Posts tagged Pro Football

Remove The Beer Goggles (A Sober Look at Terrelle Pryor)

I’m going to give you a ton of analysis on Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. But if you subscribe to the “Keep It Simple Stupid,” approach, here’s an executive summary:

All NFL prospects have physical talent. All NFL starters have technical skill. However, few NFL prospects in a given year become NFL starters because they don’t develop the techniques to play the position beyond the college level.  The problem this presents to NFL personnel staff is that they have to project a player’s potential and physical talent. It is a significant part of that equation. As we have seen year after year, physical talent can be intoxicating if taken in large doses. And if you’ve ever been drunk, you understand how your judgment deteriorates.

Here’s a visual summary of what could happen to an NFL personnel staff as they view Pryor’s physical skills over time.

Terrelle Pryor as seen by NFL in 2010 (photo courtesy of Scott Stuart)
Terrelle Pryor seen by some optimistic NFL GMs and owners in early 2011 (photo courtesy of Sabot Images)
Terrelle Pryor as seen by QB-needy NFL team in July 2011 (photo courtesy of Andrew Morrell Photography)
It all boils down to this phenomenon.

Physically, Terrelle Pryor has the tools to become a phenomenal NFL quarterback. But I took a hard look at his game for the 2011 Rookie Scouting Portfolio just in case he declared for the 2011 NFL Draft. The analysis ahead is what would have been included in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio if Pryor played for Ohio State through his senior year. It is my take on Pryor’s performance against Wisconsin on October 16, 2010.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/WtBRDMzkQi0]

Statistically, Pryor was 14-28, for 156 yards with no touchdowns and 1 interception through the air. On the ground he rushed for 56 yards on 18 attempts. He was sacked twice and fumbled the ball once. His receivers dropped one pass. Wisconsin won this game 31-18 in Madison. My overall score for Pryor in this game was a 40 on a 100-point scale. This equates to a street free agent who would benefit from playing in another league before trying to enter the NFL.

I’ll begin with overall strengths and weaknesses and the rest will be a more thorough breakdown:

Strengths:

Pryor has all of the physical tools to become a dominant NFL quarterback.  He is also improving with his passing mechanics. When he’s focused and in rhythm, he can throw accurate passes with decent form. However, his improvement still remains in the basic stages of development. He is still far from consistent with his mechanics. His greatest strengths are his size, speed, and vision as a runner. He is excellent at avoiding pursuit in the pocket or as a runner in the open field. He’s big enough to run through arm tackles or hits and he has the agility to make sharp cuts and dips. If he learns how to refine his conceptual and mechanical technique as a passer he could develop into a great prospect. Right now he’s a dynamic athlete with a strong arm rather than a dynamic passer.

Weaknesses:

As good as he is at making defenders miss and buying time behind the line of scrimmage, Pryor lacks the ability to manipulate the pocket with tight movements. His tendency to scramble from one side of the field to the other actually creates more pressure and forces Pryor to either tuck and run, make quick throws into coverage that aren’t wise, or continue scrambling. Most of the time his choices heighten the risk of a sack, tire him out, and increase his chances of getting hit. This is far more evident against top competition and will only become a greater problem in the NFL if he doesn’t learn how to work the pocket more efficiently.

Pryor routinely throws the ball across his body, especially when flushed from the pocket. His passes tend to sink on him because he will over stride into this release. Right now he is not NFL-ready. He will need a simplified game plan with talented players around him to have initial success as a pro quarterback, and that will only come after he develops his footwork. If he can develop better footwork and learn to maneuver the pocket, he could become a much more accurate passer. Then Pryor might have a shot to learn the conceptual part of the game and develop better judgment as a field general.

Right now, he’s a long-term project, at best. He’ll need to exhibit a fantastic work ethic and vastly improved maturity to stick with a team long enough to earn long-term consideration as said project.

Accuracy: 2pts out of a possible 23pts.

