Playbook & Scheme – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Defensive approaches in Cowboys-Giants might be polar opposites

Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of both teams the Cowboys and Giants may apply very different approaches defensively in Week 1. | From @ReidDHanson

Jumping into the mind of an NFL defensive coordinator and predicting their strategy is generally a fruitless endeavor. Not only does it assume to know the plans of some of the most calculated and secretive coaches on the planet, but it minimizes all the many variables that go into each game-day decision.

This type of risky prognostication becomes even more volatile when it departs from the standard operating procedure of the respective coach, whether conservative or aggressive. So, to say Dallas and Giants may each go against their previous norm, may be a little wild. But in a way, that’s exactly what may unfold on Sunday night when New York hosts the Cowboys.

Adaptation is sincerest form of flattening offense’s pulse for Cowboys’ Dan Quinn

The Dallas Cowboys defense is changing, not just from earlier in the year, but within games. @DailyGoonerRaf breaks down how Quinn adjusted to Vikings’ attack in Week 8.

Speed Kills.

It’s a time honored football maxim. In today’s game, speed of adaptation kills. Those clubs whose coordinators can quickly decipher what their opposition is doing to nullify their own game plan, then make changes, often wins.

We’ve analyzed the speed with which Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore can act, game to game and even series to series. Today, we’re going to look at a small change that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and his line coach Aden Durde made in the second half of Sunday Night’s win against the Vikings, and how it collared a Vikings offense that was threatening to pull away from the Cooper Rush-led Dallas attack.

Flank Anatomy: Cowboys play design to free Schultz a thing of beauty

The Cowboys crafty coordinator Kellen Moore finds another way to drop an explosive play, this time on the Patriots. @DailyGoonerRaf goes through the anatomy of this specific iteration of Flank LT.

It’s rare that an offensive coordinator can shake an opposing defense completely off the TV screen with a play design, but this is an occurrence Cowboys OC Kellen Moore has made commonplace in 2021.

Against the New England Patriots two weekends ago, Moore again spun his play calling magic, using a concept he likely cribbed from his head coach Mike McCarthy. From his favorite formation, flank — a balanced two tight end, two receiver, one running back set — Moore got his Y, Dalton Schultz, completely free into the New England secondary. Here’s look at the genesis of this play and use it for deeper dives this week into the versatility and the potency of a seemingly ordinary set.

Dirty Work: Selfless Cowboys receivers, tight ends key to two-phase explosiveness

Kellen Moore dusted off variations of Packers’ sweeps to torment the Giants, and was able to do so with great effect thanks to the selfless worth of the pass-catchers’ blocking ability. @DailyGoonerRaf breaks it down.

The 2021 Cowboys’ offense, expected by many to ride Dak Prescott and his trio of talented receivers’ passing attack, has taken a decided turn back to the Triplet’s ’90s. All of a sudden Dallas leads the league in rushing percentage notching their third consecutive 200-yard rushing game this past Sunday.

Part of this turn was necessity. Wideout Michael Gallup injured a calf muscle in the season opener against Tampa Bay and has not returned to fitness. Another is simply that Dallas exudes a flexibility not seen in any prior Cowboys offensive attack. The remaining wideouts — CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper — and the tight end duo of Dalton Schultz and Blake Jarwin all show the ability to make plays down the field.

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has therefore stayed with a 12-personnel package that keeps two receivers and both tight ends on the field most of the time.

It’s no surprise, given this balance and explosiveness, that the Cowboys lead the NFL in explosive plays(20-yard or more passes, 10-yard or more runs). What is a bit surprising is that the Cowboys have far more explosives on the ground than they do through the air. They lead the league with 27 explosive runs, tied with the Cleveland Browns. That number is eight more than the sum of explosive passes.

The hidden reason why Dallas can hurt an opponent on land or through the air? Those four receiving targets are selfless blockers, ready to do the dirty work to help Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard reach the third level after the offensive line has broken them into the second. It’s this dedication to the blocking part of their jobs that gives them an edge when they go out on patterns.

Today, we’ll look at three variants of the old Packers sweep, which Moore dusted off to outflank the Giants. Each of these calls produced an explosive run, and each was spurred by outstanding edge blocking by Amari Cooper and the two tight ends.

Blitz, Blitz, Bait, Pick: Cowboys’ Moore using college tricks while Quinn relies on his kids

While OC Kellen Moore brings collegiate innovation, Dan Quinn’s relying on collegiate-age defenders to execute his commands. A look at how both sides execute, from @DailyGoonerRaf.

When Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys back in 1989, he tried a daring rebuilding plan, trusting the project to an old college teammate, Jimmy Johnson — then the head coach at the University of Miami — college football’s most swashbuckling program.

