GIANTS OFFENSE VS. PANTHERS DEFENSE

• Giants ran 71 offensive plays, and had 454 total yards, 301 yards on the ground – Ward 15-215 rushing, including runs of 22, 34, 37 and 51 yards
• Giants 9-16 on third down conversions
• Giants 6 trips inside the red zone, 4 TD
• Giants only committed 2 penalties, and did not turn the ball over
• Walker started at DT in place of injured and inactive Kemoeatu – Hayden became the third DT in the rotation, Gibson also played some snaps at DT
• TE Mathews not as strong a blocker in the run game as Boss, Mathews struggled to block DE Brayton one-on-one
• S Harris strong in the box, playing downhill; Not as effective in space, Does not show loose hips and transition skills in coverage – He’s more of a glorified LB
• Peppers aligns on both side of the DL, and he’s normally the DE that drops into coverage when the Panthers zone blitz
• In the Panthers nickel package, Brayton moves inside to DT, and Johnson comes in to play DE
• Giants clearly game planned to re-establish their running foundation with Jacobs
• Ward 34 yards in the first half came out of the shotgun in the 2 minute; Giants 3 WR personnel versus Panthers nickel package
• Toomer is the WR defenses are more than willing to match up man-to-man with no safety help; It’s been a pattern since Burress has been out
• When the Panthers rush 4 DL and a LB, the LB is almost always Davis
• Panthers predominantly played single high safety concepts in normal down and distance situations versus Giants base offensive personnel
• Ward 22 yards on Giants third quarter TD drive came out of 3 WR personnel versus Panthers nickel package; It was a zone run to the boundary, to the single WR side – Hayden was in the game at DT in place of Walker
• One thing that stands out about the Panthers defense is the physicality of both safeties Harris and Godfrey
• Peppers fourth quarter sack he just beat LT Diehl off the ball to the outside, Diehl a little slow in his pass set
• Manning a very professional QB: Smart and efficient, Poised and composed, Much more consistent with his decision-making and accuracy
• Giants offense very methodical and efficient, Stability and continuity with the run game – Giants OL took charge as the game progressed, They were physical and dominated with double teams
• Ward 51 yards in OT came on 1^st + 10 out of “21” straight “I”, It was “Power strong” versus Panthers 8 in the box – Johnson at DT driven back by Snee and McKenzie double team, Walker handled by C O’Hara
• Ward 14 yards in OT came out of 3 WR personnel with Manning in the shotgun versus Panthers nickel package; It was “Power” to the field, which was the single receiver side – Brayton at DT driven back by Snee and McKenzie double team
• Ward 17 yards in OT came out of “22” personnel, straight “I” versus Panthers 5 DL personnel; Blocks by TEs Mathews and Boss opened the hole for pulling Snee and leading Hedgecock
• Giants physically whipped the Panthers defense as the game progressed, Their OL was the defining feature of this game

EAGLES OFFENSE VS. REDSKINS DEFENSE

• Eagles ran 64 offensive plays, and only had 275 yards
• Eagles 3-14 on third down conversions
• Eagles 2 trips inside the red zone, 0 TD
• Eagles play breakdown: 50 called passes / 14 called runs (2 of those runs came at the end of the first half)
• Redskins played 2 snaps on Eagles first series in which they rushed 3 and dropped 8; Make McNabb make stick throws into tight windows, which is not what he does
• Westbrook did not look as explosive as he had in previous games, I thought he was laboring a little
• Eagles a lot of tight formations on their first couple of series, That dictated 8 in the box / single high safety for the Redskins defense
• McNabb not a quick progression reader, He was a little slow in this game, He did not see the field with clarity
• TE Smith cannot run anymore, He now lacks the ability to threaten the defense vertically
• Eagles OL looked slow, They did not move well laterally
• S Landry outstanding as a deep safety, whether “2 deep” or single high; He’s terrific reading routes in front of him and attacking downhill with burst and explosiveness – Also has excellent lateral range and speed
• Problem with McNabb is you just don’t know what you’re going to get from him week-to-week; There’s no overriding consistency to his game, either from a decision-making or accuracy standpoint – His lack of anticipation is a real problem, It breaks down the pass game
• Taylor sack and forced fumble was on McNabb: He had Brown wide open on the shallow cross for a first down and was looking right at him, but he did not pull the trigger; No clarity in his decision making
• Redskins have a strong young safety tandem with Landry and Horton
• Eagles called 16 consecutive passing plays from the middle of the third quarter until the first play of their final drive with 3:48 left in the game
• Eagles had 4 consecutive 3-and-outs in the fourth quarter
• Redskins did a good job taking away the middle check down to Westbrook, which is a staple of the Eagles passing game; They did it with DL dropping out, with LBs hugging up
• Redskins corners sat on the Eagles WRs all game, No fear of getting beat deep
• Redskins game plan featured very little blitzing, It was coverage based with a lot of single high safety schemes
• McNabb not very good at manipulating the secondary with his eyes and his body movements, You don’t see him do that very often
• Jackson a bad drop in the end zone on the Eagles final drive, He ran by Hall and McNabb made an unbelievable throw, he couldn’t have handed to Jackson any better
• Final play was on Brown, He did not take his route into the end zone, He hooked up at the 1 yard line – That’s just being a dumb football player

REDSKINS OFFENSE VS. EAGLES DEFENSE

• Redskins only 249 yards on 68 offensive plays, just 3.7 yards per play
• Redskins only 5-15 on third down conversions
• LB Jordan showed good downhill instincts and quickness, A little burst to him
• At times DT Patterson gets moved too easily, like he’s on roller skates
• Big 3^rd + 1 stop in the first quarter: Abiamiri made the play, beating the block of RT Fabini, and Mikell did an excellent as the alley player in run support
• Howard continued to look quick and explosive as a pass rusher from the DT position
• The Eagles matched up to the Redskins “22” personnel with Demps coming in at deep safety, so the secondary had Demps, Mikell, Dawkins and Brown or Samuel
• Redskins run game featured a lot of zone flow, primarily to their left side
• Redskins offense again showed no explosive downfield element in the passing game, Very compressed – A lot of short routes, and the Redskins don’t attack all levels of the defense
• Howard sack near the end of the first half came out of a 3 man rush, He was aligned at DE and he beat RT Fabini with an inside move; Great quickness – Howard showed up a lot on film in this game
• On the Portis 1 yard TD, Howard stood up at the snap and lost his leverage; He got pushed back by LG Kendall and the hole was opened for Portis
• My sense watching the Redskins offense all season is that they are very basic both running the ball and throwing it; They are limited with their concepts and their dimensions, and therefore not difficult to defend tactically
• Campbell must develop a better sense of timing and anticipation; Right now, he is not willing to pull the trigger on intermediate throws where the window is a little tight – Lack of confidence? Lack of clarity in what he sees?
• Samuel dropped on an interception on 3^rd down in the fourth quarter that would have significantly flipped field position for the Eagles; Redskins then punted, and pinned the Eagles down at their 3 yard line
• Redskins run their offense as if they have no trust in Campbell, It looks like they are trying to hide him
• A very solid performance by the Eagles defense against a very limited offense, They just did not produce any turnovers

