BDL 2022 Week 8 - Berlin Blitzkrieg @ Ivory Coast Black Rhinos

[RedGold]

BDL 2022 Week 8

Match:  Berlin Blitzkrieg @ Ivory Coast Black Rhinos

 Away Owner:  @Ragnarok

Home Owner: @RuskieTitan

 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

[RedGold]

Berlin Blitzkrieg
QB – Malik Willis
RB – Tony Pollard
WR – Brandon Aiyuk
WR – Drake London
WR – Garrett Wilson
TE – Dallas Goedert
LT – Kolton Miller
LG – Spencer Burford
C – Corey Linsley
RG – Nate Davis
RT – Tristan Wirfs

RB – Isiah Pacheco
RB – Kenneth Gainwell
TE – Hunter Henry
TE – Irv Smith
WR – Romeo Doubs
WR – Allen Robinson
OL – Ed Ingram
OL – Robert Hainsey

DE – Trey Hendrickson
DT – Quinnen Williams
DT – Derrick Brown
DE – Za’Darius Smith
LB – Jordyn Brooks
LB – Tremaine Edmunds
CB – Donte Jackson
CB – Ahkello Witherspoon
CB – Benjamin St-Juste
S – Camryn Bynum
S - Juan Thornhill

Edge – Nik Bonitto
Edge – D.J. Wonnum
INT – Harrison Phillips
INT – Ta’Quon Graham
LB – Kyzir White
CB – Christian Benford
CB – Eric Stokes
S - Marcus Maye

 

 

 

 

 

Ivory Coast Black Rhinos

Ivory Coast Offense

QB- Aaron Rodgers
RB- Nick Chubb
WR- Terry McLaurin
WR- Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR- Curtis Samuel
TE- Evan Engram
LT- Trent Williams
LG- Damien Lewis
C- Jason Kelce
RG- Zack Martin
RT- Kelvin Beachum

--------------------------------------------------

RB- Ezekiel Elliott
RB- Leonard Fournette
WR- Chase Claypool
TE- Noah Fant
TE- Albert Okwuegbunam
OL- Teven Jenkins
OL- Josh Jones
OL- Danny Pinter

--------------------------------------------------

Ivory Coast Defense

DE- Khalil Mack
DT- Teair Tart
DT- Da'Ron Payne
DE- Myles Garrett
WLB- Devin White
MLB- Bobby Okereke
SCB- Samuel Womack
CB- Greg Newsome II
CB- Trevon Diggs
S- Eddie Jackson
S- Ashtyn Davis

--------------------------------------------------

DE- Josh Sweat
DE- Darrell Taylor
DE- Amare Barno
DT- Jarran Reed
DT- Devonte Wyatt
LB- Patrick Queen
CB- Caleb Farley
CB- Darnay Holmes

Edited October 30, 2022 by RedGold

[RedGold]

Berlin

Write-Up
Overview – To have a chance this week, we have to make IC play our game.  Dirty, ugly, low-scoring.

Offense
TL;DR – RPO, get Malik on the edges of the defense, get the ball to our playmakers

We welcome Nate Davis back into the line up and feel very good about an OL that has allowed 3 sacks on the year.  Maybe 4 if you count the supposed Burford sack.  We really want to run behind the Linsley-Davis-Wirfs side early and often.

We are going to use a frequent RPO action to play into Malik’s strengths.  He will read the DE and either pull or hand it off.  There will be times where we split everyone out to get the box as light as possible and have a designed QB run. 

We will also use a more traditional playaction motion that will allow Malik to carry the motion into a bootleg and get him on the edges of the defense where he can make an easy completion or use his legs.

There will be some use of a standard passing attack in hurry up situations.

We will run inside and out.   Pollard will get 60% of the snaps/touches and Pacheco will get 40%.  We will use Pollard more on 3^rd downs to make use of his pass-catching ability.  We want Pollard to get at least 15 carries and Pacheco to get at least 12.  We will use some draws and screens to slow down their pass rush.

We want to make regular use of pre-snap motion to give Malik a better idea of the coverage.  Linsley will be in charge of the protection calls to take something off Malik’s plate.  Goedert and Aiyuk will rarely, if ever, leave the field as they are our two most consistent pass-catchers and we want to give each plenty of opportunities to make plays.  After them, we will let Malik make his reads to get the ball out of his hands and then look to escape the pocket and make use of his legs.  All of our players will be well aware that once Malik breaks the pocket, they need to work back to him.

3 WR – 60% - Drake, Garrett, Aiyuk, and Goedert.   Our base offense.  We will flex Goedert out here with regularity to lighten the box and tip coverage.  Look for some WR screens to Goedert’s side.

