Steelers vs Ravens How the Steelers used empty formations to beat the Ravens

 The Steelers vs Ravens.

The Steelers are tough because they are in empty as much as any team. The Ravens tried many different defenses against the Steelers.

The biggest thing with NFL offenses is they have route beaters built in to each side of the formation.

What that means is if its cover 3 or 1 they will work the right side pre snap because they have certain routes built in. Thus, when teams show cover 1 and don't disguise offenses take advantage. The biggest part of running a defense is trying to disguise and making a  little cloudy presnap. 

In this article we will see some of the  things  that went on both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. 

First Half 3 snaps of empty , 2nd Half the Steeler ran 21 snaps of empty after they realized they couldn't really run the ball against the Ravens

Coverage chart for the 24 snaps:

vs  4 man rush  Man free.    2/4 14 yards  (1 pass int penalty)

vs 5 man rush man free   5/6 for 37 yards

vs 4 man rush cover 3.     3/6 for 40

vs 4 man cover 2/2man/2trap  7/7 for 71 yards 2 tds 

Heres some coverages and the routes the Steeler used to beat it.

In this picture, the Ravens are giving a cover 1 look, they try to give a cover 1 look and then 

go to cover 2 trap. The Steelers read it and Ben tries to throw the out cut down below almost into the trap.

Defense Cover 2 trap

Offense concept to beat it  3 wr side -dig in,   (cover 2 side)

                                              2 wr side-fly, out  (cover 1 side) but Ben got fooled 

Cover 2 trap

Ben almost gets suckered into a pick 6

Combo Coverage

The Steeler show cover 1 or 3 presnap. Turns out to be combo coverage, cover 3 to the  3wr side and man free to the bottom of the screen

Ben works the man beater side as they have 2 concepts built in for a 12 yard gain. The slant out combo is the side he goes to if he reads man coverage

Combo coverage later in the game. The Steeler get 23 yards on the route below!

The Steelers hit the void in the defense in combo.

They are playing zone to the 3 wr side cover 3 principles and man to the 2 wr bottom of the screen.

Thus the void to the weak side with the crossing route.

Cover 2 man and cover 2

18 YARD TD TO EBRON. 

This is either 2 carry or 2 man and a blown coverage. The more I watch it I think its 2man with a blown coverage. 

The Ravens show cover 2 and the Steelers run shallow concept. #2 weak runs the shallow #3 runs the dig to high low the mike and hit the void. The MIKE linebacker gets turned around which makes it an easy catch and throw. BUT IS HE IN MAN AND THE WILL JUST LOSES HIS MAN

Something went wrong in coverage

Easy throw and catch, wide open Ebron

3 clips of how Steelers attack c-2/2man

        

vs cover 1 with 5 man pressure

Ravens in dime show cover 1 presnap.

bring the lb Big Ben works the man beater side 10 yard gain and completion but they fumble. 

Ebron runs the out opens the slant window

work the top side after reading cover 1 man beater side

tough to run stick vs cover 1

Here are 3 clips of the routes the Steelers ran vs cover 1, 5 man pressures

Cover 1

The other way to play empty is to rush 4, play man free and have 1 underneath lb playing hook.

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On the above picture, the steelers run a 10 yard curl with an out to the bottom.

They run an option route with #3 

they hit #1 on the bottom for a 10 yard gain

Cover 1 clips 

There you have some of the footage for the Steelers vs The Ravens.

The Steelers short  passing game and man/zone split field  concept system gave the Ravens issues in the 2nd half.

Stay tuned for more coverage and football analysis.

LA CHARGERS PLAY-ACTION PASS PROTECTION

By Coach Jim Jackson

 The LA Chargers are currently the #2 total offense in the NFL. They are running and throwing the ball effectively. One of the main reasons for success is their ability to push the ball down the field vertically with Justin Herbert and the play-action pass. Herbert is making some outstanding reads and plays, especially for a rookie QB in the NFL. This article will examine the Play-Action Protections specifically used by the LAC. There is some really solid play and protection design. 

The first play is a 4 verticals concept and a TD to the TE. The Chargers are faking inside zone to the right with 6 man protection (half man, half zone). Great play design by LAC coaching staff and a great throw by Herbert. Solid protections as well.

The next play is an example of a 7 man protection involving the TE. This fake is much more deliberate and is needed to get the LBs and SS to step up and play the run. This route concept where people are crossing the field at depth requires more time to protect. The result is a 22 yard gain into the Red Zone.

The third play is the LAC vs CAR. We will examine is a similar protection with a different route concept. Again, these are deeper crossing routes that require more time to protect and push the ball downfield. The result of the play is a 45 yard gain, but a PI on LAC. Great concept that gave the LAC 1 on1s in the secondary.

The final play shows great play design by LAC and Herbert's ability to find his checkdown quickly for a large gain. This is the sign of a QB who is locked in executing at a high level. The result of the play after a missed tackle is a 34 yard gain. Another explosive play to for a rookie QB.

Thanks again for joining us! We are excited to watch the LAC offense and their play-action concepts the rest of the season. 

CLEVELAND BROWNS WIDE ZONE

The Cleveland Browns are usually one of the best rushing teams in the NFL. They have been top 5 the following 3 years in rushing.

2022  5th in rushing  146 yards per game

2021  4th in rushing 145 yards per game

2020 4th in rushing  145 yards per game. 