RAIDERS OFFENSE VS. TEXANS DEFENSE

· Raiders ran 60 offensive plays, and had 362 total yards

· Raiders 7-14 on third down conversions

· Henderson the starter at LT in place of the ineffective Harris; Henderson showed some athleticism, Also played with leverage and balance, Showed a tendency to rush himself in his pass set and struggle with speed– Has a chance to be a solid NFL LT tackle

· DT Robinson again flashed for the Texans, Most impressive player on Texans DL play-after-play

· Russell looked very comfortable throwing on the run; In this game, he threw with more touch and timing – Still inconsistencies with his footwork, his base and his balance

· Fargas a tough physical inside runner, Strong and powerful; Not a lot of elusiveness and lateral agility

· McFadden a one cut downhill runner, Burst and acceleration, Speed through the hole; He lacks lateral agility and explosiveness, Has hot shown any ability to make the unblocked defender miss in the secondary

· Texans defense didn’t really challenge the Raiders offense, I was surprised they didn’t blitz more, They allowed Russell to get comfortable

CHARGERS OFFENSE VS. BUCS DEFENSE

• Chargers ran 58 offensive plays, and had 370 total yards
• Chargers 7-13 on third down conversions
• Chargers 4 trips inside the red zone, 3 TD
• Chargers did not turn the ball over
• For the Bucs, Hovan and Haye were back starting at DT – Piscitelli started at SS for Phillips, on IR
• S Piscitelli very good as an add-in defender in the run game, Attacks downhill aggressively and brings some pop, Some explosion to his tackling
• WR Jackson moves very well for a 240 pound man, Good quickness and lateral agility; You wouldn’t say he’s explosive, but he can separate and his big body creates space for him to catch the ball cleanly
• Manumaleuna extremely versatile; Aligns in a number of different positions, and is a factor as a run blocker, a pass protector and a receiver
• Rivers unbelievable throw running to his left on Gates 15 yard TD, Not the kind of play you expect to see from Rivers
• Barber is now a liability in coverage when the Bucs play their man coverage schemes, whether he’s on the outside in their base defense or over the slot in their nickel package
• Rivers made some big time far hash / deep comeback throws in this game, He was confident and he threw the ball very well
• Rivers terrific throw to Jackson at the end of the first half to set up Kaeding 57 yard FG: It was an intermediate dig to the front side of “Tampa 2”, and he stuck it right on Jackson in a very tight window – Big time throw in a critical situation
• Chargers OL a very solid game in pass protection; The Bucs did not blitz much at all, and the OL was stout against the predominant 4 man DL rushes
• Chargers a very good screen team, especially with Sproles, who has tremendous open field burst and acceleration
• Chargers offense very efficient versus the Bucs, Consistent and methodical, Few negative plays

CHIEFS OFFENSE VS. DOLPHINS DEFENSE

• Chiefs ran 65 offensive plays, and had 492 total yards, 7.6 yards per play
• Chiefs only 3-10 on third down conversions
• Chiefs 4 trips inside the red zone, 3 TD
• 85% of Thigpen’s passes this season have come from the shotgun, but only 8 of his 17 TD passes have been in the shotgun
• Gonzalez is essentially a big WR in the Chiefs predominant shotgun spread offense; He almost always aligns extended from the formation, rarely ever in a LOS TE position
• Johnson 25 yards in first quarter came on an interesting run concept from the shotgun: It was “Counter” but because of where Johnson was initially aligned in the backfield, it had a much more pronounced misdirection element to it – Because of the shotgun spread, Dolphins only 6 in the box
• Jones was the Dolphins nickel corner on the Darling 33 yard TD, He was aligned over Darling in the slot
• Dolphins played a lot of single high safety coverages against the Dolphins shotgun spread, even when Thigpen went empty; That put the burden on corners Goodman and Allen, They were locked in man coverage with no help over the top on outside routes
• In their dime package, the Dolphins went with 3 safeties, Culver being the third safety
• The shotgun spread gave the Chiefs a lot of one-on-one matchups on the outside, and Thigpen was getting the ball out quick to negate the Dolphins pass rush
• Out of the shotgun spread, the Chiefs running game featured “Counter”, “Power” and zone runs
• Charles 75 yard catch and run came out of shotgun spread empty with Charles split wide right, It was a basically a WR screen – Unbelievable blocks by RT McIntosh, He took out both CB Allen and S Hill
• LT Albert very good movement, The few times he got out on the perimeter pulling in the run game he looked athletic and fluid, Excellent balance on the move – In pass protection, Albert handled Porter on the plays in which they went head-to-head
• In the Dolphins dime package with a 4 man DL, safeties Bell and Hill basically aligned as LBs with Culver the deep safety
• Thigpen not a very good deep passer, Much better throwing the short and intermediate routes – The shotgun spread gave him a number of one-on-one matchups on the outside and he underthrew quite a few vertical passes
• Thigpen has terrific speed and outstanding running instincts, which showed up on his 27 yard run in the second quarter
• Dolphins sacked Thigpen on first drive of the third quarter when they sold out with blitz and played “cover zero” – Risk / reward defense
• Culver lacks the speed and range to be an effective deep safety, It was very evident on the 37 yard completion to Bradley in the third quarter
• Darling dumped on Thigpen on the third quarter interception, He broke off his corner after Thigpen pulled the trigger
• Thigpen a little scattershot with his accuracy in this game, He missed some easy throws
• I never got the impression the Dolphins defense stopped the Chiefs shotgun spread, They were reactive to it the entire game

COLTS OFFENSE VS. JAGUARS DEFENSE

• Colts 396 total yards on 52 offensive plays, 7.6 yards per play
• Colts 6-10 on third down conversions
• Manning 29-34 for 364 yards and 3 TD
• Harrison inactive in this game, Addai active but did not play
• With Harrison inactive, the Colts predominantly played with 2 WR and 2 TE, Clark either in the slot or split wide; When the Colts went 3 wide, Garcon was the third WR
• Witherspoon was the Jaguars nickel corner in this game, Hew aligned on the outside with Williams inside over the slot
• S Nelson went brain dead on Wayne 41 yard TD, He squatted and allowed Wayne to run by him
• Rhodes a good job with blitz recognition and execution
• Colts have expanded their passing game with their running backs: Wheel routes out of the backfield, Splitting them out – Great example was Rhodes 29 yard catch when he was split wide left and Manning was empty, Rhode “sluggo” versus LB Ingram
• S Sensabaugh at his best in the box: He’s a downhill run defender, He’s not very good in space as a pass defender
• Gonzalez the natural instinct to come back to the QB at the top of his routes, He makes himself a big target for Manning – He’s a refined route runner
• No quick twitch to DE Harvey as a pass rusher, He needs a lot of work in the off-season on his quickness and his strength – He’s better suited as LDE, not an edge pass rusher
• With Harrison inactive, TE Robinson played significant snaps and was a factor as a receiver; That’s a function of Manning more than anything else
• Jaguars generated no pass rush pressure on Manning, Classic game in which Manning controlled both his own offense and the opposing defense at the line of scrimmage – Jaguars dictated nothing, and challenged very little
• A brilliant performance by Manning, not just throwing the ball but dictating the game

