BDL 2021 Week 1 - Death Valley Nightmare @ Raleigh Firebirds

[SirA1]

BDL 2021 Week 1

Match: Death Valley Nightmare @ Raleigh Firebirds

Away Owner: @wwhickok

Home Owner:  @EaglesPeteC

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

[SirA1]

Death Valley Nightmare

Offense:
QB: Matt Stafford 
RB: Derrick Henry
WR: Calvin Ridley
WR: Corey Davis 
TE: Dallas Goedert
LT: Dion Dawkins
LG: Kevin Dotson
C : Creed Humphrey
RG: Mark Glowinski
RT: Penei Sewell

Bench:
RB: Alvin Kamara
WR Jalen Reagor
WR: Michael Gallup
WR: Anthony Schwartz
WR: Allen Lazard
TE: Dion Dawkins
OT: Austin Jackson
OG: Cody Ford

Defense
LE: Calais Campbell 
NT: Tyson Alualu 
RE: Cam Heyward
LOLB: Maxx Crosby 
ILB: Devin Bush
ILB: Zaven Collins
ROLB: Brian Burns
CB: Darius Slay
CB: Carlton Davis 
FS: Xavier McKinney 
SS: Jeremy Chinn

Bench:
DE: Raekwon Davis
NT/DE: Javon Hargrave
OLB: Kwity Paye
OLB: Julian Okwara
ILB: Jerome Baker
CB: Mike Hilton
CB: Trayvon Mullen
CB: James Pierre

 

Raleigh Valley

QB- Kyler Murray

RB/Offensive Weapon- Christian McCaffrey

RB- David Montgomery

WR- Davante Adams

WR- Robert Woods

TE- Mark Andrews

LT- Laremy Tunsil

LG- Issac Seumalo

C- Mitch Morse

RG- Andrew Norwell

RT- Jordan Mailata

 

3rd WR- Mike Williams (Robert Woods will move into the slot)

4th WR- Marquez Callaway

5th WR/OW- D’Wayne Eskridge

3rd RB- JD McKissic

2nd TE/FB- Jack Doyle

3rd TE- Will Dissly 

Swing T- Bryan Bulaga

Swing G/C- Bradley Bozeman

 

Defense

 

DE- Von Miller

DT- Michael Pierce

DT- Sebastian Joseph Day

DE- Bud Dupree

LB- Blake Martinez

LB- Jayon Brown

S/LB- Landon Collins

CB- Ronald Darby

CB- Chris Harris Jr.

FS- Julian Blackmon

SS- Marcus Maye

 

Rotational DE- Tyvus Bowswer

Rotational DE- Dee Ford

3rd DT- Davon Godchaux

3rd LB- Eric Wilson

Slot CB- Troy Hill

4th CB- Avonte Maddox 

3rd S- Mike Edwards

Backup LB/S- Jaquiski Tartt

[SirA1]

Death Valley Nightmare

Offensive Gameplan

Ball Control, Clock Control. We plan to use a heavy  dose of the running attack in this game. A lot of slow tempo, mixed with some no-huddle to chew the clock and limit the offensive opportunities for Raleigh. However, with Peters out of this game we will definitely be taking shots down field that we would not have otherwise. (65/35 - Run/Pass) Our run heavy offense will feature a lot of 11 personnel.

When Raleigh has a light defensive set (nickel/dime) out there Henry will be the solo RB in the backfield and with a heavy front Kamara, the faster of the two, will be on the field and utilized via both the passing game and running game.

We will occasionally split Kamara out wide to spread out the heavy set and make our offense more difficult to defend. We are also going to include several 2 back sets where we have the ability to throw to either RB on either side of the formation, run up the middle with Henry or to the outside with Kamara. Dallas Goedert will also occasionally split out wide when we have Kamara as the single back, creating a 5 WR set. (Kamara would be one of the 5, splitting out wide)

With Marcus Peters out for the season Raleigh will be forced to either supply safety help for Darby or Flowers, whomever is covering Ridley,  or risk getting torched. Both CBs a signficant downgrade from Peters. As a result of this, we will definitely feature some 4 WR situations specifically intended for sending Ridley deep to test Raleighs coverage. Dawson Knox will assist on 3rd down passing situations as a blocker but also be utilized in short and intermediate quick out routes.

