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.
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.
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.
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.
🎥🔥 Jaylen Waddle is going to be an absolute PROBLEM for opposing defenses this year 🐬. That ankle doesn’t seem to be an issue at all pic.twitter.com/kMzM94AJay
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.
First-round talent DeVonta Smith was the ideal ‘X’ receiver at Alabama, and here’s how the Eagles can deploy him in similar fashion.
The Philadelphia Eagles traded up to get the highest-valued wide receiver in their recent history, Alabama’s DeVonta Smith. He is a Heisman winner who led all of college football in receptions (105), receiving yards (1,641), receiving touchdowns (20) and all-purpose yards (1,912) last season. With new head coach Nick Sirianni leading this new receiver in the Eagles offense, Sirianni won’t have to change much as he is accustomed to coaching some pretty solid X receivers in his past.
As the offensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts, Sirianni had TY Hilton (5-foot-10) as his X receiver, and Hilton’s a guy who is a force on the inside with his size and shiftiness but with his route running ability can line up on the outside against the best corner on any defense. When Sirianni was a wide receivers coach with the San Diego Chargers, he had a completely different X receiver in terms of height with Keenan Allen (6-foot-2). Devonta Smith is 6-foo0, prototypical X receiver who lines up on the outside but also lined up in the middle as well; in fact he lined up on the inside 37% of the time in 2020.
Just to make it clear, the X receiver doesn’t always have to be lined up on the outside, its simply the guy with the best hands and separation on the team; in terms of location the X is usually lining up opposite of the tight-end. Why? It adds some dimension to an offense, so the defense has to account for every receiver from sideline to sideline. With a guy who has hands, size and speed like Smith, the Eagles are in a great position when he’s on the field with Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz. Having these threats at the tight end position gives Sirianni some comfortability coming from an offense with TE Jack Doyle and TE Trey Burton.
Oddly enough back in 2019, when Nick Sirianni was the OC with the Colts, he actually broke down a few concepts that the Philadelphia Eagles were using that were very similar to what the Colts were going to use in the 2020 season. The plays he referred to will be some of the base concepts that Sirianni will use in his pass scheme with the Eagles. It will be heavily relied on Hurts to find Smith on the timed routes in the short passing game; and in the deep game, locating mismatches using concept routes from 2-man stacks and from trips to create that initial separation giving Hurts time to go through his reads and find his new rookie receiver.
In this video, Sirianni had TY Hilton line up on the inside with two faster guys on the outside. The guys on the outside job is to pull the safety in to help the cornerback who is zone, which leaves Hilton one-on-one down field.
At Alabama, Smith saw similar looks from trips. In this video, the situation was almost identical with TY Hilton. The number-one (X) receiver is lined up on the inside to create a mismatch and now all Smith has to do is get over the top and use his top-end speed to get the six.
From 11 personnel, we will see jet sweeps, bubble screens, and exploiting one-on-one matchups when the defense is in man coverage. Having fast guys on the outside forces the safety to choose which route to cover. In the video below we have Smith in a 2-Man stack on the outside, he holds his block long enough to watch the safety close in on the screen then Smith breaks loose downfield.
In 12 personnel (two tight-end sets) we can can expect some pass plays but a heavy run game from that same formation. This keeps a defense honest. At Alabama, their offense ran this personnel with two tight ends on the line of scrimmage as well. The X receiver can line up on the outside but then motion to the inside, forcing the defense to be unbalanced.
This is a play that is often run in the NFL and Smith has the speed and shifty hips to get to the edge.
It’s always hard to predict what exactly a new offense will look like but with Sirianni’s comfortability in a similar personnel, DeVonta Smith’s elite route running, Reagor’s and Fulgham’s big-play ability, two tight-end downfield threats and a player like Miles Sanders in the backfield, this passing offense can be described in one word: Balance.
The Jacksonville Jaguars might have a secret slot weapon in second-round rookie DB Tyson Campbell.
With a full cornerback room, the Jacksonville Jaguars will use second-round rookie Tyson Campbell for his versatility and flexibility. He has all your ideal measurables as a defensive back: 6-foot-1, 4.40 speed, 185 pounds, 2.51 split time and the physicality he gleaned from playing safety in high school. Urban Meyer actually recruited Campbell in high school to attend Ohio State, but he ended up choosing Georgia instead. Campbell is best lined up in press (jam) coverage in man and man-match, allowing him to run vertically with the best receivers lined up from outside and inside of the formation. He can utilize his speed in the blitz game, and he’s a merciless tackler in space.
