1. Game situation: 1st Quarter, 5:23, 1st & 10 at KC23, 3-3

After tight end Demetrius Harris (#84) motions to the left side of the formation, the Chiefs are running the following route combination with play action:

The Patriots are in Cover 1. Because Harris is staying in to block, Patrick Chung (#23) can act as an extra pass defender. As for the front 7, one consistent strategy from the Patriots was to have box defenders stand and/or move around pre-snap, making it more difficult for Mahomes to decide protection schemes and discern who was rushing. Here, defensive end Trey Flowers (#98) is also aligned extra wide to jam Travis Kelce (#87) at the line:

Post snap, the Patriots rush four and linebacker Dont’a Hightower (#54) is sucked in by the play action to Kareem Hunt (#27). This normally clears throwing windows, but Hightower is able to make an incredible recovery to undercut Travis Kelce’s route and intercept the pass. While watching live, I thought Hightower had faked a blitz, dropped, and fooled Mahomes. After film review, I think it’s likely that Mahomes discounted Hightower based on his reaction to the play action. Mahomes held onto the ball for a split second longer because of Chung’s presence, and Hightower flipped his hips in time to make a great play:

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Mahomes also misses Sammy Watkins (#14) on the deep over route. Duron Harmon is the deep Cover 1 safety and is playing outside the right hash, presumably because Tyreek Hill is the outside receiver on the play. Nobody else is on the left side of the field, giving Mahomes tons of grass to air the ball out and let Watkins run under it:

2. Game situation: 3rd Quarter, 13:39, 3rd & 2 at KC33, 24-9 New England

On the first drive of the 3rd quarter, the Patriots force a third and short with a 24-9 lead. Pre-snap, the Patriots are showing a look that could be a blitz with man coverage, Cover 1 or Cover 5, behind it. However, when Tyreek Hill motions across the formation, Jason McCourty widens with him and no defender follows him. This is generally a zone indicator. The Patriots have 6 defenders up at the line of scrimmage to cause confusion in pass protection. Tyreek Hill takes an inside release and runs a deep curl. The Chiefs route combination also includes a pivot and dig combination, sometimes referred to as “X Follow,” with Kelce running a spot route and Hunt swinging out of the backfield:

Post-snap, the Patriots are in Cover 2. They rush 3, and Dont’a Hightower tries to rob underneath Travis Kelce’s spot or short hook route. The initial coverage is excellent, and Mahomes is forced to escape the pocket to his right. Here is where Hill’s speed comes into play—with no outside vertical threat, deep half safety Devin McCourty clamps down on Hill. But when Mahomes escapes, Hunt converts his route from a swing to a wheel route, and nobody is back deep:

This play and throw from Mahomes is simply incredible. Cornerback Jason McCourty actually plays this pretty well, sinking with the route and forcing a precise deep throw while on the run. If the ball isn’t deep enough or too far inside, it’s either intercepted or broken up:

3. Game situation: 4th Quarter, 4:33, 3rd & 8 at KC27, 37-33 New England

On a crucial third down with the game on the line, the Patriots once again tried to confuse Mahomes pre-snap with box defenders standing and moving. The Patriots show Cover 0, with no middle of field help. However, Hightower and Kyle Van Noy(#53) show blitz, occupy lineman, and then drop off for any crossers or shallow routes:

Tyreek Hill ends up open, but the Patriots accomplish their goal by forcing an underthrow off Mahomes’ back foot. With better footwork, it’s likely a huge play:

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4. Game situation: 4th Quarter, 7:12, 1st & 10 at KC24, 33-30 Kansas City

At this point, a fake bubble/swing screen with a seam or wheel behind it is a huge play in the NFL every week. Here, the Chiefs are in Cover 3. Julian Edelman motions to the backfield and runs a bubble/swing screen, with Chris Hogan running up the seam:

Both the underneath hook defender and the safety fly up toward Edelman, leaving Hogan wide open behind them. Note from the end zone angle how well Brady uses his shoulders and eyes to sell the fake before throwing the ball to a wide open Hogan:

5. Game situation: 4th Quarter, 3:50, 1st & 10 at NE21, 37-33 New England

With an opportunity to put the game away with a touchdown or run out the clock, the Patriots come out in 21 personnel. The Chiefs aim to stop the run with a 3-4 front and are playing Cover 1. Brady sees the defensive look and checks the call to a play action:

