BDL 2019 Week 10 - Berlin Blitzkrieg @ Hungary Hippos

[SirA1]

BDL 2019 Week 10

Match:  Berlin Blitzkrieg @ Hungary Hippos

Away Owner: @Ragnarok

Home Owner: @PR

Vote for who you think will win this game.

Rules:
One vote per person, duplicate accounts will be banned and action taken against those attempting to rig the results.

One vote per team involved in the match. Co-owners may vote in every match up except their own.

For members, who have been following along, and wish to vote.  Please join the conversation and maybe give a reason you voted as you did. This will alleviate any suspicions of unusual voting and will promote discussion.

Note: Players that have a (D) next to their name indicate that they are doubtful or unlikely to play. Players with (Q) are game-time decisions.

Good luck to you both

Edited November 10, 2019 by SirA1

[SirA1]

Berlin Blitzkrieg

Offense
QB - Tom Brady
RB - Aaron Jones
WR - Kenny Golladay
WR - Marquise Brown
TE - Hunter Henry
TE - Irv Smith Jr.
LT - Kolton Miller
LG - Alex Cappa
C - Corey Linsley
RG - Gabe Jackson
RT - Taylor Moton

RB - David Johnson
RB - Dare Ogunbowale
WR - MVS
WR - Jake Kumerow
WR - Christian Kirk
TE - Jordan Akins
OL - Dan Feeney

Defense
RE - Justin Houston
1T - Quinnen Williams
3T - Sheldon Rankins
LE - Demarcus Lawrence
OLB - Tremaine Edmunds
MLB - Rashaan Evans
CB - Gareon Conley
CB - Darius Slay
NB - Byron Murphy
S - Lamarcus Joyner
S - Juan Thornhill

DE - Za’Darius Smith
DE - Markus Golden
DT - Leonard Williams
DT - Brandon Williams
LB - Ja’whaun Bentley
CB - Rock Ya-Sin
CB - Mike Hilton

Hungary Hippos

QB - Jared Goff
RB - Leonard Fournette
WR - Larry Fitzgerald
WR - Mohamed Sanu
WR - DK Metcalf
TE - Greg Olsen
LT - Taylor Decker
LG - Ali Marpet
C - Grahama Glasgow
RG - Joe Dahl
RT - Andre Dillard

RB - Adrian Peterson
RB - Raheem Mostert
WR - Darius Slayton
WR - Taylor Gabriel 
WR - Andy Isabella
TE - TJ Hockenson
TE - Jack Doyle
OL - Jack Conklin

DE - Brandon Graham
DT - Johnathan Allen
DT - Nick Williams
DE - Mario Addison
LB - Luke Kuechly
LB - Raekwon McMillan
LB/S - Harrison Smith

CB - Casey Hayward

CB - Shaquill Griffen
FS - Budda Baker
SS - Jabrill Peppers

DE - Terrell Suggs
DE - Cameron Wake
DT - Tyeler Davison
DT - Al Woods
LB - Ben Niemann
CB - Tramon Williams
CB - Emmanuel Mosely
CB - Jimmy Smith

Edited November 12, 2019 by SirA1

[SirA1]

Berlin Blitzkrieg

Offense
We begin that final push for our first ever playoff berth with a visit to Hungary.  We lost to them by one vote in Week 1 and want to avenge that loss.

This week, we will again go for it almost every time on 4th and 1 with a Brady QB sneak to keep our drives going. 

Aaron Jones is going to be our main RB again.  We are going to run him inside and out, but we want to use lots of draws, screens, and especially counters.  Hungary is going to have to rely on two inexperienced LBs(in our 2 TE package), and we want to make sure we test them in every way possible.  Also look for zone stretch runs that allow our RBs to cut back if those LBs don’t fill their gaps properly.  We will involve both RBs heavily in the passing game as well.  They will split out to force a linebacker into man coverage.  We want Aaron to get 20+ carries and 8+ targets if possible.  D Johnson should be back and he will get 10+ carries and 10+ targets by playing largely on third downs.  Brady will utilize the RB to get the ball out quickly so they can make moves in space.

