BDL Week 2 - Antarctica Katabatic Beasts @ Cuba Smugglers

[Ragnarok]

BDL 2020 Week 2

Match:  Antarctica Katabatic Beasts @ Cuba Smugglers

Away Owner: @Pickle Rick

Home Owner: @MD4L

   

Vote for who you think would win the 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

[Ragnarok]

Antarctica Katabatic Beasts

Offensive Starters:

QB - Lamar Jackson

RB1 - Saquon Barkley

RB2 - Todd Gurley

WR1 - Stefon Diggs

WR2 - Ceedee Lamb

TE1 - CJ Uzomah 

LT - Cam Robinson

LG - JR Sweezy

C - Ryan Kelly

RG - DJ Fluker

RT - Bryan Bulaga 

Offensive Bench:

RB3 - Cam Akers

TE2 - Cole Kmet 

OC2/OG4 - Tyler Biadasz

WR3 - Van Jefferson

WR4 - Auden Tate 

WR5 - Josh Doctson

WR6 - Tre'quan Smith

QB2 - Tua Tagovailoa

_________________

Defensive Starters:

DE - JPP

DT - DeForest Buckner

DT - Timmy Jernigan 

DE - Frank Clark

SOLB - Myles Jack

MLB - Roquon Smith 

WOLB - Demario Davis

CB1 - Marshon Lattimore

CB2 - Joe Haden

FS - Anthony Harris

SS - Nasir Adderley 

Defensive Bench:

Slot CB - Jeff Okudah 

DE - Josh Sweat

LB/DE - Harold Landry

CB4 - Mike Huges 

CB5 - Charvarius Ward

DT3 - Jordan Elliott

DT4 - James Lynch

Motivation: After a tough win week 1, we look down the barrel of another fun one against Cuba.  

Offensive Base Formation: We love the shotgun pistol formation, we will be using a different look this week.  1 WR split to the strong and weak sides with 1 TE. This formation gives plenty of opportunity and space and blocking for Barkley and LJ to run and Diggs and Lamb to get open for big plays.  To take full advantage of the pistol formation, we will be rotating the WR3/TE2/RB3 in and out to provide different looks within the Pistol to keep Cuba off guard.  Some of these formations will be Pistol Heavy, Pistol Spread, etc.

Example for base formation: 

Tempo: This week we will be running normal tempo offense.  We got weapons everywhere and blockers to help the run and pass.  

Playcalling Distribution:

40% run

30% pass

10% playaction pass

10% option run

10% RPO

Personnel Changes: Sweezy and Uzomah are inserted into the lineup.

Running: With the breakout passing performance from LJ last week we feel like this week a more balanced approach in the first and second quarters will be optimal, as the game progresses we will switch to more pass heavy or run heavy depending on what is working or the game situation.  We expect to be in our base formation 50% of the time and sprinkle in other various formations throughout the game.  Being in the pistol, our runs will be spread out to both sides of the ball, keeping the Cuba's defense off balance.  Our runs will be exotic with some options and varying who gets the ball between the 2 starting backs.  

On inside plays we plan on motioning our WR3/RB2/TE down inside and allow him to become a defacto fullback and clean up anyone left in the holes allowing SB/Gurley to burst through with vengeance on his mind.  We have large and angry men up front ready to open the holes for our horses to stroll on through to the endzone.  We will be using the inside run just enough to keep the D off balance, allowing the option and outside runs to break off big plays.  

That brings us to the large portion of our run play calling.  We will be running a good bit a option and read option plays, as well as allowing LJ to check into and out of them.  If the setup is there LJ will be relied upon to use his legs and eyes to attack the opponents DE's and exploit them to the fullest. 

