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.
BROWNS OFFENSE VERSUS BENGALS DEFENSE
Bengals base defense featured 5 man front look with Dunlap and Hubbard the edge players in 2-point stances, It was a 3-4 look with 1-gap concepts
Bynes and Pratt were the stacked LB, Bell and Bates were the safeties, Jackson and Phillips were the corners – Bates predominantly the free safety playing the post in single high safety coverages
Bengals sub nickel: Alexander was the Bengals slot corner, Dunlap and Hubbard were the predominant edge rushers - Bell was the TE matchup out of sub nickel when Pratt and Bynes were the LB
Browns first 2 plays featured play action boot with Mayfield, Second play was a great throw to Hodge 26 yards versus Bengals cover 1
Rookie Davis-Gaither played snaps at LB in a base defense package the Bengals used versus 12 personnel, In that base package Bynes often aligned on the ball
Rookies Wilson and Davis-Gaither played snaps as the 2 LB in the Bengals sub nickel on 3rd down (3rd and long) and selected long yardage situations – In cover 1 Davis-Gaither was the TE matchup versus 11 personnel
Hubbard played multiple positions along the defensive front depending on personnel and down and distance situation, Sub nickel snaps in which he aligned at 3-technique
Lawson played significant snaps as an edge rusher in sub nickel and as a standup edge player in the base defense
21 personnel significant part of Browns offense (plus some 22 personnel), Fullback Janovich played 22 snaps (38% of total snaps)
Odell Beckham 43 yard TD on 1st + 10 out of 11 personnel to end second possession came on play action boot left versus Bengals nickel cover 1, Beckham beat Jackson on the stutter-go with a hard out step
Bengals showed cover 2 invert out of sub nickel in the 2nd quarter, Wilson and Davis-Gaither were the LB; It came behind a zone exchange 4 man rush with safety Bell the fourth rusher
Bengals snaps of sub dime with safety Wilson the sixth defensive back, It was 3-2-6 dime with Wilson and Davis-Gaither the LB; Bell the TE matchup in cover 1
Play action boot foundational part of Browns offense – That is a feature of the Stefanski philosophy
Bengals showed double mug front looks out of 3rd down sub nickel, predominantly with LB Wilson and Davis-Gaither, but also snaps with Dunlap
Browns success with the counter run game, both with Chubb and Hunt; At times they used the OT as the puller – Nick Chubb 26 yards on 4th quarter TD drive came on 1 back counter
Jackson interception in the 4th quarter was a bad read and throw by Baker Mayfield, Mayfield has to know with no route controlling Jackson that he would squeeze inside on the seam to Bryant
Browns had success in the run game pulling OL, both the gap scheme game and the C/G pull scheme; It was the driving force of sealing TD drive
EAGLES OFFENSE VERSUS RAMS DEFENSE
Rams sub nickel: Ramsey and Williams outside with Hill in the slot, Kiser and Young the LB
Rams stayed with their sub nickel versus Eagles 12 personnel with Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, that was game planned and they played sub nickel and dime on almost every snap in the game
Donald lined up in multiple positions along the Rams sub nickel defensive front including outside the OT in a 6i alignment, Donald lined up in wide 9 alignment out of sub dime on Eagles first possession of 3rd quarter
Carson Wentz lack of precise ball placement continued to be a concern, Again he missed too many layups – Too much inconsistency to Wentz game through 2 weeks
Rams first snap of sub dime came on 3rd + 6 just outside the red zone on Eagles second possession, They went 1 robber with safety Johnson matched on Goedert and LB Kiser matched on Sanders– Rapp again the dime safety with Kiser the only in the 4-1-6 package
Rams played more snaps of dime in this game than they did week 1 versus the Cowboys – Game situations or something we’re likely to continue to see?
