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Apr 132014
 

Prior to 2013, critics doubted whether Chip Kelly could succeed in the NFL.  Many tagged him with the dreaded “college coach” label.  Kelly – along with Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll – are quickly turning that label into a positive.  Harbaugh has done so with his power schemes and manic enthusiasm, Carroll with his passion and smothering defense.  Chip Kelly has done so with an emphasis on simplicity and execution, two qualities that are often overlooked in what has largely become a complex, matchup based league.

Kelly’s devotion to the hurry up no huddle is well known, with the extra repetitions gained in practice and games combining with a comparably simple playbook to improve execution.  His offense is no gimmick – it is based on sound football principles.  At his core, Kelly wants to run the ball.  The basis of this running game are his zone concepts.

Kelly teaches a counting system to his offensive line on zone running plays.  This simplifies their reads, as the line merely needs to count the defense in the box and block it accordingly.  The center identifies 0, the first in-box defender to the playside.  The playside guard blocks number 1 (the next defender to the playside), and the tackle blocks number 2.  The backside guard blocks number 1 backside, and the backside tackle blocks number 2 backside.  A tight end or extra blocker would block number 3.  Kelly’s famous “read option” (as it has become known) assigns the quarterback to “block” any extra backside defender with his eyes, if there is one.  If that player is aggressive on the handoff, the quarterback keeps the ball to the space he vacated.  If that player is not aggressive on the handoff, the quarterback has successfully “blocked” him from tackling the ball carrier.  If no such “extra” defender is in the box, the quarterback hands the ball off every time.  Thus, what has become known as a “read option” is nothing more than a zone run that gives the quarterback the ability to keep the ball if the defense brings more defenders than the offensive line can block.

The simplicity and execution of this counting system can be seen in LeSean McCoy’s 2013 week 1 touchdown against the Washington Redskins.

Before the snap, we see the Eagles in an unbalanced formation, with three offensive linemen to their left.  The play will be run to their right.  As one can see below, their counting system allows them to adjust to the defensive front with ease  – a necessity in the NFL, where defenses are ever changing and complex.  Note that the stacked defensive lineman and linebacker to the playside are both considered player 1 and player 2, necessitating a combo block from the right guard and right tackle (who in this case is a tight end).  This complex blocking takes time and communication to master, another reason why the simplicity of Kelly’s offense is a benefit to their team.

 Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 1

As the play unfolds, we can see the linemen taking great angles to “cover up” their men.  This is a hallmark of zone blocking – it is more important to get a body on a defensive player and wash him towards the direction he wants to go than it is to attempt to blow them up off the ball.  We can also see Michael Vick “blocking” the extra defender in the box (#4). Additionally, McCoy’s momentum begins parallel to the line of scrimmage, towards the sideline, influencing Redskins defenders to fight towards the outside.

 Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 2

McCoy has the ball now, and has made his hard cut down the field.  We can see that some of the Redskins are still moving towards the sideline, as their momentum – and the Eagles blockers – are taking them there.  The hole is large for McCoy, and not because any of his linemen have made a devastating knockout block.  None of the linemen have driven a Redskins player off the ball.  But they have put bodies on bodies, allowing a back with great vision and talent such as McCoy to find and exploit the opening seam of the defense.

 Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 3

This allows McCoy to get into the open field with a head of steam.  He is among the hardest runners in the NFL to tackle when given such space.

 Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 4

Kelly’s offense has always thrived on letting his athletes perform in space.  Here we get an example: McCoy hurdling a defender as he winds back towards the opposite sideline.

 Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 5

And we see the final element of what makes Kelly’s offense tick: downfield blocking by receivers.  As in all “big play” running offenses, Kelly depends on his receivers to help turn long runs into touchdown runs.  Here we get a great example of McCoy reading Riley Cooper’s butt to cut inside, aided by the terrific cut block by Jason Avant to form a clear running lane.

Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 6

McCoy gives Eagles fans an example of what Oregon fans grew to know well – a runner in the clear with enough space to celebrate before reaching the end zone.