Post snap, because the defensive back Jordan Lucas (#24) is so close to the line, the Patriots left tackle blocks him. Gronk runs underneath the block, and is wide open for a huge play. It’s hard to believe this is how the Patriots drew it up. But it is plausible they are coached to do this if a man to man defender is this close to the line of scrimmage. I’ve never quite seen this in an NFL game before:

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6. Situational football

Finally, a note about situational football at the end of the first half. The last four minutes of the first half decide a game more often than the average fan thinks. Good teams consistently score just before half and get the ball right back to start the third quarter, and also make sure their opponents don’t “double up.” Teams who mismanage the clock or turn the ball over before half miss out on “double up” opportunities. This is precisely what happened to KC, who was down 24-9 with :17 left on New England’s 15 yard line. They had 1 timeout and were getting the ball back after half. On 1st & 10, Mahomes turns the ball over on this play:

Getting the ball back after half and down 15 points against a potent offense means Mahomes has to throw this ball away and make sure the Chiefs score to get the opportunity to double up.

Unfortunately, I learned tragic news this week. Kyle Janeczek, one of the players I had the privilege of coaching, passed away suddenly. He was attending Dartmouth medical school, and was one of the kindest smartest people I knew. Kyle was also an incredibly gifted athlete who made me a better person and coach. I hadn’t posted an X’s & O’s breakdown in a while, and reminisced this week on Kyle’s successes as a football player and person. Kyle, this one’s for you buddy, RIP.

The post Key Plays from Week 6: New England v. Kansas City appeared first on Syed Schemes.

Eagles v. Falcons

The play call on Atlanta’s do or die 4th and Goal from Philly’s 2-yard line is understandably what everyone is talking about. After motioning Tight End (#80) Levine Toilolo across the formation, the Falcons ran sprint right with two short outs:

It’s easy to second guess a play call after watching it on TV, but there’s a lot not to like about this call with the season on the line from the two yard line:

The first issue I have with the play call is personnel choice–Atlanta has Fullback (#40) Derrick Coleman lined up out wide at the bottom of the screen. A running back out wide by itself isn’t a bad choice (it can help a Quarterback assess coverages). However, Atlanta should have had its best playmakers on the field, which certainly includes Running Back (#24) Devonta Freeman.

The second issue I have is sprinting out on 4th and Goal; I don’t like cutting the field in half without one of the following: 1) some sort of rub/pick concept, 2) a flat route that can turn into a wheel if not open at first, or 3) some sort of throwback option, like below:

Without any of these, the Eagles’ defense has defended almost 2/3 of the field without doing anything, and there is no recourse if Matt Ryan’s first read isn’t open.

This 4th and Goal also could have been a game winning Field Goal had it not been for an inexcusable end of first half mistake from Atlanta. With seven (:07) seconds left to play, the Eagles had the ball at the 50 yard line and no timeouts remaining. Understandably, Julio Jones is on the field in the deep middle in case Philly decides to take a shot at the end zone. Atlanta is also prepared with four defenders pre-snap for Philly to run a 3-man Flood concept to try and throw an out route and get out of bounds in time for a field goal attempt.:

Players #1 (Linebacker Deion Jones) and #3 (Cornerback Desmond Trufant) in the graphic allow for the intermediate out to be completed and out of bounds in six seconds. First, Jones hops inside and does not defend the sideline, even though any completion in the field of play would end the half. Then, Trufant sinks to the deep out, even though another defender is over the top and the clock would have run out if the ball was thrown to the deepest out.

The next play, the Eagles make a field goal as time expires. Understanding game situation and clock management cost Atlanta on two separate occasions in the divisional round.

