What Worked Against The Vikings (Offense Updated)

[AlexGreen#20]

Rewatching this, I was curious to see what the offense was doing when it was managing Big Plays

Let's start with the question, how do you identify Cover-2 presnap? 

The short answer is that you're looking for 2 deep safeties and the 2 boundary CBs playing with outside leverage looking to force the outside WRs to have an inside release. 

This one is very easy to identify as zone coverage, the Vikings have their #2 CB isolated on Marcedes Lewis at the top of the screen. Once you see that, it's pretty easy to conclude you're looking at zone. 

Due to the alignment of that CB, you now have Anthony Barr lined up on Kumerow, and Kendricks lined up on Graham. 

When you know you've got Cover-2, you know you want to force switches, and you know you want to attack the deep middle of the field. 

On this play, Kumerow is going to go outside and vertical. He wants to pull Barr to the back boundary side of his zone, be picked up by the strong side CB, and then be passed back off to Harrison Smith. This will be executed adequately.

Graham is going to run the same route, but he wants to pull Kendricks to the back boundary side of his zone, and hopefully be missed by Barr and Smith will be on the far outside of the field covering Kumerow, leaving him open deep in the middle of the field. Or if Kendricks decides to run with him instead, that opens up Davante on the slot.

Davante runs the slant route, and Kendricks is so busy fretting Graham, that he can't get down in time to pick up Adams.

The backside LB is going to get run off deep by Lewis running a go route, and the backside CB is going to be occupied by Jones running the flare screen.

+++

Now looking at this one, you've got 2 safeties back. The Vikings are trying to make this look like Cover-2, but it isn't. If you look at where the CBs are playing, they're not in any kind of position to force the WRs into an inside release. That doesn't do you much good in identifying Cover-3 vs. Cover-4 vs. some kind of man coverage, but at least you know that you have 1 on 1 coverage to the outside. 

From a schematic standpoint, there's not really much here. Lazard is going to take the outside release given to him and then cross over his man to the middle of the field and make a nice contested catch. Jones runs the flare screen to the outside to move Barr out of the way.

+++

Cover-2 all day on this play.

The playaction in the backfield is going to catch Barr. The Packers run the action with the TE coming across the backfield a ton, and Barr is going to read that action and come up to play the run. The outside CB is going to direct Adams inside and Barr isn't going to be there to pick him up. Rodgers makes the easy completion.

On the backside, once again the hope is to force switches between the 2 CBs and the Safety. It works well enough but nothing really comes of it.

+++

This is just a coverage bust. 

Vikings have a Cover-3 on, so Allison is going to run vertical and then sit down at the 15 yard marker to pull both the Flats CB and the Boundary Safety. 

Adams is going to run across the formation here as the eye candy for the ILBs to jump. Kendricks doesn't bite on it and lets him run past, and Barr picks him up across the field. 

For whatever reason though, Kendricks doesn't pick up Graham, I think he thought that the Flats CB (busy with Allison) would take him, but Graham ends up open in the Flats area and catches the drag route for a gain of 15. 

Lazard is running basically the same route as Graham just behind and deeper. If the ILBs jump Graham, he becomes the target. The Boundary CB shows good awareness to abandon his zone and follow Lazard even though he isn't in his zone. This is called pattern matching and is vital to playing good zone coverage. The recognition that there isn't a threat to your zone so you need to assist in another zone allowing that player to move down is challenging.

Jones is going to run a wheel route in the hopes that the Flats Safety on the right side doesn't realize that the Boundary CB is gone and releases him to open air. Harrison Smith does not do that and Jones ends up covered.

+++

When life gives you a light box, make TE Counter Lead.

Tonyan's gonna come across the formation and cut down the playside DE. That frees up Bulaga for the killshot on the ILB. Turner and Linsley put on a blocking clinic and combo from the NT to the backside ILB. Jenkins and Bakhtiari both block down to the DT and DE respectively. 6 blocks and 6 wins. Control your orgasms.

Jones is 10 yards downfield before a purple jersey even touches him.

+++

Play Action is beautiful. Vikings are going to play some straight man here which they rarely do.

Let's talk protection here because this is the single most beautiful pocket that I've ever seen in my life. Matt LaFleur probably has this in a frame in his office. Rodgers has about 22 seconds to throw here.

Big Dog and the Mermaid team up to take out Danielle Hunter. Bulaga and Turner take out the 3T. Linsley and Jenkins take out the 1T. Everson Griffen tries to hit Bakhtiari with a spinmove that fails spectacularly and those two end up grinding on each other for an uncomfortable moment.

Pick your target, any target, all of them are open and available.

Kumerow sells the block on Harrison Smith for a moment before breaking out into a corner route that's wide open. Lazard is open the second that he clears Barr who jumped out of position to handle the play action. Adams is sorta open on the deep in, and that's where Rodgers goes. Great throw and great catch.

+++

Not much to show here that isn't readily available. 

Bakhtiari gets a way with a bit of a hold on Griffen that prevents him from crashing down. Jenkins is going to bump the NT back onto Linsley and then get enough of the ILB on a sort of zone combo block. 

@Packerraymond here's your Ervin package. He's going to go in motion across the formation and bring the slot guy with him. It doesn't affect the flow of the defense much.