2 TE - Our main set for this game(70%), we want Hungary to have either 3 LBs or an additional safety on the field.  We will use this set to establish a solid run game and get the ball out of Brady’s hands quickly.  We will be under center and in shotgun evenly.  But we want to run the ball a lot.  We plan on getting to the line quickly so that we can either go into hurry-up or have time to motion one or more players so that Brady gets as much info as possible pre-snap.  But as stated above, we are going to attack the inexperienced LBs for Hungary.

Irv is going to be in a TE/FB role where he moves all over the formation as well as into the slot.  This will be used to give Brady pre-snap info and he will serve as a lead blocker.  We will also use him in the pass game to attack the linebacker they put on him in man.

Henry will play a more tradition TE role, but he will split out into the slot around 35-40% of the time to also give Brady pre-snap info.  Henry will run every type of route regardless of position.  However, when he splits out, we will use him as a blocker at times for a WR screen.

Golladay will be our #1 and is going to get his share of targets regardless of coverage.  We are going to let him do what he does best which is win contested balls both close to the line and down the field.

Hollywood is going to be our JOAT in this formation as we will use him like we did Tyreek early in his career.  We are going to give him screens, quick slants, end arounds, jet sweeps, and some deep shots to keep him heavily involved and stress the Hungary defense.

If Hungary puts an 8th man up in the box, we are going to take some deep shots to Golladay and Hollywood.  Their size and speed will allow them to come down with enough of those balls to force the other safety to back off. Brady will look off the safety and throw it up until they back off.

If we motion a TE out of the box and Kuechly follows in man, we will look to run the ball to gash their remaining LBs.  If we motion a RB out of the box and Kuechly does not follow in man coverage, we will get the ball to that RB to test that other LB in space.

3 WR - Our 2nd set for this game(25%), we are going to typically sit in shotgun and use a quick passing attack that allows Brady to read and react quickly.  Kirk will play the slot and Irv comes out.  We will put a WR in motion across the formation to give Brady pre-snap information, so he can attack single coverage in man and find the soft spots in zones.  This will be used in more hurry up situations and to switch up tempo.

Look for us to use double moves on their corners with semi-frequency.  We will leave Henry or Jones in to block on those plays to give Brady plenty of time to find the open man.  The other of Henry or Jones will serve as a check down or out route.

4 WR Sets - 5% we will have Golladay and MVS outside with Kirk and Marquise in the slot and an RB.  The RB will chip before serving as a check down option.  The 4 WRs will just run wild.

Defense -
Dahl has been limited in practice with an ankle injury and Conklin has been wildly inconsistent this year.  We are going to line Lawrence up at LE and put Rankins at 3T over Dahl.  This will 1)strain/test that right side of the OL and 2)keep Goff from escaping the pocket by rolling right which he loves. 

3 WR - Cover 1 Man - Thornhill will play deep middle that he sometimes shades to Conley’s side and Joyner will play close to the line and drop into a middle zone. This gives us an extra man in the box to help against the run.  We want to remove the slants and crossers that Goff loves to throw as well as remove the seam route.

Slay plays RCB, Gareon plays LCB, and Byron plays the slot.  This will allow us to alternate between man and zone without showing our hand.  For instance, if their slot WR moves across the line into the slot on the other side, Byron will follow across the formation, but we may still drop into a Cover 2 or 3.  We will typically play with outside leverage to funnel them towards our middle zones.

Tremaine will have the TE and Rashaan will sit in zone in the shallow middle unless the RB releases, then he will follow the RB in man.

- Cover 2/3 Zone - We will incorporate a fair bit of zone(35%) as mentioned to not give Goff any easy reads.

2 TE - Za’Darius comes in for Byron and plays OLB.  Slay and Conley stay on their sides and Thornhill is going to sit deep middle with a slight shade to Conley’s side, especially if Metcalf is over there.  Joyner will play up in the box to give us an extra man and he will have Olsen in coverage.  Tremaine will have Hock.  Evans follows the RB everywhere.  Za’Darius will either drop into a shallow middle zone or be the 5th pass rusher from either the edge or an A Gap blitz.  Za’Darius is not going to be tasked with man coverage.

4 or 5 WR - Tremaine is the sole LB and Slay, Conley, Murphy, and Hilton play CB.  With 4 WRs, we will play 2 Man under and Cover 2 and 3 Zone.  But if the RB stays in to block, Tremaine will blitz to hurry up Goff.  When they go with their speedy 5 WR set, we are going to run more Cover 3 and 4 to combat the deep ball.

