FALCONS OFFENSE V. COWBOYS DEFENSE v Turner looked slow and plodding, A one speed runner with little burst and acceleration; There were also times he braced for contact as opposed to initiating contact with power and pad level – Overall, he looked like a shell of the runner he was a year ago v Another thing that stood out about Turner was his lack of stop and start, his inability to change direction with any quickness – He was methodical and robotic v Falcons OL physical and mauling, but un-athletic and definitely not laterally quick – Cowboys dictated individual matchups at times and won , like Spears beating RG Dahl for a sack v Cowboys played more 4-3 gap concepts out of their 3-4 than 2 gaps concepts, The reason was to attack the gaps with penetration quickly against the Falcons un-athletic OL – Cowboys were effective with this tactic, NT Ratliff was dominant inside v Cowboys want Ware aligned on the open side, away from the TE, so that he can work one-on-one with the OT v The Cowboys matched up with 3-5 personnel against the Falcons “22” personnel sets (2 backs and 2 TEs) - Snelling 31 yds in the second half came out ...

TEXANS OFFENSE V. 49ERS DEFENSE Texans OL struggled early with the 49ers pass rush, The 49ers quick pressure prevented some downfield opportunities for Schaub 49ers front seven active and disruptive through the first quarter; Smith in particular was impressive, defeating individual blocks Texans utilizing Daniels very effectively, aligning him in atypical locations to create and dictate matchup: Great example was Daniels 31 yds matched against LB Willis On 3rd + 5 on the Texans first quarter TD drive, the 49ers matched dime corner Hudson man-to-man on Daniels, and LB Willis on Slaton; The 49ers clearly believed Daniels was a more explosive receiving threat than Slaton – Daniels beat Hudson, 12 yds and a first down Texans split Slaton wide outside the numbers as a significant part of their offense, Gets him the ball in space without bodies around him – Plus they will occasionally have him run go routes from the split position, Normally he’s matched against LBs or safeties 49ers got consistent pressure ...

STEELERS OFFENSE V. VIKINGS DEFENSE Vikings clearly game planned to defend the Steelers run game with 7 in the box; They played 2 deep in normal down and distance situations when the Steelers had “12” personnel on the field Vikings also game planned to play “Tampa 2” in long yardage, must pass situations; They felt their front four could generate consistent pressure on Roethlisberger, and they needed to protect corners Paymah and Griffin Vikings a high percentage of zone coverage concepts, including on 3rd + 2 in the second quarter; 3rd + 2 is almost always a man coverage situation, but the Vikings were committed to zone in this game Wallace 40 yd TD in the 2 minute came out of 3 WR personnel versus “Tampa 2”; The tight bunch formation distorted MLB Henderson route progression reading, and he sat too low, allowing Wallace to work behind him Mendenhall continued to look good: He ran downhill with quickness, acceleration and power – He ...

CARDS OFFENSE V. GIANTS DEFENSE Giants defensive tendency is to play 2 deep to spread formations with 3 and 4 WRs, I think that’s a predictable tendency When the Giants went with dime personnel, the 2 extra corners were Dockery and Johnson Giants played a lot of “2 man” coverage in longer yardage situations, An excellent coverage against the Cards receivers since they do not have the speed to run away from man coverage Wells ran downhill with power, Showed lateral quickness and change of direction – Looked like a quality NFL back Giants played a lot of man coverage concepts, whether it was “2 man” or “man free”; That’s a good tactic to protect their safeties, since they just have areas to cover and do not have to match up – Also effective against the Cards since they do not run hardly at all out of shotgun and Warner won’t leave the pocket Wells got more snaps in this game than in any ...

COWBOYS OFFENSE V. FALCONS DEFENSE Cowboys opened the game with “22” personnel, Austin the only WR – Falcons DL slanted, and immediately exposed the slow-footed and un-athletic Cowboys OL Falcons again slanted on the second play: DE Bierman beat RT Colombo to the inside and tackled Barber for -1 yds Interesting that on the first 3rd + long on the first series the Falcons rushed 3 and dropped 8 (out of 3-3-5 personnel); The Falcons did it again on the second 3rd + long of the game, on the Cowboys second series – The Cowboys did not get a first down on either play: An incomplete pass, and a Romo scramble Williams 16 yds on quick slant on second quarter FG drive came out of “13” personnel (1 back and 3 TEs), That dictated single high safety coverage Austin 59 yd TD came on 1st + 10 out of “21”, straight “I” formation, Austin slot right with Williams split wide - Falcons zone blitz with CB ...

