Gridiron Cinema 10/26/2013: Frank Gore's Big 7 Runs

Last week, former NFL scout and current NFL Network analyst dropped this nugget on Twitter:

Frank Gore leads the NFL in explosive runs. He has 7 runs of 20+ yards.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 21, 2013

An impressive feat for the 30-year old RB, but not completely unexpected given Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers dedication to the power run game. Reviewing all of Gore's 20+ yard runs, the 49ers blockers are able to get Gore past the second level (past the LBs) and then Gore works his own magic by making a defender or two miss and utilizing his down field blockers to tack on extra yards. The 49ers run scheme is pretty simple, but they keep the defense off balance by running the same plays with different personnel from various formations. Another big part of the 49ers run game is pulling their athletic guards and getting them out in front of the play where Gore is able to use his patience and vision to read the best lanes. When I went back to look at Gore's big runs, the staple of the 49ers power run game were very evident. Of Gore's seven 20+-yard runs, six of them used pulling guards, often pulling from the back side on a basic trap block. 

Before the Colts started to suffocate the 49ers in Week 3, the Niners run game looked sharp and Gore gashed Indianapolis twice on what look very similar runs to the right. The variation between the two plays is an example of what "football people" who swoon over the 49ers run game appreciate. The first play is run from the I-Form Twin Left and both RT Anthony Davis (#76) and RG Alex Boone (#75) will pull to the play side (right) while TE Vance McDonald (#89) will block down on the Colts DE. This frees up Davis and Boone to get their big bodies onto the smaller bodies of Colts LBs, Davis will clear out the OLB and Boone will take out the RILB as he flows to the ball. FB Bruce Miller (#49) is now free to run at the safety as Gore follows and jukes back inside to pick up an additional five or six yards.

 

Two plays later, the 49ers will run to the right off tackle again with Gore following a lead blocker out of the back field and Gore cuts back inside as he nears the sideline to gain an extra five yards. I'll put the GIF of the second run up before the diagram, so you can see how similar the runs look.

Although similar to the first right off tackle run, this play was run from a Full House back field (triangle of backs with Gore at tail back and Bruce Miller (#49) and Vance McDonald (#89) as twin fullbacks) and the 49ers will pull LG Mike Iupati (#77) from in a back side trap. RT Antony Davis (#76) and TE Garrett Celek (#88) will double the Colts DE while FB Bruce Miller blocks the OLB and Iupati pulls around to pick up the RILB. Gore is able to follow "FB" Vance McDonald down field and no Colts defender gets a hand on him until he's already well into the secondary. 

Both plays are off tackle runs to the right, but the variation of personnel and blocking assignments keep the defense guessing. Since Linebackers will read the guards movement to key which direction and gap they will be filling. On the first play, the 49ers pulled the RG while running right and on the second play they pulled the LG while still running right. There is one tiny example of why the 49ers run scheme is ballyhooed.

Pulling back side guards is the bread and butter of the 49ers run game. They will trap on any play, even 4th and 1. Typically, on a 4th and short play, blocks need to happen fast and pulling a guard could create a gap that a defensive lineman can exploit and shoot into the backfield. The 49ers are good at pulling their guards and they stick with what they're good at on 4th down, which is a good idea, whatever your scheme may be. Here, the 49ers bring in an extra OL on the right side, #69 Adam Snyder and have two TEs on the field and only one WR. At the snap, Snyder will head directly for MLB James Laurinaitis while everyone else on the OL takes the Rams defender across from him, except the pulling LF Mike Iupati (#77). Not only does the block develop as designed, but when Iupati comes around to the play side, he is able to take out two Rams defenders and helps spring Gore for the huge touchdown run on 4th and 1.

The one 20+ yard run by Gore that didn't feature a pulling guard, was a wham play that had TE Vance McDonald (#89) doing a faux pull. The wham play is when a defender is purposely left unblocked by the OL and he is then met by another blocker that as built up momentum to create a big "wham" meeting between the two.

The 49ers are in I-Form 2TE Right and LT Joe Staley (#74) will go off the line and hunt down the LB as LG Mike Iupati (#77) moves to his left to kick out the DE, creating space to run left of the center. As center Jonathan Goodwin (#59) moves to block a Rams LB after the snap, TE Vance McDonald (#89) will come from the left side of the formation and get the wham block on the Rams DT. FB Bruce Miller (#49) picks up the remaining Rams LB and Gore is off to run into the St. Louis secondary.

