AFC East after Free agency

 1. Bills- The Bills were magicians with the cap, resigning Milano, Williams and Feliciano. Made a great move bringing in Hollister who is more dynamic than Kroft at tight end and the cagey veteran Emmanuel Sanders to pair with Diggs and Beasley. That's a pretty nifty group. Now, they need to revamp the defensive line and the defense will be set. They got over matched  at times in the run game but with a few tweaks defensively, they are the team to beat in the AFC. Expect them to sign a few vets to sure up the defensive line, although they have invested a tremendous amount at that position over the years.

Biggest draft need: DE

The Bills were able to re-sign guard Jon Feliciano (76) ahead of free agency.

1a. Patriots- The Patriots were bad last year because they had the worst skill position players in the league. When you dont make plays offensively, your defense is on the field more so stats get inflated. They had a very good offensive line and it only got better with the addition of Trent Brown and bringing back Andrews and Karros. 12 personnel will be dynamite with Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry.  Huge upgrades at wr with Agolar and Kendrick Bourne

On defense they added Judon, Van noy and an underrated Harry Anderson from the Jets. They have the best cb in the league in Gilmore so watch out the Patriots are back. Also bringing in Davon Godchaux will help the defensive line. Jalen Mills at safety is one of the best steals in free agency. 

This team is very complete and will compete for the AFC East.

Biggest Draft need: QB, LB

3. Dolphins-Every time the Dolphins do something, everyone loves it. But I think trading the #3 pick was dumb. That's a Belichick thing, trading down all the time accruing picks and hoping 1 of them pans out. Why would you trade the best tackle prospect in the draft, Sewell when your offensive line needs upgrades and you have a rookie qb who needs help. It may be a great move but I like the idea of #3 really hitting on a great player. Put Pitts in that offense and think about the dynamic their. Parsons is a great lb who would drastically improve any defense with his skillset. They must see value deeper in the draft. They lost 2 of their better defensive players in Van Noy & Shaq Lawson and replaced them with Mckinney who is on the decline. Is the plan to play him as an Olb and not inside at this point of his career? He is a liability in coverage so I am assuming they plan on using him more in that role.  They took a step back on defense.

I still have questions about the offensive line which was not very good last year.  They did play with three rookies. Solomon Kindley has ability but struggled at times in pass protection.   Hunt improved greatly towards the end of the year but Austin Jackson was a disappointment at left tackle for his first year. They added Matt Skura which is a lateral move in regards to the center Karras. Curious to see if they replace flowers at left guard. 

Overall, The only real upgrade was Will Fuller, who gives them a burner in the slot.  That should help. Brissett, is a solid NFL backup qb but not as dangerous as Fitzpatrick in the passing game. Malcolm Brown is another band aid at running back as they went that route last year with limited success. 

Biggest draft need: interior o line, Guard and center,  Edge, Rb, TE, Wr

4. Jets- The Jets did an excellent job addressing their wr room with Davis and Cole, TE with Kroft who will improve their run blocking and allow them to use Herndon as more of an hback. They also did a great job bringing in players such as Lawson, Rankins and Curry to give them some depth on the defensive line.  They have built a very strong unit there. 

I'm not going to talk about qb, but with either Sam or the rookie, you still have the 4th best qb in the division going into the season. Watson talk has tailed off and all fingers point to Wilson being the qb. 

Also, the most important unit has not been improved, the offensive line where they were the most pressured team in the league last year. They have major holes up front. They got eaten up at times in pass protection and struggled running the ball.  They also were one of the worst stats in rushes over 10 yards last year and really need some dynamic running backs that can make some plays. Now that being said, the wide zone system has always made average running backs look good so we should see more production there. 

Lastly, they need more depth at cb to really finalize the defense. 

Biggest draft needs: QB, OG, RB, CB, FS, Nickel, LB

Carson Wentz analysis-Why he will excel at qb in the Colts Offense

                                        

Carson Wentz had a very tough year in Philadelphia.

This was mostly due to playing with a very banged up offensive line, his relationship with his head coach, his decision to pack on extra weight and the limited options he had at wr.This has been a problem the past 2 years.  Last year alone, he was the most sacked qb in the league at over 4 sacks a game. That is not going to lead to being highly efficient when you are constantly being hit. He needed a fresh start and is getting it with Frank Reich and his Colts staff.

But it doesn't discount the work in did the last 3 years in the league. His stats are up there with every elite qb in the league over that span. I was most impressed about his work in 2019 when his top wr had 43 catches. He threw for 4000 yards without a wr gaining 500 yards on he season. That has never been done before. 

In 2019, he was ranked 10th in the league, 2018 he was 14th and in 2017  he was ranked #5 and was considered as league MVP that year. He has skills.

