Category: The All-22

Film study: How Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs already has five picks

Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick breaks down how Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is getting so many interceptions.

Coming from University of Alabama, Trevon Diggs is accustomed to playing in the spotlight.

So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that he hasn’t been overwhelmed on the big stage with the Dallas Cowboys. Four games into his second pro season, Diggs leads the NFL with five interceptions. In addition to his three picks in 12 games last year, he now has eight in his first 16 professional games.

Few predicted that Diggs would be playing this well, considering the Cowboys ranked 28th in the NFL in points allowed last season. So far this year, Dallas ranks 16th in the league in points allowed.

Meantime, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has been putting Diggs into positions where he can succeed this season. Every level of the Cowboys defense boasts extremely good athleticism. Rookie linebacker Micah Parsons can rush the passer or drop back in coverage effectively. Veteran linebacker Jaylon Smith possesses impressive speed at the second level, and safety Damontae Kazee is great in coverage.

With all that in mind, let’s go to the tape and examine how the Cowboys are using Diggs.

Every week, Diggs lines up against the X receiver, who is usually the top playmaker out of a team’s receiving corps. So in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Diggs was lined up across from Mike Evans.

On this play, it’s all heads up by Diggs. He watches the offensive line running upfield and sniffs out the screen.

Diggs relied on his eyes, liked what he saw and attacked. However, this strategy almost got him in trouble later in the game against Evans.

On the play above, Evans runs a comeback route. But it’s Tom Brady’s last read, so since Evans already made his break toward the ball, he decides to cut back upfield to get open. Diggs already had tried to jump the route and appeared to be beaten on the play. Fortunately for Diggs, his length saved him. Diggs is 6-foot-1 with 78–inch (which ranks in the 90th percentile for defensive backs), and he was able to stretch, recover and get the pass breakup.

In Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Diggs covered Keenan Allen when the Cowboys lined up in man coverage. As you’ll see below, Diggs has a knack for jumping routes.

To this point, Cowboys opponents haven’t seemed to adjust to Diggs’ performances from week to week. Instead, the Eagles and DeVonta Smith were the next victims of Diggs in man coverage.

At the top of your screen, Diggs is one-on-one against Smith, his former college teammate. Presumably, they know each other pretty well from practice at Alabama, and Diggs won this battle with size and competitiveness.

If the Eagles had focused on how Diggs covered Evans in Week 1, they would have noticed how Diggs loves to jump routes. Any wheel route or double move would have a chance to beat him deep. However, the Cowboys are doing everything possible to force these battles.

By Week 4, the Cowboys and their defensive line have shown a lot of progress in terms of applying pressure to the quarterback. With the drive on the line, Diggs is lined up across from Carolina Panthers wideout DJ Moore on the outside.

On third down, the Cowboys leave Diggs off coverage at the bottom of the screen, which gives him time to read the play. Diggs gets another interception off a curl route.

The next time the Panthers got the ball, they used a stacked lineup on the outside, which sometimes forces the defense to switch. Instead, the Cowboys just place Diggs in the middle of the field to sit in zone coverage.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the coverage allowed Diggs to sit back and wait for his opportunity.

Because the Cowboys generate pressure up front and possess speed in the back, it’s hard to get their defense off balance. In man coverage, they can keep up downfield. In zone coverage, they bring different looks to force quarterbacks into bad throws underneath.

It’s up to the offense to create mismatches against Dallas and take chances deep.

Bears QB Justin Fields shows what can be done with a real play-caller

Bears quarterback Justin Fields had much better play-calling in his second NFL start. Will head coach Matt Nagy allow it to continue?

Last week, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields had his first NFL start, and it was an abject disaster. With head coach Matt Nagy as the play-caller, and Nagy waiting around for Andy Dalton to be healthy, and then finding out that Dalton wasn’t going to be able to go against the Browns, Fields was given a leaky boat full of anchors, and he responded accordingly. With one of the worst systems you’ll ever see for a young quarterback, Fields completed six of 20 passes for 68 yards. He was sacked nine times for 67 yards, which obviously left Fields with one net passing yard. Nagy refused to give Fields the benefits of play-action and pre-snap motion. He refused to acknowledge him as a runner. He refused to give him favorable route combinations at any level of the field.