  • High completion rate (>60%) – 5pts: No
  • Deep Accuracy – 2pts: No
  • Intermediate Accuracy – 7pts: No
  • Short Accuracy – 5pts: No
  • Accuracy moving right – 2pts: Yes
  • Accuracy moving left – 2pts: No

Analysis: 

Pryor’s first attempt came on OSU’s opening offensive play from a 1×2 spread set with backs flanking each side of him in the shotgun. His primary target was DeVier Posey on a 12-yard in-cut. Pryor started down his target from the snap to his release, delivering the ball on-target for the first down and a total gain of 14 yards. On the play, Pryor demonstrated a quick release with his delivery and the ball landed in the receiver’s midsection in stride. This pass demonstrates there is potential for Pryor to become a solid thrower of the football in the intermediate range of the field.

However, Pryor’s timing on a 7-yard curl on 2nd and 7 with 8:57 in the first quarter was off. His pass arrived after the receiver made his break, which allowed the defensive back to jump the route and nearly intercept it. Pryor also stared down this primary receiver from snap to release and if he’s going to make this a habit, he needs to exhibit better anticipation on these timing routes. If an NFL quarterback stares down a receiver, he’s only going to be successful if the play is a quick-hitting pass or his accuracy and anticipation are pinpoint.

On a 1st and 10 throw from the opposite hash with 8:36 in the first quarter, the ball seemed to come off Pryor’s hand poorly.  The ball was low, short and did not come off his hand with velocity. His target Posey had less of a chance to catch the pass than the zone linebacker, who nearly got a hand on the ball.

On the next play, Pryor threw the ball about four yards behind Posey on a designed throwback after rolling left. Posey ran a crossing route and was targeted in the middle of the field. The play was obviously designed for the opposing defense to chase Pryor and abandon their position so Pryor could use his athleticism to create an opening in the secondary and hit Posey on an easy pass. This is the kind of throw Pryor will have to make in the NFL with some level of accuracy if an NFL team is going to use his athleticism to beat defenses.

On a screen pass to RB Dan Herron on 1st and 10 with 11:46 in the half, Pryor exhibited some touch on the pass, but he nearly placed too much arc on the ball it was a rainbow-like throw. In the NFL, this kind of lollypop thrown with fast, instinctive, and smart defenders, could result in an interception or Pryor’s RB getting creamed. The raw potential to develop touch is there for Pryor, but at this stage of his development he should already be better with touch passes than he is.

Although he was not accurate earlier on a designed roll to the left, he was much better on a designed roll to the right. He rolled right, dropped three steps after the roll, planted his back foot, and completed a 24-yard corner route to his receiver Dane Sanzenbacher. Pryor exhibited good timing with his release if he can develop this kind of crisp execution with all of his throws, he’ll become an NFL quarterback. However this is the best throw I saw after five attempts.

Pryor followed up with good accuracy on another designed boot; throwing on the run while rolling right. He hit is WR Sanzenbacher for a 20-yard completion on a crossing route near the sideline with 2:36 in the third quarter.This and the corner route will be the types of throws on the move that will keep some NFL teams interested in his potential to develop into an accurate passer. The big “if,” will be how hard Pryor will work to attain that technical proficiency.

Once again, we see that Pryor is an effective thrower of the ball when moving to his right on a two-point conversion that cut the lead to 21-18 in the early fourth quarter. This is the third nice pass he threw moving to his right. This time Pryor exhibited good touch on a play action roll right and throw back to the left, hitting his tight end in the front corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion.

However, it became clear in this game that Pryor was not proficient throwing while on the move to his left on 1st and 10 with 6:47 left in the game. On a designed boot left, he overshot his RB on a drag route, hurrying the throw due to pressure coming near him. Pryor’s feet weren’t in sync with his release. The feet and the arm have to work in harmony in order to develop sound and accurate mechanics. Pryor will need to do a lot of drills to develop this kind of footwork and mechanics. Right now, it’s not second-nature to him. Otherwise, his footwork would have been smooth in this fourth-quarter pressure situation. The media likes to talk about heart, guts, and other intangibles that make players winners. These are real things, but good technique is the foundation for a player to exhibit the qualities that inspire and endure.