Hungary Hippos

Motivation:
This game is the pivotal moment in the Hungary season. Berlin is half game up on Hungary in division and this win will launch Hungary back into the lead of the division and squarely into the playoff hunt. We will be ready for this game and will be throwing the kitchen sink at Berlin. 

Offense:
Note before we start:
Jared Goff - 8 gm 2367 yards 11 TDs 7 Int 61.1% completion percentage.
Tom Brady - 9 gm 2536 yards 14 TDs 5 Int 64.8% completion percentage. 

With only one game distancing Goff and Brady's production you can see on a side-by-side comparison that their production is nearly identical this season. Goff has not thrown an INT since week 5. Outside of 1 game (Week 4) in which Goff threw 3 INTs, he has thrown only 4 INTs the rest of the season. In Goff's career, the most INTs he has ever thrown was 12 and that was last season. He is not pick prone. He is not this INT machine that throws constant interceptions when under pressure like many believe. After today's game in Pitt be may even be equal to Brady's statline. 

Game plan:
Offensive-line change:
With Dillard's supreme performance against Khalil Mack where he neutralize one of the best pass rushers in the league we have decided to replace Jack Conklin at RT with Dillard.

Against the Pass rush:
The Berlin passrush does not boast an interior pressure. combined the Rankins and Williams trio have a total of 2.5 sacks between all of them. The main pass rush comes off the edge. With Decker and Dillard we look to neutralize the edge rush through their own abilities as well as via strategy by playing the inside and forcing the edge rusher outside. This allows Goff time to step into the pocket which should be clear on most plays as the interior o-line of my offense has given up a combined 3 sacks the entire season. 

Take advantage of the pass coverage weakness

While Berlin boasts a secondary with names, their play has not matched up. Slay (57%) Conley (57%) and Murphy (67%) have all given up over 50% of passes that are targeted at them. This week we will spread the football love to all of our receivers facing Berlin. Look for Fitzgerald and Sanu on the outside, look for Metcalf facing off with fellow rookie Murphy on the inside. Slayton, Gabriel and Isabella also provide some boom ability in the secondary and will be seen sporadically throughout the game giving Fitz breathers in order to have speed based sets. We will utilize a man in motion to diagnose man versus zone and use trip formation and rubs to get our guys in the open field and force Berlin's secondary to cover more of the field. In addition we will be utilizing our RB/TE combos throughout the passing game. Berlin boasts two of the lesser coverage LBers in the league. As they often put their safeties back in coverage especially against burner type WRs, look for one-on-one matchups against the LBing core to Olsen/Hockenson and Doyle as well as the RB triple threat of Fournette, Peterson and Mostert. 

Pound the ball
While the Berlin's interior dline lacks against the pass rush they are solid against the run. We will sprinkle in some interior runs but will bounce it outside primarily especially with the edge rushers being forced to overrun the play in passing downs. Fournette will have 60% of the time share with Peterson and Mostert being sprinkle in for 20% each. Fournette and Peterson are bulldozer backs that will put a pounding on the the LBing core, especially when they put their safeties back deep. We will look to get Fournette at least 20 touches while the other bodies in the RBC split the rest. 

Defense:
Main formation: Big Nickel

Berlin's main weakness is it's oline. It's interior o-line has given up 7 sacks this season, 3 alone by the center. Brady's kryptonite is a broken pocket. He is forced outside with no mobility and throws it away or tries to dump it off. Either way he is frustrated. To help with this we will have Allen (4 sacks) and Williams (5 sacks) starting in the defensive interior. We look to crack Berlin's interior and disrupt Brady. On obvious running downs Al Woods will come on for Williams to stuff the inside run. Davison will give sporadic breathers. On the edge we will have Graham and Addison. We feel this is a great matchup this week that we feel will be to our advantage. Suggs and Wake will rotate in to exhaust the OTs.