Last year, the Jaguars secondary played man coverage most of the time, and they plan to do it again this year under new defensive coordinator Joe Cullen.
How often each team ran man coverage (x) by how much better they were in man than zone, in terms of EPA/P (y).
So top right = ran more man, better in man than zone.
Bottom right = ran more man, better in zone than man.
With Campbell as a fifth defender in the secondary, he has the size and speed to cover any receiver on the field. Campbell has the ability to stay hip-for-hip with, and mirror receivers through, their routes. It does not matter where he is lined up on the field; this defensive back is elite at the release and rarely gets put on his heels.
In this video, we see him in every location on the field, and he is not limited when lined up on the inside. Against running back’s from the slot running short routes, he shows physicality when going to the ground. From the slot against Devonta Smith he is stride for stride defending an 8 route. On the outside, he covered Seth Williams (9 route) with elite technique by keeping his arm on the receiver, turning his head inside and tracked the ball down to an incompletion.
With Shaquill Griffin, CJ Henderson, Tre Herndon and Sidney Jones already on the Jaguars roster as corners, until proven, Campbell will be a situational sub-package player from the inside, outside and even sometimes from the Safety position.
He has the experience to line up anywhere on the field:
So when we think about the nickel position, it doesn’t necessarily mean only lining up on the inside covering the quick shifty receivers. A nickelback is simply a fifth defender in the secondary who can line up literally anywhere on the field. With the new type of offensive formations, defenses nowadays need a corner with not just size and not just speed, but both, and Campbell has both.
When the Jaguars defense sees 02,12, and 22 personnel, Campbell can be lined up against the tight-end who can motion to anywhere on the field; and he can line up against the X receiver on the outside, motioning inside and even across the line of scrimmage.
Last year against the Florida Gators, All-World tight end Kyle Pitts was lined up on the outside, with Campbell in press-man coverage. He has the ability to stay square for as long as he needs, this allows him to change direction a lot quicker without having to turn his whole body.
Campbell can be used in a 3-4 base defense as a fifth linebacker for run support. He can be an extra player on the defense who is free but has the physical traits of a strong safety.
In the passing game, the Jaguars can use Campbell in zone coverage against concepts from twins where he can use his speed to keep up with X any receiver that is a vertical threat from a weakside. Right now Campbell is the Jaguars fastest defender on the roster who can play from the slot.
In man-match coverage, he sticks with his man and then has the ability to bail and make an impact play elsewhere. Sometimes that would be called a bail technique. If you are an elite defender, as soon as the receiver makes his break, you have a chance to watch the quarterback’s eyes to discern where the play is going to go.
Campbell has the football IQ to funnel the play into his teammates, and that is what makes a good defender. The Jaguars staff clearly sees his upside and believes they can tweak the little things that need work in his game. Campbell only had one interception last year, and once he can start reading the receivers eyes in-route and turn toward the middle of the field to look for the ball, he will disrupt more plays at the catch point. In the short game against the whip route, his closing speed seems to be a little delayed, so once he starts anticipating change of direction at the receivers break, he has the speed and hips to follow.
The Jaguars have the depth at nickel/corner to coach Campbell into the best version of himself. They drafted him for his physicality, athleticism and speed. These are the attributes that the Jaguars need right now to win in their revamped attacking man-coverage style defense.
The Broncos got a second-round steal in North Carolina running back Javonte Williams, and he could be Denver’s lead back right away.
The Denver Broncos drafted one of the top running backs in North Carolina’s Javonte Williams. He is a strong, physical, downhill runner who can excel in an inside zone run style scheme and also a gap-style pull run game. Williams has patient vision paired with very good anticipation while accelerating through the trenches, the guy has incredible collision balance who runs behind his pads.
Melvin Gordon is the main back for the Broncos, but should he be? The NFL Network have him as the 24th running back out of 32 of the starting running backs in the league. Gordon almost reached 1,000 yards last season, but also put the ball on the ground four times last season and twice in one game; against the Kansas City Chiefs. Is that enough to run him out of town? Not sure, but the Broncos backfield combined for only 52 catches for 272 yards in 2020 and also allowed 19 sacks from only 5 in 2019. So, Gordon isn’t necessarily holding the Broncos back, but he isn’t making them more dynamic, either. Running backs aren’t known for their longevity, and with Williams and Gordon having a similar skill set, it’s Williams’s job to take.
On top of Williams’s running style, he can pass protect and also catch the ball from the backfield. The only question is how the Broncos can use him in their offense. Gordon said himself that he prefers an inside zone run style, but last year the Broncos showed that they are much more.