Jimmy raised eyebrows by bringing most of his college staff to Dallas. He sought out an NFL pedigreed offensive coordinator in David Shula, but his defense was the same one coordinator Dave Wannstedt and secondary coach Dave Campo ran at Miami. It was a light, speedy 4-3 that had two true defensive tackles, converted outside linebackers at ends, linebackers chosen for their size and speed templates and a secondary that could play Campo’s quarters coverage zone.

Maligned as “that college defense” at its inception, the Cowboys proved to be very effective once Johnson drafted the right players to run it. Though light, the front seven matched up perfectly with quick, timing offenses like the West Coast 49ers and Packers. Dallas used numbers, building a fearsome nine-man line rotation that wore down opposing offensive lines, until the salary cap system picked it slowly apart.

Going to the college game put the Cowboys ahead of the NFL curve during the Triplets days. When the team aged, Jerry and son Stephen looked to the coaching trees to revive the franchise. On offense, Jack Reilly was brought in to replace Ernie Zampese, and when Bill Parcells retired, Jerry tapped Jason Garrett, an advocate of the Norv Turner/Zampese system that worked so well in the ’90s.

On defense, the Cowboys showed a willingness to let head coaches like Parcells and Wade Phillips run their respective versions of the 3-4, but reverted to systems close to the Johnson/Wannstedt 4-3 once Phillips was fired in 2010. Most recently, Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli ran their updates on their famous Tampa-2 schemes, close cousins to the ’90s Cowboys defense.

Trying to live in the past saw the Cowboys drift. As the Jones sought to regain old glory, the game left them flat footed. As in the late ’80s, college systems, on offense and on defense, trickled into the pro game. Run-pass option passes became more common. Baltimore went all in on a running quarterback, building an offense for Lamar Jackson nearly identical to the one he ran at Louisville.

On defense, coverages and fronts from defensive minds like Nick Saban and Dave Aranda started to pop up more frequently. The college game is the true laboratory for tactical innovation these days, and NFL franchises that look “down” are suddenly, like Jimmy’s old Cowboys, finding success on Sundays.

It’s been a hard lesson, but in 2021, it appears that the Jones may have found their old mojo, not by again trying to turn back the clock, but instead by going back to school.

The Two Moose: Cowboys’ Kellen Moore used two players to scheme the fun back into the F-back vs Eagles

A breakdown of how Kellen Moore’s continuous creativity used a callback to the 90s against the Eagles, bringing back F-back memories. @DailyGoonerRaf shows how McGovern and Schultz were schemed into greatness.

The Dallas Cowboys lost receiver Michael Gallup early in the season opener due to a calf injury. Gallup’s absence raised fears the Cowboys attack, assumed by many to rely on its “big 3” receiving trio of Amari Cooper, Gallup and CeeDee Lamb, would see diminished explosiveness.

As I have shown in previous pieces on the what worked against the Buccaneers and Chargers game plans, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has had no issues working with a balanced formation. Moore has rarely used three-receiver sets in this young season, relying heavily on one back, two tight end sets and on a two-back, one tight end change up.

Monday night against the Eagles, Moore went positively old school, turning the F-back, that complementary second tight end into a major weapon. In fact, Dallas’ passing game revolved around Dalton Schultz, who lined up at times as a true tight end, but who created big plays as the F-back, the role Daryl Johnston made his own in the go-go ’90s.

The college game does not produce do-it-all F-backs like Johnston anymore, but Moore created a Moose starter kit against Philly, using a backup guard and a shifty blocking tight end. A look at Dallas’ first two scoring drives shows how Dr. Frankenkellen stitched together a Moose monster.

Flank, Flex, Trap, Cut: How Cowboys’ Kellen Moore uses magic to keeps defenses guessing

There may be no stopping Kellen Moore in 2021. @DailyGoonerRaf eloquently breaks down the film to show the ways he tricked Brandon Staley into thinking he was ready in Week 2. He wasn’t ready.

In Week 1’s second look at the tape, an examination revealed how Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore used a very balanced 12 personnel set, a one RB, two TE, two WR formation to stretch Tampa Bay’s stacked defensive fronts and isolate Amari Cooper on linebackers and safeties.

In Week 2, Dallas faced a very different style of defense and Moore adjusted his approach, boding well for Dallas’ ability to attack each opponent throughout the course of the 2021 season.

Brandon Staley’s Chargers unit is based on the defense he learned from Broncos HC Vic Fangio when the two worked together in Chicago. It’s become the scheme of the moment, a two-deep heavy protection. Staley’s and Fangio’s teams have used the most two-deep secondary looks of NFL defenses by far the past few years.