Johnson was the matchup on Ertz in the Rams man coverage concepts, even versus Eagles 12 personnel
LG Seumalo injured on Eagles 2nd quarter TD drive, He was replaced by Pryor for the rest of the game
Eagles continued to feature high percentage of 12 personnel with Ertz and Goedert; Arcega-Whiteside only played 16 snaps, Ward 13 snaps, Hightower 7 snaps
In the 2nd half the Eagles played almost every snap out of 12 personnel, Too many limitations in your pass game
What continued to stand out was the Eagles have almost no intermediate and vertical passing game by design
Ramsey did not match up to Jackson, It looked like he had more snaps lined up over Reagor when both Jackson and Reagor were in the game
Rams 2 snaps on Eagles first possession of 3rd quarter in which they played 4 corner sub dime versus Eagles 12 personnel, They played 1 robber and matched Ramsey on Ertz
Williams end zone interception to end first possession of 3rd quarter resulted from excellent recognition by safety Fuller: Design of play was outside zone action to the field with Wentz boot look, Ertz intermediate crosser was intended to grab the eyes of Fuller resulting in Arcega-Whiteside one-on-one on back side post versus Williams, Fuller stayed on the boundary hash and Wentz could not lead Arcega-Whiteside across the end zone; Wentz was trying to beat Fuller not Williams with his throw
In the 2nd half the Rams out of sub nickel played snaps of their 5 across Bear front with Kiser the stacked LB, That front is part of their sub nickel front package
Rams played more snaps of zone coverage than man coverage, There were matchup principles in their zone concepts but it was still zone-based
Despite having Ramsey the Rams through 2 games have not been a high percentage man-to-man coverage defense, It’s been selective with Ramsey as a matchup corner
Eagles played 55 snaps of 12 personnel, That was almost 80% of their offensive snaps; Eagles only 11 snaps of 11 personnel – Those were their only 2 personnel packages all game
Eagles 20 snaps with Wentz under center and 46 snaps out of shotgun
Through 2 games the Eagles have been in 12 personnel on more than 64% of their offensive snaps, the highest percentage in the NFL by a wide margin; They have been in 11 personnel only 25% of their snaps, the lowest percentage in the NFL by a wide margin
RAMS OFFENSE VERSUS EAGLES DEFENSE
Eagles started the game in big nickel versus Rams 11 personnel, Epps was the post safety and Mills played slot corner; Edwards and Gerry were the LB
Eagles featured some snaps of big nickel throughout the game, There were snaps in which Epps and McLeod were box players with Mills the post safety
Second play Eagles went to their 3 corner sub nickel with Robey-Coleman in the slot, and Gerry and Riley at LB
Kupp 24 yards on 3rd + 2 on Rams first possession came versus Eagles combo coverage: man to the field and zone to the boundary, Kupp and Woods stack alignment to the field, Kupp beat Maddox on an in-breaker off initial outside stem
Gerry got caught looking in the backfield on Higbee 4 yard TD to end Rams first possession, Rams power run action and Gerry read the pulling OG and was late to Higbee in the flat
Rams ran a trap on second possession, trapping 3-technique Jackson; Cox great play to displace OC Blythe and tackle Henderson
Eagles first snap of sub dime came on 3rd + 2 on Rams second possession: Rams 1x3 set out of 11 personnel, Eagles because Mills is a converted corner left Slay outside on Higbee with Mills in the inside slot over Kupp in cover 3 boundary lock
Sub dime was part of Eagles 3rd down package, They predominantly had McLeod as the post safety in both cover 1 and cover 3; Eagles also snaps of dime on 1st and 2nd down, Dime snaps in which Mills was the post safety
2 main foundations of the Rams offense: play action and boot action; At times they added misdirection to the play action boot game – One other foundational element was the use of shifting and motion
Alignment, assignment, technique, eyes: Maddox eyes in the backfield on Jefferson 21 yard out route in second TD drive, Maddox was not a primary run support defender
Higbee 3 yard TD was a great example of trusting the play and executing the play, Goff released that ball so early that Robey-Coleman could not make a play despite excellent coverage playing the release
Rams offensive approach with its focus on play action and play action boot minimized and at times eliminated the impact of the Eagles DL
Eagles only sack came out of 4 corner sub dime with LeBlanc the fourth corner, Eagles went 1 robber; Sack came on T/E stunt with Cox the picker and Graham the looper
Rams came back to trap game on first possession of 3rd quarter, This time Cox from 2i alignment beat OC Blythe off the ball and tackled Brown for 1 yard loss
Eagles again went 4 corner sub dime on 3rd + 6 on Rams first possession of the 3rd quarter, Again they played 1 robber; 4 man pass rush pressure forced a hurried Goff throw
