Did a thorough watch of the first half defense vs the Giants. Since it takes me a while to get through it I thought I'd post what I have so far. Just a half so small sample size.
Our coverages are difficult to decipher. We are very heavy in zone(75% in 1st half) use but that zone has some man principles to it as well. For example, zone typically covers and area while man covers a specific receiver. We play alot of 3Seam or Bronco coverage. In 3Seam, you have 3 deep defenders and 4 short defenders(like Cover 3) but with 3Seam depending on what route the slot receivers run the underneath zone defenders may switch to man coverage on them. Usually, the underneath defender in zone will switch to man if the slot receiver goes out or vertical while if the slot goes inside they will stay in their zone.
I'm not an expert by any stretch but I have a good feel for coverages but it is really hard to decipher exactly what the Rams defense is doing consistently. Some interesting things I've found out though:
1. We are not going to let people beat us deep. Almost always there is a very deep high safety--even when they play Quarters one safety will stay way deeper than the furthest receiver.
2. The outside CBs will frequently play man to man even in a zone. I think this is most likely when there is no other receiver on their side(or any obvious deep threat). This was problematic on a play vs the Giants where Hill had to run all the way across the field with Engram--almost an impossible coverage task given Hill began the play with outside leverage.
3. I don't think we really care about pass rush. Sure it would be great but Staley doesnt invest anything into it. Obo is almost strictly a bull rusher, while Floyd runs past the Qb so often I wonder if he is targeting something else. When I watch Floyd, I see Quinn without the bend to turn the edge. When Quinn got the Tackle's outside shoulder it was over--Quinn would bend at some obscene angle and instantly turn into the QB. Floyd just keeps running towards the other endzone. SBJ is getting a significant amount of reps in passing situations in the first half...The stunts are uncreative...
4. Our Edge players are men. Floyd, Samson, and Obo are physical. They stand their ground and shed. Really impressive. Floyd gave up the edge once but he was confused on where the ball was at. Cant wait to see Floyd and Kittle go at it. Really impressed with Floyd as a non passrusher. He's just really stiff. Samson showed some some good pass rush early--more than I've seen from Floyd.
5. Rapp is like a missile on the field. Watching him on film you would never think he ran a 4.7. And then what he is known for--tackling--1v1 in the hole I'll take him over any RB in the league. Would love to see him vs D Henry in the hole.
6. Kiser. He gets to the ball, disengages well, but gets removed fromt the play to often. He's not physical. Uses his hands well. Good in pursuit, getting through people to get to the ball. I liked him in coverage--he and Young handle mesh concepts (route concept where the wrs run right past one another where the goal is to pick a db off to free one up) well. On that note, Young looked good in coverage as well. He looked much better than I had thought. Though he made some poor decisions in the run game.
7. Seemed the Rams really wanted to take Slayton out of the game. They doubled him some, especially in the red zone.
8. Hill and DWill are great. Hill can really put his feet in the ground and drive on the ball in zone. Really impressive. DWill is like a shadow--when he is covering a guy the separation is so minimal. Absolutley have a find a way to sign this two if the money is realistic.
9. Burgess plays as the deep safety in their dime package. No opinion of him after the first half.
We were playing a very conservative "bend but dont break" defense in that half. They definitely were prepared for the read option--taking away the b gaps early. Staley does an impressive job of disguising what he is doing in the secondary. It is complicated. I'm surprised we havent seen more mistakes. But it is definitely effective when played properly. Very difficult to know exactly how to attack his defense.
If any is interested in talking coverage I'd love to discuss what others think he is doing in coverage. I've got a spreadsheet that I'll share once I'm down.
Be well all.
