Tag: film breakdown

Top takeaways from film review of the Lions’ Week 14 loss to the Bears

Top takeaways from film review of the Lions’ Week 14 loss to the Bears, with notes on Goff, the pass rush, replacement players and more

This week’s Detroit Lions film review was not a happy experience. Some weeks when the Lions lose, there are enough positives and circumstantial developments that watching the All-22 can make me feel better about the loss. Not this week, not this team’s performance in Chicago. If anything, I felt even worse about the Lions’ 28-13 loss to the Bears.

Normally I do the film review package as a “What I learned from…” piece, but this week I wanted to instead focus more on the “quick hits” portion of those breakdowns.

Lions vs. Saints: What I learned from film study of Detroit’s Week 13 road win

Lions vs. Saints: What I learned from film study of Detroit’s Week 13 road win

Sunday’s road win in New Orleans was an important one for the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell’s team raced out to a dominant first few minutes, seizing a 21-0 lead before fans got out of the beer line at the concessions.

The Saints settled in and were the better team for the better part of the remainder. The Lions defense made a couple of plays and the offense reawakened just enough to carry Detroit to a 33-28 road win.

Here’s what I picked up from film study of the game, reviewing the broadcast feed and the All-22 coach’s tape.

Lions film spotlight: Jeff Okudah and Ifeatu Melifonwu vs. the Bears

Lions film spotlight: Jeff Okudah and Ifeatu Melifonwu vs. the Bears

This week’s Detroit Lions film breakdown spotlights two defensive backs and how they performed in the Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears.

Cornerback Jeff Okudah and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu each earned the spotlight treatment, in part because both played more limited snaps. Chicago ran just 52 plays in Detroit’s 41-10 win. Okudah played 17 and Melifonwu was in for 26 (not counting plays erased by penalties).

As with past breakdowns, the methodology is pretty straightforward. I watch each play from both the broadcast angle and the All-22. When the player does his job well on a play, he earns a plus. When he fails at his task, it earns a minus. Not every play earns a mark.

Film spotlight: Breaking down all the Lions runs vs. the Panthers

Lions film spotlight: Breaking down RB D'Andre Swift vs. the Jets

Jeff Okudah: Breaking down the Lions CB's Week 1 performance vs. the Eagles

Okudah

The first drive was an eventful one for the third-year cornerback. Okudah earned plusses in coverage on Chicago’s first two passing plays, staying in lock-step man coverage. On the second rep, he worked the slot on a crossing route and denied where Bears QB Justin Fields was looking to throw.

And then came Fields running. A gadget play where the Bears pitched the ball to Fields ran right at Okudah and he got destroyed by a block. Okudah was the edge contain but he earned a minus for getting buried (sidenote: rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez also had a very bad rep here). No. 1 did have great coverage on the eventual TD play, a miscue on a pick route that didn’t involve Okudah.

First drive: three plusses (all in coverage), one minus in run defense

He earned one more plus in coverage and one more minus in run defense in the first half. The minus came on a run to the left where he was the outside contain but got blocked away, leaving RB David Montgomery with an option to go either way.

Okudah added one more plus in coverage, erasing his mark in man coverage. He was not thrown at all game.

Final tally: Five plusses in coverage, two minuses in run defense. I did not grade his special teams reps.

Melifonwu

The second-year safety didn’t start but was in on two plays on the opening drive. Neither earned a mark, but he picked up a minus on his first rep on the second drive on the long Fields run. Melifonwu never took his eyes off his receiver even as the wideout initiated a block with him as Fields took off.

Melifonwu finished that drive very well. He earned two plusses in run defense in the red zone, notably on the third-and-goal scramble by Fields. Great positioning and field awareness from No. 26; he didn’t make the tackle but he made the tackle possible by being when and where he was supposed to be.

He picked up a plus for helping force a sack on the next drive, a play where Fields ran out of bounds behind the line. Excellent spatial awareness and eye discipline on that one. Melifonwu tacked on another plus later in run defense, besting Equanimeous St. Brown on a block to help force a tackle.