3 TE – 15% - Irv, Henry, Goedert, and Aiyuk.  We want to force IC to put more LBers on the field.  We will move the TEs inside, outside, or overloaded on one side to get their defenders in uncomfortable positions and give us an advantage.  Look for more stretch runs with playaction off of that motion.

2 TE – 10% - Henry, Goedert, Aiyuk, and Drake.  Henry comes in to give us more blocking and a safety net for Malik.  We will use this on short yardage, goalline, or anytime we want to be more physical up front.  Pacheco will be the RB here to give us more size.  Look for more stretch runs with playaction off of that motion.

2 RB – 10% - Goedert, Aiyuk, Drake, and the backs.  We are going to use Pollard and Pacheco here, with Pollard moving around and splitting out.  If we like the matchup outside, we will go there.  If we like numbers/personnel in the box, we will let Malik and Pacheco run a read-option.

5 WR – 5% - Aiyuk, Drake, Garrett, ARob, Goedert.  Malik will be in shotgun and this will be used mostly in hurry up/2 minute situations.  Goedert will be flexed out.  Malik will be our running game here.

Defense
TL;DR – Limit Chubb, limit McLaurin, make other guys beat us.

With no Zeke this week and Amon-Ra being able to get only 22 yards of offense this month due to nagging injuries, the IC offense is hampered.  So we want to put bodies in the box, slow down Chubb, and make a pass-catcher other than McLaurin beat us. 

We are going to play Cover 1 man about 45% of the time with the assignments described below.  We will also use Cover 3 zone about 45% of the time to defend against the deep ball and incorporate some Cover 6 about 10% of the time with the quarters coverage to the McLaurin side to see if we can’t catch Rodgers making a bad decision like he has been more prone to do this year.

Defensive Line
IC has their OL back at full health, but our DL is playing as good as any in BDL and we trust them to limit running lanes and get after Rodgers.  Phillips will rotate in, especially on early downs, while Bonitto and Wonnum rotate in at edge to give those guys a breather.

Linebackers
Tremaine is going to be focused on Chubb in the run game and sit in his middle zone in the pass game.  He will use his length to reduce passing lanes and his size to punish anyone trying to come across the middle whether we are in man or zone.

Jordyn is going to be focused on shutting down the run and have the RB in man coverage.

In 2 TE or 2 RB sets, Kyzir White will come in for Ahkello and have the 2^nd TE or 2^nd RB in man.

Corners
Donte is going to have McLaurin in man coverage.  St-Juste takes St. Brown.  Ahkello takes Claypool. 

Stokes has the 4th WR in 4 WR sets and comes in for Jordyn.  We are going to have our CBs stay with their men wherever they go.

Safeties
Thornhill is going to have his deep zone all game, but will typically be shaded to McLaurin’s side when we are in man coverage to bracket him.   

Bynum will be up in the box to help in the run game and have the TE in man coverage.

 

 

 

 

Ivory Coast

Motivation: Wax Berlin’s Booty for 60 minutes. 

Offense

Primary Formation: 

Our primary personnel grouping for this game will be 11 personnel, with McLaurin, St. Brown, and Samuel getting the start, and Claypool rotating with them to keep them fresh. Evan Engram will be our primary TE, with McLaurin and St. Brown being the primary WRs. We’ll run a fair amount of 21 personnel as well, plugging another back in and taking out Samuel. Noah Fant will be the backup TE and on the field during 12 and 22 personnel groupings, which will be leveraged during short yardage and goal-line situations. Tevin Jenkins will serve as the 6th OL in blocking when needed on goal-line situations.

Running Game Focus:

• Establish north-south runs early

• Incorporate misdirections and counters to catch the defense leaning

• Fournette will function as fullback when needed

• Control the clock in the second half

We’ll want to use our running game as the closer for this matchup, once we have the lead and are into the second half we’re going to run more runs to run out the clock. Zeke will be the backup and split time with Chubb in the backfield, but if he’s not fully ready to go, Fournette can and will perform the same functions, while also operating as a more traditional fullback. We also have the best back against stacked fronts in Chubb, so he’s going to get the yards we need to keep drives alive.

Passing Game Focus:

• Unleash passing game early

• Sprinkle in stretch plays to try and take the top off the defense

• Include shorter routes underneath for checkdown options

• Give Rodgers the keys and let him make pre-snap reads and changes at the line

• Flex out Engram and leverage him as an additional receiver

We’ll want to unleash the passing game early and often, taking advantage of the talent we have at receiver. We’ll want to try and catch the defense off-guard with a few deep shots to stretch the defense and allow more room for our running game. We’ll use all the receivers all over the field, so the defense can’t key in on any one role or player.

X-Factor on Offense: Aaron Rodgers. We want to throw the ball more this game, and establish an early lead in order to then control the clock and limit the second half possessions by Berlin.