Here against Houston, the 49ers present a similar Offset-I 2TE formation, but they will run to the weak (non-TE) side. Again, LG Mike Iupati (#77) is the man pulling from the back side to trap a Houston defenders. You can see how the Houston defense has the 2TE side of the field more tightly packed, just the look the 49ers were hoping to see.

Iupati kicks out the OLB and FB Bruce Miller (#49) covers the MLB and Gore is already 19 yards down field before a Texans defenders gets a hand on him.

The 49ers aren't afraid to telegraph their runs, either. Here they are lined up in an I-Form with seven (!) offensive linemen and a TE and they are going to run right through the overloaded left side.

Even with the extra OL, the 49ers still can't help themselves and will trap with RG Alex Boone (#75). The huge morass of blockers and defenders come together and Gore is able to dance to his right a little as he waits for a hole to develop and then he speeds through into the wide open secondary. If you watch closely, you can see Daniel Kilgore (#67) get shoved off his block by the OLB, but the 49ers bring so many blockers to that side, all the defenders are still accounted for.

  And we end with this run against Arizona that features, yes, a back side guard pulling and it also happens to be a wham block on Calais Campbell.  Staley (#74) and Iupati (#77) immediately head to the second level to block the LBs and FB Bruce Miller (#49) will kick out the OLB.

Calais Campbell falls forward as he is expecting Iupati or Staley to contact him and his first sight when he glances up is Alex Boone (#75) crashing into him. Campbell is so good he is still able to get a hand on Gore's ankle, but it's not enough to slow Gore down as he takes the ball and bounces outside for another 20 yards.

There's a comprehensive review of Frank Gore's 20+ yard runs this year. On display are the 49ers power running game and the variations they present to the defense as well as Frank Gore's ability as a running back to run patient and with vision. Frank Gore deserves all the praise he receives and he's a great fit for the running scheme the 49ers employ. Jim Harbaugh, surprisingly enough, had one of the better quotes about Frank Gore earlier this week on KNBR radio here in the Bay Area. 

“The more I get to know Frank I just love him so much. He’s a mystical type of guy. He’s got a spiritual connection – he sees more than most of us do. He’s a very deep guy."

"Power" is usually the first thing that comes to mind with Gore, or maybe "yards after contact," but the more you watch Gore run, the more you can appreciate his vision of the field and how he uses his blockers and his ability to make good cuts to gain more yards. Maybe he does really see more than most of us do?  So, when you watch the 49ers in London tomorrow against Jacksonville, keep an eye for pulling guards, wham blocks and enjoy Frank Gore.

Gridiron Cinema 10/17/2013: Week 6 The Impact of Daryl Washington on Arizona's Pass Rush

I was going to post something on the Cardinals and how the return of Daryl Washington from suspension has changed their pass rush last week, before the 49ers game, but a baby shower and out-of-town family visits got in the way. It’s okay, now I have another Cardinals game with Washington on the field to compare to the first four without him. Needless to say, when you add an All-Pro player back into your defense, you can expect an improvement in play. However, Daryl Washington is beyond just an All-Pro MLB for Arizona, he is whom the entire Cardinal pass rush is built around. Featuring an MLB as a top pass rusher is unique in the NFL. Usually, the job of the MLB in the NFL is to close quickly on the ball carrier, fill gaps and make tackles at or near the line of scrimmage, and rushing the QB is not one of the priorities. The average All-Pro MLB over the last five seasons has averaged three sacks per season. Daryl Washington had nine (!) sacks last season. With Washington suspended for the first four games of 2013, Arizona’s pass rush struggled mightily, mustering only three sacks. In the two games since Washington’s return, Arizona has notched nine sacks.

A typical 3-4 defense generates pass rush with its defensive line and one OLB rushing on the edge. This is the type of pass rush Arizona Defensive Coordinator was forced to use while Washington was out of the lineup and the results were not pretty. The average sack % in the NFL over the last few seasons has been about 6.2% (sacks / opponents’ pass attempts + sacks). The Cardinals tallied only seven sacks through the first four weeks of the season, yielding a 4.1% sack percentage. The overall pass rush numbers were bad, but the Cardinals blitz sack percentage was even worse, a paltry 3.8% (3/79).  Adding injury to insult, Arizona lost three of its OLBs to for the season after its week 3 loss in New Orleans.