In coverage, I found three plusses and one minuses for Melifonwu in the game. He was on the hook for one completion, a zone look where he ventured too far outside to allow the completion inside. He quickly made the tackle. It’s an iffy (no pun intended) play because the throw is into a schemed hole in the zone, and he avoided a minus by making the nice tackle. He added another plus by smartly coming off his man and making a tackle right after a catch.

Melifonwu’s minus came when he was far too deep in off-man coverage on the play where Josh Paschal recorded his second sack of the game. No harm there but it’s a minus for 26.

Final tally: Seven plusses, two minuses. Excellent bounce-back game after a brutal first start in Carolina.

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Lions film spotlight: Breaking down RB D’Andre Swift vs. the Jets

Lions film spotlight: Breaking down RB D’Andre Swift vs. the Jets

After a week off, the Detroit Lions player film spotlight is back. There were so many intriguing candidates from the Lions’ 20-17 win over the Jets in Week 15 that it was very tough to choose.

For this game, the subject is D’Andre Swift. The third-year running back had an interesting game in New York, one that drew raves from some and calls for benching from others. His stats were pretty strong — eight carries for 52 yards and five receptions on nine targets for 23 more yards.

As is the weekly custom, I went back through and rewatched all of Swift’s 27 reps against the Jets. Plays where Swift “won” on his rep or assignment get a plus. Those where he failed get a minus. Not every play earns a mark, though Swift tends to be heavily involved when he’s in the game, so his scorecard features a higher percentage of plays than most.

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The polarizing performance from Swift starts on the very first play of the game. No. 32 takes a wide-side pitch to the right and nicely accelerates to the edge. Swift also makes a nice first cut off RT Penei Sewell’s (excellent) block on the outside. Definite plus for that. Yet Swift also poorly reads the next block from WR Josh Reynolds. That’s okay, Swift did a great job getting nine yards on the opening play.

He got the ball on his next rep, too. Swift accelerates through the massive hole created between Sewell and RG Evan Brown (both dominated their blocking marks). One-on-one in space with safety Jermaine Whitehead, Swift gets upended after a seven-yard run. If Swift avoids Whitehead’s dive at his feet, he gains at least five more yards. Swift earns the plus because he went where the play was designed and did so with good speed.

The first passing play where Swift was involved was also his first notch in the minus column. Quarterback Jared Goff hit him in perfect stride in both hands, but the ball squirted through. A linebacker was bearing down on the play but Swift would have had time to pick up the needed yards on second down had he cleanly caught the ball and made a move.

Swift also earned a minus on his first pass protection opportunity. He went for a cut block but dove too early and barely impacted the rush from rookie EDGE Jermaine Johnson. It didn’t result in a pressure on Goff but it’s still a failed assignment.

Swift ended the first half with five plusses and three minuses. All three minuses came in the passing game, one on a block, another the drop, and a third when he went down without contact after the catch.

In the second half, the tally went negative on Swift. He earned four plusses and five minuses. One of the plusses was his best run of the game, a play after eventual hero Brock Wright dropped the first pass of Detroit’s final drive. Swift gained at least two extra yards by finishing his run with some power. He did have another plus negated on a play where offsetting penalties happened.

For the game, Swift wound up with eight plusses and nine minuses. Seven of the nine negative marks came in the passing game, while Swift earned plusses on five of his eight carries in the contest. He was Detroit’s most effective runner in New York, no question.

Brian Baldinger breaks down Josh Allen’s stellar first half against the Colts

This film breakdown of Allen’s play shows why the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story.

Just looking at the numbers from Sunday’s 23-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, it looks like Josh Allen had a bit of a pedestrian performance after notching the best game of his career against the Buffalo Bills. Though he was credited with three quarterback hits, he only had two tackles and didn’t manage to get a sack.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story about how disruptive Allen was in this one, especially in the first half. In his film breakdown of his play during that period, NFL analyst Brian Baldinger said that Allen’s first half was “as good a half as any defensive end/outside linebacker in the NFL in Week 11 (note: It was actually Week 10).”