Chip Kelly Simplicity and Execution 7

Chip Kelly has done a tremendous job of creating a system that can take advantage of the talent he has on his teams.  The beauty of the system is that it is based on sound football principles.  Though it has been labeled a “space age” offense, perhaps the biggest innovation of the system is the return of simplicity to the NFL.   This simplicity also means that his system is duplicable at all levels of play.  Even if one doesn’t want to run the hurry up or the spread, teaching such a counting system to the offensive line is an easy way to improve their communication.  No matter how complex the defensive front is, it can always be boiled down to a simple count.  Much like Kelly’s offense, the beauty lies in the simplicity.

Apr 052014
 

The Seattle Seahawks defense and the Michigan State Spartans defense were the darlings of the NFL and NCAA, respectively, in 2013.  Despite some schematic differences, these defenses shared important similarities.  Both were simple in comparison to their peers, executing their base defense to perfection, allowing their defenders to “play fast” because they had no doubt about their assignments.  The defenses were also each led by a breakout performer at cornerback – Richard Sherman for the Seahawks, and Darqueze Dennard for the Spartans.

Contrary to popular belief, neither cornerback is a man to man bump and run player.  The Seahawks and Spartans are both zone teams (the Seahawks primarily cover 3, the Spartans primarily cover 4), with the cornerbacks aligned in a press position.  They appear to be in man coverage because, if the receiver runs a pattern deeper than 10 yards (approximately), the cornerback stays locked on that receiver in man coverage.  If the receiver runs a short pattern, the cornerback is often in position to take this pattern away once the ball is in the air by their pre-snap alignment, which adds to the man to man illusion.  But the short patterns are not their responsibility.

This may seem like a minor distinction, but it pays major dividends.  Instead of needing to worry about every pattern the receiver might run, the cornerback can focus on re-routing the receiver (helping out all aspects of the defense) and turning and running to take away deep patterns.  This is a perfect defense for fast, physical corners such as Sherman and Dennard.

Take Sherman.  A tall, lanky track star at cornerback, his theoretical weakness would be against double moves and short, quick patterns. This is because a taller player at cornerback with longer legs has a comparative disadvantage when making quick, fast cuts and redirections.

The Seahawks defense means, however, that Sherman merely needs to use his length to throw the receiver off his pattern, and his speed to turn and run if the receiver runs a deep pattern.  His 6’3”, spidery frame, track jump background, and intelligence make him the ideal athlete for this technique.

He also illustrates the Seahawks’ rise to prominence.  Much like the Oakland Athletics who Michael Lewis chronicled in Moneyball, the Seahawks found undervalued athletes late in the draft who fit their system to perfection.  In Moneyball it was specifically about finding players who had patience at the plate; in Seattle it was about finding tall, physical defensive backs late in the draft who could execute Seattle’s defense.  Richard Sherman was a number one overall pick in terms of fit for the Seahawks, though in reality he was picked in the 5th round.

Denard, too, was an underrated prospect who rose to prominence due to a perfect mesh of scheme and athleticism.

No example of this technique is better than Sherman’s game clinching play against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2013 NFC Championship game.

In diagram one (below), we see Sherman lined up in press on Michael Crabtree to the bottom of the screen.  On the opposite side, of the field, Byron Maxwell (Seattle’s other big, physical cornerback) is lined up in press on Quinton Patton.  Also note that Seattle is in a two high safety alignment, which differs from their base cover 3 look, but is similar to Michigan State’s base alignment.

Cornerbacks Sherman Denard 1

At the snap of the ball (below), Sherman gets a hand on Crabtree and turns to run with him.  It looks like man coverage.  But look to the top of the screen.  Maxwell is also bailing deep on the play, as if he is covering Patton deep.  Patton, unlike Crabtree, stands still at the line of scrimmage.  Sherman – while appearing to be in man coverage – knows that if Crabtree stops short, Sherman can continue deep, because linebacker Malcolm Smith is underneath Crabtree’s pattern.  Therefore, Sherman can focus all of his attention on sprinting downfield in defense of any deep Crabtree pattern.

