Tag: 12 personnel

12 personnel an offensive trend Cowboys couldn’t exploit in 2023

Passing out of 12 personnel groups has been highly productive in the NFL yet the Cowboys’ issues at TE have caused them to struggle in this area. | From @ReidDHanson

The NFL is a game of mismatches. Top offensive minds are constantly searching for ways to gain advantages by utilizing certain personnel groups. It’s something the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree has taken to new heights and something that’s consistently burned the Cowboys defense in recent matchups.

Adding an extra TE to the field often forces defenses to match personnel; achieved by swapping a DB for an extra LB on most occasions. This adjustment adds to the overall size of the defense but can come at the cost of speed and coverage ability. This situation is exploitable if the TEs brought in to facilitate the running game are also legitimate pass threats.

12 personnel often makes it’s biggest impact in the passing game. Even though the majority of the plays that take place with two TEs on the field are runs, it’s usually the passes out of this look that produce the biggest EPA gains.

In 2022 the Cowboys took big steps in their 12 personnel. With Dalton Schultz and surprising rookie Jake Ferguson leading the charge, the Dallas offense wasn’t just a rushing offense in two TE looks, but they were a downfield passing attack as well.

At an EPA/play of 0.22 on passing attempts, Dallas’ 12 personnel led the team in passing efficiency of personnel groups with >25 snaps.

Both the TE1 and TE2 were legitimate receiving weapons with run after the catch ability. It made up for the Cowboys’ issues at WR that season and kept the offense less predictable in what is traditionally a run-heavy personnel group.

In 2023, the Cowboys weren’t so fortunate. With Schultz playing for the Texans and the rookie Luke Schoonmaker coming in to work behind Ferguson in most two TE looks, Dallas’ 12 personnel took a step back. For as good as Ferguson was in Year 2, Schoonmaker had a tough time assimilating as an NFL pass catcher.

The Cowboys used 12 personnel 119 times less than they did in the previous season, and overall used it four percent less than the league average (15.2% compared to 19.2%). Their EPA/pass of 0.14 in12 personnel group ranking behind their 11 personnel, 10 personnel and 21 personnel groups.

If the Cowboys move on from Michael Gallup in 2024, like many suspect they will, the offense will need to get more from their TE2 to make up for it.

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Lions snap count notes from Week 8 show a few schematic changes

Lions snap count notes from Week 8 show a few schematic changes on both sides of the ball

Looking at the snap counts from a game can reveal some things about a team that aren’t always obvious during the live game action. That was true of the Detroit Lions in their Week 8 home loss to the Miami Dolphins.

A couple of examples right off the top stand out. It begins with running back, where D’Andre Swift returned from missing three weeks with shoulder and ankle injuries. Despite getting just five carries to Jamaal Williams’ 10, Swift was on the field for 33 reps to Williams playing 22. The popular notion that the Lions would keep Swift on a snap limit proved inaccurate.

The reps also tell a story at tight end. Specifically, the use of multiple tight ends. Brock Wright played 23 of the Lions’ 60 offensive snaps, with starter T.J. Hockenson on the field for 52. Rookie James Mitchell even saw the field for five reps, including his first NFL reception on the opening drive. Detroit used two TEs in the formation (12 personnel) a season-high 19 times, almost 30 percent of snaps. The Lions typically use 12 personnel just 16 percent of the time and that’s almost always in red zone and short-yardage situations.

On defense, the Lions covered for injuries in the secondary by rotating Will Harris and AJ Parker as the fifth DB. CB Amani Oruwariye and S Kerby Joseph were the only defenders to play all 68 snaps, with CB Jeff Okudah and S Juju Hughes on the field for all but one apiece. Harris played 39, Parker 23 and C.J. Moore filled in for just two. Detroit played three LBs in this game more than they had all season, 10 of the 68 snaps (14 percent).

CB Jerry Jacobs did not play on defense as the Lions continues to ease the second-year DB back from his knee injury. LB Chris Board played four snaps, all as the third LB in the formation.

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The most difficult formations for Texas’ opponents to defend in 2022

Football is a chess match, and Steve Sarkisian is starting with more pieces than most of his opponents this year.

The Texas Longhorns will win games by creating matchup problems in 2022. They have built a team to exploit any opponent’s deficiencies.

Football is a chess match, and Steve Sarkisian is starting with more pieces than most of his opponents this year.

Each of his offensive weapons brings varying abilities to the table. Tarique Milton, Brenen Thompson and Jordan Whittington should rack up yards after catch with their elite speed and quickness. Xavier Worthy, Isaiah Neyor and Agiye Hall are dangerous home-run threats as downfield targets.

At tight end, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jahleel Billingsley have exceptional athleticism and catching ability for their position.

Texas’ four running backs are all difficult to bring down. The group has strength, speed or a combination.

Let’s look at which formations will bring out the best from Texas’ skill positions.

Chiefs’ 12 personnel usage should increase with TE Blake Bell’s return

Looking beyond the box score, Blake Bell’s return to Kansas City could yield great results.

The Kansas City Chiefs recently brought back tight end Blake Bell, who spent the 2020 NFL season with the Dallas Cowboys. His return to Kansas City likely signals a change in the frequency in which the team will use a certain personnel grouping in 2021.

Looking back on the 2019 season, you wouldn’t think much of Bell’s year. He appeared in 18 games, including the playoffs, starting a total of seven games. Bell caught 11-of-18 passes for 91 yards, scoring his first career touchdown during the come-from-behind win over the Houston Texans in the playoffs. Four of his 11 receptions on the season went for first down conversions. It was solid production in the passing game for a No. 2 tight end, but not exactly something you’d write home about.

