BDL 2023 Week 11: Rome Eternals @ Camden Hood Rats

[RedGold]

BDL 2023 Week  11

Match:  Rome Eternals @ Camden Hood Rats

Away Owner:  @bcb1213

Home Owner:    @TedLavie

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.

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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]

Rome

QB Justin Herbert

RB D’Andre Swift 

WR Keenan Allen

WR Jaylen Waddle 

TE Luke Musgrave 

TE Dalton Kincaid 

LT Tyron Smith 

LG Michael Onwenu 

C Ethan Pocic 

RG Chris Lindstrom

RT Ryan Ramcyk 

 

RB Alvin Kamara 

WR Amari Cooper 

TE Cade Otton 

WR Khalil Shakir 

WR Robert Woods 

OG  O Cyrus Torrence 

OT Terron Armstead 

FB Patrick Ricard 

 

Edge Jaelan Phillips 

NT Dalvin Tomlinson 

UT Denico Autry 

Edge George Karlaftis 

LB Foye Oluokon 

LB Robert Spillane 

CB Jamel Dean 

CB.DJ Reed 

CB Da'ron Bland 

S  Grant Delpit 

S Andre Cisco 

 

Edge Shaq Barrett 

Edge Bryce Huff 

INT Andrew Billings 

INT Shelby Harris 

LB Elandon Roberts 

CB Ja’Quan McMillan 

CB Michael Carter II

DB Kyle Hamilton 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camden

QB Tua Tagovailoa
RB Austin Ekeler
WR AJ Brown
WR Nico Collins
WR Cooper Kupp
TE Tyler Higbee
LT Dion Dawkins
LG Quenton Nelson
C Bradley Bozeman
RG Quinn Meinerz
RT Lane Johnson

Bench

RB Khalil Herbert
RB Jaleel McLaughlin
RB Donta Foreman (Q)
TE Kyle Pitts
WR Rashid Shaheed
WR Gabe Davis
OL Zach Tom
OL Cody Whitehair

 

RE Josh Allen
DT Aaron Donald
NT Harrison Phillips
LE Montez Sweat
LB Lavonte David
LB Nicholas Morrow
CB L’Jarius Sneed
CB Rasul Douglas
CB Mekhi Beckmon
SS Eddie Jackson
FS Malik Hooker

Bench

Edge Carl Granderson
Edge Boye Mafe
INT Osa Odighizuwa 
INT A’Shawn Robinson
LB Frankie Luvu
CB Darious Williams
CB Asante Samuel Jr.
S Jacquan Brisker

Edited November 19, 2023 by RedGold

[RedGold]

Rome

Formations /Approach

While we list two TE as starters this week, we will also feature our general 11 formation as well. . For the first time this year we are also going to break out our two RB, two TE shotgun formation with Waddle outside.  We'll go into that later.  We still will run some four wr and even five wr looks when needed but Camden has some corner depth where we feel we have a larger advantage keeping them in more base looks. For the past couple weeks, Camden has leaned on their defensive line advantage against the opposing offensive line. They have no such advantage today 

/the running game

Up front we start possibly bdls best offensive line. Tyron returned last week for Dallas and looked like he hadn't missed any time while Ramcyk has been his usual dependable self.  Onwenu reenters at guard after rounding into form Irl the past couple weeks after injuries slowed him down to start the year.  Lindstrom is the best guard in football while pocic has shown last year's breakouts is no fluke   Dandre Swift and Alvin Kamara give us two reliable backs able to rotate and keep each other fresh while not having to change the offebse. 

As mentioned earlier we will be using a lot of two TE sets this week with Kincaid and Musgrave. We want to line these two up next to each other and hit a lot of outshde runs using sweeps, off tackles and stretch plays to use the athleticism of our offensive line to outflank the opposition.  We will use presnap motion to help us do this. With a wr in motion going to the opposite side of the twin TE presnap, if they are playing man, the corner will go with leaving a wide open pitch side. If the corner stays then it's zone and we'll motion the wr back and run more off tackle plays with Musgrave helping to seal the edge and Kincaid moving to the second level.  Camden also likes to line up the non Donald DT directly over the center.  While this helps eliminate easy Donald doubles, it also leaves a sizable gap in the interior of the line. We'll also at times notion a TE into the bsckfield to be a lead Blocker and run right into the areas left open by this formation   More of our outside running wants to go to the Allen side of the field to wear him out as he's also the weaker run defender of the two edges. 

