Tag: Doug Farrar

The Xs and Os: How the Giants finally found their offense again

Daniel Jones’ 58-yard pass to Jalin Hyatt broke a streak of bad offense for the Giants. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar explain how it worked.

Through the first six quarters of their 2023 season, the New York Giants’ offense did not look at all like head coach Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator Matt Kafka, or quarterback Daniel Jones would have preferred. This was especially true in the passing game. In a 40-0 Week 1 thrashing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, and in a Week 2 first half against the Arizona Cardinals in which Big Blue had a 20-0 deficit, Jones completed 24 of 44 passes for 166 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Then, in the second half and overtime of the Cardinals game that the Giants won, 31-28, Jones completed 17 of 21 passes for 259 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

It was as extreme a difference as you’ll see from any offense from one half to another, and as it turned out, Daboll and Kafka had some great adjustments at halftime to make things right. In the first half — and this may have been a function of wanting to get Jones back in rhythm after the Cowboys debacle — the Giants were running a lot of quick passes without play-action or motion or any other kinds of eye candy. The idea seemed to be to get Jones some easy completions and get him into a rhythm, which was not how it turned out.

Then, at the start of the second half, everything changed. It started with this 58-yard vertical completion from Jones to receiver Jalin Hyatt.

The first thing to notice here is how Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White is indicating a possible quarterback run to the right, based on tight end Daniel Bellinger blocking edge-rusher Dennis Gardeck, and right tackle Evan Neal pulling to the right in a run-action concept. That sucked White in, and Jones’ play-action fake to running back Saquon Barkley did the same to linebacker Krys Barnes.

Then, there was the combination of the route concepts, and how the Giants set everything up with personnel.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys further discussed how the Giants got back on the good foot after such a bleak beginning.

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“One change they clearly made was a personnel adjustment,” Greg said. “There was far more 12 personnel starting in the third quarter, and obviously, they know [current Cardinals head coach and former Eagles defensive coordinator] Jonathan Gannon. Whether he’s calling the defense or not, it’s his defense. So they know him from his being in Philadelphia over the last two years, and they probably felt pretty confrontable… coaches end up coaching against coaches. They probably felt that if they went to 12 personnel, they’d get specific things defensively.”

Greg on the 58-yarder to Hyatt:

“That came out of 12 personnel. Hyatt was the boundary X receiver. They went tight bunch opposite that to the trips side of the formation. And they pretty much knew how that would be played. The Cardinals played Cover-4, and the boundary safety — the safety to the side of Hyatt [K’Von Wallace] — he was looking inside to trips, which he has to as his initial look. Therefore, you get the one-on-one — you get Hyatt running the deep post versus Wilson. And Wilson at that point has no over the top help because of the trips route concepts. So, they knew that. They anticipated quarters coverage with their 12 personnel. You don’t call that play unless you anticipate a deep post without a safety sitting right there.”

It was a brilliant design against the right defense, and it got the Giants back on track, where they desperately needed to be. Now, we’ll see how they try to advance that against the San Francisco 49ers’ top-tier defense on Thursday night.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Mina Kimes, Doug Farrar discuss Seahawks’ 2022 red zone woes

Watch Mina Kimes and Doug Farrar discuss Seattle’s red zone woes from 2022 and how adding rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba should help.

The Seattle Seahawks had a good but not great offense last season, finishing in the top 10 in scoring and No. 14 in offensive DVOA. One area they’ll need to improve upon is their performance in the red zone, where they scored on just 48.28% of their opportunities – ranking No. 27 in the NFL.

Watch Mina Kimes and Doug Farrar discuss Seattle’s red zone woes from 2022 and how adding rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba should help.

 

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Updated 90-man roster going into the preseason

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Why Muhammad Ali was great in the pocket

Great pocket quarterbacks and great boxers have one thing in common — they have to navigate small areas against controlled aggression.

With all the talk these days about how much quarterbacks must win outside the pocket (and that’s certainly true), one must never underestimate the importance of pocket movement — that is to say, the ability for a quarterback to move around in a pocket the size of a small boxing ring, and create positive plays with chaos all around him.

From Tom Brady to Joe Burrow to Patrick Mahomes, there are a few quarterbacks who set themselves apart with their sense of defenders around them, how they move around that chaos, and how they can expand that boxing ring with that sense of movement and expansion.

In that regard, Muhmmad Ali would have been a great pocket quarterback. While Ali’s opponents like Joe Frazier and George Foreman were all about cutting the rung in halves and quarters to suffocate you and then beat you into submission, Ali reacted to that ideally with his short-area elusiveness, forcing those constriction experts to flail around the ring more than they would have liked.

