Tag: Film

Russell Wilson watched all of the Broncos’ games from 2021 multiple times before trade

“From the moment I figured out that this was going to probably happen, I’ve watched all 17 games two or three times.”

Russell Wilson is studious. So much so that he brings back memories of the Peyton Manning era.

When Wilson knew a trade to the Denver Broncos was possible, he started watching film from the team’s 2021 season — including preseason.

“I watched the preseason,” Wilson said at his introductory press conference last week. “I’m a little crazy. I wanted to watch the preseason to see some of the younger guys who maybe got injured or got hurt or whatever their situation was. Maybe they didn’t play yet or was behind a great player.”

Wilson didn’t just watch highlights or cutups, either.

“I wanted to watch the full games because the full games tell you everything,” the quarterback said. “Full games tell you situational football — what went right, what went wrong.”

Wilson studied up on his soon-to-be new team and his new teammates.

“What have been the strengths and what are maybe the areas of improvement? I think a lot of that was a key part for me to watch and process all 17 games. I’ve watched all 17 games now at this point. From the moment I figured out that this was going to probably happen, I’ve watched all 17 games two or three times.

“I think a lot of it is doing what I love — watching film and studying it, and seeing what guys are really great at. Situational awareness is everything — from winning a game to winning often. That was a big part of it.”

It seems safe to say Denver’s offense — and the entire team — is in good hands following the arrival of Wilson.

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Film room: Analyzing Graham Mertz’s masterful performance vs. Rutgers

What did you think of Mertz’s performance?

The Wisconsin Badgers put together yet another complete performance Saturday, defeating Rutgers 52-3 thanks to suffocating defense and an explosive offensive performance.

I could write for days about how good Jim Leonhard’s defense played Saturday and has played all season. But that’s somehow become a given at this point, furthered every week by another fresh batch of turnovers.

The biggest story surrounding the team this season, and the thing that’s had a big impact on the outcome of each game, is the play of quarterback Graham Mertz. The emergence of Braelon Allen is a big one and the improvement of the offensive line is arguably the second-biggest.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 10 — Lookout for Wisconsin

But Wisconsin needs great play from Mertz to win the Big Ten. Against Rutgers that’s exactly what we saw, furthering the continued improvement he’s shown this season.

Here is why Badger fans should be excited about what Mertz can do the rest of this season, and the rest of his Badger career:

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Film room: Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen has arrived

Film room: Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen has arrived

Wisconsin freshman running back Braelon Allen won’t turn 18 years old until after the 2021 football season. He reclassified in high school, joining the Wisconsin program this summer and forgoing a final season of high school football.

Now through five games of college action, one thing has become clear: the former four-star recruit is good beyond his years. Allen has officially arrived after two really impressive showings the last two weeks as a big part of Wisconsin’s rushing attack.

Allen carried the ball 16 times last night for 108 yards, 6.8 yards per carry and 1 touchdown. Every time he touched the ball we saw progressing comfort, better vision and more and more examples of his burst in the open field.

He’s 6-foot, 2-inches and 238 pounds. So when the freshman takes it into traffic through the middle, we see him fall forward for positive gains. Does he have the instant cut and vision we saw from Jonathan Taylor for four years? Not yet (well, nobody really does). But the signs are there of a workhorse back that can both wear a defense down inside, and take one to the house at any moment.

And dare I say: signs are there of a young running back who has star potential (I’m saying Jonathan Taylor’s name without actually drawing the comparison because it’s an impossible one).

Are there still areas where he can progress? Yes. But Allen is only 17 years old and is still new to the speed of college football.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 7 — Chaos, again

Look at this play. The freshman will soon have the awareness to find the lane faster and turn well-blocked plays into 20-yard gains. But even when he runs into a lineman at first, the speed and quickness is there to pick up 11 yards.

Chez Mellusi will continue to be a big part of the Badger backfield moving forward. But as time moves along and Allen continues to impress on every touch, it’ll be tough to keep the ball out of his hands.

(Note: Ball security is a minor issue and will need improvement. Hopefully, that comes with more experience and more reps).

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Graham Mertz is in the nation’s bottom tier in a key offensive metric

Graham Mertz is in the nation’s bottom tier of a key offensive metric

Quarterback Expected Points Added, or EPA, is a metric that measures how well a team or players perform relative to expectation.

From the The33rdTeam.com:

For example, if a team starts a drive on the 50-yard line, its expected points to start the drive would be about 2.5. If the team ends the drive with a field goal, thus gaining 3 points, its EPA for that drive would be found by subtracting its expected points from how many points it actually gained, 3 – 2.5 or 0.5 EPA.

Say the Chiefs start with the ball first-and-10 from their own 25-yard line, where its expected points would be about 1.06. If Patrick Mahomes throws a 15-yard completion, making it first-and-10 on the KC 40-yard line, where the expected points is now 1.88, the EPA of that play would be 1.88 – 1.06 or 0.82. In other words, that completion increased the Chiefs’ expected points on that drive by just over three-fourths of a point.