 

Defense

Defensive Formation: 

Berlin is changing quarterbacks and likely offenses, so we must be prepared to defend a variety of looks. We’ll establish our alignment based on receivers on the field, so when seeing three receivers we’ll counter with our 4-2-5 alignment. Payne and Tart will man the middle, with Garrett and Mack on the edges. We’re going to have Devin White and Bobby Okereke as the off-ball linebackers, and run a trio of Greg Newsome II, Trevon Diggs, and Samuel Womack. We’re going to use Diggs and Newsome as our boundary corners, with Womack manning the slot. When Berlin goes with 2 receivers or fewer, Womack will come out, and Patrick Queen will come on to take the weakside linebacker spot, with Bobby Okereke taking the strong side and Devin White holding the middle. Jackson and Davis will operate at the safety spots, with Jackson being the primary deep safety. If and when Berlin uses 4 receivers, we’ll counter by having Okereke come out and bring in Caleb Farley as the dime back. If they ever go 5 wide, we’ll play a mixture of zone coverages rather than take out one of the four down linemen with a 4-1-6 personnel. 

Against the Pass: 

• Take away short routes by playing tighter with corners

• Primarily use man coverage underneath, cover 1 or 2 over the top

• Put pressure on quarterback to beat us deep

• Keep safeties deep to stop those deep shots and increase turnover chances

• Linebackers and safeties (when cover 1) will have TE and RB responsibilities

• Rely on pass rush to pin ears back and generate pressure leading to turnovers

We’re going to try and limit the quick pass attempts from Berlin, forcing them to try and beat us deep. This plays into our hands, as our pass rushers are phenomenal and we’re going to also keep our safeties back to add another man in coverage to try and pick the pass off. We’ll have our corners play in man, tighter and allow for jamming but not exclusively jamming - we want to force the quarterback to throw into tight windows or hold on just long enough for our pass rush to reach.

Against the Run:

• Bring additional safety into the box if needed

• Keep Devin White as spy on QB if we are seeing lots of RPOs / runs with the quarterback

• Play smart fundamental football, don’t over pursue and maintain gap assignments

• Leverage linebacker athleticism to run down the ball carriers

We’re not going to get cute with our defensive front against the run, instead relying on smart fundamental gap assignment football. Our edges will maintain proper edge control on the way to the quarterback, and our linebackers will fly to the football. If needed, we’ll have one of our safeties drop down into the box to further assist against the run.  

X-Factor on Defense: Our defensive ends. Garrett, Mack, and Sweat will be locking down attempts at running to the edges, and collapsing the pocket around whatever quarterback trots out there for Berlin.

Edited October 30, 2022 by RedGold

[RuskieTitan]

And co-owner @ny92mike!

[Ragnarok]

@RedGold, wtf happened to the spacing in my write-up?

[RedGold]

1 minute ago, Ragnarok said:

@RedGold, wtf happened to the spacing in my write-up?

I just copied and pasted? The spacing looks the same in both 

[Ragnarok]

2 minutes ago, RedGold said:

I just copied and pasted? The spacing looks the same in both 

That is not how it looked when I sent it.  Can you pull remove some of the spaces please?  Just for ease of reading.

[ny92mike]

1 minute ago, Ragnarok said:

That is not how it looked when I sent it.  Can you pull remove some of the spaces please?  Just for ease of reading.

Lol...reading between the lines.

[RedGold]

3 minutes ago, Ragnarok said:

That is not how it looked when I sent it.  Can you pull remove some of the spaces please?  Just for ease of reading.

All betters?

[Ragnarok]

1 minute ago, RedGold said:

All betters?

Much better.  Back when I did the game threads, I would also do a little formatting like that when posting cause this forum does some wonky stuff.

[ny92mike]

7 minutes ago, Ragnarok said:

Much better.  Back when I did the game threads, I would also do a little formatting like that when posting cause this forum does some wonky stuff.

Did you make your write up in google docs?  Formatting never carries over to the forum.  Always adds extra spaces.

[Ragnarok]

2 minutes ago, ny92mike said:

Did you make your write up in google docs?  Formatting never carries over to the forum.  Always adds extra spaces.

Word.

[RedGold]

29 minutes ago, Ragnarok said:

Much better.  Back when I did the game threads, I would also do a little formatting like that when posting cause this forum does some wonky stuff.

Yeah I usually make stuff a little easier to read.  I was doing some house projects and decided to slack a bit and just copy and paste.   No worries, I’ll adjust them if they look bad 

[ny92mike]

[Scoundrel]

9 hours ago, RedGold said:

Wax Berlin’s Booty for 60 minutes

@Ragnarok who knew you would be getting pleasure out of this game