The passing game 

This week, we are preparing  for all of our zone buster routes and plays if Camden wants to maintain it's previous couple week strategies .   We have our floods, seams, levels and new this week swing screens to Kamara or Swift to attack the zones.  If we are seeing majority cover two we are gonna hit that space on the sideline between the corner and safety or on the deep side middle post to Waddle or Cooper .   We have a savvy group of WR who know how too find the hole in the zone and sit in them.  Herbert can extend plays with his legs if needed to find angles to hit the WR. Waddle is especially dangerous with the ball in his hands so we are going to scheme combo routes to get him open. We definitely think he can run past any of the corners in a cover three unless they are plying super off coverage.  If we see it, Herbert and Waddle know to hit the quick pass where one missed tackle is a huge gain   Allen is a slot master and should be able to sit in a zone easily with his chemistry with Herbert already established.  Shakir has looked solid the last couple weeks as an added slot underneath option Woods brings a fourth veteran WR when we go five wide.  Kincaid and Musgrave up the seams also should be available versus cover there looks 

However we are also prepared and frankly kind of expect Camden to go more man heavy this week.  We want to use motion to get our TE and our RB one on one in space against the LB.  We are gonna target whomever Frankie Luuvu is on early and often. We don't think Camden will be prepared for a two TE heavy offense and they'll likely not be giving him help outside in man coverage.   Expect our RB to get large target numbers as well against LB or safety. Lavonte David, while still good has finally started to show signs of losing a step and isn't the amazing coverage lb of his past anymore.  In the two RB sets, we will move either RB out into the slot together try and get a LB in coverage in space 

In three wide, if Camden is playing man we will attack the slot if they are using Blackmon as the third corner again as all three of their corners are boundary guys.  If they are doing assignments, we'll make sure to put Blackmon opponent in the slot as he has next zero slot experience with 12 snaps in the position.  Out wide we want to threaten them vertically with Waddle, underneath with Allen and on all levels with cooper 

The RPO is also going to be a part of our repertoire this week to freeze any LB playing zone and hit the seam behind him.   Up front we want to make sure the center passes off dt2 quickly and helps to double up on Donald 

The QB 

Justin Herbert has been outstanding this year and we are going to lean on him this week to make the right reads.  We obviously have a way better line than he has in real life life and when given time this year, his rocket arm has been deadly 

 

 

Defense 

This week we play a Camden offense with a lot of fun chess pieces. Luckily we come equipped with our own chess pieces in what should be a fun battle.   While we have the above formation as “base” it will only be the 11 we have on the field if if it's 11 personnel with Ekeker and Higbee on the field in 11.  We basically have the following players assigned to certain individuals 

Billings replaces Autry when Ekeler is not the RB as they will focus on more on the inside running game while with Ekeker we expect more rushes to the edges and will dare them to run inside with Austin.  Kyle Hamilton replaces Spillane when Pitts is in the game and he gets that assignment in coverage. 

We are going to play our usual cover one, cover three zone looks.  To keep Tua guessing we'll also be sending some interior blitz from a LB or let Hamilton occasionally blitz when he's in the game. We'll rotate the under man to this coverage in man while zone blitzing well drop Phillips back from wherever he's lined up 

Up front 

Our defensive line does not get a ton of love here and they have taken notice. Karlaftis is top ten in pressures.  Bryce Huff cycles in on third down pushing Phillips inside for Tomlinson. Huff is the number one edge rusher this year in terms of pruductiom per snap. He is top ten in the league in pressures despite playing half the snaps as most others in the top ten. Phillips himself has a sack in each of the past three ganes  Meanwhile Autry is third in the league for interior players with six sacks of his own 

On early downs we bring in Billings for Autry to keep denico fresh and add a little more beef with Tomlinson.  As mentioned earlier Huff gets third down work. Barrett provides early down edge depth while Harris is around for any big boy who needs a break.  Robert's comes in for goalline and short yardage scenarios only. 

