A closer look at some of the games in Week 3, via film analysis.
Jets O vs. Raiders D
The Jets came out with a very identifiable approach. In the run game, it was sweeps outside to take advantage of the offensive tackles’ athleticism and get Shonn Greene going downhill (he can be terrific when he has momentum). In the pass game, Mark Sanchez rolled out off play-fakes. This was all the Jets did through the air in the first half. The logic behind it was smart. The Raiders play almost exclusively man coverage. Play-action extends the play and forces defensive backs to hold their man coverage longer. Also, if the linebackers bite on the fake, the nature of man-defense usually carries them out of position. The Jets had a good formula, but the Raiders caught on in the second half. The linebackers did a better job of identifying LaDainian Tomlinson’s routes out of the backfield. That was critical because the corners were already stifling Jets receivers (Santonio Holmes was nowhere to be found in this one). Oakland also anticipated Sanchez’s designed pocket movement, which led to four second-half sacks.
Raiders O vs. Jets D
It was a solid performance by the Raiders in which they took advantage of favorable field position and made a few timely big plays. They finished with a somewhat misleading 234 yards rushing. Twenty-seven of those yards came off a lucky Darren McFadden scramble from an unsuccessful halfback option pass and 23 came off an outstanding improvisational scamper by Denarius Moore on a reverse. Earlier in the game, McFadden got 70 yards on one spectacular outside run (pure speed on that play). The Jet linebackers need to play better.
The Raiders’ offensive line won the trench battle, both with stellar run-blocking (center Samson Satele had his best game in years) and in identifying the Jets’ pass-rushing concepts. This was important considering the Raiders came in knowing that they wouldn’t be able to throw on Darrelle Revis and knowing, as usual, that they often wouldn’t ask Jason Campbell to make more than two, sometimes three, reads on a given play.
Vikings O vs. Lions D
You can talk about Minnesota’s play-calling all you want, but this game was dictated by Detroit’s outstanding defensive line. The Lions realized after the first quarter that their down four could readily outperform Minnesota’s down five. Thus, the Lions were able to play seven men in coverage, which allowed their cornerbacks to tighten on wideouts Michael Jenkins and Bernard Berrian (two guys who struggle to get downfield against good coverage). Detroit also curtailed Minnesota’s rushing attack by having defensive backs fly into the run front on the outside (the Vikings were running almost exclusively outside in the second half because Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams owned the trenches). The defensive backs often did not take down Adrian Peterson, but their presence forced him to stop his feet, which is the only reason Detroit’s fast outside backers (Justin Durant and DeAndre Levy) were able to reach him. This is a great illustration of the type of problems that a meager offensive line and limited receiving corps will continue to cause for the Vikings in 2011.
Lions O vs. Vikings D
Detroit spent most of the game throwing between the numbers out of three-receiver shotgun sets. They clearly liked the matchup of tight end Brandon Pettigrew (a big, plodding but effective runner) against Viking linebackers. Jahvid Best’s contributions came in the receiving department, as the Lions knew they didn’t have a powerful enough front line to move the Vikings off the ball in the ground game. Minnesota’s defensive front four was outstanding. Ends Jared Allen and Brian Robison both reached the quarterback with speed off the edge and held their ground consistently against the run. The Vikings, however, did not have a cornerback who could match Calvin Johnson’s athleticism (most teams don’t) or an answer for Detroit’s inside passing game. Over all, Matthew Stafford did a good job reading the field.
49ers O vs. Bengals D
The Niners’ victory was a product of their defense’s effort. The offense went in with a “don’t botch it” gameplan. In that sense, they succeeded; their only turnover was a Frank Gore fumble that gave the Bengals three extra points in the fourth quarter. Still, it was an unsettlingly rudimentary gameplan for an offense that didn’t even bother attacking vertically. The passing game ran through Vernon Davis, who consistently got open thanks to his ability to execute a variety of routes from a variety of alignments. That was the only creative aspect to the plan – and, as it turned out, the only one San Francisco needed. San Francisco’s offensive line must play with more consistency, and Alex Smith must make quicker (much quicker) decisions in the pocket.