RAVENS OFFENSE VS. COWBOYS DEFENSE

• Ravens ran 66 offensive plays, and had 388 totals yards, 159 of which came on consecutive TD runs in the fourth quarter
• Ravens only 5-15 on third down conversions
• Ravens 5 trips inside the red zone, only 1 TD
• Spencer continued to play OLB opposite Ware in the base 3-4
• On Ware’s sack and forced fumble, the Ravens had 3 OTs aligned to Ware’s side; Terry, the widest of the trio, was a beat late off the ball and Ware beat him off the edge – LB Thomas really made the play with his inside pressure that forced Flacco to move
• NT Ratliff again flashed on film: Quickness, leverage, explosiveness – He aligned at DE at times when the Cowboys went to a 4 DL front to match up to Ravens 3 OT personnel
• Ravens taking a page from Giants pass game playbook from a year ago: The flat/curl/seam seal combination – A simple reading progression for Flacco
• Ratliff was dominant through the first quarter, both against the run and rushing the QB
• Cowboys continued to play a high percentage of man coverage concepts – They also continued to blitz with frequency
• Ravens continued their significant use of both the unbalanced line, and 3 OT personnel
• I continue to be impressed with Flacco’s willingness to make stick throws into tight windows, No better example than Heap 23 yards in the second quarter – An unbelievable throw
• Spencer and Burnett have added speed, explosiveness and playmaking ability to the Cowboys defense
• A couple of throws got away from Flacco in this game, He was a little scattershot with his accuracy
• Mason 13 yard TD on 2^nd + 10 came with 3 OTs on the field; It was 8 man protection, only a 2 receiver route – Mason great route to beat Henry in the corner, away from the numbers in coverage
• Until the 2 long runs on consecutive plays late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys did an excellent job against the Ravens physical power run game
• McGahee 77 yard TD came out of an unbalanced line with 3 OTs aligned left: RG Grubbs and C Brown drove DE Spears off the line and that prevented LB James from scraping into the hole, S Hamlin took a bad angle and missed the tackle on what should have a 7 yard gain
• McClain 82 yard TD featured 3 OTs with Terry aligned at TE on the right, and an unbelievable block by Neal on James; May have been the best block I have seen all season by a FB on a LB, It was awesome – Then McClain stiff-armed Hamlin
• Ravens a very methodical, controlled, efficient offensive approach that has a big play element because of Flacco’s skills as a passer

COWBOYS OFFENSE VS. RAVENS DEFENSE

• Cowboys 68 offensive plays, only 327 total yards
• Cowboys 8-17 on third down conversions
• Ravens on first series walked Suggs out over Owens when Owens was split outside the numbers to the boundary, Suggs jammed Owens on his release – It was a running play, but it was an interesting tactic that I’ve seen the Ravens use before against quality WRs
• Romo’s first interception was incredibly poor judgment, It was a sandlot play, He just threw it up with no definition
• Lewis beat Witten’s block on a sack to end Cowboys third series, Witten a really poor job in pass protection – Cowboys aligned him in the backfield in anticipation of pressure and Witten executed poorly
• Barber did not have the same burst and explosiveness, Cleraly bothered by his toe
• Witten also the culprit on a missed 3^rd + 2 handoff to Barber on final first quarter possession; e allowed Suggs to beat him to the inside, which forced pulling guard Davis to react to Suggs and not get out in front of Barber
• Suggs one of the most complete defensive players in the NFL; A hybrid DE / LB who is outstanding both rushing the passer, playing the run and defending the pass in space
• No rhythm at all to the Cowboys passing game, especially in the first half; Rarely saw Romo drop back, plant his back foot and deliver the ball with timing and anticipation – Romo another QB with too many sandlot tendencies
• Cowboys abandoned the running game, That’s a tendency OC Garrett has – The Cowboys are quick to get away from any power running concepts, Much of their run game works off pass concepts
• Ravens pass rush concepts based on deception, both in terms of alignment and who’s coming; They make it very difficult to first identify and then account for rushers
• Ravens DL at times physically dominated the Cowboys OL, It was men against boys
• Overall, Romo did not see the field with clarity in this game; That’s the main reason the ball did not come out with any timing or rhythm
• Two things that stood out in this game: RG Davis struggled, He looked slow and had a bad tendency to bend at the wait; Ravens LBs Scott and Lewis really take on lead blocks with physicality and hostility
• Cowboys OL had problems all game with pressure up the middle, especially the Ravens “fire x” blitz schemes
• Cowboys offense not very efficient, Has a random feel to it with very little sense of precision

STEELERS OFFENSE VS. TITANS DEFENSE

• Steelers ran 69 offensive plays, and had 374 total yards
• Steelers 6-13 on third down conversions
• Steelers 2 trips inside the red zone, 0 TD
• Parker and Moore combined for 21-57, with Parker 18-29 – Again, Steelers lack any consistency in their run game
• Titans starting DL: Kearse and Ball at DE, Jones and Brown at DT
• Fuller was the Titans nickel corner
• On the Steelers first drive, Roethlisberger took a sack on a 3 step drop, which you can never do, and then he did not throw a check down which would have put the Steelers in FG range, instead running around and throwing an incompletion
• Hayes sack and forced fumble another good example of Roethlisberger’s lack of timing and anticipation, Ball should have been out before Hayes got there – Roethlisberger strong tendency to hold on to the ball if his receiver is not wide open, He’s not an anticipation passer
• S Hope was a big factor in stopping the Steelers run game, He did a good job creeping up in to the box and being in position to make plays
• Ward 21 yard TD on a seam route was a great throw by Roethlisberger under quick pressure by DE Ford, who immediately beat LT Starks; It was play action, and Roethlisberger knew exactly what he had versus the single high safety zone coverage
• Roethlisberger is very talented throwing the ball, His awareness and his progression have not yet caught up to his physical skills
• Titans played with great discipline and awareness in coverage, Seemed to have a great feel for the combination routes of the Steelers
• Steelers offense had no rhythm or flow, Roethlisberger did not make the improvisational plays in this game that are really the hallmark of his game; When Roethlisberger does not make those kinds of plays, the Steelers offense lacks continuity and consistency since they no longer have a sustaining running game or the willingness to stay with it

TITANS OFFENSE VS. STEELERS DEFENSE

• Titans ran 61 offensive plays, and hid 323 total yards
• Titans only 3-14 on third down conversions
• Titans did not have any turnovers, which was critical
• Timmins starting to show the downhill explosiveness that he flashed at Florida State
• Harrison got hurt in the first quarter, and Timmins replaced him for a stretch at OLB in the base 3-4 – Frazier replaced Harrison in the nickel, since Timmons already plays in the nickel
• Gage 34 yard TD was a phenomenal throw and catch, Gage got drilled by Polamalu running at full speed just as he caught it – Steelers rushed 3 and dropped 8 in coverage, Collins a comfortable pocket with a lot of functional space
• Titans ran predominantly to their left, behind LG Amano and LT Roos, and they had some success with Johnson
• Big drive of the game came in the third quarter after the Steelers scored a TD to go ahead 14-10; Titans went 79 yards in 11 plays for the go-ahead TD – Johnson 21 yard TD came on 4^th + 1
• On McCareins 19 yard catch on 3^rd + 20 on third quarter TD drive, the Steelers again rushed 3 and dropped 8; Another great throw by Collins
• Johnson has outstanding change of direction, It looks almost effortless: 21 yard TD was a great example
• Steelers did not generate consistent pass rush pressure in this game, Collins was comfortable in the pocket and his mistake-free performance reflected that
• Titans 2 big fourth down conversions on their second half TD drives: Johnson 21 yard TD, Gage 17 yards on 4^th + 3
• Titans OL did a great job on fourth quarter drive in which Tennessee ate up more than 4 minutes of clock with 8 consecutive runs
• This was not a vintage Steelers defensive performance, They did not dictate with their usual combination of aggression and deception