The metric can both be positive and negative, as sacks and incompletions contribute negatively to the team and its expected points.

Graham Mertz has been prone to interceptions and tough incompletions this season, enough where Wisconsin struggled to score against every good defense its played.

His struggles have landed him in the nation’s bottom ten in Quarterback EPA, right alongside Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr, Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei and a host of quarterbacks on losing Group of Five teams.

This metric is not close to the end-all, be-all for quarterback play. It is just a piece of the puzzle when evaluating how a signal-caller performs. And yes, there are numerous factors that play in including offensive line play, down-and-distance scenarios and the strength of opposing defenses.

But this metric follows everyone’s thinking that Mertz has struggled quite a bit through five weeks this season.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Film room: What exactly will Wisconsin’s defense be up against on Saturday?

Film room: What exactly will Wisconsin’s defense be up against on Saturday?

Wisconsin’s game on Saturday might send the older football fan back to the days before the forward pass was considered normal.

The Badgers are set to face off against the Army Black Knights—one of the only teams that still run the old-school triple-option offense.

Army enters the contest with a 4-1 record on the season thanks to wins against Georgia State, Western Kentucky, UConn and Miami (Ohio). They do so scoring more than 34 points per game…but only throwing the ball 5-7 times.

The triple-option is a ground-based attack designed to catch defenders out of position and slowly and methodically march down the field.

So, here is what Wisconsin fans can expect to see on Saturday. It is a beautiful football attack that requires intense planning and discipline to stop.

The Army quarterback has three options, hence the term ‘triple-option.’ There’s the initial handoff to the halfback, an available toss or a quarterback run.

But Army also runs more traditional downhill run plays out of similar pre-snap looks in order to keep the defense off guard. The changes are minute, but they completely alter what defenders see from the offensive linemen and quarterback on the play.

Army does a great job of changing the tempo of the plays (sometimes the outside toss is thrown immediately) and changing how the offensive line executes its attack on the defense. They operate well when it’s a guessing game on defense, and when some of their options are so successful that they open up others.

Wisconsin should be well-equipped to stop the Army attack thanks to a dominant front seven, intelligent and athletic linebackers and a defensive coordinator in Jim Leonhard that has had this game on his mind for months.

But the question must be asked, how many forward passes will we see attempted on Saturday?

Army averages 6.6 per game, Wisconsin averages 28 (19.5 in its two victories).

My non-scientific over/under is 25. Make of that whatever you wish.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

Film room: Analyzing Graham Mertz’s performance against Eastern Michigan

What can we learn from Graham Mertz’s performance against Eastern Michigan?

All eyes are tuned to quarterback Graham Mertz when the Wisconsin Badgers are on the football field.

The offensive unit boasts a lethal rushing attack, good offensive line play (yes, I know it was bad Week 1) and a myriad of weapons on the outside. It seems like the only thing they need to become an explosive offense and one that can finish drives in the red zone is the progression of Mertz as a quarterback.

2021’s debut was a rough one for the signal-caller, as he was unable to finish key drives for the team, struggled to find ways to complete passes against the Penn State defense, missed big-time throws and had a few crucial turnovers.

But I’m not overreacting to his struggles in Week 1, as Penn State’s defense will prove to be one of the best the Badgers play this season and the unit was crushed by poor offensive line play.

Related: Big Ten football power rankings after Week 2: The mighty has fallen

Everyone can agree, though, that Mertz needs to show improvement moving forward. I laid out all last week why Eastern Michigan presented the perfect opportunity.

So, with the game in the rear view and Mertz’s full performance on film, what can we learn from how he looked in the Badgers’ 34-7 win?

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Final game grades, report card for Wisconsin vs. Penn State

Final game grades, report card for Wisconsin vs. Penn State

The Wisconsin Badgers dropped their season-opening contest against Penn State yesterday, as red-zone woes wasted a masterful performance from Jim Leonhard’s defense.

The loss sets Wisconsin back in the Big Ten West, as they saw division rival Iowa come away with a decisive victory over Indiana.

To the naked eye, Wisconsin played a pretty good game yesterday. The defense dominated up front, the running game was good enough and the Badgers traveled to the red zone all day long.

However, the game was largely decided by the Badgers only scoring 7 total points in 4 trips within the Penn State 10 yard line.

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Throughout the season, I’ll run through the film on my Twitter account early in the week, then grade out each position group and player.

Here’s my final game grades and full report card for Wisconsin vs. Penn State:

Film room: How can Wisconsin stop Penn State’s offensive attack?

@benzkenney went through some of Penn State’s 2020 film to see what the Badger defense will need to do against Sean Clifford & the PSU offense:

It’s a Monday afternoon during the first Wisconsin football game week of the year.