Another mechanical problem showed up on the next play. Pryor’s stride was too wide on a pass to his receiver at the first down marker in the left flat. This caused the ball to sink too low for a reception. On third down of the same series, Pryor’s throw was slightly better, but still too low on a designed roll left that finished with a short drop and throw. Pryor then under threw another pass to Posey with 3:03 in the game – a deep in-cut. On 4th and 3 he under threw Posey on a short curl at the sideline, but his receiver made a nice catch. This series of poor throws should be an indication to NFL personnel staff that they won’t be able to use Pryor’s athleticism until he develops more consistent footwork on the move – even with plays where they cut off half the field by moving him to one side.

However, Pryor has moments that will potentially intoxicate some NFL personnel. One of them came with 1:48 left in the game on the play after he took a sack: a 26-yard completion of a deep in-cut. This was Pryor’s best pass of the night, hitting his receiver Sanzenbacher under the safety and in stride. An overzealous evaluator could take a snapshot of this play and proclaim Pryor as a prospect with potential to make big plays in big moments after dealing with adversity.

A counterargument would be that this was a play where his receiver was wide open and a lot of time to deliver the ball. It was clear in this game when Pryor had time, was moving to his right, or standing in the pocket, and his receiver was wide open, his accuracy is good. Give these conditions to 95 percent of the major college QBs, and you’ll see accuracy as well.

Pryor’s final throw was an under thrown pass in the middle of the field that the undercutting defender intercepted. Pryor had time to throw, but did not put enough on the ball. He had this problem all night. He didn’t step into this throw and it needed that kind of velocity to get 25 yards down field. It was short by five yards.

Arm Strength: 11 points out of a possible 11 points.

  • Deep velocity – 2pts: Yes
  • Deep distance (>40 yards) – 2pts: Yes
  • Intermediate velocity – 5pts: Yes
  • Velocity on the move -2pts: Yes

Analysis: 

Pryor’s first pass, the 12-yard completion of a square-in that resulted in a 14-yard gain, showed good velocity. On 2nd and 9 with 12:22 in the half, Pryor demonstrated good arm strength on a deep streak down the left sideline. He threw the ball 50 yards from the opposite hash and the pass arrived on target. However, the defender had the best position on the ball, nearly intercepting it.This was more about Pryor’s decision-making than his arm strength. A 50-yard throw from the opposite hash that arrives on-target is a sign of great physical potential to pay the quarterback position in the NFL. However, you need to know when to make that throw and that comes with excellent presnap understanding of the defense and the ability to disguise your intentions. Drew Brees doesn’t have Pryor’s arm, but he could make that throw successfully as well as other deep passes far more often because he understands when and when not to try it.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/XLRBiQ7kdzg]

Pryor demonstrated nice zip on a 1st and 10 curl route for 12 yards in the right flat to Posey with 3:04 in the third quarter. Although the velocity was good, the lack of good mechanics with his feet caused the ball to be low, forcing the receiver to dive for the ball.  There was a lot of open space for the receiver to run after the catch if the accuracy were better.

Later, Pryor vastly over threw a deep streak to Posey, delivering the ball on a line drive that covered 55 yards in the air, falling five yards out of the end zone.

There’s not much that needs to be said about Pryor’s arm strength. It’s pro caliber. He can throw from the opposite hash, he can throw the ball with velocity in the intermediate range, and he can throw for distance. However, his arm strength won’t show up in a positive way if he can’t develop consistently sound mechanics with his feet. Passes will continue to be off-target in every conceivable way (late, long, short, low, etc.) until he has control of his frame as he releases the ball.

Delivery: 6 points out of a possible 16 points.

  • Delivers from a variety of platforms – 2pts: No
  • Catchable ball (touch, spirals, etc.) – 4pts: No
  • Quick release – 4pts: Yes
  • Compact delivery – 4pts: No
  • Good drop depth – 2pts: Yes

Analysis:

Pryor’s first attempt on the opening offensive play, the 12-yard in-cut, was an on-target delivery. He demonstrated a quick release that was over the top. His feet seemed well spaced as he threw the ball. On a pass to the FB in the flat with 13:48 in the first quarter, he did a nice job with his five-step drop, getting good depth. Again, his release was quick. The feet could be a little closer together, but on these passes his footwork was passable.