Speaking of New Orleans, let’s look at one of Arizona’s successful blitzes out of the 3-4 without Washington. Technically a 3-4, it’s more of a hybrid 3-4/4-3 with #91 Shaughnessy playing ROLB, but he's in a 4-point stance which would say DE to me. Anyways, the Cardinals are going to zone blitz both left side backers, Jasper Brinkley (#52) and Sam Acho (#94) with Shaughnessy dropping into coverage. Calais Campbell (#93) takes his rush to the LT's inside shoulder, creating a gap between his rush and Acho's outside rush for Brinkley to run up.

The Cardinals are able to create a 4-on-4 matchup on the left side of the Saints line singling up the two linebackers on a TE and RB. On the other side the RG and RT double team Dockett (#90) and Saints Center De La Puente (#60) doesn't block anyone. The end result is Acho speeds around Ben Watson (#82) to get the sack. This is how a 3-4 blitz is supposed to operate, but Arizona was unable to recreate these types of plays consistently through the first four weeks of the season.

With Daryl Washington out of the lineup the Cardinals deployed the blitz rather conservatively, rushing more than four about 47% of the time. With Washington back the last two games, Arizona has blitzed a whopping 72% of the time with all nine of its sacks coming on blitzes. The pairing of Dansby and Washington in the middle allows Bowles to mix and disguise his blitzers, causing problems for pass protectors.

Against Carolina in week 5, the Cardinals present a standard 3-4 front. Washington (#58) and John Abraham (#55) will drop into coverage at the snap, while the pressure will come from the right side. Matt Shaughnessy (#91) will start his rush outside and then bend it back in when he gets close to the RT while Dansby (#56) comes straight up the field at the snap, only to bend around outside of Shaughnessy at the last moment.

This little twist works to perfection as Tolbert (#35) sets up to block the blitzing Dansby, only to get caught up with Shaughnessy and the RT leaving Dansby free to get to Newton without being touched.

Another blitz scheme the Cardinals can employ with Washington back is to send both MLBs at once up the gut, a Double A-gap blitz. It’s 3rd& 9 and Arizona has its Nickel personnel on the field to match up with Carolina’s 3WR set. The key to this blitz is Darnell Dockett (#90) creating space for the blitz behind him. Dockett is lined up in a 3-technique (lined up on OG’s outside shoulder), but he’s going to cross the guard’s face to our right at the snap and get him to follow. Washington (#58) will rush into the gap vacated by Dockett and draw both RT (#77) and Tolbert (#35) to him.

As the Panthers’ OL works to account for Washington, Dansby rushes into the gap in the pass protection and gets to Newton untouched again.

The Cardinals sacked Cam Newton seven times in Washington's first game back in week 5. Although Arizona didn't accrue the same type of sack totals in San Francisco last week, they did blitz on 28 of 32 pass attempts by Kaepernick and bagged him twice.

The 49ers pass protection is set up to have each of the Cardinal rushers blocked, 6-on-6. However, with both Washington (#58) and Dansby (#56) rushing the same gap, the 49ers protection scheme breaks down.

Gore comes over from the left and has to decide which of the two MLBs he's going to pick up. In addition to both MLBs shooting the same gap, they also run a twist with Washington crossing behind Dansby. You can see Gore come across to block Dansby before peeling off in the last second to get Washington. It really didn't matter who Gore picked up, one of them was going to come free while Jonathan Goodwin (#59) ends up blocking air on the play.

Daryl Washington has two sacks in his first two games back from suspension.  But his impact on Arizona's pass rush is greater than his personal statistics because of the opportunities his presence creates for his teammates. When the blitz is on, opposing offenses are forced to make quick pass protection decisions that often result in a Cardinal defender running free.

Washington can do more than blitz as he has shown he is a threat when the ball is in the air as well the last two weeks. Because of Washington's threat as a rusher, opposing QBs can often forget about how athletic he is in pass defense. Cam Newton and the Panthers were in the red zone trying to run a quick slant from the shotgun and Washington simply jumped up and knocked the pass out of the air for an INT that would have been to the house if not for Newton's own speed.

Last week in San Francisco, Washington nearly repeated the same great play. The 49ers are trying to run a quick slant to the right behind Washington, just like the Panthers did and Washington is right there to knock the pass down. Washington wasn't able to secure the INT, but Kaepernick and the 49ers definitely got away with one there.