Where Bell really helped the Chiefs was in their ability to run 12 personnel packages, which are personnel groupings with one running back and two tight ends. During the 2019 season, when Bell was in Kansas City, the team ran 12 personnel on 30.7% of their offensive snaps. That was good for the fourth-most in the league. In 2020, when Bell was with the Cowboys, the Chiefs’ 12 personnel usage declined to 18% on the season. That came in below the league average of 20% usage.

So why would Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy be looking to increase the 12 personnel usage in 2021? First, it’s a great way to attack defenses that want to stay in their base defense or even sub-packages, especially when you have a No. 1 tight end like Travis Kelce who is such a threat as a receiver. You can go from a run-heavy look on one down, to spreading things out and throwing the ball on another down without switching out your personnel. It puts defensive coordinators in an impossible position and few of them will have the matchups to be able to counter it.

Beyond how 12 personnel creates mismatches for opposing defenses, it’ll also have the ability to help the Chiefs out at two positions that will undergo changes in 2021. That’s at the left and right tackle spot, which are now without starters Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. If you have a rookie or even just a lesser player starting at one spot or the other, it pays to have a tight end that excels in pass-blocking lining up next to them.

Bell allowed just four total pressures and one sack in 2019 in 90 pass-blocking snaps per Pro Football Focus. The following season with the Cowboys, he had 43 pass-blocking snaps and didn’t allow a single pressure. He’s not quite as dominant blocking in the run game, but he’s more than serviceable there.

If you’re among those unenthused with Bell re-signing with the Chiefs, make no mistake, this will help the team on offense in a big way during the 2021 NFL season.

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Dallas Goedert named the Philadelphia Eagles most underrated player

Dallas Goedert named the Philadelphia Eagles most underrated player

Dallas Goedert is one of the top tight ends in the NFL but his respect level seems to differ depending on which analyst you question.

Goedert is one of the best run-blocking tight ends in football and he’s quickly approaching Zach Ertz’s level of efficiency as a pass-catcher.

The rising tight end is preparing for a huge 2020 NFL season and just landed on Sports Illustrated’s list of the most underrated players in the league.

Dallas Goedert, TE
The Eagles are .25 yards per rush better when Goedert is on the field blocking and .13 yards better per passing play. NFL’s GSIS stats database lists all this minutiae and while it doesn’t seem significant, it is when the picture is broadened. The Eagles gained almost 100 more rushing yards in a season with Goedert. Add in that he caught 58 balls in 2019 and is a major threat in the red zone. Assuming Goedert continues to develop as a wide receiver, the Eagles may have something incredibly dangerous on their hands.

Goedert gives the Eagles option in regards to the organization’s contract discussions with Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz.

The pair works best together and with DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and a host of other speedy weapons set to join the offense.

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Replacing TE Blake Bell a necessity for Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs used 12 personnel (two tight end sets) on over 30 percent of their plays in 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs fans might not initially look at Blake Bell’s role during the 2019 season and think much of it.

Bell played in a total of 18 games with the Chiefs in 2019, including the playoffs, starting seven of those games. He caught 11-of-18 passes for 91 yards, scoring his first career touchdown during the comeback win over the Texans in the playoffs. Four of his 11 receptions went for first down conversions.

At face value, Bell’s production looks entirely mundane and replaceable, but the role he played in Chiefs’ offense was vital. He was primarily utilized as a blocker for 12 personnel groupings in Kansas City. The Chiefs lined up in 12 personnel on over 30 percent of their offensive snaps in 2019, which is good for the fourth-most in the NFL.

The big realization from NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah here is that the five teams using this personnel grouping the most made it to the playoffs. Now there’s certainly more to the success of Chiefs than 12 personnel usage. And while Blake Bell is part of those groupings, he’s obviously not the only reason they’re successful. But that’s not to say the team doesn’t need to find an adequate replacement for Bell.

Including the playoffs, Bell played over 400 snaps as an inline blocker in 12 personnel looks for the Chiefs. During those snaps, Bell only allowed very few pressures in pass protection. As a run blocker, he wasn’t quite as successful with just a 57.7 run-blocking grade per PFF.

Bell, of course, left in free agency to join the Dallas Cowboys. So who do the Chiefs have tabbed to replace Bell in the 2020 season? They brought in free agent TE Ricky Seals-Jones, who is undoubtedly more of a threat as a receiver to Bell. He’s coming off of a career-high four touchdown season in 2019 with the Browns. Seals-Jones is also a better pass-blocker than he is a run blocker with grades above 70 in each of the past two seasons per PFF.

Returning from 2019 the Chiefs have Deon Yelder, who spent the season on the 53-man roster, but failed to do much besides play on special teams. Nick Keizer spent the entire season on the practice squad after a standout preseason performance in 2019, posting grades over 70 in each of receiving, pass blocking and run blocking per PFF. There’s also the dark horse in converted QB John Lovett, who played more of an H-back role for the Chiefs before landing on injured reserve with a shoulder injury during the 2019 preseason.

Kansas City has options and until they see the field it’s hard to determine who has the advantage right now. One thing is for certain for the Chiefs, if they’re to continue using 12 personnel at such a high rate, they must find a suitable replacement option. If they’re lucky they might even be able to find a player out of the bunch that is considered to be an upgrade over Bell.

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