Eagles played more snaps of man coverage as the game progressed; cover 1 and 1 robber the featured coverages
Rams and Goff did an excellent job with the use of cadence and no huddle tempo to keep the Eagles off balance: Kupp 21 yards on 2nd + 11 in 3rd quarter a great example
Three 3rd down snaps the Eagles played 4 corner sub dime with LeBlanc and all 3 they went 1 robber
Eagles did not blitz much at all but they did feature some multiple stunt concepts as the game progressed and had some success impacting the pocket
Eagles played over 60% man coverage versus the Rams, Eagles have been a high percentage man-to-man defense through 2 games
Rams foundational personnel package versus the Eagles was 11: 47 plays out of 11 personnel (70% of offensive snaps)
Higbee 28 yard TD in the 4th quarter came out of 12 closed to the field: Play action boot with misdirection throwback wheel to Higbee
Goff play action versus Eagles: 12-15, 158 yards, 2 TD; This was the way the Rams want to play, It’s a foundation of their philosophy
Rams put a lot of stress on the rules of the defense at the second and third levels, They make you play with your eyes and then make you wrong
Through 2 games the Rams have played out of 12 personnel on 28% of their offensive snaps
JOSH ALLEN VERSUS DOLPHINS DEFENSE
Dolphins showed a 3 corner-1 safety base defense package versus Bills 11 personnel on the first possession, Game planned – They matched Jones on Diggs, Howard on Brown, Needham on Beasley in cover 1 and used Van Noy as a spy
Dolphins a high percentage man-to-man defense, That’s their coverage foundation
Jones hurt on the Bills first series, He was replaced by rookie Igbinoghene; Igbinoghene was the match matchup on Diggs
Bills game plan versus Dolphins high percentage man coverage was man beater concepts, They schemed to beat man with crossers and rub elements – Crossers to Diggs, Brown Beasley on first 2 possessions set the tone
Diggs 25 yards on second possession came out of 12 personnel with 7 man pass protection, Crosser versus Igbinoghne
Allen continued to show poor lower body mechanics at times not stepping to his throws, Hie eyes and feet do not consistently work together – That may be what he is and you live with it but I still believe you have to coach it
Bills continued to feature snaps of 10 personnel – In week 1 win versus Jets the Bills had 22 snaps of 10 personnel
Dolphins matched up to 10 personnel on 1st and 2nd down with 4 corner-1 safety sub nickel
Dolphins defined game plan approach was man coverage out of multiple personnel groupings (3 corner base, sub nickel, sub dime) and a spy on Allen (Van Noy, Baker)
Rowe was the TE matchup out of sub nickel and dime when the Dolphins were in cover 1 versus Bills 11 personnel
Diggs 22 yard TD in 1st + 10 early in 2nd quarter came out of 20 personnel with Moss and Singletary flanking Allen in the shotgun
In the 2nd quarter the Dolphins played sub nickel to Bills 11 personnel with safety Rowe the fifth defensive back, They continued that personnel package in the 3rd quarter and then came back to the 3 corner-1 safety package in the 4th quarter
Dolphins featured 2 man out of sub dime on Bills 2 minute drive at the end of the 1st half
Diggs 47 yards on first 4th quarter TD drive came out of 11 personnel with Diggs reduced split boundary x, Stutter-go versus Igbinoghene with a great throw by Allen, 6 man pass protection with TE Kroft; Dolphins cover 1 out of sub nickel
Beasley 24 yards on 2nd + 24 on first 4th quarter TD drive came out of 10 empty came with Beasley inside slot to trips running the crosser, Diggs from the slot to twins ran the shallow crosser; Both a man beater and zone beater
Bills featured mirrored crossers as a foundation versus Dolphins high percentage man-to-man coverage: Diggs 21 yards on final TD drive a great example, Great throw by Allen on the move with precise ball placement
After playing no snaps of 12 personnel week 1 the Bills only played 2 snaps of 12 personnel versus the Dolphins
What was noticeable about this game was the Bills did not feature the designed run game with Allen, which is normally a meaningful part of their offensive approach
Through 2 games the Bills have been in 10 personnel on 23% of their offensive snaps – Will that continue?
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE VERSUS PATRIOTS DEFENSE
Slot corner Jones continued to play snaps at safety in sub nickel versus 12 personnel – Patriots nickel is their base defense
Jones is a safety versus 12 personnel and the slot corner versus 11 personnel, Outstanding versatility
Bentley and Copeland again the LB in the Patriots sub nickel versus Seahawks 12 personnel, Copeland lined up both on the ball and off the ball – Bentley played in all defensive packages
Patriots game planned to play significant snaps of cover 3 (D. McCourty interception return TD on first possession came out of cover 3), They are normally a high percentage man-to-man defense – Function of Wilson and his ability to make second reaction runs?
Gilmore was the matchup on Metcalf in the Patriots man coverage concepts