RAIDERS OFFENSE VS. PATRIOTS DEFENSE

• Raiders only ran 24 offensive plays in the first half
• Raiders first 3 possessions went 3-and-out, When they got the ball to start their fourth possession they were losing 21-0
• Guyton started at ILB, and Colvin at OLB in the Patriots base 3-4 – Seau played in the nickel package, Also got some snaps at ILB in the base 3-4
• Russell remains very erratic and inconsistent with his accuracy, He’s too scattershot
• Redd played some snaps at OLB for the Patriots
• McFadden does not have good feet, He does not have good lateral agility, Limited ability to redirect in response to penetration, Very stiff in the hips
• Seau looked very slow in his movements, No ability to transition and change direction; Very susceptible to play action – Bottom line is that Seau just cannot run
• At this point in his development, Russell really needs a comfortable cradle from which to throw; His efficiency drops dramatically when there are bodies around him and the pocket gets muddied
• Russell’s interception was just a horribly inaccurate throw, badly underthrown – It was necessarily a bad read
• McFadden used effectively on screens, when he could catch the ball and turn immediately upfield – His best role in the NFL will be as a satellite player, just like Reggie Bush

PANTHERS OFFENSE VS. BRONCOS DEFENSE

• Panthers 400 total yards on 56 offensive plays, 7.1 yards per play
• Panthers 4-10 on third down conversions
• Broncos LBs very reactive and fast flow, susceptible to misdirection and designed cutback in the run game, and designed movement boot action in the pass game
• Smith 15 yard TD another variation of “Smoke”: It was a called outside zone run to the left out of straight “I”; Delhomme, Smith and Muhammad were the only 3 who knew it would become a pass – WR screen to Smith with Muhammad as the lead blocker
• Panthers aggressive with their approach through the first quarter: Formation variation, Spread looks, Focus on throwing the ball
• LB Williams played significant snaps at OLB in the base 4-3, in place of Woodyard – Woodyard and Winborn played in the nickel
• Broncos played some 4-4 personnel packages against Panthers base “21” personnel, Clearly the run game was their defensive focus – That’s one reason the Panthers were more aggressive with their offensive approach
• Both tackles, Gross and Otah, were outstanding in pass protection – Otah really looks like a special player with his combination of strength and lateral movement, Very relaxed and under control in his pass sets
• Broncos clearly game planned to defend the Panthers run game, and they did a good job; Williams 56 yard TD was an improvisational run - They were hurt by a number of big plays in the pass game

FALCONS OFFENSE VS. BUCS DEFENSE

• Falcons ran 67 offensive plays, and had 373 total yards
• Falcons 6-14 on third down conversions
• Falcons 3 trips inside the red zone, only 1 TD
• Turner 32-152 overall, 18-103 in the second half and OT
• Hovan was inactive in this game
• Falcons utilized the unbalanced line on a number of plays, on both sides of the formation – Baker was used when the Falcons went with the unbalanced line
• DE Adams a great body athlete with quickness and burst; He is not stout taking on blocks at the point of attack in the run game, Can be blocked by TEs one-on-one
• Ryan’s first interception was an underthrown ball, White had beaten Talib on a go route and Ryan threw it short and too far inside – It was the right read, but a bad throw
• Bucs DL, particularly their DLs, did a better job stalemating double teams; They were not driven off the line as they were to often against the Panthers
• Ryan’s second interception was also an inaccurate throw, White had Barber beaten on a crossing route and Ryan threw it behind him – If Ryan led White, it had a good chance to be a TD; Bucs were in “man free” coverage
• Baker worked in at LT throughout the game
• Bucs played a high percentage of 8 man fronts against the Falcons in normal down and distance situations
• Falcons had a lot success running the ball in 2^nd + long situations: Turner 18 yards on 2^nd + 10, Turner 15 yards on 2^nd + 10, Turner 22 yards on 2^nd + 8, Turner 17 yards on 2^nd + 10 in OT – The last 3 of those runs came out of 3 WR personnel
• Bucs DL started to wear down physically as the game progressed, Falcons run game with Turner is about repetition and attrition
• Ryan not quite as sharp mentally in this game as he has been, He left some plays on the field when he didn’t pull the trigger and ran instead
• Overall, Bucs still have issues with the DT position; It’s not consistently strong enough at the point of attack

VIKINGS OFFENSE VS. CARDS DEFENSE

• Vikings ran 64 offensive plays and controlled the ball for more than 34 minutes
• Vikings 396 total yards – They were 10-15 on third down conversions
• Jackson was the QB for the Vikings
• Vikings clear commitment to the run game as their offensive foundation – First half play breakdown: 25 called runs / 11 called passes
• Vikings had excellent field position in the first quarter, They began both TD drives in Cards territory
• Berrian 41 yard TD came on 3^rd + 15, Hood press man on Berrian as part of a “quarters” coverage scheme; Hood great coverage, Berrian did not really beat him, Great throw by Jackson – What was interesting was Jackson threw the same go route to Berrian matched on Hood on the first play of the game, Hood also great coverage on that play and he knocked the ball away
• S Rolle very active as a run defender for the Cards, He played downhill with aggressiveness
• Jackson’s second TD, 6 yards to Rice, also came on third down; Hood again was the corner and he again had good coverage – Again great execution by the Vikings, accurate throw by Jackson and good job by Rice using his big body to shield Hood
• I am continually amazed by Peterson’s lateral agility and his ability to redirect with such suddenness and explosiveness
• Cards DL was consistently handled physically in the run game, They were consistently moved; Also too many missed tackles when defenders were in position to make plays based on the design of the defense – On Vikings 12 play, 91 yard TD drive in the second quarter, they had 5 consecutive runs that produced 79 yards
• I was disappointed in S Wilson, He did not show up in the run game; In fact, he was one of the culprits who missed tackles when he was in position – He was not the physical presence he needs to be as a box safety for this defense to be solid versus the run; He finally made a couple of plays in the third quarter
• Cards did not do a good job setting the edge in the run game, Peterson got to the perimeter with downhill speed too easily on a number of runs
• Another thing that stood out with the Cards defense was the invisibility of their LBs, They did not show up very often on film
• Wade 59 yard TD came against “quarters” coverage, Wade double move to exploit Hood; It was not Wilson’s responsibility to play over the top – Great call against an anticipated coverage
• Vikings were able to win this game handily without Jackson being a significant factor; Won’t be able to play like this against better, more challenging defenses – Overall, Jackson did throw the ball well