For Ali’s opponents, the end result was exhaustion. Ask Foreman, who lost The Rumble in the Jungle because Ali rope-a-doped him and forced him to go to parts of the ring to which he didn’t want to travel.

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) discussed the ideal attributes for the modern NFL quarterback, and pocket movement was a point of focus.

“You have to be able to function intelligently and athletically at game speed amidst a lot of chaos,” Greg said of those pocket savants. “You’re in a cauldron of fire. You have to move, but at the same time, maintaining balance, maintaining footwork, and keeping your eyes downfield. You never want to look at the rush. You have to have a feel.

“One of the first things I learned when I started working with Ron Jaworski in 1989 or 1990, and he told me, ‘You never want to see the rush; you have to feel the rush.’ Certainly quarterbacks who are more pocket-driven growing up in the game, like a Dan Marino or a Tom Brady or a Drew Brees… they grow up feeling the rush, because their first instinct is not to leave the pocket. Quarterbacks who are great movers, they may be the best athletes on the field, so anytime they feel anything [pressure], they’re going to leave [the pocket].

“But you want to have the ability to move within the pocket, and I’ve always used the analogy of the area of a boxing ring, but smaller.”

And there you have it.

You can watch the entire “Xs and Os” about building the perfect quarterback right here.

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You can also listen and subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect quarterback

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys discuss the traits that make the ideal NFL quarterback.

Quarterback is the most important position in football, and quite possibly the most difficult position to perfect in any sport. All you have to do to be great at it is to read complex and ever-changing defenses on the fly, hit tight windows on a dime, work through pressure both in and out of the pocket, be on point with every route every one of your receivers are running, and possibly add to the run threat of your offense.

And of course, you have to do all of this while large men on the opposing team are trying their level best to beat the daylights out of you.

No big deal, right?

In this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) discuss in depth all the traits and attributes that lead to excellence at the position. Just as the guys have gone over the anatomies of the perfect secondary, the perfect defensive line, the perfect offensive line, and the perfect receiver corps, here’s the architecture of the perfect quarterback.

You can watch this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect receiver corps

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys look to build the perfect receiver corps for the modern NFL.

Over the last few episodes of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group) have endeavored to build some perfect position groups. We started with the ideal secondary, worked our way to the best defensive line we could put together from current NFL players, and then, moved to the other side of the trenches with the best possible offensive line.

Now, it’s time to switch that focus to the best receiver group that can be assembled, identifying the traits and attributes for tight ends, outside receivers, and slot receivers that are the most important in today’s NFL.

Moreover, there’s the elements of how receivers must develop and improve their modus operandi against defenses that are showing them more disguised looks and late movement than at any other time in NFL history.

“Receivers have to read coverage the same way quarterbacks have to read coverages,” Greg said in this week’s video/podcast. “Because you can draw up routes, and everything is drawn up as a structural ideal. So, if you have a route concept — let’s say for the sake of discussion, a three-level stretch or flood concept — there’s three routes to one side of the field: A short route, an intermediate route, and a vertical route. Now, a vertical route is a vertical route. It could be a straight go route, or it could be a deep post.

“An intermediate route? That functions to some degree based on coverage. In an ideal world, you run it at a certain depth. But if the coverage does not allow you to run it at a certain depth, you must make an adjustment. Because the quarterback will see that the receiver may not be able to make his break exactly in that spot, because maybe the underneath defender went to more depth, or he sunk a little further, so he’s taken away where the intermediate route is supposed to go.

“That’s just one example, but the overriding point is that receivers must be able to read coverage the same way quarterbacks do.”

This 42-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in Week 13’s Chiefs-Bengals game last season was a great example of a winning flood concept. Tight end Travis Kelce ran the flat route short from the formation, and Valdes-Scantling ran the vertical route from the slot. It was up to outside receiver Justin Watson to deduce how the coverage would go, and when he saw slot defender Mike Hilton come down to defend Kelce, and outside cornerback Eli Apple rush to double Valdes-Scantling deep with safety Vonn Bell, Watson knew he’d have an opening on the intermediate route.

Not that he needed it, because Mahomes (as is his wont) was aiming for the big play.

You can watch this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os” right here:

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And, you can listen to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

or on Apple podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect offensive line

In this week’s Xs and Os video and podcast, Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar endeavor to build the perfect offensive line.

In the last two episodes of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s MFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire and USA Today’s Sports Media Group) endeavored to build the perfect secondary, and the perfect defensive line by specifying the traits and attributes required for every position in those positional groups.