Jaguars v. Steelers

Jacksonville offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett called a near flawless game on Sunday, but my favorite play was their final Touchdown with 4:34 to play in the 4th:

Jacksonville is in I-formation tight, with an extra Tight End to the right side of the formation. Pittsburgh is still in a 2-high Safety look, although the strong side Safety is playing with a staggered stance somewhat closer to the line of scrimmage. The Jaguars are running iso play action Fullback seam, otherwise affectionately known as “pop pass:”

The outer most Tight End takes a wide release and runs a fade to hold the Cornerback, while the play action sucks up the only two players in position to stop the play, leading to an easy touchdown:

Patriots vs. Titans

The divisional round didn’t make the Patriots sweat, but they have added a small X’s & O’s wrinkle I’ve noticed a few times this year. Similar to a jet sweep or toss crack, New England has scored multiple times this year with a Running Back or Wide Receiver (usually Brandin Cooks) coming in motion and Tom Brady ‘dropping’ the ball to them as they run around the corner. Below, James White (#28) comes in motion slowly at first, and Titans Linebacker (#59) Wesley Woodyard follows, confirming it’s man-to-man coverage and a good look for the dropoff sweep. It’s possible the Patriots have a check out of this play if it isn’t man to man or against certain fronts: 

As long as Left Guard Joe Thuney can reach his gap and make sure the Defensive Tackle (Pro-bowler Jurrell Casey) doesn’t penetrate, New England has great look: down blocks by Gronk and Wide Receiver Chris Hogan (#15) with Nate Solder (#77) pulling around to lead the way on the Cornerback originally lined up over Hogan:

Thuney does his assignment, there are great down block angles, and James White is able to catch the ball at almost full speed for a relatively easy touchdown:

Vikings vs. Saints

The game winning touchdown in the Vikings vs. Saints game began as the same exact situation as the Falcons vs. Eagles end of half scenario; there were ten seconds left and the Vikings had no timeouts, so any completion in the field of play would end the game. However, the Vikings were at their own 39 yard line, so a Hail Mary to the end zone was out of the question. The Vikings run the same play as the Eagles, a 3-man Flood concept:

We all know what happened next:

It’s obvious Saints DB Marcus Williams misplays both Stephon Diggs and the ball. But the Saints coaching staff could have put the defense in a better position. First, given the game scenario, the absolute number one priority is “do not let the Vikings complete the ball and get out of bounds,” yet the Saints only have 3 defenders guarding the sideline. Instead, the Saints should have either rushed only 3 down lineman or pulled their Middle Linebacker much closer to the sideline and the bunched Vikings. The Saints already have 3 defenders to account for the backside Wide Receiver Adam Thielen and Running Back Jerrick McKinnon, and the Vikings can’t complete the ball in bounds, so the Middle Linebacker does nothing but cover grass.

Overall, there was a lot to learn on game management this weekend; football fans can only hope the championship round and the Super Bowl bring as much excitement as the divisional round.

The post 2017 Divisional Round Review appeared first on Syed Schemes.

Bengals Play Action Yankee Concept TD vs. Jets Cover 3

Week 1 resulted in quite a bit of buzz around Darrelle Revis and his subpar performance against the Bengals. One particular play was a 54-yard touchdown to A.J. Green. Let’s take a further look and break down exactly what happened.

Below, the Bengals are running a play action Yankee Concept with a wide receiver running orbit motion behind the quarterback and running back. A.J. Green is at the top of the screen running a deep over, while Brandon LaFell is at the bottom of the screen running a deep crosser. Revis is lined up outside of the motion man and Green:

The Jets are playing Cover 3, which means the safety and both cornerbacks will cover a deep third of the field (seen in green), while underneath defenders (boxed in white) will cover underneath:

As the play develops, the coverage must adjust responsibilities according to the routes; the deep middle of field safety comes up to cover LaFell’s crosser and passes A.J. Green’s deep over route and middle third coverage to Revis. The basic assignments can be seen in a similar version of the Yankee concept below the Jets vs. Bengals diagram:

However, the design of the Bengals play and motion makes the Jets coverage adjustment more difficult. Because of the orbit motion, Revis starts the play nearly a full 5 yards outside of A.J. Green. In a race to the middle of the field, A.J. Green will beat just about anybody with a 5-yard head start:

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Also note that as the play develops, the underneath defenders get sucked into the play action, creating space underneath for LaFell’s crosser. If this play is run in a different situation, the underneath zone defenders may not come up hard for the play action. Instead, they may sink into their zone and cover LaFell, which may keep the single high safety in his deep third as opposed to coming up to play the crosser.

Overall, while Revis had his struggles Sunday, this touchdown was an example of good play design putting the Jets defense in a bind.