TEXANS OFFENSE VS. TITANS DEFENSE

• Texans ran 71 offensive plays, and controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes
• Texans 7-17 on third down conversions
• Only negative was 4 trips inside the red zone, and 1 TD
• Haynesworth combination of strength at the point of attack, and athleticism for a man that size is extraordinary
• Schaub an excellent sense of timing and anticipation, Willingness to make stick throws into tight windows
• Brown and Salaam again rotated at LT for the Texans
• Johnson the best receiver in the NFL: Unmatched combination of size, speed and explosiveness; His burst and acceleration is unbelievable
• DE Hayes showed up in the run game, Ability to stack and shed, A solid 2 gap DE
• Schaub a good play action QB, Sells the run fake well and gets his head around quickly after the fake
• S Griffin beaten on Johnson 65 yards, He was the deep safety and got caught looking back into the backfield on Schaub’s run fake while Johnson was screaming at him with speed and acceleration
• One thing about Schaub is he can’t really drive the ball down the field, He’s more of a finesse thrower
• Titans DL dominated the Texans OL in the run game, They won the battle at the line of scrimmage, Texans OL generated little movement
• Titans will really miss Haynesworth: He is dominant at both DT and DE; He may be better at DE when he can be isolated on tackles, I think he could be the best DE in the league if he focused on that position
• Slaton again showed the inside toughness that you would not expect given his size, A physical runner with heart and determination – His 34 yard run on the final series was a great example of effort, balance and burst
• DE Kearse showed up on film, which he hasn’t very often this season; On a number of occasions, he beat RT Winston off the edge with straight speed and burst
• Overall, the Titans DL dominated the Texans OL; It was a physical butt-kicking the majority of the game

COWBOYS OFFENSE VS. GIANTS DEFENSE

• Cowboys only ran 55 offensive plays, and had 321 total yards
• Cowboys only 3-11 on third down conversions
• Owens drop on Cowboys first third and long, Owens great corner route to badly beat nickel corner in “man free” coverage, Great throw by Romo but Owens failed to make the catch
• Giants clearly game planned to attack the Cowboys offense and Romo with pressure, High percentage of blitz in the first quarter
• I really like the way the Giants utilize the different talents of their 3 safeties Butler, Johnson and Phillips
• Weak link on the Cowboys OL is LG Proctor: He consistently showed up in a negative way, getting beat in the run game and as a pass protector – Defenses will dictate one-on-one matchups with Proctor, and make the weak link have to play at a consistent level
• Through the first quarter Giants high blitz frequency clearly had the Cowboys offense and Romo playing fast, Cowboys offense was reactive not proactive – Romo made a couple of great throws versus pressure, but the Giants defense dictated the action
• Cowboys OL not what it was earlier in the season, Their lack of quickness and lateral movement is really showing up – Tackles Adams and Colombo have struggled over the last month, especially in pass protection
• What was interesting on the Cowboys second quarter TD drive was the 2 biggest plays – Choice 22 yard screen, Crayton 34 yard TD – came with just a 4 man rush by the Giants after such high percentage blitz in the first quarter
• Giants a lot of man coverage concepts, and the Cowboys receivers struggled to get open; Giants an excellent job undercutting routes, playing to their help over the top
• Romo a tendency to be a little impatient in the pocket, Played a little fast at times – The cumulative effect of pressure beginning early in the game
• Owens not as explosive as he was, Does not have that burst and explosiveness that was special for a man his size
• No rhythm or continuity to the Cowboys offense, Giants defense dictated in this game
• Choice success in the fourth quarter running out of the shotgun: 23 yards and 17 yards – Deception runs against a Giants defense that was controlling the Cowboys offense
• On Cowboys final TD drive, they overcame a 2^nd + 20 and a 2^nd + 23; Big play was Witten 11 yards on 3^rd + 9 versus Giants blitz, Witten great release off LOS to beat S Johnson and give Romo a defined place to go with the ball quickly
• Romo made a few plays, and did not turn the ball over, which was critical against a Giants defense that clearly was the better unit against the Cowboys offense

COACHING TAPE – WEEK 15

REDSKINS OFFENSE VS. BENGALS DEFENSE

• Redskins only 280 total yards on 60 offensive plays
• Redskins only 4-14 on third down conversions
• Redskins 4 trips inside the red zone, only 1 TD
• Heyer started at LT, and Fabini at RT for the Redskins
• Campbell has become a little scattershot with his accuracy, Missing too many easy throws
• Redskins OL did not get much push against the Bengals DL - Bengals a lot of slanting and moving with their DL, They looked quicker than the Redskins OL
• Redskins big problem has been inability to generate explosive pass plays off their run game, They do not attack at the intermediate and deeper levels in the pass game, Offense compressed
• Redskins offensive concept is based on a methodical and efficient approach with the running game as the foundation
• Redskins must do first down passing off play action to get the ball down the field, like the first play of the second half: Moss 15 yards on deep comeback
• LT Heyer struggled with the bull rush, Was driven back too many times
• Redskins do not take advantage of the predominant single high safety coverages they see in normal down and distance situations
• Redskins need to take the handcuffs off Campbell, and allow him to throw the ball more, especially in normal down and distance situations – They rarely stretch the field vertically, It’s an offense that’s too easy to defend tactically

RAVENS OFFENSE VS. STEELERS DEFENSE

• Ravens only 202 yards on 61 offensive yards, 3.3 yards per play
• Ravens only 4-14 on third down conversions
• Ravens 3 trips inside the red zone, 0 TD – That was the killer
• Ravens aligned at times with backup T Terry at TE on the left to account for LB Harrison, Other times they moved RT Anderson to TE on the left with Terry at RT – Impact of Harrison
• Smith the best 3-4 DE in the NFL: Leverage, strength and movement – He’s the most critical piece to the Steelers base 3-4 front
• Ravens very conservative approach in long yardage situations, especially in the first half; Did not expose OL and Flacco to Steelers pressure schemes
• Timmons getting more and more comfortable as an ILB, Looking more fluid and instinctive flowing to the football
• Ravens struggled to get the Steelers ILBs blocked in the run game, They were making all the plays
• Steelers “cover zero” blitz on 3^rd + 4 in the red zone, Woodley unblocked from the outside forced a hurried Flacco incompletion
• Not only did the Ravens go unbalanced, they also went “heavy” with the unbalanced concept, with 3 OTs (Gaither, Anderson and Terry) to the side of Harrison
• Harrison was clearly the focal point of Ravens offensive approach: Unbalanced line, “Heavy” unbalanced line with 3 OTs, TE on his side in normal alignments
• Flacco had a TD on 3^rd + 7 from the 8 yard line, It was the Tebow play; Play action to himself, Mason wide open but Flacco hurried himself and threw to the wrong receiver
• Ravens clearly tried to win a physical matchup with the Steelers defense, They had some success in the first half with their power run game – Ravens made this a manhood game
• On the third play of the second half, Ravens aligned an extra OT to Woodley’s side, first time they had done that; That left LT Gaither one-on-one with Harrison – Smith great play to sack Flacco
• Ravens very few intermediate to downfield throws, They called a few calculated and orchestrated deeper routes off play action with “max pro” once they got into the “go zone” (between the 40 yard lines) but that was it
• DE Smith was absolutely dominant in this game
• Steelers another “cover zero” blitz on 3^rd + 4 in the red zone, Timmons unblocked forced a hurried Flacco incompletion
• Flacco was not as comfortable against the Steelers defense as he had been in previous games, A little hurried and did not see things as clearly
• Got the sense the Ravens played offensively exactly the way they wanted to: Conservatively, close to the vest, little risk – They put this game in the hands of their defense
• I had never seen 3 OTs on one side of the formation before this game - On 24 of 61 snaps, the Ravens had 3 OTs on the field (39%)

