NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Divisional Weekend coaching tape: Giants offense vs. Packers defense.
- Bush started at RCB in the Packers nickel sub-package in place of Shields
- Packers started Jones at OLB in the base 3-4 in place of Walden, Walden only played 14 snaps
- Focus of Packers pressure concepts was inside, “Fire x” blitz concepts with Bishop and Hawk out of nickel were featured
- Manning excellent pocket movement on first 3rd + long (3rd+ 8), Bishop clean on “fire x” blitz
- Cruz has become a very effective WR when at #1 outside the numbers, More than just a slot receiver
- Overall Manning a better passer on the move than he has ever been, Boot action now part of Giants pass game
- Packers played a lot of man coverage on the Giants 1st possession, Cruz beat Woodson out of “2 man” for 11 yds on 3rd + 10
- Bradshaw excellent block on blitzing Bishop on Beckum 10 yds on Giants 1st possession
- Woodson played safety at times, depending on Giants personnel; With Beckum in the game the Packers at times aligned SS Peprah over him and Woodson dropped to safety
- What again stood out about Manning was his willingness to pull the trigger on tight throws into small windows
- Packers were unable to generate consistent pressure on Manning, Focus was inside with LB blitz
- Nicks 66 yd TD came out of “21” personnel versus “cover 3” behind a 3 man rush, No pressure on Manning as he threw the deep dig to Nicks
- Giants struggled to run the ball; Their OL was physically handled by the Packers defensive front, whether they were in 3-4 or 2-4 personnel
- Packers a number of snaps with 3 man rushes and 8 in coverage, They did not blitz very much
- Bush and Shields both played snaps at corner in the nickel sub-package opposite Williams, Shields only played 16 snaps
- Manning again showed how strong he is as a progression reader, Great sense of route combinations and the timing involved
- Manning outstanding on 3rd down in the 1sthalf, Strong in the pocket and accurate
- Burnett interception result of pressure from “fire x” blitz out of 2-4-5 personnel, LG Boothe put in a conflict and Bishop was able to beat him and impact Manning’s throw
- Nicks predominantly the “x” in the Giants base “21” personnel package, Capable of both beating man coverage and making difficult contested catches
- Bush and Shields did not play with a lot of effort on Nicks 37 yd TD on final play of 1st half, They allowed Nicks and Cruz to run by them and were not part of the play
- Walden played in the 2nd half after not getting any snaps in the 1st half
- Manningham 4 yd TD was an outstanding throw by Manning, Velocity and accuracy in a very tight window – Tremendous red zone execution
- Cruz 17 yds on 3rd + 11 on Giants final TD drive was game’s critical play; Packers rushed 4 and played “cover 2”, Lack of pass rush allowed Manning to manipulate the underneath coverage and open the passing lane to Cruz – A microcosm of the entire game
- Giants stayed balanced with their play calling but Manning’s efficiency on 3rd down was critical component to this game
