Here is another example of a similar line of attack. The Panthers face a 3rd and 8, and start with an empty formation. McCaffrey again aligns to the outside, this time on the right. But he will shift into the backfield, and on this play the defender over him, linebacker Cory Littleton, trails him. So now Bridgewater knows the Raiders are in man coverage. He again makes an adjustment at the line of scrimmage, and when the ball is snapped he throws the out route to the left side of the formation, a perfect choice to attack this Cover 1/man free coverage scheme:
Let’s look at one more example of this in action, only this time with the offense shifting to empty before the play. Late in the third quarter the Panthers faced a 3rd and 8, with the Raiders leading 27-15. They start with running back Mike Davis in the backfield, but he will shift outside to the left, giving the Panthers two receivers to the right and three to the left side of the formation. In response, the defense simply slides the defenders rather than having someone trail Davis.
Meaning they are playing zone coverage.
Bridgewater does not make any adjustments before the snap, as he must have liked what the Panthers had called against this. You can probably see why:
They run a perfect concept to beat the zone coverage, with Anderson running a vertical route working from left to right and across the free safety’s face, and D.J. Moore running a deep dig route. Davis runs a quick pivot route. The free safety has to maintain depth as the last line of defense, and the pivot route underneath open up a huge throwing lane for the dig route.
While the Panthers were on the losing end of the final score, Brady’s creative use of formations and personnel gave the Raiders a lot to think about, while also giving quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a ton of information before each play. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense is going to have its hands full on Sunday with these designs from the new offensive coordinator.