Cornerbacks Sherman Denard 2

The television broadcast camera made it appear that Crabtree had a step on Sherman. This was never the case.  As we see below, Sherman was a step ahead of Crabtree the entire play.  He has positioned himself perfectly – he will beat Crabtree to the spot should Crabtree continue on a fade (as is the case) and has inside leverage to undercut any deep in breaking pattern (such as a post or dig) that Crabtree might run.  His ability to “sell out” on these deep patterns is made possible by the zone principles that let him play without hesitation.  We can see Smith – who will catch the interception – dropping in the underneath zone, ready to pounce on a short pattern.  He was not occupied on the play by any other receiving threat, allowing him to drift farther back and eventually gather the Sherman’s deflection.

Also note that Maxwell has continued to bail deep (he is actually deeper than Sherman) and is now 14 yards away from Patton, who remained at the line of scrimmage.

Cornerbacks Sherman Denard 3

Below, we see the moment when Sherman reaches the ball at its highest point, deflecting it to Smith for the game sealing interception.  For the television camera, it appeared that Crabtree was behind Sherman.  In reality, Sherman found the ball, slowed, and leaped to tip it, creating the illusion that Crabtree was behind him.  Make no mistake, Sherman was not beaten on the play.

Cornerbacks Sherman Denard 4

Cover 3 and Cover 4 press, pattern matching teams require a specific athlete at the cornerback position.  The cornerback must be physical and skilled enough to jam a receiver at the line, and fast enough to run with that receiver on all deep patterns.  The cornerback does not need the same short legged quickness that is required to guard fast twitch receivers in the short or slot game.  This simplified role has allowed Mark Dantonio at Michigan State to build the top defense in the country with many lower tier recruits (Dennard, for example, was a 2 star recruit with no other BCS offers from a tiny high school in Georgia), and for Pete Carroll to build one of the greatest defensive backfields in the history of the NFL out of largely late round and free agent prospects.  The ability to play fast breeds confidence, and has helped two elite yet overlooked athletes climb to the top of their game, bringing the rest of their respective defenses with them.

Apr 032014
 

Peyton Manning has long used basic and proven concepts in maintaining his status as one of the NFL’s all time great quarterbacks.  The following play from the 2013 AFC Championship game exemplifies the tools he uses to gain information about the defense in order to maximize his team’s chances for success on any given play.

Figure one (below) shows the Broncos in a 5 wide receiver formation, with running back Knowshon Moreno split wide to the left.  To the top of the screen, there are three defenders aligned over three receivers, with safety Devin McCourty outside the hash over the top.  To the bottom of the screen, however, there is one defender (cornerback Aqib Talib) aligned on Julius Thomas.  The second safety (Steve Gregory) splits wide as Moreno walks towards the sideline.  Manning has his first clue: he has a numbers disadvantage on his strong side (3 defenders on the line of scrimmage plus 1 safety for 3 receivers) and even numbers on the weak side (1 defender on the line of scrimmage plus 1 safety walking towards the outside to cover 2 receivers).

Manning  v Patriots 1

Next, in what appears to be an innocuous shift, Manning calls Moreno to return to the backfield. As Moreno trots towards Manning’s side, Manning eyes the safety, Gregory.  Gregory shades back towards the inside, following Moreno.

Manning  v Patriots 2

Taken in a single snapshot (below), there is no telling what this two high coverage is: it could be cover 2, or cover 2 man, or cover 4, or a safety could drop into the box in a cover 3 or man free (not to mention the many possible split field coverage). But Moreno’s shift and Gregory’s movement has Manning thinking – and hoping – for one thing: that Gregory is in man coverage with Moreno, leaving Aqib Talib alone in man coverage against the  bigger Julius Thomas with half a field of space to work with.

Manning  v Patriots 3

Manning gets confirmation of his hopes soon after the snap.  Gregory runs towards Moreno, his momentum simultaneously telling Manning that he is in man coverage on Moreno and eliminating him as a possibility to defense Thomas.  McCourty is still outside the opposite hash, giving Manning and Thomas the half field of space to work with that they wanted.