For tonight's Seahawks-Cardinals matchup, I'm going to pay particular attention to the type of pass rush scheme the Cardinals employ. I fully expect them to stick with the Double A-gap blitzes they've used the last two weeks, but I'm also curious if they'll deploy their MLBs to spy Russell Wilson. Wilson is such a good scrambler that he can beat you around the edges and up the middle. Even if Arizona is able to drop OLBs and maintain edge containment, if the MLBs get tangled up in the middle, Wilson can easily do damage running up the gut.

Gridiron Cinema 10/5/2013: Week 4 Houston 3TE sets and Play Action Bootlegs

The running game has been the bread and butter of the Houston offense. The Texans powerful rushing attack is complimented by the use of play action to draw defenders towards the line and create space for receivers in the passing game. Last week against Seattle, Houston was able to create some success with their rushing attack, but the Texans were not able to leverage the running game and create big gains off play action. The Seahawk defensive ends did a great job of reading the fakes, especially on bootlegs, and closing down on Schaub. On Sunday Night, the 49ers defense will need to show the same discipline to similarly bottle up the Texan passing game. 

Houston's second offensive play run from a 1RB, 3TE set with all the TEs lined up in a bunch on the left side of the OL (our right).  The two outside TEs will block down on the DE and MLB while the inside TE will take out the safety (#31) as the LT pulls to lead block for Foster.

Before Foster has even received the toss from Schaub, the other members of the offense are already setting up a well blocked run. (1) SEA DE Michael Bennett has a clear lane, but will be screened off from pursuit by TE Griffen once Foster receives the ball and moves outside. (2) TE Graham has released and is in position to seal off the MLB and (3) C Myers has made it to the second level after the snap and is moving to seal off the other MLB.

"X" marks the spot as the Texans have cleared a massive running lane for Foster with the LT out in front to take care of CB Browner (#39).  Foster will weave his run behind the LT and bounce outside, forced out by S Thomas after a 16-yard gain.

On the next play, the Texans keep the 3TE personnel on the field and go to play action. Houston uses run action to the left like the play before, but Schaub will keep the ball as he rolls out to his right. 

At the snap, the whole OL blocks down to the left and the fake succeeds in getting the weak side defenders to commit to the run.

 

Red Bryant, however, will not be drawn into the play action. He easily pushes TE Griffen out of his field of vision so he has a direct view of the non-handoff.

 Bryant sets his angle to contain Schaub and limit his passing options. Schaub wants to get rid of the ball, but all his receivers are covered. Schaub will try to dump it off to #84, but Bryant is a Big Man, and bats the pass down. Bryant's ability to shed his blocker and read/react to the play fake doomed the play. With Aldon Smith still out for the 49ers, the Texans will likely try and test the two fill-ins at OLB, Dan Skuta and Corey Lemonier, and see if the can beat the fake.

The Texans also run the PA bootleg out of the 2-back set, seeking to get the defense to flow right, while creating a two level passing option on the left with Andre Johnson short and Owen Daniels mid, while Keshawn Martin runs a streak to clear out the safety.

Again, the Texans run action draws the defense to the right, but as Michael Bennett flows with the rest of the Seahawks, he has a view of the handoff and has time to read the fake.

 When Schaub pivots around after the fake, he has Owen Daniels open, but Bennett is setting his feet to close the gap between them and Schaub knows he won't have time to set his feet and make the throw, so he waits and tries to get outside of Bennett. Schaub completes a short 2-yard pass to Andre Johnson, who then works his magic and evades several tackles to gain 10 additional yards.

Houston brings back the 3TE look when they have first and goal on the Seattle 5-yard line. However, this time, the run action is faked to the opposite side of where the TEs line up. The Texans are giving Schaub a three level read with Johnson crossing the back of the end zone, Graham faking inside before turning back to the mid-level read and Foster as the short read.

Unfortunately, the Seattle defense doesn't buy the run action, at all. Both Sehawk LBs as well as Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman are well aware of fake before Texan receivers have released into their patterns. Chris Clemons (yellow oval) is set free and has a clear field of view of Schaub rolling out as Owen Daniels cross in front of him. 

Clemons closes in as Schaub finds he has no one to throw the ball. Foster is double covered short. Johnson and Graham's routes have come too close together in the end zone and Richard Sherman is heading to the empty space in the back of the end zone to provide extra support. Schaub doesn't have the luxury of time to wait and see if someone can get open, as Clemons forces a throw at Foster's feet.