GIANTS OFFENSE VS. COWBOYS DEFENSE

• Giants only 218 yards on 60 offensive plays, 3.6 yards per play
• Giants only 3-13 on third down conversions
• Manning sacked 8 times
• Giants play breakdown: 43 called passes / 17 called runs – That’s not Giants football
• First play of the game LT Diehl was a beat slow off the ball, and Ware beat him off the edge: Sack and forced fumble recovered by the Giants
• James clearly a more significant part of Cowboys pressure schemes, He physically beat Bradshaw to sack Manning on a zone blitz concept
• Spencer played more snaps in the base 3-4 front, with Ellis at DE in the nickel package
• In the Cowboys nickel package, Henry again moved form corner to safety, with Scandrick the slot corner and Jenkins on the outside
• Cowboys DL looked quicker and faster than the Giants OL
• Newman interception was a well disguised coverage by the Cowboys, They showed man-to-man with Newman on Hixon but Hamlin ran over the top of Newman at the snap, Newman could then jump Hixon’s hitch sine he had help over the top – Manning read it as man
• Newman predominantly aligned over Hixon, the Giants most dangerous deep threat – Hixon a non-factor in the game, Again the loss of Burress a significant factor
• NT Ratliff very quick and disruptive; Does not predominantly align as a traditional nose head up on the center, Aligns more in the gap between the center and the guard to take advantage of his quickness and initial burst
• Cowboys again at times played with their base 3-4 front and 3 corners and 1 safety versus Giants 3 WRs; Burnett played ILB instead of Thomas in this personnel grouping
• Giants offense established no rhythm or flow, No commitment to the running game – Loss of Jacobs clearly a significant factor
• Cowboys sacks predominantly a function of 2 things: Winning one-on-one pass rush matchups, and coverage
• In the Cowboys dime package, Ball was the sixth DB and Burnett was the only LB
• Cowboys defense again looked fast and explosive, They challenged the Giants offense with pressure and man coverage schemes
• Cowboys blitzed 23 times on the Giants 43 called passes: Manning 8-19 for 80 yards and 1 interception, 4 sacks

STEELERS OFFENSE VS. RAVENS DEFENSE

• Steelers ran 70 offensive plays – They were 8-17 on third down conversions
• I like how the Steelers started the game on offense: Quick rhythm throws by Roethlisberger, Get the ball out of his hands fast, Limit his reads
• Roethlisberger has similar traits to Garcia, but he’s so much more gifted physically; Big Ben not very patient in the pocket, not a refined sense of timing and anticipation, often moves when he does not need to – When he does move, however, he does a great job of keeping his focus downfield and making throws at the intermediate and deeper levels
• Ngata is just a manchild, He tosses OL around
• Lewis sack at the end of the first quarter: Ravens actually rushed only 2, with Pryce and Suggs staying at the line of scrimmage and just occupying blockers – Strategy worked, as Lewis got in unblocked
• Roethlisberger did a good job of reading the blitz and getting the ball out of his hands quickly: Washington 18 yards versus “cover zero” in the first quarter, Ward 21 yards versus zone blitz concept on FG drive in the second quarter
• With Roethlisberger the better percentage is to attack him with pressure, force him to react and move, get him to play a little fast and out of control; He’s much more effective when he moves proactively, when he moves on his own, that’s when the big plays tend to come
• Roethlisberger is a pre snap QB, or a movement improviser; He is not a refined reader of coverage
• Steelers game winning drive: 12 plays, 92 yards: Ravens played very conservatively; Only 1 blitz until the Steelers got into the red zone, which came on the second play and Roethlisberger read it and hit Ward for 13 yards – Ravens a number of 3 man rushes with 8 in coverage, and the coverage schemes were predominantly soft zone looks that gave Roethlisberger defined throws before the snap
• Classic case of a defense going away from what it does best in the most critical part of the game: An aggressive Ravens defense became a passive defense

STEELERS OFFENSE VS. COWBOYS DEFENSE

• Steelers only 238 total yards on 64 offensive plays
• Steelers only 3-16 on third down conversions
• Steelers 4 trips inside the red zone, only 1 TD
• Starting CB Henry played safety in the Cowboys nickel and dime packages; Jones and Scandrick played in the nickel, and Ball was added in the dime
• In some normal down and distance situations when the Steelers went with 3 WRs, the Cowboys stayed with their base 3-4 and brought Scandrick in as the third corner, playing only 1 safety Hamlin
• Spencer rotated with Ellis at OLB in the base 3-4, and also played with his hand on the ground at DE in the nickel and dime packages
• Burnett played some snaps at ILB in the Cowboys base 3-4 in place of Thomas
• Steelers no consistent attempt to run the ball, They did not try to establish it, It was random and unproductive
• There was no rhythm or continuity to the Steelers offense in the first half; Roethlisberger did not throw the ball well, It didn’t come out with any juice, He did not spin it very well
• Roethlisberger again not a real refined sense of processing blitz looks before the snap: Great example was Scandrick sack in the third quarter
• Yet again Roethlisberger showed that he plays more on instinct and feel than precision and understanding; He’s a playmaker QB, not a technician
• For 3 quarters, Roethlisberger looked tentative and uncertain; He was clearly not in command
• Holmes 47 yards came on 3^rd + 16, Holmes beat Newman on a go route, Newman had no help over the top – Great throw by Roethlisberger, TE Miller chipped Ware on his release into his route
• Steelers have a bad combination: A poor pass blocking OL and a QB who does not have a very good feel in the pocket with a tendency to be frenetic and hyperactive
• RT Colon was the culprit on the 4^th + 1 play in the fourth quarter; He was responsible for blocking James, who shot the gap and made the tackle on Russell
• Roethlisberger great job on Washington 21 yards on tying TD drive, He read the underneath coverage and hit Washington in the second window on the quick slant
• Miller 6 yard TD came against “cover zero”, Hamlin responsible for Miller and he was late in reacting to Miller’s flat route
• Cowboys played softer, less challenging zone concepts on the Steelers tying TD drive: Why?
• A very uneven and erratic performance by the Steelers offense, They were fortunate their defense played another terrific game