So what does that mean? It’s time to open the film on Wisconsin’s opponent: the Penn State Nittany Lions.

James Franklin’s team went 4-5 last season, closing the year with a 4-game winning streak after dropping their first five games.

Much of their struggles were due to inconsistent play from QB Sean Clifford that was littered with turnovers, as well as an extremely inexperienced running back room.

Penn State relies on the layers of their ground game to attack opposing defenses. Many of their looks can go to a zone run up the middle, a Clifford read-option, a play-action pass or even a straight quarterback draw.

It’ll be Clifford’s legs that will present a tough test for the Badger defense. He ran for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns last season and 402 yards the year before that.

In order to stop the Nittany Lion offensive attack, the focus must be on containing Clifford in the pocket, stopping their initial rushing attack and maintaining discipline against their multi-faceted looks.

Because when Clifford was forced to do it all with his arm, we saw some pretty poor throws come as a result. Throwing on the run and escaping the pocket was a real strength, it was the drop-back, on-time pass that the Penn State quarterback struggled with at times.

Scenario one above is where Wisconsin will need to excel: keeping Clifford in the pocket and contending with their threats (Jahan Dotson, Parker Washington) on the outside.

Scenario two is where they will find trouble, as there were countless examples of Clifford rolling and delivering strikes.

Stopping the Penn State attack will come down to everybody excelling at their job: Keeanu Benton and the defensive ends need to disrupt the line of scrimmage, Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn need to take away Penn State’s options and the secondary will need to stick with the Nittany Lions talented wide receivers.

In my opinion, the game will likely need to be won on the offensive side of the football by Graham Mertz and the ground game. But once Jim Leonhard’s defense takes the field, they’ll need to be ready to stop every wrinkle Penn State throws at them.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

 

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Documentary in the works on Reggie Bush, USC Trojans recruiting scandal

Documentary in the works on Reggie Bush, USC Trojans recruiting scandal

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The newly rung-in name, image, and likeness era has opened all sorts of avenues for college athletes, ranging from sponsorships to fundraising opportunities and the freedom to sing and play the guitar for a few hours. And for former players like USC Trojans icon Reggie Bush, it’s an opportunity to clear the air.

Bush was forcibly divorced from the University of Southern California not long after the New Orleans Saints picked him second overall in the 2006 NFL draft, making him the very first selection of the Sean Payton era. An NCAA investigation found that Bush’s family accepted improper recruiting benefits — leading to the forfeiture of his Heisman Trophy and ostracization from the college football world.

Things are changing, though. Bush was eventually allowed to return to USC’s campus. There’s a public outcry to return the trophy he won and recognize his accomplishments with the Trojans. And now a documentary is in the works to share his perspective on those events.

Directed by Kirk Fraser (“ESPN’s 30 for 30: Without Bias”) in partnership with Bush and Believe Entertainment Group, the upcoming film is a deep dive into Bush’s tumultuous experience as a college athlete and sports pariah. The production company won an Academy Award in 2018 for “Dear Basketball,” written and narrated by the late Kobe Bryant on the eve of his retirement from the NBA.

They’re taking a similarly thoughtful approach to telling Bush’s story. He’s credited as an executive producer, with conversations on the project going on for nearly a year already.

“After all these years I’m finally ready to tell my story, I hope this can help drive change with the next generation of student athletes,” Bush said in a press release. “We’re making some progress, but there’s still a long way to go.”

It’ll be fascinating to have this depth of access to such a complicated situation and individual, especially if any episodes from Bush’s time in New Orleans come to light — like Sean Payton dropping an F-bomb on Bush’s marketing agent when they tried to talk him out of not drafting the star prospect. Stay tuned for updates on a release date.

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D’Mitrik Trice fouled out in the final minutes against Iowa, but should he have?

The Wisconsin Badgers saw the final minute of their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes get away from them thanks in large part to numerous

*Deep breath*

The Wisconsin Badgers saw the final minute of their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes get away from them thanks in large part to numerous questionable calls and no-calls from the Big Ten officiating crew.

It’s not just me saying this, as Badger Head Coach Greg Gard went off in his postgame press conference on the officiating and on how the league sees and judges Brad Davison.

The Davison situation aside, arguably the most significant string of foul calls were the final two on Wisconsin guard D’Mitrik Trice that put him on the bench for the end of the game. Not only is Trice the team’s most important late-game player, he may be the only one that can singlehandedly close a basketball game.

So with 40 seconds left Trice fouled out. The score at that point was 71-71. After that? Iowa closed the game on a 6-2 run and handed Wisconsin their seventh-straight loss against a ranked opponent.

Related: The Twitter world reacts to Wisconsin basketball’s controversial loss to Iowa

One of the points of Gard’s postgame press conference was to put emphasis on the joke that replay reviews have become in the sport.

Well, we’re going to the replay booth for the late fouls on Trice and seeing if he really should have fouled out of the game.

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