Now, in this week’s “Xs and Os,” Greg and Doug turn their attention to the offensive line. What do offensive tackles, offensive guards, and centers need to do to become among the best in the NFL today? From vertical sets to switching your hands to picking up stunts, this is some seriously nerdy football devoted to the front five.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here.

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You can also subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Chiefs DT Chris Jones named NFL’s most disruptive pass-rusher from 3-technique

On the latest Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar, #Chiefs DT Chris Jones was recognized for his play at 3-technique in 2022.

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Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones was recently recognized as the league’s most disruptive pass-rusher when aligning as a 3-technique.

On the latest episode of “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the two veteran film junkies sought to identify the NFL’s most disruptive pass-rushers from every gap. They spent some time identifying the various traits that make for good edge rushers and interior rushers before delving into the players who were the best during the 2022 NFL season.

If you’re not familiar with the term, the 3-technique refers to when a defensive lineman aligns in the B-gap. They’ll align to the outside shoulder of an offensive guard, between that offensive guard and the offensive tackle.

While Aaron Donald remains in a league of his own, Jones was the better player at 3-tech last season in the eyes of Farrar.

“I’d say the guy who played the best three (technique) last year, to me, was Chris Jones with the Chiefs,” Farrar said. “He has great techniques, ways of just pulling you in and then slipping around.”

Cosell found himself impressed with Jones’ size and quickness, but there was something that he couldn’t seem to put his finger on about his playstyle.

“Yeah, he’s very big,” Cosell said. “He’s not as explosive of an athlete as (Aaron) Donald. So, he has a little bit more control in his playstyle, I mean, his game. Although, for his size, he’s quick. But he’s not quick in the way you think of like a true 3-technique.”

Farrar emphasized Jones’ finesse and hand-fighting as one of the things that set him apart.

“No, he’s a jiu-jitsu man,” Farrar said.

Be sure to check out the full episode at the top of the page or over on Touchdown Wire for more on the top D-Linemen in the NFL during the 2022 NFL season

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The Xs and Os: The NFL’s most disruptive pass-rushers from every gap

From Dexter Lawrence to Nick Bosa, who are the best pass-rushers from every gap — wide-9 to nose tackle? Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar investigate.

Today’s NFL is about two things above all else — creating and defending explosive plays. In the effort to defend explosive plays, defenses align their pass-rushers all over the line of scrimmage in everything from stunts off of base fronts to overload fronts, where offensive linemen have to adjust more than they’d like to against numbers that don’t work for them.

Anything to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible.

Still, quarterback disruption is about more than just scheme — you also have to have a certain number of guys with the right tools and traits to blow things up from every gap.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into the traits needed to get after the quarterback from every gap — from 0-tech (right over the center) to wide-9 (far outside the offensive tackle).

Greg and Doug spent this week’s “Xs and Os” building the ideal defensive line with those specific traits, and here, we drill down to the best pass-rushers in the 2022 season from every gap. Who does it best, and what are the tools needed to do it?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

(All metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise specified). 

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect defensive line

In this week’s “Xs and Os” with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar, the guys build the perfect defensive line at every gap — from Myles Garrett to Dexter Lawrence.

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into the traits and attributes of players needed to build the ideal defensive line, from wide-9 to nose tackle.

The requirements for pass rush and run-stopping haven’t changed much since the eras of Lawrence Taylor and Bruce Smith, though front concepts are different to a degree, but the game is different, so how do you build that ideal defensive front for every down?

Some of it is pure athletic talent, but mostly, defensive line is about technique. From Micah Parsons’ speed counter to Nick Bosa’s multi-gap loops to Maxx Crosby’s speed spin to T.J. Watt’s ghost rush to Aaron Donald’s bull/slip to Chris Jones’ counter/club to Dexter Lawrence’s furious bull-rush, the guys get into all of that, and more!

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here.

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You can also subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect secondary

In this week’s Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar, the guys look to build the perfect secondary with ideal traits for every position.

If you were to create the ideal secondary for the modern NFL, most likely that secondary would have at least five pass defenders in its base coverages. Adding that slot defender, whether it’s a cornerback or a safety in “big nickel” (three-safety) packages, is a must against today’s 3×1 receiver sets. You’d also want outside cornerbacks who can play press-man coverage against an opponent’s top receivers, and safeties who don’t live by the old free and strong designations.

In this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) endeavor to build the perfect modern secondary, starting with the ideal traits for every position.

Let’s break that down, from cornerback to slot defender to safety.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen to the Xs and Os podcast on Spotify:

…or on Apple podcasts.