2nd + 5 on Titans first TD drive came out of 12 closed to the boundary twins to the field versus Browns base cover 4, Brown post route versus outside leverage corner Mitchell with both safeties threatened and controlled by Davis working vertically from the slot
Davis 17 yard TD in 2nd quarter came off second reaction movement by Tannehill after staple bang play action to Brown was not there
3rd + 9 in the 2nd quarter Browns out of sub nickel double mug pressure with LB Goodson and Smith with cover 1 behind it, Vernon matched up on Firkser – Stewart excellent coverage on Humphries
There was a sub nickel snap late in the 2nd quarter in which Garrett lined up inside at 3-technique, OC Jones slid opposite Garrett and Garrett as the picker in T/E stunt pressured Tannehill out of the pocket
Davis 43 yards on second play of 3rd quarter came out of 12 personnel versus Browns base cover 3, Play action boot look off outside zone to the field with post-cross combination; Goodson played the boot look and hunted up the crosser to the same side but Davis crosser went to the other side and he was wide open
Browns 3 LB in their 4-3 base defense were still hitting the run action hard with a big lead in the 3rd quarter, Titans stayed with base personnel through much of the 3rd quarter
Browns featured cover 4 as a foundation in this game, That has been a foundational coverage all season; They also played significant snaps of cover 3 to get strong safety Joseph in the box – Overall Browns more of a zone coverage defense than a man coverage defense
This game got away from the Titans early, not allowing them to play the way they want to play with Henry run game as the foundation
Tannehill threw the ball well, The issue was the Titans were forced to throw it far more than their overriding offensive philosophy dictates
JAGUARS OFFENSE VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Vikings sub nickel: Dantzler left corner, Boyd right corner, Gladney the slot corner; With Kendricks out the nickel LB were Wilson and Davis (he replaced Kendricks)
Jones also played snaps at corner in the Vikings sub nickel, He played left corner with Dantzler at right corner
Dantzler and Gladney were the corners in the Vikings base defense with Dantzler at right corner and Gladney at left corner; The LB were Dye at MIKE flanked by Wilson and Davis
Robinson continued to show strong downhill traits: decisive, urgent, competitive, leg drive, some natural power to finish – Robinson more workmanlike than shifty, elusive or explosive
Robinson effective in outside zone run game with his desirable combination of patience and decisive, Also ran gap scheme well with his inside running traits
Jaguars have been a high percentage 11 personnel offense this season but they will run snaps of 12 and at times 13 personnel
Jaguars feature a multiple run game with Robinson: Inside zone, outside zone gap scheme – Robinson has been a volume runner averaging 18 carries per game
Rookie Johnson getting more snaps the last 2 games: He is smooth and fluid for a big WR with good overall athleticism and deceptive quickness as a route runner - My sense is he can work the boundary effectively with his combination of size, competitiveness and strong hands
Shenault a weapon on jet sweeps with his size and power: 13 yards in the 1st quarter; Jaguars at times line him offset in the backfield: 17 yards on toss sweep in the 2nd quarter
Holmes lined up both outside and inside in the Vikings sub nickel front, Snaps in which he was aligned as a standup Joker
Vikings continued to feature split safety coverages as a strong foundation, They do not play a lot of single high (cover 1, cover 3) relative to the rest of the NFL – Zimmer has always been an over front / split safety defensive coach
Vikings showed tilted fronts out of sub nickel, They featured multiple stunt concepts from that look
There’s a mechanical element to Glennon’s game, He can function effectively in clean pockets; You need to make him feel pressure, get bodies around him and force him to speed up both his decision making and mechanics
Smith-Mata’afa sack on 3rd + 8 in the 3rd quarter came on first snap of double mug with Smith blitzing off the boundary edge – Staple nickel pressure concept for the Vikings
Vikings more snaps of single high in the 2nd half, Smith more snaps in the box with Harris the post safety
Gladney hurt early in the 4th quarter, Hand replaced him in the slot in the sub nickel
Jaguars featured empty sets as part of offensive approach versus Vikings, Vikings not a high percentage blitz defense
Glennon did not do a good job before the snap in this game recognizing the coverage and isolating where the ball should go, Glennon left a lot of throws on the field with both poor pre-snap and post-snap elimination and isolation
On critical 3rd + 6 with 2 minutes remaining and an 8 point lead the Vikings rushed 5 (LB Davis in the B gap and Smith off the edge) and played quarters match behind it, Great throw by Glennon to Chark on the corner route to the boundary
Glennon interception in OT was an inaccurate throw to Chark on the deep dig versus Vikings split safety coverage
VIKINGS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
This was rookie Cleveland’s second start at RG, He gives the Vikings more athleticism inside in their foundational outside zone run game
Jaguars base defense had Schobert the MIKE, Jack the WILL and Giles-Harris the SAM often lining up on the ball; Herndon and Mabin were the corners with Jones and Wilson at safety, Barcoo also played snaps at corner opposite Herndon