How Matt Nagy failed Justin Fields

It was a fireable offense. But the Bears as an organization have never fired a head coach in-season, and they’ve been around since 1920, so it wasn’t going to happen now. However, and quite fortunately, Nagy was convinced to hand over the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor in Week 4 against the Lions. Fields’ day wasn’t perfect, but it was much better. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards, no touchdowns, one interception off a deflection, and just one sack — which Fields said after the game was on him.

Nagy has insisted that Dalton will be the no-matter-what starter when he’s healthy, and we all know that, and it makes no sense, but perhaps the most distressing thing about Nagy right now is his desperate need to claim credit for a win that would not have been possible had he not walked away from offensive play-calling duties.

“Yeah, so in regards to the play calling, Bill did a great job, and I think that at the same point in time, it’s important that we understand that I had to — I felt good out there as a head coach, and that’s real,” Nagy said after the game. “But we all get together. We talk through how we’re going to call the game, and we do that when I’m calling plays, too. Us as a staff, we get together. So I think that that’s important for everybody to know is that when we build a game plan together, whether it’s the offensive line coach with Juan or whether it’s our tight ends coach or wide receiver coach, et cetera, we do it together, and in the end, I get a great opportunity to say yes, I like this, or no, I don’t. 

“As the head coach, right, in charge of all that, that’s real. When you do that now, I also go back to saying last week, right, or — last week was hey, whatever I need to do to try to be the best head coach for the Chicago Bears, whatever that is, I don’t care, I just want us to have the best opportunity to win, and I feel like Bill did a great job today. Our players did a great job. Our coaching staff did a great job, and we played collectively together as a team, not just players, not just coaches, everybody. 

“When you have that, it’s a good feeling. So we’ll continue to just keep talking. We’ll continue to — but again, with all due respect, all due respect, this is going to be the last time I talk about it.”

Nagy was then asked whether Lazor would continue to call plays going forward, and that’s where he short-circuited. It’s an entirely reasonable question given the massive uptick in Fields’ performance with Lazor at the wheel, but he wasn’t having it.

“Like I said — you’re unbelievable. You try — listen, I hope you understand, I get it. I get it. I get it. But just know, like that’s it. No more with this.”

A confident coach would go out of his way to praise his offensive coordinator after a game like this. One of the reasons Nagy, the former Chiefs offensive coordinator, got this job in the first place is that Andy Reid has to be restrained from telling people how great his coaches are. But that’s the situation as it stands. We don’t know how long Fields will be the starter. We don’t know how long it will be before Nagy takes the call sheet over again. But for now, we can enjoy several examples of an offense that worked for a rookie quarterback coming off a disastrous first NFL start. While Nagy wants to keep this all on the QT, we’ll praise the difference with Lazor.

Because it was crushingly obvious. Let’s look at the big-time throws against the Lions to see what they tell us. Fields completed one pass of 20 or more air yards in three attempts for 21 yards before Sunday’s game. Against Detroit, he attempted six such passes, completing four for 151 yards. And they each tell a story of the successful partnership between Lazor and Fields.

Touchdown Wire’s Week 4 NFL preview podcast with Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield go through all the stories Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season.

It’s time to get ready for Week 4 in the 2021 NFL season, and there’s a lot more to this week than the Brady-Belichick game, though that’s where Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield start in this week’s preview/matchup podcast. Using tape study and advanced metrics, here’s what Doug and Mark discussed this week:

  • Why Mac Jones, and not Tom Brady, will be the difference in Brady’s “revenge game;”
  • Why Trevor Lawrence is better than you may think, but it’s Joe Burrow who now has a full passing game to exploit;
  • Why Washington’s defense is struggling from front to back, and how even the Falcons (who rank dead last in Offensive DVOA this season) can make something of it;
  • How the Lions can get their first win of the season against a Bears offense that should have Matt Nagy escorted right out of Halas Hall;
  • Why the Panthers-Cowboys game might be the most interesting this week from a schematic perspective;
  • How Patrick Mahomes has gone from consistency to randomness, though it may not matter, as the Eagles’ offense has no identity;
  • Why Kirk Cousins will not find Cleveland’s new-look defense to be an easy test at all;
  • How the Cardinals can keep up with a Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford offense that has weaponized both McVay’s and Stafford’s best traits;
  • Why Pete Carroll had better throw the LOB out of his head and put a defensive game plan together for the players he actually has;
  • How the AFC West became a total toss-up, and why Jon Gruden might be doing the best coaching of his career;
  • And why the Steelers had better start thinking out loud about the game’s most important position.