Berlin's receiving options are a mess right now. I was not kidding in the interview when I said that Berlin did themselves a diservice by trading Godwin. Beyond Golloday there is a question mark on what Berlin will actually have on any given week. Brown is coming off thigh and ankle injuries and is a boom or bust player. MVS has cleared 50 yards only twice this season. Special K (I forget how to actually spell his name) has only 8 reception on the season while Kirk while being their next best receiver (next to an injured Fuller who is OUT this week) was erased this past week by my #4 CB Moseley to the tune of 8 yards.This forces Berlin to use some questionable receiver or heavily utilize the other 2TE tandem of Henry and Smith (who also hasn't done much this season) and the Jones/Johnson combo. 

Thus we are going to sport a 3 safety look this week when they are in 2 and 2 RB TE formations. Smith will be playing the big nickel and will be erasing Henry. As he will be playing at LB depth he will also be key on running plays. Kuechly will have the RB in Johnson/Jones. When the RB stays in to block, he will from time to time do a delayed blitz. When he doesn't blitz he will play an underneath zone. McMillan will get Irv Smith. Hayward will shadow Galloday throughout the day as he allow only 47% pass completion while keeping QBs under 60 QBR. Griffin will have the #2 whoever Berlin decides to trot out. Baker will be playing single high. Peppers will have the other half of the field. 

In nickel, Peppers comes off, Smith goes to SS but maintains his position on the field and assignment. Williams comes on for slot duty. In four wide it will be Moseley. In empty it will be  Jimmy Smith. 

Against the run

We will have 7 men in the box at all times with Smith so we feel that we can adequately keep Berlin's RBs in check in the running game especially having the trio of Kuechly McMillan and Smith at the second level that will be able to go sideline to sideline in pursuit if they decide to hammer the edge. 

Edited November 10, 2019 by SirA1

[Ragnarok]

1 hour ago, SirA1 said:

Offense:
Note before we start:
Jared Goff - 8 gm 2367 yards 11 TDs 7 Int 61.1% completion percentage.
Tom Brady - 9 gm 2536 yards 14 TDs 5 Int 64.8% completion percentage. 

Note before we start...Goff was absolutely horrific today.  

2 INTs and 3 Fumbles.

[PR]

51 minutes ago, Ragnarok said:

Note before we start...Goff was absolutely horrific today.  

2 INTs and 3 Fumbles.

With an absolute trash oline and losing his center part way through the game.  Difference: I actually have an oline that can pass block. You don't.

Edited November 11, 2019 by PR

[Ragnarok]

6 minutes ago, PR said:

With an absolute trash oline and losing his center part way through the game.  Difference: I actually have an oline that can pass block. You don't.

No need to make excuses for your terrible QB.  

And my OL is better than yours.  

[PR]

1 minute ago, Ragnarok said:

No need to make excuses for your terrible QB.  

And my OL is better than yours.  

Rags if you can't show integrity I don't know what it shows about you. You know your oline has given up more sacks and pressures overall than mine all season. I don't know why you would try to dispute that. And you also know that the Rams give up the most sscks and pressures than most teams in the NFL and Goff is a tale of two QBs. I know you want to win but even I complimented your wideouts during the game.

[Ragnarok]

1 minute ago, PR said:

Rags if you can't show integrity I don't know what it shows about you. You know your oline has given up more sacks and pressures overall than mine all season. I don't know why you would try to dispute that. And you also know that the Rams give up the most sscks and pressures than most teams in the NFL and Goff is a tale of two QBs. I know you want to win but even I complimented your wideouts during the game.

Very nice tactic of trying to twist me believing my OL being better than yours into some kind of integrity issue.  It might have actually worked against someone else.  But good effort.

[PR]

1 minute ago, Ragnarok said:

Very nice tactic of trying to twist me believing my OL being better than yours into some kind of integrity issue.  It might have actually worked against someone else.  But good effort.

Their sacks and pressures given up say differently.

[Ragnarok]

7 minutes ago, PR said:

Their sacks and pressures given up say differently.

Please show me the pressure data.

Not that that negates your effort to attack my character.  Cause ya know, this is the first time I've defended by OL.

[Scoundrel]

Y’all are a hoot and a holler

[VigilantZombie]

I like Berlins offense better in this one

[Scoundrel]

Time to read the matchup I am most excited for

[bcb1213]

Hungary leaving their two best corners at home and starting nine defensive guys is an interesting strategy 

[Scoundrel]

Ummmm where are Hungary’s corners?