New England Patriots Run game and play action game

 The New England Patriots are 3rd in the NFL in rushing averaging 159 yards per game and have always been one of the best rushing teams in the NFL.

They have rushed for an average of 5.1 yards per carry this year and have done it a few different ways. 

Some of its old school under center, power, counter, iso, toss schemes and then they mix in some zone read concepts with Newton out of the gun which makes them difficult to defend. The Boss read play weak is a real difficult concept to defend. 

The most impressive is that they constantly get 8 man boxes because teams don't respect their downfield passing game. Regardless, the Patriots still can rush the football and hit teams with their playaction concepts.

Here's some of the plays and plays off it

Play                               Play off it

Toss                               fake toss slant

jet                                  wing counter

iso/power                       play action dover concept (deep over)

boss   read                       play action to the tight end drag

Vs. The Bills in 2020

They do a great job running play action off their run schemes which I will show you later in the clips.

They really hurt the Bills running the ball then running a sequential counter, play action scheme. 

This is all being done with limited tight end and wr play in the passing game. 

Lets take a look at some of the concepts vs. the Bills.

They ran 29 carries for 183 yards  =. 6.31 yard

Toss.   7, 2,5,6,6,1. = 6/27 yards                                    4.5 ypc

qb sweep with toss blocking 2,19,5 = 3/26 yards            8.6 ypc

counter 22 td,    (309 3rd). 18, 7        2, 3 = 5/52            10.4 ypc

iso 2,2 ,13, 1=4/18 yards                                                 4.5 ypc 

power 4, 2=2/6 yards                                                       3 ypc

zone read 4. 1/4                                                                4 ypc 

boss read .  2/14                                                                7ypc.   play action  133 2nd 

qb draw for 3, 2                                         2/5                  2.5ypc

wide/ inside zone -2, -2 10=4/9 yards                             2.25ypc

wham 2                                                    1/2                    2 ypc

jet sweep 6                                                1/6                   6ypc

wing trap 6 off jet 3rd 10:15                     1/6                  6ypc

speed option 8                                            1/8.                8 ypc

The Patriots ran a toss crack concept against the Bills

1st and 10 for 7 yards 

TE cracks on de.        Wr cracks on SS       Tackle pulls for the cb

Whether its toss or qb sweep, that's the scheme they ran 9 times for 53 yards. 

1st and 10 in the 3rd quarter

They run the toss crack for 5 yards out of 21 personnel.

Only difference is fullback runs the alley.

Next they run the toss out of 22 personnel

Same scheme similar result-7 yard gain. You'll love the double pancake from the right tackle on the film!!

Later in the 4th quarter after great success, they hit the slant off the play action because they Bills were playing a lose cover 3. Had it in the hip pocket all game. They gave the same look and the Bills defense had no answer to it.

Heres some toss clips and play action ff it 

They also ran the qb sweep with toss blocking scheme. big 19 yard gain.

In the 2nd quarter the Pats start running counter.

The counter to the 1 technique side was another big play for the Patriots. Seemed to like running this to their left attacking the right side of the Bills Defense. Bills were rolling to the tight end side to take away the power /toss concepts.

counter blocking #1 22 yard td.

Counter blocking scheme 2 : 20 yard gain

3 counter clips are below:

Another sequence was the boss same side zone read 2 times. 

They ran it 2 times for 14 yards before running a nice play action off it.

Look at the hole from the boss fake, Cam reads the end 9 yard gain

After running boss read on 2 occasions, they run the play action pass for a 10 yard gain.

Hits te off the action for 10 yards

Here are 3 clips,

First the boss read then the play action off it.

The Patriots run jet earlier in the game, then they run the jet counter off it.

Again so much of what the pats do is sequential. fake the jet give the wing the ball.

Heres the wing counter for 6 yards 

3rd and 10 on the Bills 37

The pats run a zone read and give it  Burkett vs cover 1.

Great call figure go for it on 4th or get into field goal range.

Here's the toss play vs the Bills in 2021.

Offense 22 personnel with Tackle at tight end spot

Defense:4-3 cover 3 with SS down over the  tight end.

I hope you enjoyed some of the concepts the Patriots run game.

Saints Run Game - Part 2 - Attacking 3 Down Fronts

by Jim Jackson

The New Orleans Saints are having great success in the run game currently, and they are doing it by having a plan to attack the 3 Down front. For purposes of this article we will call it a "Tight" front. The front we are talking about is the Center covered by a NG, both Guards covered by a 3 tech or 4I, and usually edge defenders capping the offensive formation. Some teams use 2 LB or 1 LB and a drop down Safety at the 2nd level. 