After Week 11, Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur made it clear that he wants the offense to be a gap and pull run style as well as inside zone. “We still run a considerable amount of zone plays. I think there ‘s a place for all of it.”
Following a lead blocker, a running back has an opportunity to bounce it outside or make a quick cut inside to slide through the defense.
These are the types of blocks that Williams excels behind the most. We’ve watched him follow his blockers to no end and last year he showed that he can go either way to gain yards.
Williams can follow the play to the outside, but also has the skillset to see the opportunity to cut back.
There aren’t a lot of things that set the Broncos backfield apart, but if Williams can continue to gain yards after contact like he did in college, this attribute can be the part of his game that will take him to the next tier among running backs. Per Pro Football Focus, in college, Williams forced 76 missed tackles as a runner in 2020 (the highest total in the country), and nine more as a receiver.
Shurmur may alternate touches early on between Gordon and Williams while running the same plays for each, and the result will help him decide on who is the guy moving forward. With Williams physicality in pass blocking, he could ultimately win over that starting job earlier than expected.
Fourth-round rookie Chuba Hubbard from Oklahoma State could be the missing piece in the Panthers’ run game.
Last year the Carolina Panthers backfield struggled managing an injured Christian McCaffrey and Mike Davis, who ended up only averaging 42 yards per game. Davis had some questionable reads behind the line of scrimmage and that’s the main thing fourth-round rookie running back Chuba Hubbard can come in and correct.
On the first play, the run was designed to go to the right but with a blitz in the gap and the middle linebacker stepping up, Davis could have actually taken this to the outside. On the second play against the Chiefs, the Panthers fullback picked up the blitz in the backfield which prevented Davis from seeing an alley to the outside.
Hubbard was an All-American at Oklahoma State who totaled 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns on 328 carries, averaging 6.4 yards per rush. What he showed on tape was fluid hips and the ability to find the right gap behind the line of scrimmage, he was patient but not too patient and once he found the crease he hit it with his get away north-south speed.
What Hubbard does best is making the right decision at the right time. He waits for the right moment to move forward, even if it isn’t following his lead blocker. In these clips above, he can make 2 reads within seconds and make adjustments on the move with his fluidity.
The okay is going to the right side but he sees the outside backer with his outside arm free. When he cuts inside he doesn’t see a hole but he remains patient, even stops for a movement and then dips his head and run behinds his pads for positive yardage.
Hubbard’s straight-line speed can make a very effective 1-2 punch between him and McCaffrey. Hubbard can be the trenches back finding his way inside zone reads.
McCaffrey will be the main running back who will get a lot of the outside zone carries, tosses, screens and flat routes. Hubbard isn’t a guy who is going to be elusive and make a ton of guys miss, but if he protects the ball, he can be the one to pound the rock in the trenches and once the defense creeps up, he will find the opening and break one loose.
On top of these two very effective backs, we can’t forget about Curtis Samuel who went from 19 rushing attempts in 2019 to 41 in 2020. There could possibly be a two-back set with McCaffrey and Hubbard then with Samuel motioning pre-snap for reverses, or end-arounds adding another dimension to the offense.
We saw the Panthers run something similar last year but Samuel is not a true back who is going to make those fast reads and force a one cut to break through the second line of defense. Samuel is better in space, such as receiving a pitch or making a quick move and getting around the edge. That spacing from McCaffrey and Samuel will be key for Hubbard as he adds another dynamic to this offense, forcing enemy defenses to play on their heels.
Steelers rookie running back Najee Harris has a chance to redefine Pittsburgh’s running game.
Despite the Steelers offensive line ranking 29th according to Pro Football Focus, the team went 12-4 in 2020 while also enjoying an 11-game win streak to start the season. So even without a top-ranked offensive line, you can still win your division.
The Steelers definitely needed to make some changes to the front five. They lost 3 starters in the offseason: Tackle Alejandro Villanueva, guard Matt Feiler, and center Maurkics Pouncey who played on his heels on most running plays, and was simply overpowered.
So right now, here is the offensive line:
Left Tackle: Chukwuma Okorafor, switching from RT.
Left Guard: Kevin Dotson, started only 4 games.
Center: JC Hassenauer, started 3 games at Center.
Right Guard: David DeCastro, questionable All-Pro
Right Tackle: Zach Banner, coming off torn ACL
Its a bit of an understatement to say the offensive line will be unknown this year. Last year since the run game wasn’t effective, Ben Roethlisberger focused on getting the ball out quick, and so he led the NFL in the quickest average time to throw with 2.17 seconds. It’s safe to say that the passing offense can absolutely carry this team into another winning season if it takes rookie running back Najee Harris some games to get used to the NFL.