The WRs will see a lot of slant and Corner Routes with sudden cuts to use their speed against the average Raleigh secondary.

Another thing we will do is, we plan to utilize the speed of Anthony Schwartz on Jet sweeps and WR screens to counter the strong front 4 that Raleigh has

Defensive Gameplan 

Jeremy Chinn will be the spy on Murray and McCaffery, yes I said and not or because his focus will be on where the ball goes. We are going to maintain long intermidate depth for the corners to avoid getting beat deep. If Chinn sees its clearly a passing play. I want him dropping into coverage if it's a running play, I want him missing toward the ball carrier. 

When we blitz, we want the interior pressure to come between Morse and Seumalo, the weak link in their OL. 

We also love the Heyward vs. Tonsil matchup, we believe we will win every time. The best defense against a high powered offense is to make sure Murray never has time to make good throws and the running game has very little time to develop.

In the secondary Slay will follow Adams all night, Carlton Davis will follow the #2 WR (or the WR not named Davante Adams on the outside), Mike Hilton will cover the slot, James Pierre and Trayvon Mullen will come on in 5 WR sets. (Pierre for 4WRs).

We want Tight coverage and a heavy % of blitzing. We don't ever want this defense to get comfortable. Devin Bush will be responsible for the TEs and Collins will be responsible for McCaffery on screen and/or RB targeted throws.

The guys not specifically mentioned will play the roles of their positions. (Typical of a 3-4 Defense). Hargrave, listed as a DE & NT, will come into the game periodically to help keep Campbell and if need be Alualu fresh as he has played both positions successfully in the past.

 

Raleigh Firebirds

 

Week 1 Offensive Gameplan

Base 21 personnel. Run to set up the pass. Heavy RPO

The Firebirds will come out in base 21 personnel with both Christian McCaffrey and David Montgomery on the field. This will give our team maximum flexibility and keep the Death Valley defense on its heels.

The versatility of Christian McCaffrey running out of the backfield or splitting out wide as a WR will make it very difficult for Death Valley to match up with us. If they treat McCaffrey as a WR, we can run it with McCaffrey and Montgomery. If they, bring in extra DL or LB, McCaffrey creates a matchup nightmare against the bigger players.

Add in the chaos of Kyler Murray’s dual threat ability and if Death Valley brings too many players in the box to stop the running backs, Murray can pull the ball down on read option or perhaps triple options plays and rip off huge chunks.The multiplicity of this running game will force Death Valley to be reactive vs proactive.

A heavy RPO, game plan will really keep Death Valley guessing, the constant threat of the run from 2 great RB’s and the QB

The RPO and quick passing game will force  Darius Slay one on one with Davante Adams and we all saw how that went last year. Robert Woods vs Carlton Davis will be a good match up but Bobby Trees is a great route runner that can get open against good corners. Mark Andrews is a match up nightmare vs Death Valley’s safeties who are much stronger in the box than one on one in coverage. Not to mention the swings, screens and angle routes that McCaffrey can turn into huge plays off of RPO as well. The quick passing game will also slow down the Death Valley pass rush.

In 3 WR sets, Mike Williams will come on the field and Robert Woods goes in the slot. Williams give a deep threat and size dynamic to the offense. He can also give another great red zone threat.

Picking our spots for play action deep plays will also allow for big plays and quick scores especially late in the game and 2nd and short scenarios.

In general, the Raleigh Firebirds will just have too many weapons for Death Valley to consistently slow down.

DEFENSE

4-2-5 base with 3 safeties

Run Defense:

Raleigh will start Sebastian Joseph Day and Michael Peirce in this matchup to help slow down the running game of Death Valley. SJD and Peirce will soak up the weak interior O-line of Death Valley and leave Jayon Brown and Blake Martinez to make tons of tackles and keep the run game in check.

Landon Collins will play LB/S in this game to help slow down the run and also be able to keep a DB on Kamara in the passing game.

Pass Defense: 

Von Miller and Bud Dupree I believe have a significant advantage over the OTs of Death Valley. Two seasoned veteran pass rushers I think would give rookie Peni Sewell fits in his first NFL start. Add in Dee Ford and Tyvus Bowser spelling and I think the rookie won’t be able  to hold up. I think Matthew Stafford will be pressured without a ton of extra blitzing.