MVS is going to get the seal on Rhodes, though Rhodes is going to do 90% of the work. The LB and the Safety flowing down are both going to run into Rhodes and fall down springing Jones.

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by AlexGreen#20

[Fl0nkerton]

This is all well and good and obviously there are some who enjoy getting into how a single play is or isn't done correctly... good for you.  For me, that's way way to much detail.   That's football obsession to the max but regardless carry on and have fun.

[Spartacus]

I'm much more interested on what we did right on defense. Specifically was it just the pass rush or was our coverage different then games past? 

[Sasquatch]

@AlexGreen#20 if you’re not currently coaching at some level, you prolly should be.

[gopackgo972]

1 minute ago, Fl0nkerton said:

This is all well and good and obviously there are some who enjoy getting into how a single play is or isn't done correctly... good for you.  For me, that's way way to much detail.   That's football obsession to the max but regardless carry on and have fun.

I love it. I want to take it a step further and do some twitch streams of games every week. 

 

What do you think @AlexGreen#20 ? Do you have like 2 hours a night once a week to stream? I bet there would be enough of us in there to make it worth it for you.  I am part of a similar forum but for the Oregon ducks and we do it every week after a game and it’s awesome. I’ve learned a ton about football. 

[AlexGreen#20]

1 minute ago, YaddaHolla said:

I love it. I want to take it a step further and do some twitch streams of games every week. 

 

What do you think @AlexGreen#20 ? Do you have like 2 hours a night once a week to stream? I bet there would be enough of us in there to make it worth it for you.  I am part of a similar forum but for the Oregon ducks and we do it every week after a game and it’s awesome. I’ve learned a ton about football. 

Probably, I just have no idea how to do it.

[Fl0nkerton]

5 minutes ago, YaddaHolla said:

I love it. I want to take it a step further and do some twitch streams of games every week. 

 

What do you think @AlexGreen#20 ? Do you have like 2 hours a night once a week to stream? I bet there would be enough of us in there to make it worth it for you.  I am part of a similar forum but for the Oregon ducks and we do it every week after a game and it’s awesome. I’ve learned a ton about football. 

lol yeah I was making a bit of a joke. obviously nailed it.

[AlexGreen#20]

1 minute ago, Fl0nkerton said:

lol yeah I was making a bit of a joke. obviously nailed it.

 

I caught the reference if it makes you feel better

[gopackgo972]

5 minutes ago, Fl0nkerton said:

lol yeah I was making a bit of a joke. obviously nailed it.

Haha sorry brotha 

[gopackgo972]

14 minutes ago, AlexGreen#20 said:

Probably, I just have no idea how to do it.

 

after this we could just find some game tape or pull it up on YouTube. And you could live stream it right from your desktop/laptop. After that all you need is a mic.

[Packerraymond]

Anyway you can cut up the Ervin package plays? Would love to see how the flow of the defense evolved over the course of the game. Think we ran it probably 5-6 times.

[Packer_ESP]

I just want to say I'm in for the Twitch thing, I'd watch it for sure

[coachbuns]

1 hour ago, Fl0nkerton said:

This is all well and good and obviously there are some who enjoy getting into how a single play is or isn't done correctly... good for you.  For me, that's way way to much detail.   That's football obsession to the max but regardless carry on and have fun.

Ditto  😁   Very original.

Edited December 26, 2019 by coachbuns

[AlexGreen#20]

1 hour ago, Spartacus said:

I'm much more interested on what we did right on defense. Specifically was it just the pass rush or was our coverage different then games past? 

What specifically are you looking to see with the defense? Sacks, pressure package reps, 3rd downs, early down wins, run stuffs?

It's much easier to point out what went right with the offense than what went right with defense.

Edited December 26, 2019 by AlexGreen#20

[cannondale]

At the end of the day, it's a philosophy thing for me. You have to challenge the defense. There are so many ways to do that. Stretch horizontally and vertically. Challenge with misdirection. Finesse and power. Force match-ups the defense doesn't excel at. A little trickery never hurts either. As we have seen, it's much easier to do for MLF with scripted plays. Much harder to keep track of in game. Best example I've seen of this thus far this year was S.F. on Sunday or Monday night earlier in the year against a team I don't recall. Every single play looked like a work of art. Chunks of yardage in every way imaginable. My jaw dropped.

Somewhere around halftime Monday night they showed a graphic of the passing game with way too many throws within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. This isn't the first time it's happened. How much easier can you possibly make it on the defense ? I can understand the hot read to a WR with a CB playing with a 10 yard cushion, but these WR screens make me vomit. Again I go back to MLF being obsessed with needing a 2nd and 2 every series of downs. I get it, but it's not a perfect world. I don't like to toss around the word conservative, but how is MLF not conservative ? 2nd and 10 or more is an automatic punt. I'm not smart enough to decide whether it's a play call or the offense itself, but I still refuse to acknowledge Rodgers holds on to the ball for kicks and giggles. Every big play it's revealed in the press conference that Rodgers changed the call.  It's pretty damn hard to go 80 yards 4 yards at a time.

Challenge the damn defense. I think it's a schematic thing.

Edited December 26, 2019 by cannondale