Listen to the podcast on BlogTalk Radio:

And watch it on YouTube!

Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, and the throws only some quarterbacks will make

In Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr presented divergent examples of the throws only some quarterbacks will make.

When we talk about quarterback statistics, there’s a metric I wish existed — something that told us about open throws, or throws coming open, that quarterbacks have time to make, and don’t make for whatever reason. You have to watch the overhead view to really see how things come open over time. While the presence or absence of big-time throws on the page tells you some of that story, it’s essential when evaluating a quarterback to understand his ability to make throws that place him over the average on a consistent basis.

Two quarterbacks who were involved in Week 1 wins showed this disparity — Matthew Stafford of the Rams, and Derek Carr of the Raiders. And the deep shot numbers actually tell a different story than the tape does. Per Pro Football Focus, against the Bears on Sunday night, Stafford attempted just four passes of 20 or more air yards, completing three for 160 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 156.3. Carr had more deep attempts than any other quarterback in Week 1 — eight attempts, with three completions for 100 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 125.0.

So, the common narrative that Carr is averse to the deep ball, or can’t make those plays happen, is a bit of a canard. Carr was air-mailing just about everything early on — he completed just two of 11 passes in the first quarter, much to the ire of Charles Barkley, but when he settled down, he got in a good space to create explosive plays.

However, there’s one play I’m guessing Carr would probably would like to do over, and I bet he felt that way the second he saw it on tape either right after the game, or on Tuesday morning when he went over the All-22.

There’s a blueprint for stopping Aaron Rodgers, and the Packers should be concerned

Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, but there’s enough sample size to indicate a way to stop his excellence.

No matter how great a quarterback may be, every one of them has his own personal Kryptonite. For Tom Brady, it’s always been pressure right up the middle. For Aaron Rodgers, at least in 2020, it was coverage in which he faced two deep safeties. This trend not only affected Rodgers’ efficiency and explosiveness; it also drastically affected his best receiver — and perhaps the best receiver in the NFL today. Per Sports Info Solutions, when presented with single-high coverage in 2020 (Cover-1, Cover-3), Davante Adams caught 81 of 99 targets for 971 yards, 574 air yards, a league-high 13 touchdowns, and a receiver rating of 139.8. Against any manner of two-safety coverage (Cover-2, 2-Man, Cover-4, Cover-6, Tampa-2), Adams caught 28 of 42 targets for 335 yards, 238 air yards, two touchdowns, and a receiver rating of 86.9.

The two-deep conundrum obviously started with Rodgers. Against single-safety coverage last season, Rodgers completed 205 of 299 yards for 2,496 yards, 1,346 air yards, 29 touchdowns, two interceptions, an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 9.3, and a passer rating of 123.5.

Against two-high coverage, he completed 121 of 188 passes for 1,734 yards, 1,035 air yards, nine touchdowns, four interceptions, an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 8.2, and a passer rating of 101.2.

So, that was the crucible Rodgers faced heading into the 2021 season. If you cover him single-high, he’ll destroy your day. If you counter with two-high, you at least have a chance. And if you can stop the Packers from running the ball effectively against two-high, you have more than a chance.

Interestingly enough, the difference in coverage didn’t really affect Rodgers’ ability to make big-time throws. Against single-high in 2020, Rodgers completed 18 passes on 41 attempts of 20 or more air yards for 631 yards, 502 air yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. He averaged 30.3 yards per throw. Against two-high, Rodgers completed 17 of 41 deep passes for 708 yards, 546 air yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception. Rodgers’ average throw depth against two-high coverage was 31.7.