Caeer stats

Year	Team	CMP%	YDS	TD	INT	Rating
2020	Eagles	57.4	2,620	16	15	72.8
2019	Eagles	63.9	4,039	27	7	93.1
2018	Eagles	69.6	3,074	21	7	102.2
2017	Eagles	60.2	3,296	33	7	101.9
2016	Eagles	62.4	3,782	16	14	79.3
Career		62.7	16,811	113	50	89.2

Why will Carson be successful in Indianapolis

1. The Colts have one of the better offensive lines in the league. They will get a good left tackle to replace Costanzo and be ready to go with a line of   LG Nelson, C Kelly,    RG Glowinski,    RT Braden Smith. They are a very good unit.

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2. The Colts run the football with success. This will open play action windows for Wentz to throw the football. They have great backs in Tayler and Hines.

3. The Colts will utilize their skill players and he will have some options. Zach Pascal and Michael Pittman are rising young players and Hines and Taylor are good wr out of the backfield. They will get a 3rd wr via free agency or the draft. They may need a tight end as well but it's still early in free agency.

4. Carson understands the offense like the back of his hand. He knows the major route concepts. He ran the same system his whole career and the terminology will be very similar.

5. Wentz is a quick decision maker and accurate passer. He can throw wr open. Those 2 skills are the 

               

  most useful for being an elite qb. His skill set is tremendous. He also has the arm strength people covet 

and can run when needed. Lastly, he is strong under pressure and willing to take a hit. 

6. Toughness- Just remember all the hits he took last year and how about 2017 when he threw that big touchdown pass on 4th and 1 with a torn ACL Or maybe when he played with a torn rotator cuff. He gave the Eagles everything and is very tough football player. 

Here are some examples of some of the things mentioned above:

Wentz knows all the reads in the offense. The Eagles run 5 major concepts and the Colts run the same ones. 4 verts, mesh, sail route, dover and the snag route are all 

Sail with shallow cross concept

Here's a common sail variation out of 2x2, rather than release the rb to the flat, the Eagles run the backside wr on the shallow concept with the sail route to the front side

 out to the crossing route. He didn't try to fore it in downfield.

In play action when the tight end is attached, notice the tight end release is inside to work back out. The Eagles run a 3 man concept. Wentz makes his progression and throws a great pass.

Here  Wentz is throwing the Dover concept, a staple in Frank Reich's offense

Here is Wentz throwing the 4 vert concept, another staple in Frank Reichs offense. You can see the accuracy, ball placement, arm strength and all the intangibles you need to be successful.

The next route concept is the mesh route. ANother staple of Carson Wentz. Here you can see the throws 

he makes under the mesh concept

Lastly, his knowledge of the sail route concepts.

Another great part of what Wentz can throw. Another staple of the Colts offense and great route concept.  

This is an qb friendly, easy system, very easy reads and with Wentz skill set, expect great production from him. Don't be surprised if you see the Colts in the Super Bowl in 2022.

Rex Ryan 3rd down package- Exotic blitz and pressure looks

 I went back to Rex Ryan and his exotic pressure looks back when he was a coordinator in 2015 and 2016. 
He had some great pressure concepts that really caused some confusion. One of the innovators of his time, Rex was one of the best at bringing pressure on 3rd down.

One thing about Rex is that he could always dial up some pressure.

Here's a 3rd and 10 3-3 personnel,  6 man pressure with cover 1

Rex brings 6 with man free principles from his ameba look and the sam off the edge

Here's the endzone look

It goes off Frank Gore's hands and they have to punt.

3rd and 8

Rex is in his base 4-3 personnel and showing pressure. 
He brings 7 with someone with some peel rules. The DE williams comes from the lb spot. 

He has williams a def lineman, blitzing from depth. 

Lucky for LUck he throws behind the wr or its a pick 6 the other way.

On 3rd and 10. Colts are in 11 personnel. The Bills run an overload pressure. They force the Colts to keep 7 in again and run a 3 man pattern.

Defense    front      pressure                      coverage 
dime       3-2           2 off the edge                combo(man on the outside)

On a key 3rd and 5

The Eagles decide to go 5 man protection and the Bills bring 6. This causes an issue in protection as the ILB comes free as the guard takes the safety. Also, the Eagles are free releasing the back so are one man less short. Luckily Bradford sees it and throws the slant vs it.

The defense is dime with 2 lb and 3 def lineman in the game.  They overload the left side but bring the pressure on the right side

Protection wise, you want the tackle on 94 so you have to decide what you want to do inside. Do you slide? 1/2 man slide it. Well they free release it. The Left guard takes the lb.

3rd and 6

spread

Jags run slant out combos to both sides.

Out of dime , the Bills bring a 6 man pressure. Both lb to the one side and the safety away from the back. They play man free with the concept. The Jaguars pick it up and run a 4 man slide with the back coming across. The pressure forces a quick poor throw and the Bills get off the field.

This just a sneak preview of some of the more pressures Rex has showed over the years. Great stuff from a  great football mind.