McCaffrey's four big runs.

The purpose of this post is to take a look at some of McCaffrey's big runs and try to figure out what went wrong.

I'm not looking for someone to "blame" exactly, but the way that he was able to gash the Rams several times just made me want to see what was going on there for my own satisfaction, and I thought I'd share it with the rest of you. Of course I don't know all the defensive assignments, so...

Most or all of you realize that I am NOT an X's and O's guy, so please excuse any mistakes I make in identifying a lineup. That's not my forte. It's Wednesday, I'll do what I can.

All references to right and left describe the offense's right or left.

Let me say also that Christian McCaffrey (CMC hereafter) is a rare breed of cat (pun intended). He's a quick twitch athlete, with the whole RB package of balance, power, speed, and vision. So shutting him down is not really a realistic expectation. He did a lot of damage in the passing game, and had a lot of steady runs as well. This is about 4 big ones.

1. CMC - around right end for 18. This is the 2nd play from scrimmage in the game. Carolina on their own 30, 2nd and 5. CMC is a lone setback, there's only one WR in motion to the right. The Panthers put 7 men on the line, another Hback(?) set up just off the left hip of the leftmost lineman. This looks like a run left formation. The Rams have 8 in the box initially, a safety comes running up to make it 9 at the snap. At the snap, everything washes left except the TE on the right, who fakes a route out to the right and draws that box safety away with him. CMC starts left, the Rams have it all bunched up in that direction. In the meantime, Fowler comes blasting in unblocked from the the right side, but gets chipped outside by that Hback, who blocks back to the right behind the formation. CMC cuts right inside the chip block , scoots around the right edge and has lots of room in front of him. Then he carries several DBs for a few more yards. AD gets blocked initially by both the RG and RT, and they push him left. But the RT quickly slides off AD and picks up Littleton in a mismatch, Littleton being off balance as he first took a small step in the direction of the flow. This looks like a combination of good play design and good execution by the Panthers. If the run goes left, it gets clogged up for a short gain. The key block was the Hback on Fowler in the backfield. If he defeats that block, he nails CMC in the backfield. One other note, the NT was pretty much handled by the center alone.

2. CMC - 1st and goal from the 8, direct snap run for the TD. I'll keep this one shorter. Lots of Rams got blocked on this, but the real key for me was that the Panthers' center Matt Paradis got underneath SJD and pushed him back into Littleton, taking them both out of the play. That's right. The center defeated the NT and an ILB all by himself. And that wasn't the only time I saw the center beat the NT solo. Look, it's got to be the other way around. The center has to need help with the NT, or you're not going to have a good run defense. amiright?

3. CMC - 3rd and 1 from the Ram 47, 3:08 to go, takes a sort of semi-draw handoff 24 yards up the middle to the Ram 23. Rams D lines up in that wide split that drives me crazy. You could drive a Mini-Cooper through the interior gap in that formation. The two interior defenders get absolutely buried by the outside OL, and the inside OL takes out the inside linebackers, who had no chance. Then Marqui Christian comes running up and whiffs, and not only whiffs, but forces a pursuing Ebukam to have to hurdle over him as he goes down. That takes Ebukam out of the play. Littleton finally gets back in the play and drags McCaffrey down after a big gain. No heroes here. At all.

4. CMC - 2nd and 5 from the Ram 19, 2:10 to go, takes another delay handoff up the middle for 18 yards to the 1. Again, the two interior defenders line up wide apart, and then both take an outside rush. I have no idea who is supposed to stop a run up the middle if you do that. CMC takes it slightly to the right, right past Fox who just kind of reaches out disinterestedly around his blocker. CMC into the secondary and this time makes JJIII whiff.

Look. I know this. Wade Phillips knows what he's doing and I don't. But I do NOT understand that wide defensive split in certain situations. It's an invitation to run up the gut, and it often appears when you study big yardage runs.

I don't want to pick on SJD. I saw him make some plays. But when it was bad, the center got under his pads and peeled him back. He didn't look like a space-eater in this game.

All, obviously, IMO only.

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Ramily!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2019 12:31PM by Saguaro.