Back 7 in man 

We have some breakouts here as well with Daron Bland developing into a really great corner and DJ Reed playing out of his mind in New York.   We aren't going to assign matchups this week as we have guys who play roles here.  Dean and Reed get the boundaries while Bland gets the slot.  Cisco gets Ekeler when he's in the game playing up in the box.  Foye has Higbee or be the under man when Hamilton has Pitts or in dime. Spillane is the general under man /blitzing option.  Delpit plays cf and he will shade towards Browns side.  If they roll two TE, Dean comes off for Hamilton and spillane maintains his role. McMillan takes the second slot role in dime looks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camden

Offense

Attack Rome zones – We face a Humphrey less Rome squad this week. So they will likely start DJ Reed, DaRon Bland and someone else (we assume Dean or Carter). Bland and Reed are having fine seasons as #2 corners in their respective teams, but we doubt one of those guys can handle AJ Brown or Cooper Kupp 1 on 1. So we think Rome is going to play a lot of zone coverage and we will take a page out of their playbook by using a lot of zone buster routes and plays: floods, seams, levels and swing screens to Ekeler to attack the zones and move the chains. 

Push the ball downfield– Since Delpit and new signing Metelius are more comfortable at the intermediate level, we expect them to play a lot of cover 3 zone. Whether in this scheme or in man, we want to attack Rome deep with multiple routes. We will have essentially two players with go routes and two players with deep corner or go routes – putting 4 attackers against 3 (or 4 in man) defenders in the deep zone of the field. If anything, those plays – that we will run with Pitts or with Shaheed instead of Higbee – will force Delpit to not be too aggressive in run defense.  On those longer plays, the RB may stay in pass protection on those plays or run a delayed route to add additional protection for Tua – though we trust our OL in this one.

If Rome doesn’t adjust, then we will just repeat it over and over.

If Rome does start to play more man-to-man, then we expand our route tree to AJ Brown and Cooper Kupp and target them, as well as Collins if he happens to be covered by Dean/Carter.

Against other zone cover schemes, Tua will adjust and attack the strong safety deep.

 

Complementary running game – Rome run defense isn’t great. A successful deep passing game should open up things for our running backs, and we will use that to our advantage, running mostly behind the right side of our OL. Ekeler gets the majority of touches, McLaughlin gets some touches at the end of the 2nd and start of the 4th to use his big play ability against a tired defense. Herbert is our change of pace guy and will get around 10 touches.
 
Defense

Keep it simple and sound – This week we face an extremely complete Rome offense. They usually run a balanced attack through their impressive offensive line. Because there’s no obvious weakness on this offense, we will keep it simple and play man-to-man all the way to victory. Rome OL is great but so is our DL. With enough production on the other side of the ball, we expect our DL to win enough battles to keep it close and give Justin Herbert the chance to choke it in crunch time. As always, expect a heavy rotation (with Osa rotating in on passing downs and Robinson in on running downs) along the DL. 

Man coverage responsibilities – We will alternate between press and off man coverage depending on the flow of the game, but we won’t be afraid to rough it up at the LoS especially on the banged up Keenan Allen. We will alternate between cover 1 man (with Hooker deep and a LB/SS in the middle of the field) and cover 2 man (more so even on 3rd & long). If Blackmon needs help we will provide it with Jackson. Here are the detailed responsibilities:

Snead – Keenan Allen (if in – Waddle if out)
Douglas – Cooper
Blackmon – Waddle
Jackson – The TE or zone assignment
Morrow – The TE or zone assignment
David – Swift
Luvu – zone assignment on 2 TE sets (Morrow gets TE2, Jackson TE1)
Williams – WR4 in dime package
Brisker – RB2 in 2 RB sets
 