The divide in efficiency per coverage showed up quite a bit more on throws of 10-19 air yards. Against single-high on such throws, Rodgers completed 33 of 58 passes for 634 yards, 440 air yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, an ANY/A of 12.3, and a passer rating of 114.0. Against two-high on those types of throws, Rodgers completed 18 of 33 passes for 333 yards, 263 air yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, an ANY/A of 7.2, and a passer rating of 71.9.

On throws of 0-9 air yards? We’ll be brief. Against single-high, Rodgers threw 18 touchdowns to two interceptions. Against two-high? Zero and zero. There’s a lot of red zone noise in there, but still.

(Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

What does this tell us? It may reveal that when Rodgers sees an open receiver downfield, regardless of the coverage, he’s going to use his peerless arm talent to make that throw. But when asked to operate a fully integrated passing game in the intermediate areas with two deep safeties, there’s a disconnect. You may find it unfathomable that a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer would be so betwixt and between with two-safety looks, but again, every quarterback has his Kryptonite. It also tells us that when teams are able to at least limit the damage Adams can do to coverage by bracketing him, Green Bay’s second- and third-level receivers aren’t quite up to the challenge. That’s been a burr in Rodgers’ side for a while now. Based on the numbers and tape, he might have a valid point.

Now, Rodgers was facing a Saints defense that played two-high on 274 opponent passing attempts in 2020, third-most in the league behind the Buccaneers and Browns. In two-high, the Saints allowed just six touchdowns to seven interceptions, and against throws of 10-19 air yards, they gave up just one of those touchdowns to three picks.

Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons looked like a veteran in his NFL debut

The Cowboys asked Micah Parsons to do a ton of work in his NFL debut, and he responded as a veteran would.

The Cowboys created some raised eyebrows when they selected Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons with the 12th pick in the 2021 NFL draft — not because there was any question about Parsons’ talent, but because the team was already pretty stacked at linebacker with Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, and free-agent acquisition Keanu Neal, who had played with new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn in Atlanta, and can fill a hybrid safety/’backer role. But to categorize Parsons as just a linebacker is to misunderstand his potential effect on a defense, and as the Cowboys also took LSU’s Jabril Cox in the fourth round, it became clear that they wanted more speed at the position, and Parsons has speed for days, as well as the athleticism to become a staple performer in any defense.

In two seasons with the Nittany Lions (2018 and 2019), Parsons lined up along the defensive line on 82 of his 1,225 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, with 1,007 in the box, 121 in the slot, 10 at outside cornerback, and three at free safety. In his NFL debut against the Buccaneers on Thursday night, that versatility was obvious once again — he had 51 snaps, playing 10 on the line, 38 in the box, and three at outside corner. Parsons had three quarterback hurries, five solo tackles, two missed tackles, and in coverage, he allowed five catches on seven targets for 41 yards.

More importantly, Parsons looked comfortable wherever Quinn and his staff lined him up. Whether he was playing inside or outside off-ball linebacker, edge-rusher, inside blitzer, or dropping into coverage, the game didn’t look to big for him at this level, which is pretty impressive for a first-game rookie going up against one of the NFL’s most consistently explosive offense, and the greatest quarterback in football history.

The Buccaneers ran the ball just 14 times for 52 yards in their 31-29 win, so the focus on Parsons’ performance was more about coverage and pressure. In both categories, he had the look of a veteran.

How the Steelers can get the most out of new CB Ahkello Witherspoon

For a team that finished first in Defensive DVOA in 2020 (and first against the pass by a large margin), the Steelers are undergoing a lot of uncertainty in their secondary right now. Losing outstanding slot cornerback Mike Hilton to the Bengals in …

For a team that finished first in Defensive DVOA in 2020 (and first against the pass by a large margin), the Steelers are undergoing a lot of uncertainty in their secondary right now. Losing outstanding slot cornerback Mike Hilton to the Bengals in free agency was a blow, and as it stands, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of clarity in regards to who will start at outside cornerback opposite Joe Haden. Losing Steven Nelson in a salary cap-based release was another hit in that Nelson played more snaps (839) at outside cornerback last season for the Steelers than anyone else on the roster, including Haden. One assumes that Cameron Sutton, who probably has the best tools to be Haden’s bookend, would be slotted into that role, but as the Steelers get ready to deal with the Bills’ high-powered passing game on Sunday, September 12, there’s more we don’t know than what we know.