Phillips predominantly a box player in the Patriots defense, He primarily aligned as a stacked LB but some snaps on the ball
Patriots continued to play sub dime as a foundational personnel package, Rookie safety Dugger was the dime defender; Dugger also snaps in the sub nickel spelling Phillips versus 12 personnel
Dugger was the TE matchup in the Patriots sub dime versus the Seahawks 11 personnel, In sub nickel versus Seahawks 12 personnel McCourty and Phillips were the TE matchups with Jones the post safety
Phillips and Williams also some dime snaps matched man-to-man on Olsen (and Hollister)
Wilson 21 yards on 2nd + 9 in the 1st quarter came versus cover 1 with LB Bentley in spy position due to the outside release of offset back Carson
Metcalf 54 yard TD came out of 11 empty with Metcalf #2 to trips versus Patriots dime cover 1 with Dugger spy on Wilson, Metcalf post-sail route beat Gilmore
J. McCourty and Jackson both played about an equal number of snaps at corner opposite Gilmore
Against the Patriots rookie WR Swain played snaps in 11 personnel after playing only in 10 personnel week 1
Dugger asked to do a lot of things in the Patriots sub nickel and sub dime defenses: Man-to-man on TE and backs, split safety, robber in 1 robber, blitz, spy on Wilson
Patriots featured multiple players matching up to the Seahawks TE throughout the game depending on sub defense and personnel: Dugger, Phillips, Williams, Brooks
Swain 21 yard TD came on no huddle speed tempo with the Patriots not ready, Result was a bust on Swain shallow cross; Lockett was aligned in the backfield and the Patriots did not have time to communicate and adjust
Patriots went cover zero out of dollar on 3rd + 7 in the 4th quarter trailing by 5 (classic Belichick): Lockett 8 yards on the shallow crosser – Patriots only 3 snaps of dollar after playing 17 snaps of dollar versus the Dolphins week 1, All 3 snaps of dollar came on 3rd down
Patriots had another bust on Carson 18 yard TD reception, They were misaligned pre-snap and did not have enough bodies to match up to what was essentially a tight bunch look to the closed boundary
Patriots second snap of cover zero came on 3rd + 1 with 1:55 remaining in the game trailing by 5: Wilson just overthrew Lockett on sail route versus slot corner Jones
Seahawks run game a little more expansive than we are used to seeing in the last couple of seasons: gap scheme, trap, inside zone
COWBOYS OFFENSE VERSUS FALCONS DEFENSE
Knight was the LT and Steele the RT for the Cowboys, both making their second NFL starts
Falcons sub nickel: Oliver and rookie Terrell the outside corners with Dennard in the slot, Jones and Oluokun the LB, Allen and Kazee were the safeties; Oliver played right corner and Terrell left corner
Falcons 2 sub nickel packages depending on down and distance: Neal was one of the safeties with Kazee in the other sub nickel
Falcons aligned to play cover zero on first 3rd down but Cowboys shift of Elliott from detached alignment into the backfield changed coverage to cover 1 blitz, Falcons double mug front with LB Jones and Oluokun
Allen the predominant TE matchup when the Falcons went cover 1 out of sub nickel versus 11 personnel, Neal also snaps as TE matchup in cover 1
In Falcons 1 robber out of sub nickel Neal was the robber with LB Walker matching up to the TE
Falcons game plan approach featured man coverage and pressure out of sub nickel, Multiple front looks and disguised late movement in the back end
Cowboys started 3rd possession with RPO game, That calmed things down for Prescott and the offense: Curl-flat, Schultz 15 yards on quick game flat throw – RPO game part of Cowboys offense
Falcons mix of cover 1 and pressure, and cover 2 out of sub nickel; Disguise and late movement part of game plan approach, including double mug front looks
Falcons multiple ways of getting to cover 2 with different personnel, Cover 2 snaps in which LB Walker and safety Neal were in the outside corner positions
Falcons featured cover 3 and cover 6 in normal down and distance situations, They played sub nickel to Cowboys 12 personnel at times
Walker replaced injured Oluokun at LB with Jones in the Falcons sub nickel in the 2nd quarter
Falcons snaps in 5-1-5 sub nickel with Jones the only LB, 5 across diamond front to dictate one-on-one blocking by the OL
Cooper 58 yards on 2nd + 2 in 3rd quarter came out of 12 personnel versus Falcons disguise late movement cover 2 out of sub nickel: Play action boot by Prescott, Cooper reduced split got him attacking safety Neal on his vertical stem with a 2-way go, Cooper went to the post and made a great catch
Prescott excellent second reaction ability with good downfield vision when he moves: Bell 24 yards on 3rd + 4 in the 4th quarter a great example and a critical play in the game
1x3 sets out of 11 personnel part of Cowboys offense, Lamb predominantly the inside slot to trips in that alignment – Lamb 12 yards on 3rd + 7 in the 4th quarter versus Falcons nickel cover 1 blitz a big play