The run-defense component of each is a “light box” a six-man front that dares opposing offenses to check into runs on 1st and second downs. Staley figures his front can win battles, hold these runs to modest gains and set up 2nd and 3rd-and-long situations that play into his pass defensive calls.

Heading into the game, many people figured that Dallas would either take Staley’s bait, hammer Ezekiel Elliott on 1st-and-10 and either win big or get stuck in L.A.’s trap.

Another option for Moore would be to try and bait the Chargers himself, using move pieces to make a six-man box even lighter. The Packers had used this strategy in their playoff win over Staley’s Rams defense last January.

Green Bay had opened in a two-RB set, and used one to motion into space. This pulled the Rams middle linebacker in their 5-1 front to the perimeter of the scrimmage box, leaving five Rams defenders on five Green Bay offensive linemen. The Packers then hammered at this super light front with great success.

The Rams were forced to bring one of their two safeties up to restore a six man box and the Packers at this point threw deep over a now-depleted defensive secondary shell.

Here’s how Moore and the Cowboys attacked it in Week 2.

Watch: Cowboys’ Tyron Smith talks mentality, technique with OL guru Duke Manyweather

One of the most impressive things anyone has ever noticed about Dallas Cowboys franchise tackle Tyron Smith is that once he gets his hands on an opponent, that rep is finished. The defender has already lost. Smith, who is working to return after missing 14 games last season due to a neck injury, shared some insight with noted offensive line guru Duane “Duke” Manyweather about the mentality in approaching a rep and where to put eyes on an opponent so that they are able to focus and not fall for any fakes.

Manyweather is well renown as one of the best gurus in the game and is currently working with the majority of the Cowboys’ offensive line, including Zack Martin, La’el Collins, Connor Williams, Tyler Biadasz, Isaac Alarcon and probably many more.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/COJnhWGB65p/?igshid=12vi4n7nfip03

3 ways Rams’ version of wide zone presents problems for Cowboys

The Los Angeles Rams’ offense, designed by head coach Sean McVay, is not a complicated one but it is an incredibly difficult scheme to stop. The roots of McVay’s offensive concepts go back to Bill Walsh and Mike Shanahan, but the structure of the …

In the Wing-T and other offenses of its day, the offense would have 4 or 5 plays, each built off of the others, designed to take advantage of whatever the defense was doing to try to stop them. If the defense was overplaying to the outside, to stop the Buck Sweep, the offense would run Power, and if the defense was fast flowing to the play side to stop Power or Buck Sweep, the offense would run counter. This series based offensive approach puts defenses in position to be wrong, no matter how they play.

McVay, like Shanahan before him, has built his old-school offense around the Wide Zone running play, with play-action concepts built off of it. But he has added elements of spread teams, and college offenses in order to create an attack that is simple to execute yet difficult to stop.

The bread-and-butter play for the Rams, as mentioned, is wide zone. On wide zone the offensive line sets up a series of combination blocks, utilizing double teams to secure the defensive line at the first level, before one member of each double team breaks off to block a linebacker or defensive back at the second level of the defense.

The running back then makes a defined read, starting with the furthest outside defender on the line of scrimmage, to tell him whether to “bounce” the ball to the outside, “bend” it back inside, or “bang” it right down the middle.

Even without any window dressing this is a difficult play to stop, and has been the base run of many dominant offenses the last 30 years. But McVay gives the defense a lot more to worry about. He utilizes compressed formations, where the wide receivers have reduced splits away from the offensive line, as well as jet motion on a majority of the offense’s snaps from under center.

The compressed formations create college-style wide and short sides on the field, creating space to the outside that isn’t normally there on the NFL field. Additionally, these splits shorten the amount of distance his wide receivers have to cover in order to help block linebackers or safeties, which accomplishes a goal that every running game holds, make corners tackle.

On the below play, McVay combines these advantages of compressed formations, with the misdirection and indecision created by using Jet Motion to window dress what is really just a very simple wide zone run.

When Gurley cuts back, he’s left one-on-one with the backside corner and even though he isn’t able to break the tackle, because its a corner rather than a linebacker or defensive lineman he is able to get a solid 6-yard gain on first down.

The backside player doesn’t account for the jet action from the wide receiver, and doesn’t hesitate to make sure he maintains contain, so McVay knows that based on the way the defenders are playing, he should be able to have success on the jet sweep.

On this play, the right side of the Rams offense is executing the Wide Zone to that side, while the back side subtly executes the jet sweep, and wide receiver Josh Reynolds is able to run free for a twelve yard gain mostly untouched.