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Here, the Cowboys have an 8 man box and are playing Cover 1 against Washington’s 12 personnel (2 Tight Ends 1 RB). Note that the receivers are both aligned inside the numbers; Yankee is often run with at least one receiver in a “nasty” or reduced split. Washington is running a play action fake to the right with the Yankee pass concept. The Cowboys linebackers flow hard downhill and bite on the Play Action fake, causing a huge void to open up behind them for Pierre Garçon’s over route.

The single high safety is responsible for deep middle, but comes up to play the over route when the void opens. This allows DeSean Jackson to get behind the deep safety and inside the cornerback, who is expecting help to the middle of the field. The ripple effect of the linebackers biting up leads to a big gain, despite a severely under-thrown ball:

Below, the Yankee concept attacks Cover 3. This time, Washington has a fullback in the backfield that leaks out to the left as a checkdown. The Eagles have two Safeties on the field and the linebackers do a good job of getting depth in their drops after the play action. The deep middle safety doesn’t bite up hard to the over route, but even the slightest hesitation allows DeSean Jackson to get inside and behind everybody. Note how Jackson sets up his route via a “Dino” stem; he breaks to the corner to keep the deep third cornerback off, before breaking back to the post:

While Jackson does an excellent job selling the Dino stem, the Yankee combo can work without it against zone as well. The key is getting behind safeties and inside of cornerbacks, as Brian Tyms does below without a Dino stem. Although he faces double coverage, he gives Tom Brady tons of space to throw to because he beats the entire defense to the middle of the field:

Sammy Watkins is a receiver with elite speed who runs both routes in the Yankee combo. Below, Safety Harrison Smith defends the Yankee combo correctly by staying inside and on top of the route:

As for the deep over route, note that both Washington and Buffalo occasionally slip out a checkdown to the flat. While play action certainly creates downhill flow and a huge void in the zone, the checkdown can also attract the eyes of a defender who is supposed to sink to the over route. Note how the flat defenders dilemma, as well as the void left by the play action:

Miami does a good job staying with the dino stem post, but with the cornerback, safety and linebackers all vacated, Watkins is wide open on the deep over route:

Overall, the Yankee combo is a great concept for teams with a speed receiver and a credible running game. Offenses can dictate an 8-man box by coming out in heavy personnel, and try to attract Safeties eyes to the over route via a reduced “nasty” split. When the secondary doesn’t bite up for the home run throw, a flat checkdown and play action can open up the deep over route as well.

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The Patriots Super Bowl 49 game plan began as expected, with New England lining up Tight End Rob Gronkowski extremely far out wide in order to see how Seattle would respond. The Patriots then motioned Julian Edelman across to the slot. This first play would give New England a ton of coverage information for a Touchdown later in the game:

Seattle occasionally moved Richard Sherman into the slot when they felt the Offense’s biggest threat was there, or when either a Tight End or Running back was the furthest outside Receiver. By lining up Gronk out extra wide and motioning Edelman, the Patriots were able to gather information even before running a play. First, the Patriots knew the Seahawks were willing to play against Gronk and the wide side of the field with only one defender, as deep 1/3 defender Kam Chancellor (Safety #31) is essentially in the middle of the field. The Patriots also see the Seahawks Cover 3 “Buzz” or Cover 1 “Lurk” drop down zone defender (In this case, #29 Safety Earl Thomas) playing towards the original 3 Receiver side and where Running Back Shane Vereen is. This last part regarding Shane Vereen will come in key later in the 1st half.

Vereen tied the Super Bowl record with 11 catches and converted key 3rd downs throughout the game. His biggest impact, however, may have been as a decoy on Gronk’s Touchdown before the 1st half. The Seahawks alternated their drop down Lurk/Buzz defender throughout the half between Chancellor and Thomas as well as to and away from Vereen. But Vereen had just gashed the Seahawks for a big catch and run, Julian Edelman had burnt backup Seahawks Cornerback Tharold Simon (#27) on the previous drive, and Gronkowski was unable to beat Kam Chancellor deep earlier in the game. With that, the Patriots lined up in Dakota formation, and Shane Vereen away from the Trips. The Seahawks were clearly in Cover 1 now, as Linebacker K.J. Wright lined up over Gronk in man technique, and Richard Sherman followed Julian Edelman across the formation. From here, all QB Tom Brady needed to know was who was the Deep Centerfield Safety, and who was the drop down Lurk Safety. It’s fairly easy to tell right before the snap that Kam Chancellor will be the deep middle defender towards the Trips side:

Once the ball is snapped, Earl Thomas flies down and only has his eyes on Vereen. Thomas doesn’t hesitate at all or pay any attention to Gronk, who is now truly 1 on 1 with K.J. Wright:

Brady almost certainly decided to go deep to Gronk on a Stutter-Fade route as soon as Earl Thomas took a step up pre-snap:

It also appears that Linebacker Bobby Wagner has his eyes on Vereen out of the backfield. Given that it was 2nd and 5 with 36 seconds left, Seattle could have been calling for bracket coverage to prevent Vereen from picking up the first down and setting a trap for Brady. It’s also possible that Earl Thomas had seen enough of Vereen underneath and decided to fly up to make a quick tackle or even interception. Either way, Vereen served as a perfect decoy to exploit the 1 on 1 matchup the Patriots wanted.

Play Action on Slant-Flat leads to LaFell TD

The Patriots love their Slant-Flat combo, and ran it numerous times in the 2012 matchup against the Seahawks. Super Bowl 49 was no different, as New England went to Slant-Flat at least 5 times. I thought New England would go to its usual Cover 3 beaters with Play Action to help freeze linebackers, and this is exactly what happened.

With Danny Amendola clearing out Byron Maxwell on the flat route, the Slant route is open for a Touchdown, with only Bobby Wagner or Earl Thomas (squared in red above) in position to break up or drive on the route. However, the Play Action fake keeps their eyes in the backfield and freezes both players for a fraction of a second. The Play Action by no means “fools” Wagner or Thomas, but even a tenth of a second is the difference here, as you can see just how close Wagner gets to tipping the throw, and how Thomas may be able to jar the ball loose with a big hit:

New England’s Pass Heavy Playsheet

The Patriots ended up throwing the ball 50 times, but I don’t think this was the plan prior to the game. New England ran the ball with LeGarrette Blount 8 times in the first 13 minutes of the game, but only 6 times total in the last 47 minutes. The heavy tilt towards passing likely had to do with the gruesome forearm injury to Seattle Nickel Cornerback Jeremy Lane. After Lane got hurt, Byron Maxwell was moved into the slot, and #27 Tharold Simon was forced into action. The Patriots started with a more simple game plan, but as they seemingly always do, changed the plan on the fly: Just as they did against the Ravens left side of the Secondary, the Patriots decided to attack Simon, attack him mercilessly and often. The results were undeniable:

With all that, the Patriots brought back Lombardy Trophy #4 to Foxboro.

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WHEN SEATTLE HAS THE BALL

The zone run game has given the Patriots problems, most recently against Baltimore in the Divisional Round (24 carries for 129 yards). While Seattle primarily runs zone, they use more inside zone and cut defensive lineman less efficiently. Most teams who run the football well have a dominant offensive line; but this isn’t the case for Seattle. Marshawn Lynch’s “beast mode” runs overshadow the fact that the Seahawks offensive line isn’t overly powerful or big.

The Seahawks will likely see a variety of Front-7 looks from the Patriots, including a true 3-4, with Vince Wilfork (#75) playing a 0 technique, Alan Branch (#97) and Sealver Siliga (#96) at Defensive End, Rob Ninkovich (#50) and Chandler Jones (#95) at Outside Linebacker, and Jamie Collins (#91) and Dont’a Hightower (#54) at Inside Linebacker. Look for (#55) Akeem Ayers to also play some outside linebacker in this look. This defensive front gives both teams advantages: While the 3-4 gives the Patriots both athleticism and versatility with 4 linebackers as well as over 1,000 pounds of stout mass on the defensive line against the run, it undoubtedly sacrifices the ability to get any pass rush against Russell Wilson.