Falcons got beat again playing cover 3 boundary lock in the red zone: Last week it was Carson 19 yard screen TD, Against the Cowboys it was Schultz 10 yard TD; Same coverage by the Falcons with totally different ways to beat it – Schultz 10 yard TD was a great throw by Prescott on the crosser isolating LB Walker in matchup coverage
Prescott threw the ball exceptionally well in the 4th quarter, He made some big time throws versus zone coverage; Cowboys consistently converted on 3rd down in the 4th quarter
Lamb 24 yards to set up winning FG was an excellent out route by Lamb working slot corner Dennard to get Dennard off balance
Elliott 22 carries with 11 runs getting 4 yards or more, Falcons overall did a good job in the run game out of their sub nickel – What always stands out with Elliott is he is a comfortable runner, he never looks hurried and he is an outstanding finisher with natural power
Through 2 games the Cowboys have been in 11 personnel almost 84% of their offensive snaps, the highest percentage in the NFL; They have been in 12 personnel only about 12% of their snaps
FALCONS OFFENSE VERSUS COWBOYS DEFENSE
Cowboys sub nickel: Awuzie and Diggs the outside corners with Lewis in the slot, Smith and Thomas the LB; There were snaps in which Worley (a former corner) played safety with Woods
Cowboys did not match up corners, Awuzie was the right corner and Diggs the left corner
Carr was the safety with Woods in the Cowboys base defense, Thompson also snaps with Woods in the base defense; Carr also some snaps in the sub nickel with Woods
Cowboys base defense featured a 5 man front with LB Smith and Thomas stacked, They featured a SLB on the ball; Smith was predominantly the SLB
Cowboys went 2 man versus Falcons 11 personnel on first 3rd down (3rd + 2): Thomas matched on TE Hurst with Smith matched on Gurley, Lawrence and Smith were the edge rushers
Both Thomas and Smith matched up to the TE in the Cowboys 2 man coverage out of sub nickel
Cowboys did not play many snaps of cover 1 out of sub nickel but the few times they did safety Woods was the TE matchup
Cowboys have a strong 3 man edge pass rush rotation with Lawrence, Smith and Griffen; Cowboys also showed a 3 man DE front on 3rd down out of sub nickel with Lawrence and Smith at DE and Griffen at DT, Smith also lined up inside with Lawrence and Griffen outside
A. Smith at times used as a standup Joker in the Cowboys sub nickel fronts – Lawrence did not play many snaps due to a knee injury
Cowboys 3rd down defenses out of sub nickel: 2 man, cover 6 (a foundational coverage), cover 2 (behind both 4 man and 3 man rush), 5 man zone pressure with cover 3 boundary lock behind it
Hurst 42 yard TD on 1st + 10 in 1st quarter came on misdirection throwback wheel route off play action boot off outside zone to Gurley
Ridley continued to look explosive as a route, especially when he had free access off the LOS: 25 yards versus Diggs in 2nd quarter a great example
Ridley 3 yard TD on 3rd and goal in the 2nd quarter again showed Ridley’s explosive route running: Falcons motioned Ridley across the formation to give him free access, He initially was lined up in the slot so Lewis was the matchup when Ridley crossed the formation to the outside
Falcons did an excellent job with Ridley with motion and alignment tight to the formation giving him free access into his routes and maximizing his smooth explosive route running
Falcons featured motion, play action, play action boot as foundations of their pass game; They used motion very effectively to generate free access and allow their WR to win the leverage game
Hurst 22 yards on 3rd + 6 late in the 3rd quarter came out of 11 1x3 with Hurst reduced split versus Cowboys 2 man with Smith matched on Hurst, Mesh concept gave Hurst run-after-catch
Ridley ran by Diggs on post route late in 3rd quarter but Ryan underthrew it allowing Diggs to recover and make a play on the ball – Should have been a 42 yard TD, Again free access
Cowboys defense overall did not challenge the Falcons receivers and they did not generate consistent pressure on Ryan with a 4 man rush, They increased their blitz frequency in the 2nd half when they were trailing by a big margin
Gurley runs: Outside zone, Mid zone, Gap scheme, Delay draw, Duo, Wind back, Zone lead out of straight I – Gurley is a straight line runner who needs a clean POA and downhill path to be effective, His feet are not quick limiting his change of direction in confined space
RAVENS OFFENSE VERSUS TEXANS DEFENSE
Texans sub dime: Roby and Hargeaves the outside corners with Murray the slot corner, Johnson (normally a corner) played post safety, Moore was the dime defender
There were sub nickel snaps in which Johnson matched up man-to-man on the TE – Texans have 3 safeties with corner skills: Murray, Reid and Johnson
Murray and Reid were the safeties in the Texans base defense, Mercilus and Scarlet were the OLB
Ravens featured snaps with Ingram and Dobbins in the backfield – Will we see more of that going forward?