PATRIOTS OFFENSE VS. SEAHAWKS DEFENSE

• Patriots ran 72 offensive plays, and controlled the ball for almost 34 minutes
• Patriots 10-18 on third down conversions
• Here’s an amazing number: 79% of Cassel’s passes this season have come out of the shotgun; That’s the highest percentage in the league by a significant margin – In the last 4 games , that number has been 90%
• Seahawks aggressive with their pressure schemes, A high blitz frequency – For the game, Seattle blitzed on 32 of Cassel’s 44 pass attempts: Cassel 19-30 for 218 yards, 85 rating with 2 sacks
• Trufant predominantly aligned over Moss regardless of what side Moss lined up; Trufant won the battle, Moss looked slow with little explosiveness
• Patriots first half play breakdown: 21 called passes / 11 called runs
• Jordan had 4 carries for the Patriots in this game
• In the Seahawks dime package, Peterson had his hand on the ground at DE, Tatupu was the only LB, and Babineaux and Wilson played inside with Jennings aligned on the outside
• Atkins sack near the end of the first half was a 6 man pressure with “man free” behind it; Overload concept on 3^rd + 10
• Patriots are a shotgun offense, That is their foundation both with the run game and the pass game – In the last 4 games, their cumulative rushing numbers from the shotgun were 46-305, 6.6 yards per rush
• The shotgun spread simplifies the reads and progressions for Cassel, Ball comes out quick so the reading progression is limited – Pressure schemes are more easily defined because of the spread, which also helps Cassel
• Patriots had some problems with blitz pickup out of the Seahawks 3 man DL
• Patriots scored on 3 consecutive possessions in the second half: 12 plays for a FG, 10 plays for a FG, 14 plays for a TD
• Patriots OL has been erratic and inconsistent in pass protection this season, There are times they have been a liability, They look slower
• OC McDaniels a great feel for anticipating pressures and coverages, He really helps Cassel
• Cassel great job looking down the gun barrel on Gaffney 28 yards on 3^rd + 10 to end third quarter, Seahawks blitzed out of 3-2-6 personnel and played “man free” - Cassel threw under duress and made an accurate throw
• Moss 33 yards on 3^rd + 7 in fourth quarter another great job by OC McDaniels: Moss had been ineffective working against Trufant, so Patriots aligned Welker outside and went motion to stack with Moss in the slot; That caused the Seahawks to switch, and got Wilson on Moss – Moss corner route, Great throw by Cassel, Great job by Patriots OL versus blitz
• Atkins sack in the fourth quarter came off a blitz out of a 4 man DL, Overload concept had 3 Patriots OL blocking 1 DL and DE Atkins matched on RB Faulk
• Welker 13 yards on 3^rd + 10 on fourth quarter TD drive came against “cover zero”, Cassel read it quickly and made an accurate throw under duress to Welker matched on Wilson
• Cassel was outstanding on 3^rd down in this game, Some big throws in the second half – Overall Cassel was 9-14 for 137 yards on 3^rd down, his best 3^rd down performance of the season
• Patriots a very controlled passing game, Not many intermediate to downfield throws unless the down and distance situation demands it, Cassel not asked to do much progression reading

SAINTS OFFENSE VS. FALCONS DEFENSE

• Saints ran 62 offensive plays, and had 414 total yards
• Saints much more balanced in their play breakdown: 33 called passes / 29 called runs
• Babineaux immediately stood out on film for the Falcons defense: Strong at the point of attack, Good lateral movement
• Bush 43 yards on 1^st + 10 came out of 1 back / 3 WR personnel, Delay action in the backfield with TE Shockey releasing off the LOS as if he’s running a route – Pass action to set up the run game
• Bush beat LB Boley on his 5 yard TD catch – Saints spread the field to dictate the matchup
• Saints had success running the ball out of pass looks, They utilized a lot of delay action, OL pass sets and Shockey “easy” release
• Payton a terrific play caller: Shockey 21 yards in the second quarter a great example, Playing off Thomas 18 yard run on previous series out of same balanced “12” set – Play action from same delay look and LB Brooking bit hard, with Shockey running the middle behind Brooking
• Falcons defense was out-schemed in the run game, not physically whipped
• Bush looked fast and explosive in this game, quicker than he had looked before the injury; He even showed some downhill instincts
• Brees a terrific timing and anticipation passer: His belief is “be where you are supposed to be and I’ll find you” – He also throws with very consistent accuracy
• Brees has a much stronger arm than he’s given credit for, Ball comes out with rotation and velocity – Brees can really spin it
• Thomas decisive downhill, Showed some burst and explosiveness through the hole, More powerful than his size would indicate – What I really liked about Thomas was his blocking toughness versus blitz
• CB Houston has improved significantly as the season has progressed, Clearly playing with more confidence and swagger, A physicality to his game, Willing to come up and hit in the run game
• Falcons 3-3-5 package featured Boley, Brooking and Nicholas at LB
• Henderson 36 yards on 3^rd + 9 in the fourth quarter came against “cover zero”, the first time in the game the Falcons played it; Foxworth was beat, Great block by Thomas on blitzing Boley
• Thomas was a huge factor in this game: He showed multi-dimensional skills running, receiving and blocking
• Boley dropped an interception a couple of plays before the Thomas GW TD, Would have likely sealed the victory for the Saints
• An efficient performance by the Saints offense: Balanced and methodical – They must play more like this to be consistent week-to-week, rather than be so pass-heavy

VIKINGS OFFENSE VS. LIONS DEFENSE

• Jackson played the second half for the Vikings in place of an injured Frerotte
• Vikings continued to use TE Shiancoe as a movable chess piece, aligning him all over the formation, including splitting him out wide
• Peterson an incredibly instinctive runner, Sees the color of the opposing jersey and runs away from it, His movements are violent and powerful
• Still question Jackson’s decision making as a drop back passer, He is much more efficient off designed movement when the reads are more defined
• Jackson still showed a tendency to break down and lose his fundamentals when the pocket got muddied; He must improve in that area to become a consistent QB
• Overall Jackson looked comfortable in the pocket, He did not play fast or hurried – Vikings did a good job with him, 3 and 5 step drops and quick throws to get him in rhythm and limit his decision making
• Rookie LB Dizon flashed in the run game, Started to show the quickness and instincts that defined him in college

BEARS OFFENSE VS. JAGUARS DEFENSE

• Bears only 296 total yards, and only 5-15 on third down conversions
• Bears 4 trips inside the red zone, only 1 TD
• Williams and Florence started at CB for the Jaguars
• Forte 26 yards was another prime example of the problems the Jaguars defense has had this season: Back side LB Durant lost his gap discipline, overpursuing to the front side and allowing Forte to cut back inside of him – Poor discipline and gap integrity
• Orton a good sense of timing and rhythm in the 3 and 5 step drop passing game – Orton not as firm in the pocket on deeper drops when the pocket gets muddied
• Bears utilized C Kreutz as a puller in the run game, Kreutz good mobility on the move
• Forte excellent ability to get through small cracks at the point of attack, That’s a defining attribute to be successful as an NFL RB
• Jaguars clearly not flying around on defense, They looked slow and sluggish in their movements
• Olsen more and more a significant part of the Bears passing game, Aligned all over the formation – Good hands, Runs well
• Bears OL not very quick, Susceptible to slants and stunts – For the most part, LT St. Clair has played well; He has not been a liability
• DE Harvey looked quick in this game, More explosion and burst than he had shown, He flashed on film
• Olsen 22 yard TD came against “Tampa 2”; Shotgun play action held LB Durant, who then opened up to the 2 WR side away from Olsen – Olsen in the slot on the same side as Hester, so S Nelson cheated toward Hester; Well designed play and a great throw by Orton
• Overall, Bears an execution offense; They do not do a lot with personnel and formations, Olsen is really the only player they move around – They do not ask Orton to consistently make throws at the intermediate and deeper levels, They manage him well and help him be efficient