James Conner had some issues last year where he wasn’t able to see the gaps, get skinny nor run behind his pads. The Steelers rushing offense in the wild-card game against Cleveland Browns never really developed. In the first quarter, this play design should have given them the first down. The motion at the snap forced the defensive end to bite for the jet sweep but it looks like Conner waited a little too long to hit his hole and when it was time to get up field there was no hard cut to get vertical.
Najee Harris isn’t a guy that tip-toes behind the line of scrimmage. He can make a one-bounce cut, get skinny, and run behind his pads.
In a similar play to the Steelers play above, the offensive line pulls across the line of scrimmage to pick up a defender. Harris stretches the defensive end and then makes a quick cut by planting his back foot, getting skinny through the small hole inside his pulling offensive lineman. Its something as simple as this to get a few extra yards when you are facing second-and-3 or third-and-1. Where the Steelers often got stuffed or even lost yards last season.
Harris has something that this Steelers offensive line needs, someone who makes quick decisions that do not force them to hold their blocks for very long but even if the blocks are not made, Harris’ lateral quickness can keep his speed and momentum through the middle of the field.
Behind this young offensive line, Harris will often see some inside blitzes and stunts from the defense, but as we can see, he has the skill set and determination to get this rushing offense back on track for the first time since Le’Veon Bell was a major factor in 2017.
While Micah Parsons is the big-name linebacker in the Cowboys’ 2021 draft, fourth-round pick Jabril Cox can help, as well.
Predicting the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive starters for the upcoming season is nearly impossible. With the new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn brought on board, free agent pick-ups, draft picks, and recent cuts, it’s true that every single player will have a chance of seeing the field.
One thing was evident for Dallas’ defense in the 2020 season — Mike Nolan may have been the worst defensive coordinator that the Cowboys had in a long time. The Cowboys’ 2020 Defense was the worst in franchise history and 2nd worst in yards allowed; only behind the 2013 team. Though the majority of the season, Nolan left only two linebackers in the middle of the field, even against 12 and even 13 personnel. They had no help.
This is a good lineup against the pass but absolutely terrible if the offense decides to run the ball. The Browns let the Cowboys take themselves out of most plays with their run zone blocking.
There was zero rotation (from the bottom to the top) from the defense when the run-play wass forming. The safety on the bottom of the screen was supposed to shift and step up into the play — instead he stays back and allows the zone blocking scheme form. The defense simply were not put into the position to win. On top the corner blitzed, and I am surprised this was not a touchdown.
The one position in jeopardy would be weakside linebacker — the position of Jaylon Smith. Yes, he was put into some really bad situations last year but if coordinator keeps the same looks with Smith again this year, this defense may be in trouble.
Smith made some poor decisions in the run game which ended up giving the opponent very good field position early in games. He seemed to have a slow first step forward and that led to him being blocked out of the play and when he had a chance to bring the ball carrier down, he wouldn’t choose the correct pursuit angle, or he would end up letting the play bounce outside.
Jabril Cox, who Dallas selected with the 110th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, has some attributes to his game that will be a breath of fresh air for the Cowboys’ defense. His pass coverage ability paired with his closing speed and size, he’s proven that he is a force to be reckoned with. It’s already known that he was an elite defender when dropping back into coverage in college. His awareness in the open field is usually something that translates seamlessly into the NFL. He will most likely be used in situations where he will cover any receiver motioning out to his side, like tight ends, running backs and slot receivers, and this will be in man and zone coverage. He is a quick pursuit style ‘backer with the ability to knock the ball free before the catch and after. What we need to know is if his run defense can hold up at the next level. Can he do what Jaylon Smith can’t?
If he continues to work on his hand-fighting when getting off blocks, he may have a chance of seeing a lot of playing time over Smith.
Cox is able to keep his outside arm free (forcing the ball carrier inside) keep his head up while hand fighting and then breaking down to make the play.
Once again, in the same game, he continues forcing the ball carrier inside which then his other defenders have a chance in helping him out to make the tackle.
Against Mississippi State, Cox did pretty well against the run even when the defensive look was uneven. He stayed in the gap forcing the ball carrier inside to his middle linebacker.
Over and over again throughout the season, we saw Cox have trouble getting off blockers, but as long as he is in the right place in the run game with his first step being forward, he has the ability to force ballcarriers inside to his teammates, and that really is the main goal of a weakside linebacker.