When asked on Wednesday whether second-year undrafted free agent James Pierre would be his third cornerback, defensive coordinator Keith Butler was… pointed in his response.

“Well, we’ve got several guys and I’m not gonna tell you who the guy is. I’m gonna make dadgum Buffalo figure that out, okay? We’ve got several guys who can play and move around in different positions, and we’re gonna move them around in different positions. In terms of who’s gonna be the nickel, who’s gonna be the left corner, who’s gonna be the right corner, who’s gonna be the free safety, the strong safety, all that stuff… fortunately for us, we’ve got some guys who know the whole defense and they know what we’re gonna expect out of each position. We can change positions with them if we need to.”

When pressed whether he was comfortable with four cornerbacks, Butler opened up the possibility of an opportunity.

“I don’t think anybody’s comfortable with four cornerbacks. We’ve got guys who can play different positions. Cam [Sutton] can play different positions. He can play the nickel. 42 [Pierre] has shown that he can play in preseason. We think we’re okay right now to play them in different positions. If somebody becomes available out there in Never-Never Land, we’ll see what happens.”

Not that I, a Seattle resident, enjoy seeing the Emerald City referred to as “Never-Never Land,” but it may be from these very environs that the Steelers have found their missing piece. On Friday, they traded a 2023 fifth-round pick to the Seahawks for the services of cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who Seattle signed to a one-year, $4 million, fully guaranteed contract in March. The Seahawks were more than familiar with Witherspoon, as the 2017 third-round pick out of Colorado played his first four seasons with the 49ers. But as training camp and the preseason went along, Witherspoon found himself dropping down the depth chart as his size (6-foot-2 and 195 pounds), normally a plus in Pete Carroll’s defenses, didn’t make up for his lack of trail speed against the league’s better receivers.

Watching tape with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan sits down with Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar to discuss his best 2020 plays, his new-look offense, and his excitement for the new season.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is ready for his 14th NFL season, and his team is at a crossroad. Ryan has led the NFL in completions in each of the last two seasons, and the Falcons have won a combined 11 games over that time. Many of Atlanta’s losses have been of the bizarre variety, and though the Falcons were better than their 4-12 record indicated, change came all over the place in the offseason. Former Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is now the head coach and offensive shot-caller, veteran Dean Pees came out of retirement to run the defense, and Julio Jones was off to Tennessee in a trade.

The team restructured Ryan’s contract in March, pushing his cap hits into the 2022 and 2023 with some rather large cap hits at that time. And while the team sent representatives to just about every draftable quarterback’s pro day before the 2021 draft, Ryan’s still the guy under center. He continues to earn it — last season, he ranked 15th in DVOA and 10th in DYAR in an offense that lost Jones for seven games and wasn’t always as dynamic as it could have been. The hope is that with Calvin Ridley as his No. 1 receiver (which Ridley has proven he can be) and the addition of Florida’s Kyle Pitts, the highest-drafted tight end in pro football history, all will be right again with Ryan and Atlanta’s offense.

Recently, I reviewed several of Ryan’s 2020 plays with him, and found that he’s quite excited about this offense. He was also interested in discussing his current promotion with Tide.

Doug Farrar: Tell me about your partnership with Tide, the commercial you recently shot with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ice-T, and why this sponsorship makes sense for you.

Matt Ryan: It was a lot of fun shooting the commercial with Stone Cold and Ice-T, two guys… I grew up watching Stone Cold, and listening to Ice-T and watching him on Law & Order. It was cool to meet those guys, and I’m excited to partner up with Tide, which has partnered with the NFL to get everyone to switch to cold-water washing. It’s great for the environment, which is really good, and it saves money, which is really good. I’m a father of twin boys who are 3 1/2 years old, so our washing machine is constantly running at the house. Anytime you can do something that saves you a little bit of money, and reduced energy use, which is good for the planet, it seemed like a no-brainer to partner up with them, and I’m excited about it.

DF: You’re probably not getting a lot of sleep right now, either!

MR: A little bit of sleep. They’re starting to sleep for us right now, which is good.