Passing: Cuba won't be able to stop the run and the pass, this week is gonna be fun fellas.  Having one of the best QB's in the game to throw to Diggs and Lamb is going to beat a lot of people or open things up even more for SB/Gurley and LJ.   Stefon Diggs pairs nicely with Lamb this week who takes over for Godwin in running slants and crossing routes.  We will use a bunch of crossing routes and slants early on in the game which we will shift to double moves on the outside later on and look to catch Cuba's DB's cheating.  This is the bread and butter type of routes that Lamb will be running early on in his career.  Diggs has been huge at catching the deep ball and we expect a couple more of them this week.  If Cuba wants to double him it just leaves Lamb/Uzomah open to crush their spirits.  Being extremely balanced and with weapons galore, we will keep their D guessing so much that they won't be able to stop us.  If they try and load the box on early downs we will shift more to passing plays and playaction passes.  We also are specially focusing on getting Barkely/Gurley/Akers involved in the passing game early and often this week.  Getting them screens and check downs and short routes will be the key to keeping the chains moving.  

Playaction and RPO's: we will be using these to catch Cuba crowding the box and cheating up to help stop Barkley/Gurley.  Diggs and Lamb are ready to burn Cuba when they load up and jump in to stop Barkley/Gurley and LJ.   We will also use our slot receiver to sprinkle in the RPO's as the linebackers start to cheat more and more to help try and stop the run game.  

Defense Base Formation: 4-3 defense, switching to Dime and Nickel in passing downs and dependent upon ingame situations. We will also use more 4-4 sets on running downs and short yardage plays. 

pict-american-football-positions-diagram

Formation usage: 

4-3: 35%

Nickel: 35%

Dime: 15%

4-4: 15%

Defensive Base coverages:

Man: 40%

Cover 3 - 25%

Quarters -20%

Tampa 2 - 15%

Personnel Changes:  no major changes

Playstyle:  This week we will be looking to force Cuba to abandon the run and throw the ball.  We will do this by using lots of blitzs, run blitzs and exotic blitzs on early downs.   Clark, JPP and the LB's will look to have a field day with getting to the QB.  We will look to switch our coverage up a lot and try and fool them pre-snap and confuse them enough to allow our all-pro edge rusher or blitzing LB to get pressure on him and get the sack. 

As for the run game.  We will be sticking to our 4-3 D and using our 4-4 run stopping D to stuff them at the line with our strongest assets taking over the game.  Run blitzes early and often will help to combat anything they may get from the run. Cuba will have no chance to beat us with the run and their passing game will struggle against blitz heavy defense that Watson will struggle to have time to sit in the pocket and throw because his receivers are not getting open in enough time. 

Passing Defense: with Okudah hopefully suiting up we will be upping our man d slightly but still switching up coverages often.  

Cuba

QB: DeShaun Watson

RB: Dalvin Cook

WR: Julio Jones

WR: DJ Chark

WR: Marvin Jones

TE: Ian Thomas

LT: Anthony Castonzo

LG: Elgton Jenkins 

C - Ryan Jensen

RG: Max Scharping

RT: Mekhi Becton

 

RB: James Williams

RB: Justice Hill

WR: DeMarcus Robinson

WR: Justin Jefferson

TE: Mo Alie-Cox

OW: Taysom Hill

OL: Ezra Cleveland 

OL: Michael Jordan 

 

DE: Fletcher Cox

DT: DaQuan Jones

DE: Cam Jordan

WLB: Cory Littleton

MLB: Eric Kendricks 

RCB: Fabian Moreau 

NCB: Kenny Moore 

FS: Tyrann Mathieu

SS: Khari Willis

NCB: Jimmie Ward

LCB: Janoris Jenkins

 

Edge: Matt Judon 

DE: Arik Armstead 

DE: Denico Autry

Edge: Jerry Hughes

SLB: Vince Williams 

LCB: Isaiah Oliver 

NCB: Joejuan Williams

SS: Kenny Vacarro

Intro: After a loss against a tough Gotham team we look to get our first win in two home games. This game is extremely important to avoid an 0-2 start and show some DESPERATION for a purpose and to get our first win. Antarctica has an upstart group that beat a very talented Sacramento squad. We welcome Pickle Rick and his staff to BDL.

Offense

We forced the issue with Julio Jones last week and will stick to the script despite the presence of Marshon Lattimore. The highly talented CB has had successful games against Jones but has also been charged with 11/147&5/96 in previous matchups with our best weapon. We’re hoping Anthony Harris or Nasir Adderley commits to helping because this would open the running lanes for DeShaun on read option opportunities which we will incorporate if there is heavy emphasis to stop our receiving core.