Bengals O vs. 49ers D
After Cincinnati’s impressive opening drive, San Francisco’s secondary closed off the intermediate quick routes and took away Andy Dalton’s simplistic first reads. Dalton proved to be far less effective when he wasn’t able to make throws from a clean pocket. That might be a consequence of his mediocre arm strength (which is usually a key aspect of improvisational quarterbacking). Dalton is accurate, but his inexperience is showing. If the Bengals had this game to do over again, they almost certainly would not have waited until late in the fourth quarter to split out tight end Jermaine Gresham and feature him in the passing attack. He was a killer late in the fourth. Credit the 49ers front seven for another strong game. End Ray McDonald and outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks were particularly impressive. McDonald was in attack mode all afternoon and outplayed right tackle Andre Smith (who needs to get meaner and use his raw power). The agile Brooks consistently got in the backfield against both the run and pass.
Broncos O vs. Titans D
The Broncos couldn’t overcome their lack of firepower. With Knowshon Moreno out, there was no backfield speed to rely on. Virtually every time Willis McGahee took the handoff and finally got back to the line of scrimmage, he’d be met by a heap of bodies. Fullback Spencer Larsen did not get great movement as a lead-blocker, and the Broncos offensive line as a whole had trouble displacing Tennessee’s low-leveraged defensive tackles (Shaun Smith was particularly impressive). With no backfield or outside speed to work with, Kyle Orton was compelled to dink and dunk in the flats. That’s always an easy formula to defend, especially for a Titans D that has firm tackling corners and solid pass-defending outside linebackers.
Titans O vs. Broncos D
The Titans should be very encouraged by what they saw from Matt Hasselbeck. After struggling to grasp a new system in August, he has found his comfort zone. Hasselbeck was confident and efficient in his reads and benefitted from a few impressive catches by Nate Washington. It’s encouraging that Tennessee was able to move the ball respectably despite losing receiver Kenny Britt early and getting nothing out of their run game. The explanation for this week’s stagnant run game is that Chris Johnson was, for whatever reason, slower out of the backfield than usual. He’s having to see the holes before he shifts into top gear. In the N.F.L., you have to instinctively locate the hole the second the ball is snapped. Johnson didn’t have great help; Tennessee’s interior offensive linemen were unable to generate movement and power. Broncos defensive tackle Broderick Bunkley played extremely well on running downs, while Joe Mays played exactly how you want your 4-3 Mike ‘backer to play.
Ravens O vs. Rams D
With aging cornerback Al Harris and undrafted second-year pro Darian Stewart having prominent roles in the Rams’ secondary this game, Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron came out firing deep. The Ravens executed a lot of deliberately designed big plays, mainly off play-action. Rookie wideout Torrey Smith, who was not relevant the first two games this season, filled in for an injured Lee Evans and lit the world on fire. Smith has natural instincts for tracking the ball and can accelerate late in his sprint. After Smith scored three first-quarter touchdowns, the Rams rolled safety help to his side and started losing one-on-one matchups underneath to Ed Dickson and Anquan Boldin.
To give you an idea of just how aggressive the Ravens were through the air, Smith’s second and third touchdowns were both preceded by unsuccessful deep bombs in his direction. It was a barrage of deep strikes. Clearly, Cameron and Jim Harbaugh have developed more trust in Joe Flacco. Baltimore’s dynamic passing attack opened up the run game and made life easy for Ray Rice and Ricky Williams. Right guard Marshal Yanda was terrific as a playside run-blocker. As for the Rams, no players stood out – they were all back on their heels in the first quarter and, strategically, a step behind with their blitzes in the second and third quarters.
Rams O vs. Ravens D
Just as with the other side of the ball, Baltimore outcoached and outperformed St. Louis. Physically, the Rams didn’t have an answer for the voracious and supple Terrell Suggs or the immovable Terrence Cody (the second-year pro appears to be blossoming quickly). Strategically, they couldn’t solve Baltimore’s presnap disguises. When the Rams had base personnel on the field, the Ravens played coverage; when the Rams had extra receivers, the Ravens blitzed. Both tactics seemed to catch Josh McDaniels and Company off-guard. Part of the problem is the Rams receivers don’t have enough quickness to consistently create separation on their own.
Andy Benoit is an N.F.L. analyst for CBSSports.com and founder of NFLTouchdown.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLTouchdown.com or @Andy_Benoit.
