Playbook - Spikes in Coverage
All The Patriots players and coaches have harped on one thing as a priority for this past bye week: self-improvement in fundamentals. Therefore I decided to take a look at a play that could have been defended better with improved fundamentals. In this case, Brandon Spikes is in great position throughout the whole play, but for some reason he hesitates and allows Stephen Jackson to gain 5 or 6 yards after the catch.
The Rams are facing a 1st and 10 near midfield, and they come out in 12 personnel (1RB, 2TE, 2 WR). The Patriots respond with their base D. Spikes (mike), Hightower (sam), and Mayo (will) are the LBs. The Safeties are McCourty and Wilson with Moore and Dennard on the corners. The front is a little different though, featuring Jones, Love, Deaderick, and Justin Francis. Jones operates out of a 2-point stance on the weak side.
The Rams run a play action to the weak side, and Spikes gets up into the hole. Mayo and Hightower drop into coverage, showing faith that Spikes and Jones would have made the play against the run. We can all agree that Spikes' strength is as a run-stuffer. The Rams therefore, try to test Spikes in pass coverage. The WRs both run vertical routes to isolate Spikes in coverage against Jackson.
Although Spikes bites down on the play-action, he's not yet out of position. He sees the pass pattern develop, and follows Jackson to the numbers. However, Spikes hesitates as if he fears getting too far outside the numbers, and he sits down into a zone instead of staying on Jackson. Really, this is just bad awareness by Spikes, but he also shows bad technique with his hips. When Spikes squares up his hips, Jackson/Bradford know that he can be beaten to the outside. What could have been only a 4 yard pass, ends up going for 9 yards.
Teams will continue to test Spikes in coverage against RBs because he often looks hesitant in pass coverage. He is not exceptionally fast either, so he can't afford to make mistakes with his hips and feet. However, what really killed him on this play was a mental mistake that became a physical mistake. Spikes has to realize that setting up into a zone on the 50 yard line doesn't do any good for the Defense because he's caught in no-man's-land. He needs to just stay with Jackson, and make the play that he can make.
I am guessing that this Defensive play call does feature a zone coverage for Spikes, and he was faced with a dilemma. As he dropped back into coverage he started thinking about his assignment rather than trusting his instincts on the field. Fortunately this is a correctable issue, and through film study, Spikes should get more confident in his instincts moving forward.
The Rams are facing a 1st and 10 near midfield, and they come out in 12 personnel (1RB, 2TE, 2 WR). The Patriots respond with their base D. Spikes (mike), Hightower (sam), and Mayo (will) are the LBs. The Safeties are McCourty and Wilson with Moore and Dennard on the corners. The front is a little different though, featuring Jones, Love, Deaderick, and Justin Francis. Jones operates out of a 2-point stance on the weak side.
The Rams run a play action to the weak side, and Spikes gets up into the hole. Mayo and Hightower drop into coverage, showing faith that Spikes and Jones would have made the play against the run. We can all agree that Spikes' strength is as a run-stuffer. The Rams therefore, try to test Spikes in pass coverage. The WRs both run vertical routes to isolate Spikes in coverage against Jackson.
Although Spikes bites down on the play-action, he's not yet out of position. He sees the pass pattern develop, and follows Jackson to the numbers. However, Spikes hesitates as if he fears getting too far outside the numbers, and he sits down into a zone instead of staying on Jackson. Really, this is just bad awareness by Spikes, but he also shows bad technique with his hips. When Spikes squares up his hips, Jackson/Bradford know that he can be beaten to the outside. What could have been only a 4 yard pass, ends up going for 9 yards.
Teams will continue to test Spikes in coverage against RBs because he often looks hesitant in pass coverage. He is not exceptionally fast either, so he can't afford to make mistakes with his hips and feet. However, what really killed him on this play was a mental mistake that became a physical mistake. Spikes has to realize that setting up into a zone on the 50 yard line doesn't do any good for the Defense because he's caught in no-man's-land. He needs to just stay with Jackson, and make the play that he can make.
I am guessing that this Defensive play call does feature a zone coverage for Spikes, and he was faced with a dilemma. As he dropped back into coverage he started thinking about his assignment rather than trusting his instincts on the field. Fortunately this is a correctable issue, and through film study, Spikes should get more confident in his instincts moving forward.
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