Watching the film breakdown, it’s hard to argue that point.

Baldinger also said that, in spite of Jonathan Taylor’s big game on the ground, the Jags’ defense outplayed the Colts’ offense. For a unit that began the year looking like one of the worst in the NFL, it’s playing much better in recent weeks and has held the opposing quarterback under 200 yards passing in two of the last three games.

While the offense, led by a rookie passer in Trevor Lawrence, has lagged behind a bit, the defense is making very real strides. Allen is a major reason for that, and he could be set up to have a monster second half of the season. If that happens, his sophomore slump in 2020 will feel like a distant memory.

Penei Sewell: Breaking down the Lions rookie’s first start

Breaking down all 92 of Penei Sewell’s snaps in his Lions debut, and the rookie LT fared well vs. the 49ers

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Penei Sewell made his NFL debut amidst trying circumstances. The Detroit Lions rookie offensive tackle had to shift from right tackle, where he’d spent all offseason learning to play, to the left tackle spot to fill in for injured starter Taylor Decker.

Sewell got just two days of practice at left tackle. He also drew a difficult assignment in the San Francisco 49ers and DE Nick Bosa. After an up-and-down preseason and well over a full year without playing or even practicing football after opting out of his final season at Oregon, it was a major challenge.

I went through the game film and focused on Sewell on each and every one of the Lions’ 92 offensive reps. I marked each play for a good or bad rep from Sewell. For good plays, he earned a plus. For bad plays, he earned a minus. Not every play merits a mark, either. If you feel the need to consider plays that don’t earn a minus as a win,

The NFL won’t allow us to use videos to illustrate points here, unfortunately.

First half

Sewell fired out and earned a plus on the very first play, a run block where he crashed inside and then engaged the LB in space very nicely. It was one of four plusses he earned on the first drive, three of them on run plays.

He did get one minus on the opening drive. On Detroit’s fourth snap, Sewell set up too far outside and got beaten for a QB pressure on his inside shoulder by Bosa. His hands were too high when he attempted to recover, an issue he’s battled throughout training camp, too.

One play that is important in explaining the process here came on the second drive. Sewell got away with an egregious hold on the ill-fated screen pass. It should have been called a penalty; if it happened against the Lions, fans would scream to high heaven about it. I gave Sewell a minus for that even though the officials missed it.

On the third drive, Sewell had a picture-perfect pass set against a stand-up rusher to his outside. Absolutely swallowed him with perfect balance and mirror footwork. It was LB Samson Ekubam, who is clearly no Bosa. Still a well-deserved mark in the plus column for Sewell, however.

At the half, Sewell earned nine plusses and seven minuses. Six of the nine plusses came on run plays, while five of the seven minuses were in pass protection. I credited him with two allowed QB pressures — both by Bosa attacking his inside shoulder — and a TFL surrendered on a whiff on a run block.

Second half

Sewell scored many more plusses in the second half, but it does come with something of an asterisk; Bosa barely played after the first drive of the third quarter. In fact, of the 15 plusses Sewell notched after halftime, just two came when Bosa was on the field and only one directly vs. No. 97.

Sewell flat-out dominated Arden Key and found far more successes than failures in matchups with Ekubam. The big rookie earned plusses on three straight plays against Key.

Some highlights:

Sewell expertly picked up a delayed outside rush from Ekubam, failing to bite on the inside action designed to confuse him. He pancaked his man on the Jamaal Williams TD run with a great down block. On the final scoring drive, Sewell walled off Key nicely after initially losing the hand battle.

It wasn’t perfect. There were six minuses after the half. The worst came on a screen pass where he just flat-out missed his mark. Another came on a play negated by a penalty. He gave up two pressures after the half, one on a fantastic bull rush by Bosa that walked Sewell back into Goff, the other on an outside spin by Ekubam where Sewell overset to his inside and the LB read it.