Texans sub nickel snaps with 5 across diamond front playing cover 1 behind it
Ravens only had 8 called runs in the 1st half, for 29 yards; They ran 30 offensive plays so there were 22 called passes: Jackson 13-17, 146 yards, 1 TD, 2 scrambles and 3 sacks
Edwards predominantly runs out of the pistol formation, He is a downhill runner with short area burst and natural power: 14 yards early in the 3rd quarter a good example
Ravens featured gap scheme run game out of the pistol formation, That has been a Ravens foundation the last 2 seasons
Moore played snaps at post safety in the sub nickel in the 3rd quarter, Gaines snaps at outside corner opposite Roby in the 3rd quarter
Ravens rushed for 185 yards on called runs in the 2nd half, They went run game heavy with the lead and the Texans could not stop the run game
Ravens did a good job with their pass game concepts attacking and breaking down cover 4, which is a foundational coverage for the Texans: Brown 25 yards on 3rd + 9 in 2nd quarter a good example, Vertical route concept with Brown on the dig
Snead 22 yards on 1st + 10 early in the 4th quarter came on RPO concept with Jackson reading LB McKinney and Snead running the quick slant from the slot
TITANS OFFENSE VERSUS JAGUARS DEFENSE
Titans first play was Smith 63 yards off Tannehill outside zone play action boot, Well-designed misdirection throwback concept
Smith 9 yard TD to end Titans first possession came out of 11 3x1 versus Jaguars nickel cover 1 with safety Wingard matched on Smith, Smith built-in route adjustment and Tannehill great throw
Jaguars sub nickel: Henderson and Herndon the outside corners with Hayden in the slot, Jack and Schobert the LB
Screen to Henry on second possession but Tannehill rushed the throw just a bit and it was incomplete, Henry had a lot of running room
Jaguars showed tilted front out of sub nickel on 3rd + 6 on Titans second possession
Firkser 14 yards on 3rd + 6 came on beautiful route design versus Jaguars cover 3 to the field, Titans flood concept opened the intermediate out route for Firkser, Davis and Humphries both did outstanding job with their route depth to open the void for Firkser
Davis 9 yard TD came on great route by Davis versus Henderson, Davis excellent job at top of route stem to sell the out move before breaking back inside to beat Henderson; Loved the way Davis attacked the ball
Firkser 2 big 3rd down 3rd down receptions in the 1st quarter, the first versus cover 3 and the second versus cover 2
Jaguars continued to align Allen in different positions along the defensive front in their sub nickel defense including as a standup Joker, They again featured Smoot as an inside pass rusher in sub nickel
Schobert was the middle hole defender in the Jaguars cover 2 out of sub nickel – At times Jaguars showed disguise and late movement to get to cover 2
Chaisson sack on 3rd + 9 in 2nd quarter came on 5 man pressure concept with cover 1 behind it, Schobert was the post safety; Disguise and late movement plus an add in rusher with back McNichols staying in to pass protect – Chaisson beat LG Saffold to the outside
Titans OL continued to struggle in the run game, They could create clean POAs for Henry to generate velocity and momentum
Jaguars not many snaps of man coverage in the 1st half, They were a high percentage zone coverage defense in this game – When they did play cover 1 both Wingard and Jones matched up to Smith
Titans featured a good mix of 12 and 21 personnel, Blasingame 12 snaps as the I formation fullback
Jacobs and Marsh both played significant snaps at SLB in the Jaguars base defense, They almost always aligned on the ball to the strong side of the offensive formation
Jaguars more snaps of man coverage in the 2nd half – Humphries 18 yard TD on 3rd + 9 late in the 3rd quarter came versus 1 robber with safety Jones the robber and LB Jack matched on Firkser, Humphries great route to create separation from slot corner Hayden on the crosser; Big time throw by Tannehill under duress by Allen who beat Kelly to the inside
Batson 18 yards on 1st + 10 in 4th quarter came out of 12 straight I, Cross country dagger with Batson running the dig – Another precise ball placement throw by Tannehill
3rd + 8 in 4th quarter Titans went 02 personnel with Firkser the boundary x and Smith offset in the backfield, Screen to Smith was incomplete
Overall Titans run game with struggled for the second week in a row, Henry got volume but there was not much room for him to work beyond the first level of the defense
JAGUARS OFFENSE VERSUS TITANS DEFENSE
First 3rd and long Titans went cover 1 behind a 5 man rush out of sub dime, Byard was the TE matchup with Vaccaro matched on the back and Hooker the post safety
Rookie Jackson again was the slot corner for the Titans in sub nickel and sub dime, Fulton also snaps at slot corner
Titans sub dime predominantly 3-2-6 with LB Evans and Brown, At times Titans featured 5 across diamond fronts – Titans also played 4-1-6 sub dime with Brown the only LB
5 across diamond front looks were a staple out of sub dime, Titans did many different things both from a pressure and coverage standpoint from that look
Titans continued to feature disguise and late movement out of sub dime, often getting to cover 2, at times cover 2 invert; 4 man pressures often zone exchange pressures with the slot corner or a safety the fourth rusher
Titans showed 1 robber on 3rd down out of sub dime, with Byard the robber and Vaccaro matched on the TE and LB Brown on the back – Byard almost always the robber in 1 robber with Vaccaro matched on the TE