Giles-Harris predominantly played on the ball to the strong side of the offensive formation versus Vikings base personnel groupings
Jones was the safety who almost always played in the box in the Jaguars single high safety defenses out of base versus Vikings base personnel groupings
Free safety Wilson not very aggressive and competitive playing downhill in the run game, He was a little soft as a tackler
For the second consecutive game Scott was the Jaguars slot corner in sub nickel – Nickel is the Jaguars high percentage sub defense, Not many snaps of dime this season; Jaguars played 3 snaps of dime versus the Vikings
Jaguars game planned to play cover 3 out of their base defense, That was their coverage foundation
Cook 20 yard reception on 2nd + 10 on 2nd quarter TD drive was just another way to get to a pin-pull run concept, Vikings did it out of 11 empty with Cook jet motion from the boundary to the field, LT Reiff was the puller with Thielen and Beebe the inside seal blocks
Jaguars continued to play tilted fronts out of sub nickel; Schobert and Jack the nickel LB
Jefferson continued to show the ability to win vertically from the boundary x position, 40 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter: Barcoo in mirror match press man and Jefferson ran by him with burst and stride length and speed
Jaguars continued to show some 4 man zone exchange concepts out of sub nickel and sub dime (they went sub dime on 3rd + 9 in the 3rd quarter with safety Wingard the dime)
Jefferson 20 yard TD on 1st + 10 late in the 3rd quarter came out of 12 3x1 with Jefferson the boundary x versus Jaguars base cover 3 boundary lock with Barcoo matched on Jefferson, Cousins play action boot to the field off outside zone run action to the boundary; Jefferson sold the crosser to the boot action side then broke to the corner, Outstanding detailed nuanced route running by Jefferson
Jaguars played predominantly zone coverage versus the Vikings, with cover 3 the foundation and some snaps of cover 4
203 of Cook’s 251 rushes this season have come out of a base personnel grouping – Base personnel is the foundation of the Vikings offense, They have been in 11 personnel only 29% of their offensive snaps
Cousins sixth in the NFL in 20+ yard completions with 43, Vikings produce explosive plays in the passing game both with scheme and with one-on-ones with Jefferson
TUA TAGOVAILOA VERSUS BENGALS DEFENSE
First 3rd down Dolphins 1x3 set out of 11 personnel with Gesicki the single receiver on the back side of trips, Bengals cover 1 out of sub nickel behind tilted front with Wilson and Davis-Gaither the LB; Bengals matched Bates on Gesicki with Bell the post safety, Excellent coverage by Bates on Tagovailoa back shoulder throw
Bowden significant snaps in the Dolphins 11 personnel packages, Hollins and Callaway also meaningful snaps
Dolphins continued to feature quick game timing and rhythm concepts with Tagovailoa: RPO concepts, bang play action
Gesicki as the single receiver on the back side of trips continued to be a staple formation out of 11 personnel for the Dolphins; Gesicki lined up in multiple locations in the Dolphins offense
Rhythm throws and play action boot continued to be foundations of Dolphins pass game with Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa good deep post throw to Grant to start Dolphins fourth possession but Grant did not catch it, Tagovailoa great job reading Bates flat-footed and square with no chance to play over the top
Bengals showed 2 sub nickel fronts: 4-2 with 2 stacked LB, 5-1 with one stacked LB; In the 5-1 front strong safety Bell was often in the box
Bynes and Wilson were the predominant LB in the Bengals sub nickel versus Dolphins 11 personnel, Davis-Gaither only played 7 snaps; Bynes and Pratt were the nickel LB versus 12 personnel
Bengals continued to play some snaps of dime, Safety Williams was the predominant dime but Wilson also got a snap in that role; Wilson the only LB in dime
Bengals showed some 4 man zone exchange pressure concepts out of sub dime, at times with cover 2 behind it; Dime Williams used as the fourth rusher
OC Gailey continued to do an excellent job defining the reads and throws for Tagovailoa with his route concepts versus anticipated coverages, That allowed Tagovailoa to play in rhythm
Dolphins ran flood several times, out of different personnel and formations; An excellent concept versus zone coverage
Gaskins 35 yard reception on first possession of 3rd quarter came out of 12 empty and resulted from second reaction movement by Tagovailoa and a route adjustment by Gaskins
Dolphins first possession of the 3rd quarter featured 12 personnel, That was clearly a halftime decision and they continued out of 12 personnel through much of the 2nd half
Grant featured on jet sweeps: 22 yards on second possession of the 3rd quarter came on second jet sweep of the game
Tagovailoa showed a good feel for throwing into zone windows, He was decisive turning it loose with a strong sense of timing: Gesicki 20 yards on second possession of 3rd quarter a good example
Dolphins snaps of empty out of both 11 and 12 personnel, It was part of game plan approach
Bengals played predominant single high safety coverage, and they played more man than zone coverage; They played sub nickel to the Dolphins 12 personnel all game
Bengals 3 snaps in which they played with no deep safety but only one was true zero with 6 man pressure and man across the board
At this point Tagovailoa is predominantly a programmed ball distributor, an efficient executor of a well-schemed offense that allows him to play with timing and rhythm