The total tally

Sewell earned 24 plusses and 13 minuses in 92 snaps. That’s a strong ratio for a debut game, particularly given the context of playing out of his regular position. He gave up four total QB pressures and one TFL in the run game. When he wasn’t facing Bosa, Sewell largely dominated — especially after halftime. And he did well enough against Bosa to feel good about the performance, too.

Watch: Film analysis of Cowboys LB Micah Parsons by Voch Lombardi

A deeper dive into the film of Micah Parsons reveals a player with enormous ceiling, but also a handful of concerns.

Every player has strengths and weaknesses and the job of the coaching staff is to make the strengths stronger and make the weaknesses less of a liability. While every observer can clearly see the athletic intangibles that first-round pick Micah Parsons will bring to the Dallas Cowboys linebacker position, the reason some have a concern with his being worth where he was picked is his lack of play diagnosis.

Draft analyst Voch Lombardi broke down Parsons film at the end of December and found several reasons to be excited about what his plusses are, but also insight into what his limitations are based on his film from 2019.

Throw in the fact that neither Mike McCarthy nor defensive coordinator Dan Quinn met with Parsons on the Zoom protocol pre-draft meeting, and Lombardi’s concerns about whether or not Parsons’ ability to diagnose plays improved after opting out in 2020 ring even more vital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3fYfDq5MoQ

Cowboys News: Elliott dealing with calf issue, club flexed out of public eye

Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said the organization had a lot to fix before the 2021 season. Cowboys-49ers flexed from primetime.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Dallas Cowboys’ 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Hall of Famer Troy Aikman stated that he didn’t know what direction the organization will go moving forward considering they have so many issues to fix. Normally, the NFL would find reasons to have the Cowboys play in primetime, but with a 3-9 record their game against the San Francisco 49ers on December 20 has been flexed for the New York Giants battle with the Cleveland Browns.

Ezekiel Elliott’s difficult 2020 campaign took another potential hit on Wednesday as he showed up on the injury report with a calf issue. The Cowboys were expected to be one of the most successful teams that featured a first-year head coach, but instead, they’re currently in line for a top 5 pick in next year’s draft. A film break down of Cowboys-Ravens, what’s really at stake in the final month of the season, and Mel Kiper and Todd McShay debate the Cowboys 2021 draft needs, and more are covered in this edition of the news and notes.

Film Room: Examining what Everson Griffen brings to the Detroit Lions

Lions Wire is back in the film room, this time examining what newly acquired EDGE Everson Griffen brings to the Detroit Lions.

Lions Wire is back in the film room, this time examining what newly acquired EDGE Everson Griffen brings to the Detroit Lions.

The Lions defensive philosophy has always centered around stopping the run first and pressuring the quarterback second. Their 3-3-5 scheme is designed to disguise where the fourth pass rusher is coming from, but for the first two years and four games of coach Matt Patricia’s tenure, their disguise has been fairly transparent.

But coming out of the Lions’ Week 5 bye, they shifted their approach upfront, have been extremely creative with their linebacker intentions/disguises and found ways to incorporate bigger defensive linemen on early downs.

This bigger approach to the defensive line has led to more success against the run and opened up more pass-rushing opportunities for EDGE rushers Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara — and they’re getting to the ball.

In fact, the only flaw in the system right now is a lack of depth beyond Flowers and Okwara, as both reserve EDGE rushers are currently injured. Julian Okwara was placed on injured reserve and is out through at least Week 9 and Austin Bryant is practicing, but still on the PUP list while the team evaluates his health.

This lack of depth and re-focused attention for bigger bodies on the line led to general manager Bob Quinn searching the trade market for help, and he got it in a big way when he landed Griffen.

Griffen has a lot of similar traits to Flowers and Okwara, and his experience could fill a massive need with the Lions’ new approach.