DJ Chark will also be heavily utilized and we want him in isolated coverage against Joe Haden. It is noted that Darius Slayton was able to beat Haden in one on one coverage and Chark is an extremely similar player with home run ability. We think he can win in every area of the field with a QB like DeShaun Watson so we’re going to increase his target share a bit more to align it with Julio, particularly if Jones is doubled. We also love the mismatch Marvin Jones can have this week since Antarctica is low on CB depth. Whether that results in Julio being doubled or instead being shadowed one on one by Lattimore we think DeShaun has the weapons to get this offense rolling. 

We are going to compensate for our lacking production at TE with newer formations like 2 RB/3 WR and get gadget guys like Taysom Hill the ball. He will lineup at FB, TE, and WR in some uptempo sets. His goal serves as a de facto weapon and we think his touches can get cheap yards and eventually open DJ Chark down field. Watson is usually a deep ball thrower by nature but has started to check down the ball with pressure becoming a problem. Dalvin Cook has the ability to make plays in space so using him in that area is a nice complement to the deep weapons we utilize. The Antarctica defense is strongest with their line backing core so we want these plays to be quick and easy reads that are scripted for Watson to remain comfortable amid pressure from blitzes or quality interior lineman.

With Mekhi Becton at right tackle we feature a tandem across Castonzo. Dalvin Cook is our every down back and the last time he went up against DeMario Davis he was able to produce over 100 yards. This defense has the LBs to stretch the field so we are going to ask Cook to balance his home run hits with some run plays inside. We think Max Scharping can have some success in a competitive matchup with Timmy Jernigan. We are going to use more trap runs where Scharping pulls for Cook behind Jenkins and Jensen. We are going to use the edge runs because that is Cook’s most productive opportunity to get yards but we think this specific call can be changed to play action opportunities where Watson tests the defense with his deep ball. If we run this in shotgun, expect some RPOs where Watson has free reign to make the right reads.

 

Defense

All hands on deck to handle Lamar Jackson. The most productive schemes to cause frustration has been 3 DL sets and speed in the secondary to compensate for his running threat. We are big on stopping the RPO threat and counter act with the edge defenders playing two gap contain. Fletcher Cox and Cam Jordan are both high level defenders so we can compensate for removing one defensive lineman. There will be a heavy rotation to match a high tempo scheme. We will mix and match with occasional 4 man fronts on rushing downs and short yardage opportunities. The defensive line has winnable matchups across the board and lets us put more help in the second level to match Barkley’s speed in the open field.

The coverage assignments are equally important with new starters this week. Fabian Moreau came on strong in week one and he will play on the boundary this week. We have zero interest in shadowing so Janoris Jenkins will also play a stationery position. Kenny Moore and Jimmy Ward will play the slot position on both sides in our base formation to match the pistol look Antarctica ran in week one. We think Stefon Diggs is the main individual we want to focus on in coverage and because Tyrann is versatile enough to lineup at both safety positions can make the deep ball a difficult proposition for one of the best deep route runners in football. 

To cover Saquon Barkley in coverage we have already devoted an extra player in the secondary. With Jimmie Ward and Kenny Moore at the slot there are two well rounded players in coverage with strong tackling ability. In the LB core, we feature Littleton and Kendricks for one of the strongest pass coverage groups in the league. With an eye on speed we are open to removing Littleton on some plays and adding Joejuan Williams as a cover LB to deal with the dynamic 3rd year player in coverage. Chris Godwin is out so we can dedicate most of our coverage schemes to bracket Diggs. 

[VigilantZombie]

Biggest turn off of either gameplan....

"Cuba won't be able to stop the run and pass this week."  

Nobody is unstoppable. Also, Saquon Barkley did not play.

[Pickle Rick]

I'd like to ask people to refrain from manipulating the vote with outright lies, Saquon Barkley started and played before getting injured.  And had more production than Cuba's WR1, so lets not use lies within these please. 