Edited November 19, 2023 by RedGold

[Scoundrel]

“Tyron returned last week for Dallas and looked like he hadn't missed any time while Ramcyk has been his usual dependable self.  Onwenu reenters at guard after rounding into form Irl the past couple weeks after injuries slowed him down to start the year.  Lindstrom is the best guard in football while pocic has shown last year's breakouts is no fluke”

Vomit

[Blue]

Rome has an excellent line but:

Quote

Lindstrom is the best guard in football

He needs to lay off the PFF sauce. Zack Martin, Quenton Nelson, Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio, Joe Thuney all guys I would take over Lindstrom.

As for the game itself, featuring the two rookie tight ends is probably a smart move given the state of the Camden linebackers and safeties. Putting Blackmon on Waddle is just asking for trouble, especially after Blackmon struggled this week.

All that said, Herbert struggled to put points on the board this week against a defense that can't rush the passer and was starting two rookies, Keisean Nixon, and Jonathan Owens in the secondary. How do I possibly take a player like that seriously? Why in the world is Dalton Kincaid being lined up as a run blocker? Giving Blackmon safety help is a great plan with Snead and Douglas capable of matching up 1 on 1 on the outside.

I like Hamilton as a player, but man coverage against Pitts is not the way to go. Pitts is going to eat him up running those seam routes, and in general I think Camden keeps their QB clean just long enough to hit some of those big plays downfield against a soft center field and a boundary corner in Dean who's not really having a good year (largely due to injuries).

[Scoundrel]

I’ve got Camden in this one at home. Feeling the gameplan. I feel like Bland makes a big play for Rome but ultimately Camden is able to outduel them in this matchup. 

[Scoundrel]

1 hour ago, Blue said:

starting two rookies, Keisean Nixon, and Jonathan Owens in the secondary.

Owens is 28 he’s no rookie

[Blue]

12 minutes ago, Scoundrel said:

Owens is 28 he’s no rookie

Nixon and Owens aren't the rookies.

Oxford comma, you scrub.

Edited November 21, 2023 by Blue

[Scoundrel]

13 minutes ago, Blue said:

Nixon and Owens aren't the rookies.

Oxford comma, you scrub.

I speak no English bad English man 

[bcb1213]

7 hours ago, Blue said:

Rome has an excellent line but:

He needs to lay off the PFF sauce. Zack Martin, Quenton Nelson, Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio, Joe Thuney all guys I would take over Lindstrom.

As for the game itself, featuring the two rookie tight ends is probably a smart move given the state of the Camden linebackers and safeties. Putting Blackmon on Waddle is just asking for trouble, especially after Blackmon struggled this week.

All that said, Herbert struggled to put points on the board this week against a defense that can't rush the passer and was starting two rookies, Keisean Nixon, and Jonathan Owens in the secondary. How do I possibly take a player like that seriously? Why in the world is Dalton Kincaid being lined up as a run blocker? Giving Blackmon safety help is a great plan with Snead and Douglas capable of matching up 1 on 1 on the outside.

I like Hamilton as a player, but man coverage against Pitts is not the way to go. Pitts is going to eat him up running those seam routes, and in general I think Camden keeps their QB clean just long enough to hit some of those big plays downfield against a soft center field and a boundary corner in Dean who's not really having a good year (largely due to injuries).

7 dropped passes, including two tds and Ekeler fumbled away the ball at the goalline.  They easily had 21 more points but alas chargers.  Also Tua put up the same points this week against that vaunted Raiders secondary while not having to throw the ball to people named stone smartt, Alex Erickson, and Derius Davis

Edited November 21, 2023 by bcb1213

[MikeT14]

Two excellent gameplans here, so I have to give the edge to the talent on the field, which to me is Camden right now. I like the way Tua has been playing.

[rackcs]

I think this game is a real shoot out and I think that while neither team has a bad secondary, I trust Rome's to hold up a little bit better here. Pretty much a coin flip game for me though.