NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Week 15 coaching tape: the Lions offense vs. the Raiders defense.
- MLB McClain not a very good athlete; Change of direction and range are significant issues, A stiff and upright player – I have always been surprised that he plays in the sub-packages
- Raiders predominantly played nickel when Scheffler was on the field with Pettigrew, They treated Scheffler as a WR
- Wimbley plays DE in the 4 man sub-package DL, He’s the Raiders best pure pass rusher
- Raiders at times on 3rddown doubled Johnson with a corner and a safety, They got to it different ways to change the looks for both Johnson and Stafford
Calvin Johnson catches a TD pass in front of Matt Giordano (AP)
- Johnson 51 yd TD featured tight motion by Johnson, Vertical seam route got him matched on S Mitchell, Mitchell could not allow Johnson to get over the top of him and he did – A shot play with 6 man protection and chip release by TE Heller
- Lions utilized Johnson in motion more in this game, plus aligned him in the slot at times; Less static formations to put more pressure on the defense – Also a good tactic v. Raiders man coverage
- Seymour still has outstanding strength with his hands, Understands leverage – A powerful man
- Raiders at times played with 7 DB, S Boyd and CB Van Dyke were the extra DB
- Burleson 39 yd TD was a great seam throw by Stafford off shotgun “power” play action
- Raiders increased blitz frequency as the game progressed, Branch utilized extensively as a slot blitzer; Also more dime and 7 DB sub-packages
- Stafford remained erratic with his accuracy,Still missed too many throws that were there – Must become more consistent to become a more dependable and less unpredictable week-to-week QB
Matthew Stafford (AP)
- Curry fumble recovery TD was on Stafford, He had Johnson wide open on out route on progression side and did not pull the trigger – Ball should have out long before Kelly caused the fumble
- Stafford very poised on the final 2 series, Made some excellent throws under pressure – What stood out was his arm strength, Ball came out with velocity
- Raiders mixed man and zone coverage concepts on the final 2 drives, They played snaps of “Tampa 2” which they do not play well
- S Boyd a very poor play on Johnson 48 yds on winning TD drive, It was “Tampa 2” and Boyd could not let Johnson get over the top of him – A total breakdown in coverage responsibility in a critical situation
- Great throw by Stafford on Johnson 6 yd winning TD, Johnson in the slot with Routt on him man-to-man with no help over the top – Either a poorly designed tight red zone coverage or a coverage breakdown
Later today:
More of Greg’s notes from the Week 15 Coaching Tape.