Running the ball and setting up play action are the strengths of the Houston Texans offensive game plan. On Sunday night in San Francisco, the 49ers' OLBs will need to remain as disciplined as the Seattle DEs were last week to disrupt the Houston game plan. Even if they recognize the play fakes, the 49ers' OLBs will also need to shed the blockers sent their way. Seattle's ends are bigger men than the 49ers 3-4 OLBs, so being physical enough to break free from Texans blockers will be key.

Gridiron Cinema 9/28/2013: Week 3 Texans passs rush @ Baltimore

I was going to write about the 49ers offense and what went wrong against the Colts in week 3, but I ran into two problems. The first was that the 49ers just played Thursday night and if I had written something, it was probably going to be a little behind the times by the time I posted it here. The other problem was that Cian Fahey at Football Outsiders covered pretty much everything I would have covered and more in his “Film Room” article last Wednesday. Instead of focusing on the Niners’ past problems, I’ll look at the pass rush they will deal with a week from Sunday when they play the Houston Texans on SNF. Houston’s front seven is loaded with talent, headlined by other-worldly J.J. Watt and supplemented by a stable of pass rushing linebackers.

Houston’s pass rush consists of Watt (1^st round 2011), Brooks Reed (2^nd round 2011), Whitney Mercilus (1^st round 2012) and Brian Cushing (1^st round 2009). Veteran free agent Antonio Smith has averaged 5.5 sacks in the four years he’s been in Houston even though he’s a 3-4 DE, for whom rushing the passer is not a primary responsibility.  Houston uses speed on the outside and a mix of power and twists on the inside to generate its pass rush.

2^nd & 10 HOU37 1Q – Flacco is in shotgun with 1RB 3WR and 1TE and Houston counters with its Dime package: 6 DBs, only 2 DL and 3 LBs.

There’s a big hole right in front of the Center where the 3-4 NT would normally play, meanwhile there’s a glut of Texan defenders lined up in front of the right side of Baltimore’s OL (our left). This alignment is interesting because Reed (#58) is lined up inside the TE, next to Watt. Usually, the OLB will line up outside of the TE, so both OLB and DE each have space to operate. DJ Swearinger (#36) is creeping up to the line as Houston is trying to sell its overloading of Baltimore’s right side. After the snap, however, Watt is going to cross the Center’s face while Cushing (#56) blitzes the vacated area.

You can see Reed take his first step inside before swinging back out, drawing RG Marshall Yanda with him. While Watt crosses the Center and draws Gradkowski with him, a hole opens up for the blitzing Cushing. Bernard Pierce sees Cushing the whole way and does a nice job filling the opening in the protection. Watt eventually gets the angle on Gradkowski and gets the hit on Flacco, but not until the ball is already out. In Shotgun, Flacco sees the safety blitz, looks down the middle of the field to hold Ed Reed and throws it Torrey Smith in single coverage along the right sideline. The Texans get good rush and a hit on the QB, but Flacco’s ability to read the coverage and get the ball out nets the Ravens a first down after a somewhat dubious pass interference call on Kareem Jackson. 

1^st & 10 at BAL20, the opening play of second half. Baltimore uses an offset I form backfield and balanced WR set. Houston is in its base 3-4. 

With a NT back in the game, both OLBs are lined up mush wider than in the play above and Watt is lined up on Michael Oher’s outside shoulder. Houston’s OLBs will press the outside pass rush while bringing Cushing on the blitz again and using a twist stunt with DT Earl Mitchell crossing RG Yanda’s face while Watt comes back inside again. 

Mitchell easily engages Yanda and takes him to the right as Watt hand fights with Oher before making his move to go inside with Cushing. Oher is unable to maintain contact with Watt as Mitchell and Yanda screen him off his block. Pierce steps up again and plugs Cushing, but Watt rumbles through the gap like a man possessed to take Flacco down. The Ravens are using seven men to block only five rushers, but the Texans scheme leaves Geno Gradkowski (#66) with no one to block while Watt is able to break free of Oher by scraping his stunting DT’s rush.

3^rd and 33 at BAL24 in 1Q: Two Bryant McKinnie Personal Foul penalties set up this third and forever scenario, so the Texans are only going to rush three guys.