Rookie Fulton snaps at outside corner opposite both Butler and Joseph; 1st quarter interception came out of base cover 2 off pivot route by WR Johnson – In the 3rd quarter Fulton played snaps in the slot
Eifert 19 yard TD on 3rd + 10 came out of 11 3x1 with Eifert the inside slot to trips versus Titans dime cover 2 with Vaccaro matched on Eifert, Excellent seam throw by Minshew who turned it loose when he saw Vaccaro’s back (that’s how it is taught)
Titans continued to play both 3-4 and 4-3 front looks out of base, both 1-gap concepts; Predominantly over fronts with Simmons the 3-technique and Landry a stacked LB – Clowney at times used as a standup Joker in base 4-3 front looks, and sub nickel fronts
Titans played both man and zone behind their base fronts with split safety coverages featured
2 man, cover 1, cover 2 and 1 robber the high percentage coverages for the Titans on 3rd down out of sub dime – In 2 man Hooker and Byard were predominantly the split safeties with Vaccaro matched on the TE
Titans featured tilted fronts out of 4-1-6 sub dime, Multiple stunt concepts from the 3 man overload side
Titans coverage focus versus Jaguars was man, A lot of snaps of man coverage out of all 3 personnel packages
Thompson 14 yard TD reception on 3rd + 7 in the 4th quarter came out of 11 personnel with Thompson offset to the boundary versus Titans dime cover 1 blitz with Vaccaro the fifth rusher and Brown matched on Thompson, Great throw by Minshew on the wheel with Clowney clean from the outside
Smith played the last Jaguars possessions at outside corner opposite Butler with Fulton in the slot
KIRK COUSINS THROUGH 2 GAMES [PACKERS, COLTS]
Packers at times played sub nickel versus Vikings 12 personnel, Sullivan was the fifth defensive back – Sullivan has the size of a corner but he has safety skills as well
Sullivan the slot corner in Packers sub nickel and sub dime
Packers featured 5 across Bear front with P. Smith and Z. Smith the predominant standup edge players, Kirksey was the stacked LB
In sub dime, which is the Packers higher percentage sub defense, Z. Smith at times moved inside at DT with Gary at DE opposite P. Smith
Redmond was the Packers predominant dime defender – Packers have been the highest percentage of sub dime in the NFL (44%)
Z. Smith is the Joker in the Packers sub defenses, He lined up in multiple positions across the defensive front and often was in a 2 point stance
When the Vikings were in 11 personnel rookie Jefferson was predominantly in the slot with Thielen and Johnson the outside receivers, There were 11 personnel snaps in which Jefferson lined up outside; Jefferson snaps with Thielen in the Vikings 12 and 21 personnel
Thielen 37 yard TD versus Packers came out of 21 straight I closed to the boundary / twins to the field, Packers out of base played cover 3 with safety Savage aligned over Thielen; Thielen post-corner beat Savage with a great throw by Cousins
Colts almost exclusively a nickel in their sub defense, Only 3 snaps of dime through 2 games – Moore moves inside to the slot in nickel
JONATHAN TAYLOR VERSUS VIKINGS DEFENSE
Vikings sub nickel: Hill and Gladney the outside corners with Hughes in the slot – Dantzler was an injury inactive after starting at outside corner opposite Hughes in the base defense and Hill in the sub nickel versus the Packers week 1
Hughes and Hill were the outside corners in the base defense, Wilson was the third LB with Barr and Kendricks
Taylor featured in both the zone run game and the gap scheme run game as an I back, Colts also ran gap scheme and outside zone with Taylor out of the shotgun; Taylor is a decisive downhill runner with short area burst and natural power
Vikings a predominant over front defense – That has been Zimmer’s philosophy for years
Dye replaced injured Barr (out for the season with torn pec) in the Vikings base 4-3 defense (Connelly played 1 snap); Wilson played with Kendricks in the sub nickel, That changes what the Vikings can do in their nickel since they at times featured 3-3-5 nickel with Barr as an edge pass rusher
JUSTIN HERBERT VERSUS CHIEFS DEFENSE
Chiefs base defense: Fenton and rookie Sneed were the outside corners with Wilson, Hitchens and Niemann the LB
Chiefs sub nickel: Sorenson was the nickel defender, Hitchens and Wilson were the LB with Neimann also snaps with Hitchens; Mathieu played in the slot
Guyton was the Chargers third WR in 11 personnel, Both Ekeler and Kelley snaps as the back in 11
Chiefs DC Spagnuolo will go cover zero at times depending on down and distance and field location, He went zero on 3rd + 4 in the high red zone on Chargers first possession: Ekeler 20 yard reception wheel route off jet motion
Chargers did an excellent job helping Herbert settle in through his first couple of possessions with quick game throws and basic concepts, We saw WR screen game and curl-flat to the boundary
Chargers also featured 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel which helps QBs in the pre snap phase, Defense almost always declares coverage based on the boundary TE and the inside WR to trips
Chargers went 1st + 10 shot play late in the 1st quarter, another way to help a rookie QB with its maximum protection concepts and defined reads – Herbert just underthrew Williams on the deep post allowing quarters safety Mathieu to recover and play the ball
Chiefs went 2 man out of sub dime on 3rd + 5 from the +34 yard line, Hamilton was the dime corner with Sorenson the matchup on Henry, Niemann was the dime LB – Chargers went empty to force the defense to declare and give Herbert more pre-snap information
Chiefs sub front at times had Charlton and Clark as the edge rushers with Jones and Kpassagnon inside – Chiefs best pass rush unit