A variation of this front is the "Bear" or 46 front where the Center and both Guards are covered. This is typically a short yardage defense used with Man Coverage variations.

The Saints like to attack this front by running:

1. Inside Zone Weak (Away from TE) from the gun

2. Gap Scheme Strong (To the TE), either Power or Duo

3. Wide Zone Strong (To the TE).

Play 1 is Gun Inside Zone Weak. The result is a 20 yard gain by Alvin Kamara.

Play 2 is a QB Power with Taysom Hill as QB for a 13 yard gain. Hill is such a unique talent because he is so dynamic with the ball. Defensively, you have to respect and prepare for the Wildcat run game with a legitimate threat to pass as well.

Play 3 is a Wide Zone to a TE side. The result of this play is a 2 yard gain, but there are solid angles.

The Vikings, Patriots, and Ravens also have some good schemes attacking the Tight Front. As Defense evolves in the NFL, it is always great to see the creative ideas that coaches come up with to attack it.

NY Jets O Line Coach Keith Carter, What to expect in the run Game

By Jim Jackson

The Jets have a new o line coach, the energetic and demanding Keith Carter.

This article will look at some of the schemes he used while with the Titans. They were every effecient over the years but struggled in 2022 due to injuries to every starter.

The thing about the Tenn offense is that it was predicated on downhill runs with super back Derrick Henry. They were very good at attacking downhill and playing to his strengths.

They liked to run these 4 plays often:

1. Toss Crack

2. Inside Zone

3. Duo

4. Wide Zone

The TEN Titans had great success with Derrick Henry, and he is the primary reason that they were  a top 5  rushing offense in the NFL for years. But what about the OL blocking for him? This article will focus on the strength of the interior offensive line for the Titans. Throughout the season this group is playing at an elite level and paving the way for their success. Nick Hardwick (Pro Bowl Center and 9 year NFL vet) once told me, "If you want to protect the passer, get good Tackles. If you want to run the ball, get good Centers and Guards." The Titans are lived  that in the 2020 season as well as other years.

Center = Ben Jones - 9 year NFL vet. Good technician. Tough to fool him. Anticipates very well. Plays hard and finishes in run game.

LG = Rodger Saffold = 11 year NFL vet. Playing an elite level right now. Is extremely quick and violent of DL. Has been injured some, but playing great.

RG = Nate Davis = 2 year NFL vet. Athletic, quick, and playing fast. Once he gets hands on defenders, it turn into a knockdown. He plays with great pad level.

Sub = Aaron Brewer = Rookie. Has been solid in a reserve role at RG and LG. Does not look lost like most rookies and is usually initiating contact. He moves fluid and bends well. He is undersized but it has not shown to be a weakness. 

You will see all four of these OL highlighted. 

The first play is a Toss Crack (My Favorite!) for a 12 yard gain. Both Guards take great angles and have huge blocks to spring the play. Watch the finish by the LG. Great technique and violence!

Crack and get the tackle on the perimeter

Wr  block and they seal the interior.

Expect the Jets to run duo. 

Play two is Duo in Week 11 vs. BAL. The result is an 8 yard gain, but this is violent run. When Henry gets his shoulders downhill, he is extremely hard to tackle.

The center works opposite the RB in duo which you see here. 

Nice double team with the guard and tackle. 

Good running lane as the guard and tackle double to the LB and the center finishes his block!

Wide Zone

Wide zone was another staple in the Titans offense. They did it from numerous sets.  
The third play is a wide zone in Week 8 vs the CIN. The Center and the RG do a great job of using the DL leverage and momentum against them to finish blocks. OL job is put defense players on the ground.

Inside Zone Windback!

The last play, well this one is mostly Henry. HOU runs a run stopping blitz and have two unblocked defenders in the hole. When defenders are on the move, it makes it harder to square up and tackle Henry.  Great job by the RG of sealing the ILB and creating the hole on IZ Windback.

All block zone and the h comes across. Similar to slice.

Nice job sealing the backside and he makes the LB miss.

In conclusion, Their run game was designed to get Henry downhill, and this is a tough tackle for anyone in the NFL. The interior OL played  at a high level, even with the injuries they have sustained. Excellent work by Coach Carter and the Titans' staff and we shall see how it transcends to the Jets.