The Dallas Cowboys defense has had is struggles against the run in 2019, and coming off of a tough loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, the Cowboys won’t have much time to lick their wounds before suiting up for what is sure to be a challenge in their annual Thanksgiving day contest.
That challenge, comes by the name of the Buffalo Bills, and along with a strong set of ball carriers, including running backs Frank Gore and Devin Singletary, and quarterback Josh Allen, the scheme designed by offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is top notch. It is multiple in terms of concepts and can be explosive, making it a dangerous attack to defend. It’s a large part of the reason the Bills find themselves at 8-3.
The fact Allen is such a capable runner from the quarterback position helps make the Bills offense one of the best in the league, as they currently rank 8th in the NFL in rushing offense DVOA, but beyond that Daboll does a brilliant job mixing his run schemes to attack opposing defenses.
One such scheme that I’m sure will show up on Thursday afternoon, has popped up a few times on tape this year, and is one that is run across college and the NFL by certain teams, but is not nearly as prevalent as the typical zone runs, or Power G schemes. That is the Influence Wham concept, known in some play books as Crunch.
A typical wham scheme involves the offense picking one player on the defensive front who the offensive line will leave unblocked, essentially baiting them up the field while the offensive linemen climb to the second level.
That defensive lineman, usually a tackle, gets the free access to the backfield and might believe he is going to have a chance to make a big play.
But just as they clear into the backfield, WHAM, an offensive player coming across the formation. Often a tight end or a guard from the opposite side will deliver a shot to the defender, knocking him out of the hole and clearing a path for the running back to get to the second level. Here, there’s a lineman up blocking a linebacker, and the ball carrier can quickly accelerate and make a big play.
What makes Crunch different from the typical wham play is that it features, not one or two, but three wham blocks, meaning almost the entire defensive line gets trapped and whammed, while the offensive linemen have free access to the linebackers and defensive backs down the field.
On this play from the Bills’ Week 10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Daboll dials up Crunch with some pre-snap window dressing.
The compressed formation forces the outside linebacker to that side to play a step wider than he usually would, and the jet motion generates a reaction from the linebackers.
At the snap both offensive tackles block down hard and the center immediately fires to the second level. The gap-exchange run blitz by No. 51 Mack Wilson actually causes a mix up in the execution for the Bills, and the right tackle blocks the defensive tackle to his side expecting the guard from the opposite side to hit the first color that flashes in front of him. But the guard is running his track to the defensive tackle and reacts too late, allowing Wilson into the back field.
Because Singletary is so talented with the ball in his hands, and because the Bills block up the front side of this play so well, he is able to turn it into a decent gain and help the Bills stay in front of the chains and on schedule for their offense.
Against a team like Dallas, with their fast and athletic defenders who are famous for flying up the field in a hurry,Crunch is almost certain to make an appearance on Coach Daboll’s call sheet, and if the Cowboys defensive linemen don’t stay gap sound, and if their linebackers can’t get off of the blocks to make the tackles, Singletary and Gore will put up big numbers against this Cowboys defense.
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