4th + 5 late in the 1st quarter Herbert focused solely on Henry on the intermediate crosser, Henry was doubled by Sorenson and Niemann, That was a tough throw; He had Allen wide open in his sight line on the pivot route versus Sneed, Easy throw
Guyton 14 yard TD on 3rd and goal was an excellent cover 3 beater with 3 verticals to trips, That put outside corner Fenton in a bit of conflict since he’s reading both 2 vertical and 1 vertical; Herbert big time from far hash to the back corner of the end zone
Will the Chiefs use the highly athletic LB O’Daniel as a spy on Jackson? They did that versus Herbert out of 3-2-6 sub dime late in the 1st half
Allen 17 yards on first possession of 3rd quarter an impressive play by Herbert: Chiefs blitzed from both edges, Herbert immediately went to the one-on-one on the outside with Allen versus Sneed
Chiefs played more snaps of dime in the 2nd half, It was 3 safety dime with Thompson the third safety – Through 2 games the Chiefs have played about the same number of snaps of dime and nickel
Allen 25 yards on 3rd + 10 in 3rd quarter was another big time throw by Herbert: Chiefs cover 2 invert out of sub dime, Herbert drilled the seam ball to Allen in a tight window – It was a turn-it-loose DNA throw against a disguised coverage meant to steal a throw
Spagnuolo again went zero blitz on 3rd + 7 in 3rd quarter from +23 yard line just outside the red zone – Spagnuolo increased blitz frequency in the 2nd half
Overall Spagnuolo 4 snaps of zero blitz in the game, 3 in the 2nd half – Chargers OL had struggles in pass protection in the 2nd half
BEARS OFFENSE VERSUS GIANTS DEFENSE
First 3rd down of the game the Giants played with 8 defensive backs: 4 corners and 4 safeties; Disguise and late movement to cover 2 with Love the middle hole defender
Giants featured big nickel package with safeties Love, Peppers and Ryan – Overall the Giants played a lot of different secondary personnel packages
Giants sub dime: Bradberry and Ballantine were the outside corners with Holmes the slot corner; It was 3 safety dime with Peppers, Ryan and Love
Giants at timed played dollar (again the Patriots influence), Ebner was the seventh defensive back
Bradberry matched up on Robinson travelling with him on both sides of the formation; Peppers again was the TE matchup in cover 1 out of sub dime and dollar
Bears snaps out of 21 personnel with Montgomery and Cohen on the field, Cohen a movable chess piece who can line up in multiple positions
Giants snaps of cover 2 out of their different sub defenses, with different players the middle hole defender
Williams aligned in multiple positions along the defensive front, Carter was a moveable chess piece playing both on the ball and off the ball
Giants continued to be a multiple front defense out of sub dime, A lot of different looks
Mooney 15 yard TD on 3rd + 8 in the 2nd quarter came out of 11 empty versus Giants 8 defensive back package, Giants played man coverage with 2 brackets on Miller and Robinson; Trubisky was able to hold the ball for 7 seconds before delivering
Yiadom played snaps opposite Bradberry in the Giants sub nickel defense versus Bears 12 personnel, It was big nickel – Giants at times featured 5 across Bear fronts out of big nickel, Fackrell played on the ball OLB in those Bear fronts
Montgomery looked quicker than he did in 2019, Better short area burst with lighter feet allowing him to get through small creases at the POA
Zone was the predominant run with Montgomery – Bears OL also looked quicker, especially the interior 3; LG Daniels is a very good athlete whose traits fit well in the zone run game
Through 2 games the Giants have been in a sub defense over 90% of their snaps, Nickel is their predominant sub defense with 2 different personnel groupings: big nickel with 3 safeties, and conventional nickel with 3 corners
SAM DARNOLD VERSUS 49ERS DEFENSE
Witherspoon and Moseley were the 49ers corners
49ers continued to feature tilted fronts out of sub nickel with Warner the standup wild card adding in as the fifth rusher from the side opposite the tilt or dropping into coverage
49ers went cover 4 out of sub nickel on the Jets first 3rd down; 49ers through 2 games showing more cover 4 out of nickel – Overall they are playing more split safety coverages: cover 4, cover 6
49ers in cover 1 out of sub nickel continued to match safety Ward on the inside slot to trips in 1x3 sets out of 11 personnel, That left a corner on the boundary x TE
49ers very comfortable with Ward matched on WR, both in the conventional slot to twins and the inside slot to trips
Bosa and Thomas both tore ACLs in the 1st quarter, Rookie Kinlaw and Givens played significant snaps
49ers continued to feature double mug fronts out of sub nickel, with Warner and Alexander in the A gaps
Street significant snaps at DE in the 2nd half – He could become an important player going forward
Hyder predominantly lined up at RDE in Bosa’s spot – Will he be that guy going forward?
9:40 in the 4th quarter is a summation of Darnold in one play: Well-designed cover 4 beater route concept (cover 4 had been a staple of the 49ers defense all game)and Darnold showed no sense of what he was looking at re: route concept versus coverage, no sense of elimination and isolation; Malone was wide open on the dig which was the design of the concept versus cover 4, It should have been pitch and catch but Darnold due to lack of processing created his own pressure
Darnold lacks a refined sense of timing which results in late throws on routine throws, It also results in Darnold not thinking a throw is there when it is there