They start their attack with wide zone, and everything else runs off that. We broke down 3 of their games from 2020, Bal, Cin (Week 2), and Dal. In each game they had a different approach and package but the concept of wide zone remained the same. 

In the Bal and DAL games they ran weakside and tight side wide zone. When they ran it to the TE side, the TE was in a "Yo" position and it was with a lead blocker. Both variations of plays work for them to produce and efficient running attack.

Below is the 1st example as you see the tight end wing 12 personnel set. The defense sets the front to that side with a 2i on the backside. That is where the Browns attack.

You can see the angles presnap and how they cut off the backside is the key to the play. 

Their offensive line all get on the same angle 

You can see the lanes on the backside as they create a huge run lane. 

The RB takes 5 steps before he makes his cut and he sees a lane and takes it.

Next CLE ran the same play vs DAL only with a different offensive setup. CLE coaching staff do a great job creating different looks for the defense, while keeping it repetitive for the OL. Against a 4 Down front, they want to attack weak. Their combo blocks set up much better vs a shade than a 3 tech. 

Again they run it to the shade side as they prefer the angles to that side.

Nice job by the Left tackle as he tells the RB it will be cut inside.

Excellent job on the backside combo.

23 personnel

Big package!

On the next play CLE runs wide zone into a 3 down look. The playside Guard and Tackle do a great job of reaching the 3 tech and still gaining stretch by the OT. The FB makes everyone "right" here by cleaning up the hole. When the FB can see what the RB sees and "reads it like the runner" it can be beneficial for everyone. 

This time they lead with the FB.

Nice combos upfront.

The FB leads up inside which makes the O.Line right

The final clip shows great coaching and preparation by Coach Callahan. CIN runs a SS blitz to combat wide zone. The OL does a great job handling the movement. Good coordination with 5 guys working together as 1 unit. Tough task to complete at all levels of football.

You see the assignments and how it progresses!

Nice initial push by the OLine and they get to the next level!

Here's a clip of their wide zone vs the Jacksonville Jaguars. Great execution and the rb does a great job staying on his track and making an excellent cut 

49ers vs Rams, 49ers offense vs Rams ,run game and All Kittle receptions and targets

 The 49ers are growing on me as a contender.

They are doing it the old school way.  They have an efficient run game, excellent play action passing game and solid defensive unit. They owned the perimeter vs the Rams and add in Kittle in the passing game and you have a recipe for victory.

The 49ers  did some great things to slow the Rams defense down and was quite effective especially in the first half. They scored 21 points early and really had a great 1st drive to open the game. 

The 49ers key to success on the offensive side of the ball was due to the following:

1. Jet Sweep package:

• They attacked the Rams on the perimeter
• 4 Jet sweeps with Samuels for 65 yards and a touchdown
• 1 screen to Kittle off the jet sweep for 18 yards

2. RPO Game on the perimeter

• 2 rpo passes to the perimeter for 15 yard

3. Toss game -The 49ers love running toss primarily to the 3 technique and block it like wide zone and look for the cutback behind the 1 tech def tackle.

• 6 tosses for 47 yards 

So in total 13 perimeter plays for 145 yards=11 yards per carry/reception

4. Kittle in the passing game-He was a beast catching 7 passes for 109 yards and a td, More analysis of that below. 

Lets get to the film on the concepts and plays mentioned above.

Here is an image of the Jet sweep and 5 clips are below. 

Here are the 5 clips:

• 4 jet sweeps and the tight end screen to Kittle

                                                    

The RPO game- Attacking the perimeter with the RPO Game when numbers where there.

See the 2 clips below

The 49ers Toss play

I really like the design out of gun with Kittle being the lead blocker.

They ran this play for 15 yards.

They also ran toss traditionally. I put a few of the clips of the toss play below.

4. Utilized  Kittle in the passing game- The Rams had no answer for Kittle in the passing game.

Here's great screen they ran to him

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Kittle was targeted 10 times and only doubled 1x by the Rams.

Play chart

           down    concept                    result                            coverage                     man on him

• 1st & 10    screen                     18 yds                              either  3/1                     n/a
• 2nd & 7     snag                        inc                                     4                                 n/a
•  2 &3         out                        4yds first down                   8                                  n/a
• 4th &2      slant.                     44 yards.  td                       0straight man                31
• 2 & 6.       snag.                         7 yards.                           2 hole                           n/a
• 2 &10.      sail                            inc                                 2 man under                   26
• 1 & 10.    pa. slant.                 18 yd                                1/4, 1/4 ,1/2                   n/a
• 2& 6.        snag                          7 yd                                bracket                         43/31
• 3 & 6.       pa slant                    inc.                                  man free                       20
• 3 & 8.      snag/sit                     11 yards                          robber/curl.                    n/a

Observations:

Rams played a lot of zone coverage with Kittle. His big play came when they went man and had 31 on him rather than Jalen Ramsay. 

They also only doubled him 1x of the 10 passing attempts thrown his way.

 

The 49ers were 7/10 throwing to him and should have been 8/10 for 109 yards and a td.

I think you have to bracket him more and let someone else beat you. Staley does a great job but  surprised the Rams didn't do more of it and throw Ramsey on him a little more at times.

All the  Kittle in the passing game clips are shown below:

Overall the Rams success on those 4 plays heavily contributed to their success:

1. Samuel on the jet sweep, Kittle in the passing game, and success on the toss play and stretching the defense with the rpo were key in this game.

2. I still think the Rams are a very good team and it will be an interesting NFC West