The only real threat in the passing game Death Valley has is Calvin Ridley and Alvin Kamara. With playing base 3 safeties, I think that we will be able to keep Kamara in check by making sure he does not get one on one with a LB.

Calvin Ridley will be shadowed by Chris Harris Jr. he can follow Ridley all over the field and into the slot 

In 2 WR sets, Ronald Darby should keep Corey Davis in check and when we go to Troy Hill can also match up well with Michael Gallup or Anthony Schwartz in the slot. 

In general, I would anticipate this game being pretty high scoring. Both teams will get their points, but I think that the big play ability of the Firebird offense and the ability for Raleigh to create pressure and turnovers will lead the Firebirds to victory.

The front can also easily morph into a 3-4 front to also confuse the offensive line and create more havoc.

DE- SJD

NT- Michael Pierce 

DE- Godchaux

OLB- Von Miller

LB- Blake Martinez

LB- Jayon Brown

OLB- Bud Dupree

[Pickle Rick]

Raleigh with the upset.  Its a home game and I think they out planned DV.  A game plan heavy with RPO with the other side blitzing and playing a spy and tight coverage, the WR's are gonna have nothing but green grass in front of them.  

Raleigh by 2 TD's

[EaglesPeteC]

1 hour ago, Pickle Rick said:

Raleigh with the upset.  Its a home game and I think they out planned DV.  A game plan heavy with RPO with the other side blitzing and playing a spy and tight coverage, the WR's are gonna have nothing but green grass in front of them.  

Raleigh by 2 TD's

[SirA1]

I'm also going Raleigh at home. The performance was close but Kyler put them over the top. The RPO should negate some of the pressure DV can bring.

35 - 24

[Jlash]

DVN with the rare 10 man starting lineup.

[SirA1]

2 minutes ago, Jlash said:

DVN with the rare 10 man starting lineup.

Someone got a red card.

[Jlash]

14 minutes ago, SirA1 said:

Someone got a red card.

[VigilantZombie]

1 hour ago, Jlash said:

DVN with the rare 10 man starting lineup.

Reagor was supposed to listed as the #3 WR

[pheltzbahr]

First thing I notice is DVN starting 10 on offense.  Tough start.

Going Raliegh, outside of 10 starters on offense, I think they meant to keep Kamara on the field also, but maybe not? I think DVN receiving weapons could have taken advantage of an unimpressive DB group, but they arent that impressive either.  Von Miller is the difference maker in this one and seals the game with a late sack of Stafford.

Edited September 15, 2021 by pheltzbahr

[Scoundrel]

I’m not going to be a stickler this season over lineups missing a guy via typos when he clearly has the healthy guys on the bench to cover it. I am trying to change in a lot of ways like learning to be happy after losing. And so I’ll be letting up a bit there. I also will however still penalize late game plans because we have days to get those in. But enough about me.

I like Kyler more than I joke with EPC about and think he has the makings of a really good QB and will drive this offense. I think DVN has the better defensive front 7, a really tough running game, and Stafford finds a few matchups against that secondary that make the difference. I haven’t given any scores for other games but this one is so close I shall. 21-20 DVN. The rematch will be one I am looking forward to down the line.

[VigilantZombie]

Yep I get it, I only put 10 ppl on offense. Never mind the fact early on in my gameplam I specifically stated I would be using a lot of 11 personnel and I have multiple WRs on the bench.... The solution for figuring out my intentions in my gameplan is to actually read it. Who did and didn't made themselves known in this thread. 

 

 I'm just going to come out and say it, IF that's the basis for voting against me (it's fine if you have a more genuine reason) I think you're an idiot.

Edited September 15, 2021 by wwhickok

[VigilantZombie]

Also, @EaglesPeteC well done on the gameplan. Ik why you didn't write them last year but you did a good job to open the season. 

[EaglesPeteC]

3 hours ago, wwhickok said:

Also, @EaglesPeteC well done on the gameplan. Ik why you didn't write them last year but you did a good job to open the season. 

Thanks.

 

It was a mix of time, not understanding wtf was going on in this league and my roster being so depleted that I could barely come up with a starting roster and I knew nothing I wrote would matter