The chess game will be particularly important when the Seahawks are in the Shotgun. Because the zone read such a dangerous threat, how the Patriots respond to it will be crucial to the outcome of the game. Expect the Patriots to take away Russell Wilson on the zone read and make him hand the ball off nearly every time. The first way this can be done is the feather technique. Below is an example of the feather technique, where the last defender on the line of scrimmage (#58 Thomas Davis) makes Russell Wilson hand the ball off by slow playing the read. Meanwhile, all the defensive lineman rip to their right hard, making all gaps accounted for. Once Marshawn Lynch has the ball, Davis can fill in the last gap for a one yard gain. (This is against a 4-6 Bear look, which the Seahawks may also see.)

The problem with feathering or slow playing the Zone Read is that it can leave the last defender on the line of scrimmage in a passive position. It also leaves him susceptible to concepts, such as split zone (seen below) that look like zone read, but take advantage of the feather technique’s passiveness:

What the Patriots could also do is aggressively take away the QB run option from Russell Wilson by flying fast downhill and making Wilson make a read quickly. Below isn’t the same exact type of play, (Counter vs. Zone) but Terrell Suggs (#55 on Baltimore) shows how playing fast downhill at the Quarterback can disrupt plays as the unblocked last defender on the line of scrimmage:

Seattle could respond to this type of approach from the Patriots by moving to a double tight end set, making it more difficult for the defense to keep a defender outside of the Tight End, and making it more difficult to play the zone read aggressively. The look below gives Seattle 9 in the box against Carolina’s 7, and the Defensive End let’s Wilson get outside because he does not attack Russell Wilson’s outside shoulder:

With respect to the passing game, expect Darrelle Revis to match up primarily with Doug Baldwin and follow him around the field. Brandon Browner will likely cover Jermaine Kearse (#15) for some of the game, but also expect designated T.Y. Hilton stopper (#25) Kyle Arrington to get some time matched up against the speedy Kearse with Safety help. When Arrington is on Kearse, this could leave Browner to cover speedy Seahawk Tight End Luke Willson (#82).

The Seattle passing game vs. the Patriots secondary isn’t necessarily about X’s and O’s, but a game of attrition: the Patriots will likely sell out to the stop the run and try and contain Russell Wilson instead of outright rushing him. The Patriots secondary is able to cover for long periods of time, while Russell Wilson is excellent extending plays and finding open Wide Receivers. This is a strength on strength, and will likely decide the game: who can win the scramble drill– will New England be able to cover when Wilson extends the play, or will his Receivers find a way to get open?

WHEN NEW ENGLAND HAS THE BALL

The combination of two weeks to prepare and the simplicity of Seattle’s Defensive scheme should make for an interesting New England game plan. The 2012 Patriots vs. Seahawks game featured almost 60 throws for Tom Brady, a ton of empty formations and almost 400 yards passing (The most Seattle has given up in the Legion of Boom era). New England had success throwing underneath with various schemes including their Y-stick and slant/flat combinations.

On the other hand, if Seattle’s defense has any vulnerability, it’s that the Front 7 is slightly undersized and built on speed. New England could run right at the Seattle defense, as all of Seattle’s losses this season had their opponents rushing for 100 or more yards.

Overall, I anticipate New England will implement aspects of both game plans depending on down + distance and field position. Expect New England to swing back and forth between Empty sets and Power and Iso looks with multiple tight ends and Fullback James Develin (#46) isolated on Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (#54). Running the ball will also test Seahawks All-Pro Safety Earl Thomas (#29) injured shoulder. Because Seattle plays so simple schematically, New England could attack and keep Seattle off balance by making the Seahawks defend two completely different styles of football. It also gives the Patriots flexibility to adjust to the scoreboard.

Seattle’s elite pass defense has struggled against a few concepts this year, including Post-Wheel, Switch Verticals, and Seams paired with out and ups:

Courtesy of Matt Bowen (Bleacher Report)

These concepts all have something in common: It exploits the ultra aggressive nature of Seattle’s Cover 3, where Cornerbacks match vertical releases and essentially play man-to-man after 10 yards and also try to undercut seam routes. This puts immense pressure on the linebackers to carry wheel routes and double moves. Of course, Seattle will be well aware of this weakness. In order for New England to take advantage of it, the Patriots could include a play action wrinkle to freeze linebackers, as well as use Rob Gronkowski as a decoy. The play below is a perfect example: The top of the screen features Gronk running a seam route while Tight End Tim Wright (#81) runs a wheel route and is also wide open. If this type of play action can freeze linebackers, and Gronk draws the attention of the Deep 1/3 corner, the Patriots could find huge plays up the sideline:

The Patriots could also attack the seams, but must set up Shane Vereen, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola underneath first. The Patriots certainly looked to the San Diego vs. Seattle tape for hints on how to attack Seattle. Many point to Antonio Gates 3 Touchdowns that day, but Danny Woodhead and Eddie Royal had 11 catches that day and provided crucial 3rd down conversions. In the 2012 Seattle/New England game Wes Welker came up with 10 catches for 138 yards and a TD. (Precedent for smaller, shiftier receivers succeeding against Seattle). The following play is a great example of how New England can isolate the Tight End via the Dakota formation, attack the seams, but also open up a versatile running back underneath for a big gain:

If the Patriots can get Earl Thomas and Cam Chancellor to come up to play the underneath routes from Vereen, Edelman, and Amendola, they will be able to attack the seams. In the play below, Safety Cam Chancellor freezes up for just a split second to cover Panthers Running Back Jonathan Stewart (#28) out of the back field, opening up the seam behind him:

Finally, as I’ve wrote about before, the Seahawks seem to move Richard Sherman inside to the slot when they feel the biggest receiving threat is there:

New England can find out early in the game if the Seahawks will move around Richard Sherman by putting Shane Vereen or Rob Gronkowski on the outside with Julian Edelman in the slot. What they will do with this matchup depends on if Edelman can beat Sherman consistently. This will be especially interesting given Sherman’s arm injury.

SPECIAL TEAMS

One interesting statistic of note: Seattle Punter Jon Ryan allowed the lowest number of punts returned this year, while Julian Edelman lead the league with 19.3 yards per return. Look for this strength vs. strength match up to be a key factor in field position and impact the game in a big way.

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Minnesota is in a base 4-3 Cover 2 look, with both Safeties responsible for one “Deep-Half” of the field, and each of the Cornerbacks and linebackers taking an underneath zone for five defenders across underneath:

The Offensive Line sells Outside Zone left very well, and Rodgers starts the play with an excellent Play-Action fake, drawing the eyes of the Safety that would be immediately affected:

Next, Rodgers goes through his progression and uses his eyes to affect defenders. Rodgers looks at his first read and checks both Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson and Safety Harrison Smith, who is in good position with a 10-yard cushion. Meanwhile, the Safety originally affected by the Play Action has flipped his hips to go back to his coverage responsibility

Rodgers then goes to his next read, the 2nd Safety. Here is where the play design works to perfection. The Play Action and Randall Cobb’s Post-Dig route has drawn the attention of the 2nd Safety. Even though the Cornerback is in good position to play the route, the 2nd Safety comes up to play the route because he does not feel his Deep-Half is threatened. In this freeze frame, it is not, because Jordy Nelson is stemming toward the corner. Vikings Safety Harrison Smith (#22) commits to this stem and breaks on the route

GIve credit to the Packers’ Offensive Line; this is a long developing play, and without them Rodgers would not be able to go through his progression in a clean pocket for this much time. Rodgers sees the 2nd Safety breaking towards Randall Cobb, but knows Jordy Nelson is going to break back to the Post. Rodgers baits the 2nd Safety into believing he wants to throw the ball to Cobb, which creates a giant void behind the 2nd Safety

In addition to the great Offensive Line play, Packers WR Jordy Nelson (#87) sets up Vikings Safety Harrison Smith with a great route. At this point, 1/2 of the field is completely vacant, and Nelson has beat the safety. The video below puts together the progression of the play, first in slow motion, then standard speed:

The Sting Route combined with the Dig can be used as a 1 safety or 2 safety beater. Against Cover 1 or 3, the offense reads the single high safety. If the single high safety stays deep, the dig underneath is the throw, and if the safety bites up, the Sting route is the throw.

However, against Cover 2 either the Quarterback must control the backside safety with play action and his eyes, or the dig route must occupy him to create a 1 on 1 matchup with the safety defending the Sting route.

Many factors go into this Touchdown. Aaron Rodgers shows why he is one of the very best Quarterbacks in the game, the Offensive Line protects him for ample time, and Nelson runs a great sting route. Other NFL Analysts breaking down the Sting Route (#8).

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