[Scoundrel]

12 minutes ago, Pickle Rick said:

I'd like to ask people to refrain from manipulating the vote with outright lies, Saquon Barkley started and played before getting injured.  And had more production than Cuba's WR1, so lets not use lies within these please. 

This part gave me a chuckle

[MD4L]

16 minutes ago, Pickle Rick said:

I'd like to ask people to refrain from manipulating the vote with outright lies, Saquon Barkley started and played before getting injured.  And had more production than Cuba's WR1, so lets not use lies within these please. 

Umm, good thing my WR1 can have limited production and be part of an offense that scores 39 points.

[VigilantZombie]

52 minutes ago, Pickle Rick said:

I'd like to ask people to refrain from manipulating the vote with outright lies, Saquon Barkley started and played before getting injured.  And had more production than Cuba's WR1, so lets not use lies within these please. 

 I apologize he was listed out on my app I didn't realize it was after the start of the game that is my bad.  That was not an intentional why that was amiss understanding of info.

[VigilantZombie]

Having said that saying  this team cannot stop the run and pass basically making your team sound completely unstoppable in referring to your quarterback has the best quarterback in the league which is also in out right lie makes you a hypocrite

[VigilantZombie]

I think both of these teams are solid for the most part but a few glaring things stand out to me here. None of the Antartica RBs are having a strong season this year, I still don't trust that Antartica OL, and I don't get the Tua on the bench thing.  To be completely honest I think Cyba did a great job gameplanning against Antarticas offense and frankly I think their team is flat out better. I'm going Cuba here, 31-14

[Scoundrel]

Cam Robinson has played better to start the year than last year when you take both of his starts into consideration. The interior of Antartica’s line however is worrisome on both sides opposite Kelly. Also Fluker played 0 snaps this week on offense for the Ravens

[Scoundrel]

Cuba however went light up front with six DBs... and Antarctica is bringing a Two RB Two WR 1 TE base.

[Scoundrel]

Cuba two gapping with Cox and Jordan really allows the weak Guards for Antarctica to survive with support from the tackles. Kelly can handle Jones. I agree the defensive line has winnable matchups across the board if you were regularly playing with a 4 man line but only playing it occasionally allows Lamar and a 2 RB offense to make some plays. 

[MD4L]

1 hour ago, Counselor said:

Cuba two gapping with Cox and Jordan really allows the weak Guards for Antarctica to survive with support from the tackles. Kelly can handle Jones. I agree the defensive line has winnable matchups across the board if you were regularly playing with a 4 man line but only playing it occasionally allows Lamar and a 2 RB offense to make some plays. 

Our commitment to stopping Lamar Jackson is why we are playing with more speed on the field. As a runner Lamar prefers to attack the edges, hence Jimmy Ward moving to slot CB. We are using him and Kenny Moore to account for option reads to the outside.

[Scoundrel]

1 minute ago, MD4L said:

Our commitment to stopping Lamar Jackson is why we are playing with more speed on the field. As a runner Lamar prefers to attack the edges, hence Jimmy Ward moving to slot CB. We are using him and Kenny Moore to account for option reads to the outside.

But by having your ends two gap you are also making them responsible for an inside gap allowing the outside to still be attacked and Lamar take on smaller defenders and while more speed yes also less reliable tackling and strength to take on trench blockers allowing Lamar to already likely get 3 yards before having to shake or meet contact.

[MD4L]

4 minutes ago, Counselor said:

But by having your ends two gap you are also making them responsible for an inside gap allowing the outside to still be attacked and Lamar take on smaller defenders and while more speed yes also less reliable tackling and strength to take on trench blockers allowing Lamar to already likely get 3 yards before having to shake or meet contact.

We can run some zone blitzes from the nickel and even bring down Tyrann Mathieu to put a lot of attention at the LOS for pre-snap. The teams who have success against Jackson can pressure him with three players. We do think highly enough of Cox and Jordan to disrupt plays at the LOS. We’ve got good depth to rotate and keep guys fresh if Antarctica is planning on strictly committing to the run game.