Note: Players are in no particular order. Quarterback None that would qualify as reaches. Running Back Laurence Maroney vs. Tampa Bay – We know he’s not a good back, but the Buccaneer run defense is almost non-competitive. If you were ever going to start Maroney, this would be the matchup to do so as your #3 RB. BenJarvus Green-Ellis vs. Tampa Bay – This game should be a blowout and Green-Ellis could pile up the carries in the second half when the game is out of reach. He’s a more decisive runner than Maroney, so start him as your #3 RB. Jonathan Stewart vs. Buffalo – The Bills are very small in their front-seven and the Panthers have one of the NFL’s biggest offensive lines. Stewart has been up and down this season, but he should be way up in this game. Start him as your #3 RB as the coaches continue to call running plays so they can get it out of QB Jake Delomme’s hands. Mike Bell at Miami – The Dolphin run defense is solid, but look for the Saints to get up big in this game, so Bell could be the back that finishes the game. Look for him to score and ...

BRONCOS OFFENSE V. CHARGERS DEFENSE Rookie Ellison started at S for the Chargers ILB Burnett not very physical, A runner and pass defender more than a run defender Broncos do a lot in their pass game with 3x1 sets, which includes bunch formations; It’s difficult to play man-to-man to the 3 receiver side in 3x1 sets, so that helps define the coverage for Orton before the snap – Great coaching by McDaniels to help Orton Orton 4 seconds in the pocket on Gaffney 27 yds on second quarter FG drive; Chargers rushed 3 and dropped 8 in zone coverage, No pressure on Orton, Gaffney found the void in the middle of the coverage Scheffler gives the Broncos passing game a lot of flexibility, He aligned all over the formation and that dictates and defines coverage before the snap of the ball – Again that helps Orton be a more efficient QB In this game, when Scheffler was split wide, the Chargers aligned with SS Ellison over him ...

BEARS OFFENSE V. FALCONS DEFENSE Bears pass game featured quick drops, with the ball coming out of Cutler’s hands fast; Protect an average pass blocking OL Bears passing game very controlled and managed, They didn’t attack downfield very much and when they did they did not protect very well Forte looked slow, Did not see much lateral quickness, Did not change direction or stop and start with much decisiveness – No juice Cutler looks down-the-gun-barrel, He’s oblivious to pressure – He’s a big time thrower, as gifted as any passer in the NFL Falcons zone blitzed on consecutive plays (final play of first quarter, first play of second quarter): Bennett 21 yds, Knox 23 yd TD – Knox TD was a great read by Cutler, and a great throw; Knox beat the press coverage of CB Houston LT Pace really struggled to anchor, It looks as if there is no strength left in his lower body – He has no movement skills anymore, He is a ...

JETS OFFENSE V. BILLS DEFENSE Cotchery and Smith both inactive Jets aligned Washington as the “x” on the second play of the game, Bills matched up with LB Ellison on Washington – Washington ran a hitch and go, The safety to that side (the short side of the field) was able to get over the top: Incomplete in a tight window LG Faneca not the player he was, Gets beat too often in one-on-one matchups Sanchez footwork must be broken down into 2 categories: His drop away from center, which is excellent; and his footwork in the pocket, when he can’t plant and deliver on time, which is frenetic and poor Sanchez average arm strength, Cannot drive the ball down the field Sanchez not getting a clear picture right now, Not seeing things develop – He’s playing with no confidence in his ability to let it loose when timing and anticipation are required Jets clearly were trying to get the ball to Washington in space, ...

BENGALS OFFENSE V. TEXANS DEFENSE S Wilson stood out as an add-in defender in the run game, Played with aggression and tenacity – Texans safeties Wilson and Pollard have played the run effectively the last couple of weeks Reeves was the Texans nickel corner, as he has been the last couple of weeks; Rookie Quin moved inside over the slot Bengals pass game too constricted by design, They need to attack with more frequency at the intermediate and deeper levels, They have the QB and the receivers to do that – I’m sure their concern is their OL, which is not very athletic as pass protectors CB Robinson aligned over Ochocinco regardless of side, as long as Ochocinco was positioned outside and not in the slot – Texans have been doing that with Robinson all season, matching him up to the opponents number one receiver Benson 10 yd TD was a zone run to the strong side, with a nice cutback by Benson – Bengals are ...