DF: Well, let’s talk some ball. You have a new head coach and offensive play-designer in Arthur Smith. In his preference during his time as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator for two- and three-tight sets, play-action, boot-action, and pre-snap motion, Smith reminds me a bit of a guy named Kyle Shanahan, who helped you win the NFL MVP award in 2016. Do you see any similarities there? 

MR: Yeah, I think there are definitely similarities. I think they go about it in different ways, and in certain schemes that they use. But I think the belief in getting the run game going, and putting a lot of mental stress on the defense in terms of motioning pre-snap and giving you a lot of similar looks before the ball is snapped and making things look the same, run and pass, I think both of those guys believe in that. I certainly have played some of my best football in situations like that, so I feel really good about it.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith talks to quarterback Matt Ryan during their NFL training camp football practice Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

DF: What you said about making everything look the same, run and pass, pre-snap… that seems to be more of a hallmark of modern offenses than it used to be. Sean McVay does that a lot, and I know it was a big part of Doug Pederson’s offenses in Philadelphia. Do you think that’s expanded as an idea in the last few seasons at the NFL level?

MR: Yeah, I do think so. I think that innovations in play-action protection really marry into the run game, and that’s gotten a lot better in the last handful of years. It puts a lot of stress on linebackers and nickel players to fit the run, because they’ve got responsibilities to fit the run, but it kind of exposes them in certain spots where you’re able to get the ball out with the play-action pass to get behind some of those zones that are voided. So, I do think it’s improved a lot in the last eight years… something like that. There’s been a heavier emphasis on those types of plays.

DF: Nickel is the new base, as you know.

MR: Correct.

DF: Speaking of pre-snap motion, there’s an interesting statistical thing about your recent career — over the last five years, per Football Outsiders, your pre-snap motion rate has decreased, and you average fewer yards per play when using pre-snap motion, and this goes back even to the Shanahan days. It’s unusual when motion is generally a cheat code for quarterbacks. Have you researched that, and do you have any thoughts as to why that is? 

MR: [Laughs] No! If you think about the last four years, it’s been a lot of [offensive coordinators] Steve Sarkisian and Dirk Koetter, and I think both those guys had a little bit of a different flavor in what they do. I think that the motion portion of it is a big part of putting mental stress on defenses. I think you’ll see more of that moving forward.

DF: Last season, the Falcons finished 4-12, but you ranked 16th in offense, 19th in defense, and 17th in Total DVOA, which would indicate that you were better than your record says. How encouraged are you about the team’s prospects for the 2021 season with that new look on offense, and the addition of defensive coordinator Dean Pees, who’s quite the genius?

MR: I’m fired up. Last year, I don’t know how many games it was, but we had a lot of games last year, where… the ball didn’t bounce the way we needed it to.

DF: Yeah, to an agonizing degree.

MR: Yeah, for sure. And it’s tough when you’re going through that stuff. I do think that we’ve got the players in the building that are capable of being successful. We’ve got guys who are working really hard. We’ve got a really good coaching staff. So, I’m excited about it, and I think that sometimes, when things don’t go your way, you’ve just got to stay the course, and keep your head down, and keep working at it. Eventually, that luck starts to go in your direction. It starts to turn the tide in your favor.

DF: With that, let’s get to the tape.

Rookie CB Greg Newsome II could be a major part of Browns’ new pass defense

The Browns are hoping that first-round rookie cornerback Greg Newsome II can add to their rebooted secondary. Laurie Fitzpatrick takes a look at Newsome’s preseason tape.

Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome II was selected by the Cleveland Browns 26th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. With Newsome’s 4.3 speed and 6-foor-1 frame, he was one of the most versatile cornerbacks in the draft playing mostly Cover-3 and Cover-4, but able to keep up with the fastest receivers man-to-man as well. In the five games he played in 2020, he didn’t allow a single third-down completion (0-9). Newsome had an impressive 83.8 coverage grade from PFF (82.3 from Man Coverage and 85 from Zone Coverage) and allowed a 31.7 passer rating when targeted.

Throughout preseason with the Browns, Newsome’s versatility and comfort level from the outside to the inside has shown to be essential in Joe Woods’ defense. Last week, Woods mentioned how game-to-game he plans to play a matchup style defense; which can be the reason why Newsome’s adaptability lead him to be the starter the last few weeks. He is an aggressive player who can match-up outside and inside with his closing speed and high football IQ that can dictate an offense. 

