Playbook - 3rd Down Defense
I changed up the colors this week to try to make things more legible. While red is great color, it doesn't seem to show up very well when formatting for online. So, I used bright green for Defense, and I think it works a bit better.
The play in question is a Flacco scramble on 3rd and 5 to pick up the 1st down. This one is pretty representative of The Patriots night down in Baltimore, just a step late. The Patriots do very well in coverage against the bunch formation on the right. All the receivers are blanketed, and Flacco steps up, steps up, and then runs for the sticks. While no player misses their assignment totally, #96 Jermaine Cunningham and #74 Kyle Love do a bad job of recognizing the scramble. Likewise, both players get pushed too far outside, leaving Flacco a huge running/passing lane. Let's take a look:
As you can see, The Ravens are in a tight bunch to one side. Each WR gets a free release and works into their pattern. However, it is picked up well: #24 Kyle Arrington picks up #81 Anquan Boldin on the out, #29 Sterling Moore, and #51 Jerod Mayo stick to #82 Torrey Smith on the drag route. #32 Devin McCourty drops way back to cover a double move from Boldin, or a corner route by #12 Jacoby Jones. Instead, Jones runs a comeback, and is smothered by #25 Pat Chung. On the other side, #27 Tavon Wilson is in man coverage on TE #88 Dennis Pitta, who runs by the face of Sterling Moore. #95 Chandler Jones starts to pass rush, but then follows RB #27 Ray Rice into the flat. There is good coverage all around, but the play takes too long, which gives Flacco an opportunity to run for it.
Up front, Jermaine Cunningham is in for Vince Wilfork to try some speed against the interior linemen. Cunningham tries to get too cute, and gets too far upfield, losing his gap discipline. Likewise, Kyle Love gets sealed to the outside by Center Matt Birk. Look at the hole:
Sterling Moore leaves Torrey Smith to be picked up by Jerod Mayo. Moore tries to pick up Pitta along with Wilson (who does a nice job). Jerod Mayo is forced into the flat by Smith's move to the outside, and Flacco waits until Mayo turns to run. I think Sterling Moore was anticipating a throw to Pitta or Jones, and tried to jump into the passing lane. However, Moore takes himself out of the play by moving to the left. Moore may have stopped a throw from Flacco, but he left the middle wide open. In this case, Moore was lined up almost as a linebacker, and in this role he is supposed to read and react. Unfortunately, he read it wrong and overextended himself to the left to make an easy play for Flacco.
Still, I am putting the blame for this one on Jermaine Cunningham. He doesn't get any significant pressure, and he takes the double team upfield to the outside, which leaves a huge lane for Flacco to see the field. Cunningham needs to realize that it requires different instincts to play inside. Gap discipline is more important than pass rush, and its clear that Cunningham was pinning his ears back looking for a sack. I also put some blame on Coach Belichick for utilizing Cunningham in this capacity. Using a DE on the inside only works if he understands the consequences of a failed pass rush. However, this was a good Defensive call, but it was not executed well enough by Cunningham and Love up front.
*All pictures are property of The NFL, I do not claim ownership, but use them educationally
The play in question is a Flacco scramble on 3rd and 5 to pick up the 1st down. This one is pretty representative of The Patriots night down in Baltimore, just a step late. The Patriots do very well in coverage against the bunch formation on the right. All the receivers are blanketed, and Flacco steps up, steps up, and then runs for the sticks. While no player misses their assignment totally, #96 Jermaine Cunningham and #74 Kyle Love do a bad job of recognizing the scramble. Likewise, both players get pushed too far outside, leaving Flacco a huge running/passing lane. Let's take a look:
As you can see, The Ravens are in a tight bunch to one side. Each WR gets a free release and works into their pattern. However, it is picked up well: #24 Kyle Arrington picks up #81 Anquan Boldin on the out, #29 Sterling Moore, and #51 Jerod Mayo stick to #82 Torrey Smith on the drag route. #32 Devin McCourty drops way back to cover a double move from Boldin, or a corner route by #12 Jacoby Jones. Instead, Jones runs a comeback, and is smothered by #25 Pat Chung. On the other side, #27 Tavon Wilson is in man coverage on TE #88 Dennis Pitta, who runs by the face of Sterling Moore. #95 Chandler Jones starts to pass rush, but then follows RB #27 Ray Rice into the flat. There is good coverage all around, but the play takes too long, which gives Flacco an opportunity to run for it.
Up front, Jermaine Cunningham is in for Vince Wilfork to try some speed against the interior linemen. Cunningham tries to get too cute, and gets too far upfield, losing his gap discipline. Likewise, Kyle Love gets sealed to the outside by Center Matt Birk. Look at the hole:
Sterling Moore leaves Torrey Smith to be picked up by Jerod Mayo. Moore tries to pick up Pitta along with Wilson (who does a nice job). Jerod Mayo is forced into the flat by Smith's move to the outside, and Flacco waits until Mayo turns to run. I think Sterling Moore was anticipating a throw to Pitta or Jones, and tried to jump into the passing lane. However, Moore takes himself out of the play by moving to the left. Moore may have stopped a throw from Flacco, but he left the middle wide open. In this case, Moore was lined up almost as a linebacker, and in this role he is supposed to read and react. Unfortunately, he read it wrong and overextended himself to the left to make an easy play for Flacco.
Still, I am putting the blame for this one on Jermaine Cunningham. He doesn't get any significant pressure, and he takes the double team upfield to the outside, which leaves a huge lane for Flacco to see the field. Cunningham needs to realize that it requires different instincts to play inside. Gap discipline is more important than pass rush, and its clear that Cunningham was pinning his ears back looking for a sack. I also put some blame on Coach Belichick for utilizing Cunningham in this capacity. Using a DE on the inside only works if he understands the consequences of a failed pass rush. However, this was a good Defensive call, but it was not executed well enough by Cunningham and Love up front.
*All pictures are property of The NFL, I do not claim ownership, but use them educationally
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