There’s a lot going on Sundays in the NFL and it’s
impossible to take it ALL in whether you try sitting at a sports bar with every
game queued up on 10 different TVs or sitting at home playing couch commando
with NFL Sunday Ticket while monitoring Redzone on your iPad. Oh, how I have
tried. As a veteran of Football Outsiders’ game charting project, I get a
second chance to revisit and study games beyond the highlight plays and uncover
who is or who is not doing the “little things” needed to win. It’s always nice
to get an ego boost when our assumptions are confirmed, but we can also derive
a special pleasure from uncovering the unexpected. This week I was
studying Vikings-Bears, specifically looking at how well Chicago’s offensive
line played. Upon further review, to the surprise of zero Bears fans, Chicago’s O-line did not have a good game.
Minnesota has a talented defensive front seven, and the
one player who stood out last Sunday was Brian Robison. Robison, if you’re not
familiar, is a six year veteran from Texas who showed enough potential playing
DE opposite of Jared Allen that the Vikings were content to let Ray Edwards
walk as a free agent after 2010. Robison stepped right in and has put up 16.5
sacks over the last two seasons, matching the exact total that Edwards had in
his final two seasons in Minnesota. Watching highlights from last Sunday, you
would have seen Robison picking up a Cutler fumble and rumbling down the field
for a touchdown. Robison contributed throughout the game beyond the highlight reel appearance in what was ultimately a one point loss for
the Vikes. In the spirit of the “me too” business model, I’m going to jump into
the crowded world of film review with the following plays from the
Vikings-Bears game, with particular focus on Brian Robison and the Viking defensive line plan of attack against the Bears OL.
Play 1: 1st & 10 at CHI 32 1Q – Bears are
in “12” personnel (1 RB, 2 TE) and Vikings are in their base 4-3 defense.
The Bears are going to have Martellus Bennett block Jared
Allen with help from Matt Forte while LT Bushrod will supplement the interior protection.
On the right side, rookie fifth round pick Jordan Mills is singled up on
Robison while RG Kyle Long and C Roberto Garza will double DT Letroy Guion.
As Cutler reaches the end of his drop back, he has a clear
line of sight of Robison who has already knocked Mills’ hands down and beaten
him to the outside. Bennett looks to be carrying Allen past the pocket and
Forte seems to be in position to keep Allen at bay. Bushrod is standing alone
in space, seemingly intent on not blocking anyone, but in position to assist LG
Matt Slauson if needed.
Robison makes his way around Mills and forces Cutler to
step up in the pocket. Bushrod appears ready to get in front of Floyd, while
Long and Garza are keeping Guion occupied.
As Cutler steps forward and readies himself to make a
throw, Guion is able to slide off the double team and get under Kyle Long and
push him backwards, forcing Cutler to pull the ball down and scramble.
The end result is Cutler takes a not so nice hit from Chad
Greenway for no gain.
Play 2: 3rd & 9 at MIN 31 2Q – Bears are in
“11” personnel (1 RB 1 TE) and the Vikings bring in their dime package (1LB
6DB).
This is the highlight reel play that ends with Robison scooping up the Cutler
fumble and taking it to the house. Robison was
lined up between the RT and TE in the play above, but now he's lined up Wide 9 (really far outside TE). The two DTs are in 3-technique (lined up on G’s outside shoulder) and
will run a swap stunt. The ends, Allen and Robison, will be working a kind of pincher
rush with Robison aiming deep and Allen cutting shallow. AJ Jefferson (#24) has
man coverage on Forte.
At the snap, Robison’s first step is up field as he
tries to get around the outside before Mills can get to him. Everson Griffen
(#97) takes a false step before he begins to loop to the left as Kevin Williams
immediately begins his rush across LG Matt Slauson’s face trying to draw him
inside.
At the snap, both Robison and Allen crash the C gaps trying to hit the Gs outside shoulder while bringing the tackles with them inside. While the Ends are crashing inside, the DTs move to loop around to the outside. Robison hits Long and completely knocks him off Williams, who now has a free rush around Mills who followed Robison and committed his hips inside.
Jared Allen's first action off the line was up field, but he
then plants his outside leg to change his angle back inside, trying to get
Bushrod off balance. Kevin Williams continues his cross as he looks to split the
C/LG and free up Griffen to come around behind.
Robison has now rushed to the back of the pocket while Allen’s
inside move as taken him into Forte. Unfortunately for the Bears, the play call
did not involve Forte double teaming Allen this time, as Slauson and Garza leak
to the left, Forte is supposed to follow them to await the screen.
Forte effectively knocks Bushrod off of Allen and since he’s
supposed to receive the screen pass, he’s not trying to block Allen either, leaving
Allen to run free. With Robison guarding the back door, Cutler can’t back pedal
to try and float the pass over Allen and his only option is to try and escape
the four-time All Pro.
Play 3: 3rd & 5 at CHI 40 3Q: Bears run a
bunch right with “12” personnel and Jeffrey on the inside. The Vikings are in
nickel D with both MLBs and a DB up on the line.
At the snap, the Vikings drop into zone coverage and only
rush four. Robison, who has been mostly rushing wide around Mills so far, slaps
Mills hands up and goes right past him with an inside move.
Cutler has time just to plant and throw as Robison has
broken free and locked onto the QB while Allen has dipped is shoulder to try
and push by Bushrod, squeezing the pocket from both sides.
Cutler gets the pass off, throwing to the sideline while
his receiver kept running up field. Robison knocks Cutler to the ground and the
miscommunication almost nets a turnover.
Play 4: 2nd & 12 at CHI50 4Q: Bears offense
with “11” personnel and Marshall and Bennett flexed off the tackles. Vikings
counter with nickel package with Kevin Williams lined up in the A gap and
Griffen in the B gap.
At the snap, both Robison and Allen crash the C gaps trying to hit the Gs outside shoulder while bringing the tackles with them inside. While the Ends are crashing inside, the DTs move to loop around to the outside. Robison hits Long and completely knocks him off Williams, who now has a free rush around Mills who followed Robison and committed his hips inside.
Mills tries to get back into a position where he can slow
Williams down while Long tries to recover against Robison. Allen’s rush from
the other side has carried Bushrod and Slauson through the pocket and screen
Long off from Robison and he’s also on the way to meet Cutler.
The Vikings D-line did a tremendous job creating the
pressure on this play, but the pressure developed in Cutler’s field of vision
enabling him get rid of the ball. To top it all off, Greenway looked unsure of
his coverage responsibilities pre-snap and found himself out of position when
the ball was released and slipped as he tried to recover, too late to defend
the completion. The Bears convert 3rd & 1 and go on to score the
winning touchdown. And that’s NFL life.
The Vikings did a lot of interesting and disruptive things
with their four man rush against the Bears. Jared Allen gets all the press, and
rightly so, but Brian Robison is an effective counterpart. The Vikings have
only notched one sack through two games (Allen’s strip sack above), but the
amount of pressure that they are generating is a good indicator that the D-line
will be eating soon. On the menu this week is Cleveland…
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