One thing we notice right off the bat about Newsome is his ability to read a play pre-snap and post-snap. As a rookie, Newsome remained composed as the Jaguars offense ran deep crossers to try and catch the corners off-balance.

Newsome was able to make a call to the other corner to make sure that he knew the receiver from the left side was coming his way. Communication like this, from a rookie, is something you love to see.

Right off the snap Newsome has shown the ability to stay in front of any receiver opposite of him. On this run play (below), it’s the receiver’s job is to try and sell a go-route but Newsome stays with him through his release.

What we like about this clip (above) is his ability to get immediate acceleration off the snap to get in front of his receiver making sure he wont be stacked, keeping his leverage.

When Newsome is getting worked through the receivers stem, he is able to stay step for step with receivers and maintain a very good speed and space; then in zone he keep his eyes down field reading the quarterbacks eyes so he can make his play on the ball.

On this play in joint practices (above) the Browns needed a stop in order to end practice; Newsome stepped up for his team and picked off Daniel Jones. Its understandable that Newsome’s second position labels him as a free safety.

One area of his game that needs work is tackling in space. Against the Atlanta Falcons (first clip, below) Newsome was in zone and one his receiver motioned to the opposite side, he became free. Once he saw the running back got a handoff, he was free to make the play on the ball, even though it wasn’t pretty, he did his job and got his hand on the ball carrier.

When Newsome isn’t able to make a tackle in open space, he does everything he can to bring down a ball carrier. Whether that is getting his hand on the ball or a shoelace.

Against the Jaguars week one of preseason, he was matched up against Collin Johnson who stands at a massive 6 foot 6, but Newsome was not intimidated.

Getting off the block wasn’t actually accomplished, but he remained aggressive through the whistle.  Against the Falcons (second clip, above) he was unable to get off the block but actually used the receiver to stop the ball carrier in order to remain in the play making the tackle. Now that is some ingenuity as a slender cornerback!

With the additions of safety John Johnson III and cornerback Troy Hill from the Rams in free agency, and (hopefully) the return of safety Grant Delpit from an Achilles tendon injury that cost Delpit his entire rookie season, the Browns are in a much better place to defend the pass than they were in 2020. Newsome looks to be a big part of that regenerated effort.

How Dolphins rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle separates himself from the competition

Dolphins rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle has the speed, elusiveness, and separation ability to make a huge impact on his NFL offense in 2021.

The ability to separate is one of the most important traits for a wide receiver, especially at the NFL level. Winning jump balls and running guys over in college? That’s nice, but it doesn’t always translate to the next level from an efficiency standpoint. Defenses are going to be bigger and stronger. Anyone with size can win with strength, so guys that are smaller, like Dolphins 5-foot-9 rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle, can win with separation, and he does this very well.

Whether an offense needs him to gain the separation at the snap, after the snap or in-route; Waddle has the skillset to get it done at every area. At the snap, bubble screens gives a ball carrier the chance to make a play in open space. This is the first aspect of Waddle’s game that makes him special — his elusiveness.

After the snap, Waddle has such quick feet that even when he’s lined up against press coverage and leveraged inside, he can get outside.  

Waddle uses a hesitation release to pause the defender when he is square, then attacking his outside hip with speed, forcing the defender to open his hips and lose any leverage to the outside that he was attempting to cut off.

If Waddle doesn’t get you off balance from his release, he does after the snap in his stem when working upfield. He is a professional when it comes to reading hips.

From the slot he makes two cuts, the first one is to sell the post so the safety creeps over and second is to separate from his defender who is running with him upfield.

Being able to maintain his speed when working upfield is not easy. Waddle uses his eyes, hips and speed to move defenders in open space.

Expect separation from Waddle in these three ways, at the snap, after the snap and in-route; not as much at the catch. The Dolphins will line him up in the backfield giving him flats & screens, on the outside where he can beat press coverage, or just one on one up the seam from the slot. Waddle can beat any defender from any location on the field. That is what makes him special. We already saw Waddle and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa making these plays in training camp; now it’s about seeing them do that on the field.