Whitney Mercilus (#59) was Houston’s number 1 pick in 2012 and was Football Outsiders 2^nd best pass rushing prospect according to their “SackSEER” projection. Mercilus possesses prototypical NFL OLB size and speed to press the edge. He’s lined up outside of Dallas Clark here and you can see RT Michael Oher is already thinking about how he’s going to get off the line and get into position to protect Flacco. With no need to worry about stuffing the run, Antonio Smith is playing DT over the Center with Watt lined up to the outside of Bryant McKinnie. 

Watt and Mercilus both rush upfield at the snap, drawing the tackles with them. Antonio Smith takes on C Gradkowski’s left side. LG Osemele (#72) is in position to give Grakowski some help, but he’s too concerned with Watt and ultimately blocks nobody. Oher does his best to work his way around to the outside to cut off Mercilus, but he can’t get into position soon enough and Mercilus is able to get his hands around Flacco. The extra second that Flacco needs to try and fight through Mercilus’ tackle allows Antonio Smith to work around Gradkowski and swing down on Flacco’s back for the strip sack. Baltimore had plenty of personnel available to stifle a three man rush, but too much concern for Watt and not enough concern for Mercilus’s speed resulted in the strip sack (although fumble luck did not smile on HOU as BAL was able to fall on the ball and instead of 1st & 10 at BAL23, Houston had to start at their own 28 after the punt). I’m not sure what kind of freedom or responsibility Bernard Pierce has on this play, but he could have helped out Oher by getting even the smallest of chips on Mercilus as he leaked out of the backfield.

3^rd & 4 BAL 12 3Q: Baltimore has Vonta Leach in the backfield with 3 WRs and Dallas Clark flexed outside of the RT. Houston is using its “small” Dime three DL and two LBs.

Antonio Smith is back to a traditional LDE position across from the LT’s inside shoulder while Mercilus is on the outside. On the right side, Watt is across from RT Oher’s inside shoulder, Cushing is up on the line on Watt’s outside hip with Reed outside of the flexed-out TE Clark.

Watt does a good job of pushing Yanda back deep into the pocket towards Flacco. On the other side, we see Mercilus vary his technique against LT McKinnie. Instead of pressing the outside the whole time, Mercilus takes McKinnie back, plants, then pushes off and moves back inside to get a good shot on Flacco. Unfortunately, Mercilus planted his helmet right on Flacco’s chin drawing a Roughing the Passer penalty. Cushing appears be a Green Dog (if your man stays in to block, you get to blitz), but Leach is only feinting pass protections and instead Cushing has to follow him and Flacco is able to dump the ball off when the pressure arrives.

2^nd&7 HOU32 3Q: Baltimore, 1RB, 1TE, 3WR. Houston in base 3-4, but Jared Crick is in at RDE giving Watt a breather.

The two OLBs will both press the outside rush, as usual. Cushing has man coverage on Dallas Clark.  LDE Antonio Smith will take his rush outside to bring LG Osemele with him and DT Earl Mitchell will engage C Gradkowski and bring him to the right before pushing off and engaging RG Yanda, creating a gap on the left side of the Baltimore O-line. Jared Crick (#93) is going to twist inside and hit the gap in Baltimore's protection along with MLB Darryl Sharpton (#51). Pierce gives himself up to take down Sharpton, but Gradkowski can’t recover in time to slow down Crick who is able to get a hit on Flacco.

 All told, the five plays above had mixed results. One traditional sack, a strip sack recovered by Baltimore, a QB hit with defensive pass interference, a hit with roughing the passer tacked onto a short first down completion and an incompletion. Credit Joe Flacco for hanging in against pressure as well as looking off the safety, allowing him to throw to receivers in single coverage so they can make a play or draw a penalty. Houston has a talented group of pass rushers and well developed schemes to create pressure on opposing QBs. The Texans stretch the protection with their OLBs off the edges and then try to create openings in the middle with stunts and MLB blitzes.

 

Bonus screen shot. After a great punt by Lechler that pinned Baltimore on its own one-yard line, the Ravens faced 2^nd and 9 from their own two. Houston brings out a 3-5-3 defensive alignment. Five LBs on the field at one time is a rare sight in the NFL. Nickel and Dime packages featuring five or more DBs are commonplace nowadays and teams will often go five or six DL in goal line situations, but seeing five LBs out there, even for one play, was a treat.  Well, a treat for me at least.

Gridiron Cinema 9/21/2013: Vikings D-Line Week 2 @ Chicago

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: 1^st & 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: 3^rd & 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.

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: 3^rd & 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: 2^nd & 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 3^rd & 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…