In addition to using the jet sweep off of wide zone, McVay loves to create opportunities in the passing game built off of wide zone.

On the below play, the Rams are using split flow on wide zone play action, with boot action from quarterback Jared Goff, the three level passing concept on this play is the most common boot combination at all levels of football.

Goff takes the easy completion for the 15-yard gain here on the over-route.

These are just a few examples of how the Rams can make defenders heads spin, and for three years they have created explosive plays with high regularity.

If the Cowboys are going to beat Los Angeles on Sunday, they are going to have to sort out all of this organized chaos, and lock down the Rams offense.

[vertical-gallery id=636009][vertical-gallery id=636168][lawrence-newsletter]

Bears’ Trubisky is slumping but these plays could solve Cowboys defense

Dallas’ pass defense hasn’t been sharp, but they’ll need to watch for these concepts when on the field in Chicago

The Dallas Cowboys 2019 season sits at a tipping point entering their Week 14 Thursday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears.

In many ways, the Cowboys and Bears are mirror images of one another, teams with very high level talents in many areas, playoff teams in 2018 and entered 2019 considered Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. 13 weeks into the season, they sit at 6-6 with as many questions as answers.

For the Bears, the questions begin at the quarterback position, where third-year signal caller Mitchell Trubisky has struggled to take the step the team expected and needed him to take for the team to become the mainstays at the top of the ultra competitive NFC North.

Trubisky’s problems with accuracy, pocket management, and decision making have put the clamps on the offense that through it’s design and creativity propelled head coach Matt Nagy to win the Coach of the Year award in the 2018.

How will Nagy try to help Trubisky attack a Cowboys defense that has been inconsistent at best this year?

First off, he’ll use design to create easy completions on early downs.

On this play, the concept is extremely simple, to the top side, its Slant/Flat which is a staple concept of the west coast offense tree that Nagy comes from. On the near side, Nagy is going to use the tight end to create traffic for the linebacker trying to run inside-out to cover the running back.

Combine this “rub” with the deep comeback from the nearside receiver, and there is a lot of room for running back David Montgomery to make the catch and run for the first down, keeping Trubisky from having to deal with the designer pressure packages and coverage looks that come on third downs.

When he does get to third down, Nagy will use formations and motions to give Trubisky’s best weapon, wide receiver Allen Robinson opportunities to win and move the sticks.

On this play, Nagy lines Robinson up as the #3 receiver to the trips side. The explosive Anthony Miller is lined up as #2 and versatile running back Tarik Cohen is lined up as the #1 on the outside.

The slot fade from Miller, along with the short hitch from Cohen give Robinson the room to win one on one on the inside.

Having Robinson lined up so far inside, not far from where a tight end might traditionally line up, is a brilliant way for Nagy to clear up the picture for his quarterback, and shorten the distance the ball has to travel to move the sticks.

When the Bears get into Dallas territory, the Cowboys need to be prepared for them to take a shot down the field.

Teams know the Cowboys prefer to line up in single high, and play Cover 1 and Cover 3 variations, many of which involve pattern or man-match principles. One of these variations is often called when offenses line up in 3×1 sets against them.

Dallas likes to roll the coverage towards the three wide side of the field, and leave the single receiver to the back side in man coverage. This allows them to maintain a numerical advantage to the trips side, without leaving the single wide out to roam free.

But because offensive coordinators know this tendency they have developed ways to attack it.

On this play, the Bears are in 3×1 with a bunch to the top side, and they are running a variation of 4 verticals. What this allows them to do against a defense like Dallas’ is to put the deep safety in a major bind using the deep over route.

This route, run here by Miller, creates issues because it transitions from the zone half of the coverage into the man half of the coverage. The free safety has to stay on top of this route because with the backside corner in man coverage, there’s not a deep third defender to that side to pick up that route as it comes across the field, so an underneath defender, usually a linebacker or strong safety, has to pick up the route and run with it.

With a player like Miller on this route, that’s a mismatch so the deep safety has to over play it. But if he over plays it too early, or too far, the seam route, here run but the tight end has a huge window to the inside for the easy completion.

Releasing the running back to the man coverage side adds even more effectiveness to this concept because it pulls an underneath defenders eyes forward and might cause him to pause his feet, rather than sinking to give him a chance to run with Miller on the deep route.

If the Cowboys defense is going to shut down the Bears and pave the way for a Dallas victory, they’ll need to have answers for these concepts, many of which will have to come from high-level performances from coverage players like Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods, and from their stable of pass rushers led by Demarcus Lawrence, Robert Quinn, and Michael Bennett.

[vertical-gallery id=635660][lawrence-newsletter]