Manning  v Patriots 3a

As Manning prepares to throw the ball (below), we see Thomas winning leverage to the inside.  McCourty is now reading Manning, but he does not have the time to recover to help Talib.

Manning  v Patriots 4

Much has been made of Manning’s declining arm strength.  But with his timing, accuracy, and anticipation, he has all the arm that he needs. The ball is accurate and on time.  As predicted, Thomas catches the ball before McCourty can make a play.

Manning v  Patriots 5

Everything Peyton Manning does on the field has a purpose in his effort to gain an advantage over the defense.  Next time you see a seemingly innocuous shift or motion, watch how the defense reacts, and try to see the clues that Manning sees.  It gives insight into the mind of one of the most unique players to ever play the game, and how he maintains (if not improves upon) his level of excellence despite his increasing age and declining physical gifts.

Apr 022014
 

Grandson Nico enrolled at Tulane in 2013 as a 5’8” 180 pound linebacker, proceeding to earn a starting linebacker position as a true freshman. Exemplifying the notion that size is the most overrated trait for a football player, Nico uses intelligence, speed, instincts, and tenacity to overcome his lack of a prototypical frame.

His senior season high school highlights are reminiscent of a long line of overlooked, undersized linebackers, including London Fletcher, Zach Thomas, Sam Mills, Dat Nguyen, Dexter Coakley, Jessie Tuggle, and further back to Mike Singletary and others…

An example of perfect tackling form during Nico’s freshman season at Tulane:

Son Rohan starred as an undersized linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes in the early/mid 90s.  Despite standing only 5’8” and weighing 205 pounds, he led the 1993 Hurricanes in tackles.  Using the same attributes now exhibited by his son Nico, Rohan was at the center of a defense that also featured Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp (not to mention Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson).

His highlights show an instinctive linebacker with crushing tackling ability, despite his size:

Patriarch Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley – though not a football player – became an international legend despite hailing from tiny Jamaica, also on the strength of his passion and talent:

Mar 292014
 

The wham block is an underutilized weapon that will turn the aggressiveness of a dominant defensive lineman against him.

Related to the trap, the wham block sends a skill player to block a defensive lineman from an angle with an element of surprise.  Often utilizing motion, the wham discourages penetration by sending the message that the defensive lineman can never know when he will be blindsided along the line of scrimmage.

Wham 1

Diagram 1 (above) shows the blocking scheme for the play.  Delanie Walker is sent in short motion, giving him increased momentum to blast Ndamukong Suh.  Notice how the scheme, combined with trap and fold blocks across the line, allows 49ers offensive linemen to block down the field.  This downfield blocking is a hallmark of big plays in the run game.  The scheme turns the Lions aggressiveness against itself, wasting the defensive linemen who were quick to penetrate up the field.

Wham 2

Diagram 2 (above): The moment of impact.

Wham 3

Diagram 3 (above): The meeting of scheme and execution.  The 49ers scheme has worked to perfection – two defensive linemen (including Suh, the disruptive force who necessitates the scheme) are already behind the play, wasted to the defensive.  Four 49er offensive linemen are down the field to make blocks.

Also note Vernon Davis.  As the play unfolds, he blocks his man across the field.  In diagram 1, we see the defensive end lined up on Davis’s inside shade.  In diagram 2, Davis has locked him to the inside.  In diagram 3, Davis has begun to drive him across the formation.  In diagram 4, Davis has driven him off the screen.

Davis’s block as well as the 49ers offensive line’s ability to block downfield reminds us that no matter what the scheme, the most important predictor of success is the execution of fundamentals. 

Wham 4

Discouraging aggressiveness encourages passivity, which helps to control a dominant defensive line or a particular defensive lineman.  The wham – despite having faded in popularity – is a valuable tool in achieving that end.  It is one of the power elements that Jim Harbaugh has brought to the table in turning also-rans at the University of San Diego, Stanford, and the 49ers into contenders.