Bills 2021 3rd down defense analysis. #1 in the NFL

 The Bills were ranked #1 in the league in 3rd down efficiency in 2021. 

In week 18 the Jets were 1-14 on 3rd down vs the Bills. The Bills frustrated the Jets with some zone concepts , man free lurk coverages and some combination concepts that caused confusion for Zach Wilson. They actually only blitzed Zach 2/14 times but still managed to sack him 4 times on 3rd down.

In there last 3 games of the regular season the Bills 3rd down defense was dominant. 

week 18. Jets 1/14. 

week 17 Falcons 1/7

week 16 Patriots 1/10

That's 3/31 over a 3 week period which is excellent.  

Coverage Breakdown vs The Jets 

Here is the down and distance and the different coverages vs the Jets. 

3rd 1-3.        man free, man free  w 5 man pressure.                                2/2 man 

3rd 4-6.       man free lurk(explained below)                                            1/1 man 

3rd 7-9.  2 hole,  man free lurk, man free lurk, cover 2,   man free lurk   3/5 man 

3rd 10+.   3 weak, 2 combo , 5 man  pressure cover 4 fire zone, 3 weak, cover 2 hole, cover 4  0/6 man

As you can see, as they get into those 3rd and long situations, you will see more zone coverages from the Bills.

Here are some clips with the coverage breakdown.

 I will cover the following in this article:

Combo coverage- a cover 2 variant

Cover 2 hole vs 3x1

Man free lurk- it starts as 2 man and the safety opposite 3x1 dives to play the hole with the other safety playing over the top of 2/3. 

Cover 2 with a safety playing the deep hole instead of a mike LB like traditional cover 2 is making it's way up to the NFL. Here are some concepts of the coverage.

Combo Coverage, zone to the strong side, man to the weak side.

vs the Jets 3rd and 9

The Jets come out in 2 back for protection purposes. The bills play a cover 2 combo principle. They are in man to man to the single wr side with the back and wr being taken by the CB and LB. But to the 2 wr side the Bills play cover 2.

Nice design by Frazier and company.

Later in the game you see another 3rd and 10

3rd and 10

Bills 3 safety cover 2 hole concept

This was one of there 3x1 checks as they ran it 2x in the game. 

The Jets come out in 3x1. They run a vertical route with 2 and 3. The Bills are sitting there waiting for the hole dig route. WIlson doesn't have enough time to work the middle of the field. Leads to a sack as the pocket collapses.

The Jets come out in 3x1. They run a vertical route with 2 and 3. The Bills are sitting there waiting for the hole dig route. Wilson doesn't have enough time to work the middle of the field. Leads to a sack as the pocket collapses.

The other coverage you saw quite a bit of is Man free lurk. All that means is you start out in a cover 2 man look and dive the safety down to play routes to the middle of the field. It is a nice concept that was utilized very well by the Bills in the Jets game.

Here's a 3rd and 9 vs the Jets.

THe free safety opposite the 3x1 is the lurk defender. All underneath defenders are in man to man.Jets have a comeback route up top and a stick concept to the bottom. #2 ends up trying to run the slant late.

Here you see the concept again on 3rd and 9. Bills pre snap give a 1 high look but it become a man free lurk concept pre snap. The Bills safety retreats starts to show cover 2 and then comes back to the lurk concept. Nice design by Frazier all game taking away the middle of the field. 

In progress: 

In week 10 vs the Jets here's some of the coverages we saw. I will review some of the coverage concepts very shortly! 

The Jets were 3-13 efficient vs the Bills. The Bills played the following concepts based on down and distance.

3rd and 1-3     6 man cover 0

3rd and 4-6    axe pressure with man free lurk, DE taking back &tight end3x1, rush 3 c-2,fire zone cover 3, man free lurk.

3rd and 7-9     odd 5 man pressure c-1,  odd cover 0,

3rd and 10+   mug cover 2,   cover 4,   cover 3 weak , odd 5 man rush man free, mug cover 2,  2man ,  cover 3 

Here's a 3rd and 6 vs the Jets

Bills 4-2 Nickel Personnel.

Bring both ILB peel the DE on the RB and TE.

Play man free lurk on the backend. White tries to hit the HB vs the DE in man coverage.

More to come!!!

What Makes Lincoln Riley's Offense so good? Part 2 Variations in the Zone Read, G Wrap Run Game

Lincoln Riley Part 2 Variations in the Zone Read Game

In 2018, The Sooners rushed for 247 yards per game and a 6.6 yards per carry. They did it with some different concepts, which includes some various zone read concepts. 

The Sooners  have different variations of their zone read game and often have different options where they read different defenders. In all honesty, they did more with it in 2018 and 2019 with Murray and Hurts than the do with Rattner but it was very fun and tough to defend during those years. Trying to teach your DT how to play the zone read is no easy task and practicing against the different variations isn't easy, especially  with their play action game. 

Here are some of the variations:

They run traditional zone read with some slice components

DT Zone Read

2nd Level LB Zone Read

Same Side DE/LB Zone Read

Wrap run read game

They mix up the people they are going to read in the run game and with Hurts and Murray, were extremely hard to defend in 2018 and 2019.

Traditional Zone Read with Slice to 2nd level

Zone Read Slice

Oklahoma runs Zone Read Slice with the Back coming across. They get a nice gap as the OLB has to play the Jet and get a good lateral movement up front. Nice design for a 15 yard gain. Looks like H is trying to get to the 2nd level and take the LB if the QB reads pull. Either way, look at the running lane.

DT Zone Read

Vs Houston Cougars in 2019.

The Cougars played a 2i and shade look for a good portion of the game. The Sooners still run the zone read off the shade. The shade read defender attacks Hurts and Hurts gives it for a nice 50 yard gain. A Gap is vacated on the read and a nice run by the RB.

Oklahoma vs Baylor Defense

Here's another example: 

30 yard TD Vs FAU. DT takes the QB and look at the running lane it creates.

2nd Level Zone Read

They have different zone read options but here is one they run against a stack look. The Tackle blocks solid and the overhang LB is read. You see this often when they get a 4i.

In this example they are reading the 2nd level LB. They block the 1st level but decide to read the stack OLB in the run game.

Same Side 2nd Level  Read with G Wrap

The Dakota defense plays a 4i. Oklahoma runs an outside zone variation with the Guard wrapping for the LB. It is successful as the LB takes the QB and gives the QB a give read.

Guard Wrap Read

Similar play to above except when their is a 5 tech end they will read the 5 and wrap to the LB

Oklahoma runs G Wrap and reads the DE vs a shade look. Nice design, excellent angles and good execution in scheme. 

Vs. Houston 2019 

The same play with a nice read vs Houston. Houston attacks the mesh but the DE takes the RB, Hurts pulls if for a nice 15 yard gain.

Here are just some of the run concepts you will see from Lincoln Riley. I will add some more down the road but am starting to work on Part 3.

Part 3 gets into his play action and RPO Game

Part 4 Air Raid components