TEXANS OFFENSE VS. PACKERS DEFENSE

• Texans ran 74 offensive plays, and had 549 total yards – Schaub 28-42 for 414 yards
• Texans 7-13 on third down conversions
• Woodson started at SS for the Packers, with Williams at LCB – Hawk again started at MLB, with Bishop at WLB in place of injured Chillar
• Slaton a much better inside runner than his size would indicate, Strong lower body with good leg drive, Very decisive downhill, Laterally quick and explosive, Can make people miss, Not as vertically explosive as Chris Johnson
• Walter 58 yard TD came against a Packers blitz in which Schaub was under heavy pressure; Schaub threw it up to the one-on-one coverage on the outside, Walter great adjustment to the underthrown ball
• Through the first half, DE Kampman was giving RT Winston all kinds of problems with his pass rush, both with edge quickness and power
• Blackmon was the Packers nickel corner, playing inside over the slot – Poppinga put his hand on the ground as a DE in the nickel
• Brown and Salaam continued to rotate at LT for the Texans
• Packers front seven not very stout at the point of attack in the run game, Also Packers had some problems with gap discipline on the zone flow runs
• Packers DL did not do a good job getting off blocks; At times they were Velcro, just clinging to the Texans OL – They got very little penetration in the run game
• Walter 46 yards in the second quarter came off Schaub designed movement left, Walter beat Williams on a stutter-go – Great throw by Schaub
• Walter a really good route runner, Understands coverages and knows how to set up corners and safeties based on his recognition of their areas of responsibility – Also very good against man coverage breaking down the cushion and getting corners to turn their hips
• Bush was the Packers fourth corner in the 4-1-6 package when the Texans had 4 WRs on the field
• Packers front four did not generate any kind of consistent pass rush pressure on Schaub, who played very comfortably throughout the game
• Hawk not much of a factor at MLB in the run game, Did not make many plays
• Packers have a disconnect with their defensive approach: They predominantly play press man coverage on the outside, yet they get no consistent pressure on the QB with their front four and they don’t blitz very much
• Texans very effective working inside the numbers against the Packers defense; Packers LBs struggle with pass coverage – Daniels 27 yards on GW FG drive came against man coverage in which he was matched against LB Bishop; Daniels killed Bishop with the “jerk” route, the stop and start route that makes the defender look like a jerk
• Overall, Schaub is an efficient QB with good timing and anticipation; Nothing more than a better than average arm, but a good feel for the pass game and consistent accuracy

COWBOYS OFFENSE VS. STEELERS DEFENSE

• Cowboys only 289 total yards on 65 offensive plays
• Cowboys only 3-14 on third down conversions
• On Polamalu interception to end the Cowboys first series, Owens dumped on Romo; Owens stopped running his out route when he saw Polamalu, but Romo threw the ball with anticipation on Owens break – What was interesting on the 3^rd + 7 play was that Witten stayed in to block, The anticipation of pressure from the Steelers defense
• In their nickel package, the Steelers predominantly aligned with only 2 DL: Smith and Kirschke, both of whom had their hand on the ground – Timmons played in the nickel package in place of Foote
• Harrison very powerful and explosive, Plays with great leverage and balance – Cowboys TEs could not block Harrison in the run game, It was embarrassing
• There were many snaps in which the Steelers matched up man-to-man on Owens, or Williams with no safety help over the top – Steelers clearly had no fear of Owens or Williams
• Romo very erratic throwing the ball, He was scattershot
• Romo’s second interception was an underthrown fade to Owens, An easy pick for Taylor; Romo threw the ball too flat, not enough trajectory
• Cowboys had 8 possessions in the first half and 36 plays, They gained only 134 total yards
• Cowboys TEs were physically handled in the run game, and the OL overall struggled to block the Steelers
• Choice had success running the ball versus Steelers nickel package, His 22 yarder came on 3^rd + 3 with Romo in the shotgun
• Choice a workmanlike downhill runner, Tough and physical, Good body lean, No special qualities but can be effective as a sustaining back – Also showed the willingness and tenacity to block versus blitz
• Romo was never comfortable in this game; His TD to Owens was a lucky play, He had Bennett wide open within the play’s design and stared right at him without pulling the trigger, Then Romo just ran around and threw it up to Owens
• Polamalu the most explosive safety in the NFL, He is so fast but plays under control
• NT Hampton was very disruptive, Cowboys struggled to control him in the middle – Steelers even used him at times to drop out and cover Choice releasing into the flat
• Townsend interception return TD: Steelers 4 man rush with a zone coverage concept behind it, Steelers disguised the look before the snap and Romo did not get a clear picture, Woodley quick inside pressure against RT Colombo showed in Romo’s face – Romo a hurried throw with no definition on what should have been a simple read
• Steelers predominantly played zone coverage concepts against the Cowboys, Romo never solved the defense, He was uncertain and tentative throughout the game

FALCONS OFFENSE VS. SAINTS DEFENSE

• Falcons ran 63 offensive plays, and had 414 total yards
• Falcons 7-12 on third down conversions
• Falcons 4 trips inside the red zone, 3 TD
• The only negative for the Falcons offense was Turner and Norwood combined for 23-79, 3.5 yards per carry
• The designed cutback is a staple of the Falcons running game, and they had success with it again on the second play of the game: Turner 26 yards out of 2 back / 3 WR personnel
• A lot of flow and misdirection to the Falcons offense, both in the run game and the pass game, especially off Ryan designed movement
• Ryan’s interception was a misread: He read “quarters”, and it was “Tampa 2” behind a 3 man rush– It was well disguised by the Saints before the snap, They showed a 4 across look; But CB David, with safety help over the top, jumped the hitch to White
• Saints DL much more physical as the game progressed, Winning individual battles at the point of attack
• Great job by White reading Ryan’s movement out of the pocket on the 59 yard catch, White ran deep to open space and gave Ryan a place to throw the football – Play’s design was to get the ball to Peelle on a corner route, but that was taken away by the Saints coverage
• What continues to stand out about Ryan is his pocket movement, He has a great feel for sliding a couple of steps within a confined area to find a more comfortable spot to deliver the football – This is extremely hard to teach, and a necessary attribute to play QB at an elite level in the NFL
• I noticed more pulling by the Falcons OL in this game: A function of the Saints defense, or something OC Mularkey wants to incorporate more?
• One thing that jumps out re: the Falcons offense is how much formation variation they utilize, Receivers and backs aligning all over the formation – A lot to prepare for as a DC
• Ryan much more freedom at the line of scrimmage, There were times in this game he looked Manning orchestrating the offense at the line
• Ryan pocket movement on 26 yard completion to White on 3^rd + 21 on third quarter TD drive, This was an unbelievable play, A stick throw into a very tight window against a Saints defense that rushed 3 and dropped 8 into coverage – Ryan playing as well as any QB in the league right now
• Saints front seven played well against the run overall, Much more stout than they were earlier in the year – Some physicality and toughness
• Saints played predominantly zone coverage schemes, Very little man coverage
• Overall, an outstanding game by Ryan; What really stands out is how professional he is with so little experience – Poise and composure, Reads coverage, Knows where to throw it, Anticipation and accuracy, Pocket movement

PANTHERS OFFENSE VS. BUCS DEFENSE

• Panthers ran 58 offensive plays, and gained 464 yards
• Panthers 8-10 on third down conversions
• Williams 19-186, 9.8 yds per rush; Stewart 15-115, 7.7 yds per rush
• Haye was inactive for the Bucs, Sims started at DT
• DL Wilkerson very quick off the ball as a pass rusher, A tough matchup for OGs on the inside when he aligns at DT
• DE Adams not very stout against the run, Plays too upright, Loses his leverage and gets driven back too easily
• What showed up early was that the Bucs DL was getting moved by double teams, They were not stalemating the blocks at the point of attack but being driven back
• Panthers a 2 back based run game with FB Hoover an excellent lead blocker
• Smith is t