In this film room, we’ve highlighted six plays from Griffen’s 2020 season with the Dallas Cowboys, that best illustrate a variety of ways he will be able to immediately contribute in Detroit.

Setting the edge against the run

  • Situation: 1st and 10, 4:28 into 1st quarter
  • Griffen: RDE, 7T
  • Assignment: Set the edge
  • Results: Sets the edge, reads the RB, pursues and makes the tackle

Note: Be sure to have your sound on the video for analysis 

Setting the edge against the pass

  • Situation: 1st and 10, 2:22 into the 3rd quarter
  • Griffen: RDE, 7T
  • Assignment: Set the edge 1st, rush the passer 2nd
  • Results: Engages TE, sets the edge, keys on the QB/RB exchange, recognizes pass, disengages from TE, gets a QB hit

Pass rushing from the 9-technique

  • Situation: 3rd and 4, 4:28 into the 1st quarter
  • Griffen: LDE, Wide-9
  • Assignment: Rush the passer
  • Results: Power to speed pass rush against the RT, pursue, and sack

Pass-rushing from the 7-technique

  • Situation: 3rd and 13, 4:08 into the 3rd quarter
  • Griffen: RDE, 7T
  • Assignment: Rush the passer
  • Results: Stresses the LT’s outside shoulder, gets upfield with speed to power, disengages, and sack

Pass-rushing from the 5-technique

  • Situation: 3rd and 9, 8:06 into the 3rd quarter
  • Griffen: RDE, 5T
  • Assignment: Rush the passer
  • Results: Takes on LG with swim move, recognizes screen, tracks the ball, and makes the tackle on the WR

Pass-rushing from the 3-technique

  • Situation: 3rd and 16, 9:45 into the 3rd quarter
  • Griffen: 3T
  • Assignment: Rush the passer
  • Results: Attacks the A-gap, escapes the wash, redirects pursuit, pressures the QB, forces the incompletion with a QB hit

Conclusion

Griffen has the size (6-3, 273), speed (4.6 seconds 40 y/d), strength combination the Lions love to lean on in their edge rushers, and the positional versatility to allow the Lions to run the same scheme with him on the field.

Once he clears the COVID-19 protocols, he will likely find the field quickly, and as a 10-year veteran, he should have no time getting up to speed.

He will shift from a starting role in Dallas (roughly 55-percent of snaps) to a reserve role in Detroit, but he has the talent to be an impactful player — even if only as a pass rusher early. His 2.5 sacks and 18 quarterback pressures put him second on the Lions defense, behind only Okwara.

He may not be the havoc seeker we saw in Minnesota, but there is plenty of juice left in the tank, especially coming into a situation where he won’t be asked to hold down a starting role and can instead focus his efforts/energy on situational work.

WATCH: Jonathan Taylor is a model for how running backs should pass block

When Jonathan Taylor came out of Wisconsin as one of the greatest running backs in the history of college football everybody knew…

When Jonathan Taylor came out of Wisconsin as one of the greatest running backs in the history of college football everybody knew what he could do with the ball in his hands.

That production, one which led the Indianapolis Colts to draft the running back in the second round, amounted to a total of 6581 all-purpose yards in college, 6.8 yards-per-touch and 55 total touchdowns. All-time stats.

One thing, though, that every running back must excel at if they want to stick around in the NFL is pass blocking and picking up blitzing defenders.

Taylor has the frame, the football IQ and the work ethic to develop well in that category, but if you want some video proof here is Brian Baldinger breaking down one of his impressive reps in pass protection.

“All you HS, CFB, NFL running backs who aren’t good at this skill need to study Taylor,” Baldinger wrote. High praise for a running back who has only played five NFL games.

His 307 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns, 12 receptions and 107 receiving yards are solid numbers for a rookie in his first five games. But if you want to really consider his staying power in the league the film breakdown above is what you should point to.

Taylor is a complete back and will only get better as he gains experience. I think it’s safe to say the Colts are happy with only having to use a second-round pick on the Badger great.