Although Pryor delivers some of his passes with good velocity and a quick, over the top release, the quality of his passes are wobbly and they lack that fine touch to drop between defenders. His timing and accuracy are inconsistent because he consistently doesn’t throw a tight spiral and his passes tend to wobble. I think this has to do with his footwork. He sets his feet reasonably well, but he tends to over stride during his release. When moving to his right, Pryor does a much better= job of keeping his feet under him than when he’s moving to his left. However as mentioned earlier with his accuracy, Pryor’s footwork fell apart in the fourth quarter and the quality of his passes followed. I would probably be too generous with awarding Pryor a positive score for a compact delivery, because he has a tendency to over stride.

Pryor’s footwork in the pocket is still in its development stages as a passer. He appears stiff with his drops or any attempt to slide and still maintain a good throwing stance as the pocket constricts. If he wants to play in the NFL, he won’t have nearly as many picture perfect pockets to operate from and he’ll need to have great footwork ingrained into him before he gets under center.

Decisions: 0 points out of a possible 14 points.

  • Avoids locking onto one receiver – 3pts: No
  • Plays with controlled aggression – 2pts: No
  • Manipulates defense with eyes – 2pts: No
  • Makes effective presnap reads – 2pts: No
  • Throws ball away to avoid sacks – 3pts: No
  • Checks down judiciously – 2pts: No

Analysis:

On a 2nd and 22 play action pass from the I formation with 13:49 in the first quarter, Pryor lacked patience in the pocket and the result was a check-down at inopportune time. He dropped five steps from center, looked down the middle of the field ,and then rushed a throw to his FB in the flat who was covered tightly at the line of scrimmage. As soon as the FB made the reception, the defender dropped him. There was as WR running a shallow cross who was open at the opposite hash and if Pryor waited just a beat longer, he could have completed a pass to a teammate with room to run.

There were several things Pryor lacked on this play:

  1. The ability to look at multiple receivers (locking onto one receiver).
  2. The conceptual understanding that dumping a 2nd and 22 pass to a tightly covered fullback was not much better than taking a sack and probably not as good as throwing the ball away (controlled aggression and checking down).
  3. The ability to move know that the WR was running open on the cross and use his initial lock-down of the fullback to his advantage (manipulating with his eyes).

Pryor is already operating a basic college offense. The fact that he’s making questionable decisions in it doesn’t bode well for the NFL.

On the next play, a 3rd and 21 with 13:01 in the first quarter, Pryor was too hesitant with his down field options and then forced a throw into tight coverage that was nearly intercepted. Pryor initially dropped from shotgun and looked down field to his right before turning back to the left. Hew waited too long, double-clutching the ball until he tried to force the ball to his WR Sanzenbacker on a corner route. If he throws the ball earlier, the receiver wouldn’t have been forced to fight for the ball between two defenders. Instead, Pryor’s lack of anticipation allowed the safety to come over the top and catch the ball. Fortunately for OSU, the Wisconsin safety landed out of bounds.

Once again, Pryor demonstrated a lack of patience on a 2nd and 10 crossing route with 8:30 in the first quarter. The play began with a designed roll to the left and ended with a throwback to DeVier Posey. Pryor threw the ball about four yards behind his receiver, who was in the middle of the field on his cross. If Pryor waited for Posey to clear the next window to the flat, he could have had an easier throw to a wide open player rather than attempting a throw across his body.

Pryor had two receivers running crosses of different depths on 2nd and 9 with 3:41 in the half and he once again made the wrong decision. The quarterback stared down the shallow cross to Posey, leading the receiver into the linebacker. However, he didn’t see that his receiver Sanzenbacher was open on a deeper cross 15 yards down field.

Pryor made another poor decision to throw the ball across the field after getting flushed to his right. He the ball across the field to the opposite hash to his receiver Brandon Saine with 4:00 in the game. The pass was nearly picked off as two defenders were able to cut off the receiver on the play.

The only patience I saw from Pryor in this game came as a runner on a play around right end for an eight-yard gain behind his pulling lineman with 6:28 in the third quarter. He’s going to be woefully predictable as an NFL quarterback if he doesn’t improve his ability to read the field and make quick, aggressive vertical throws. Based on the plays that have transpired thus far in this ball game, including the corner route he released late into double coverage that was intercepted, it’s very clear that he hesitates to pull the trigger on these plays when he first sees, if he sees them at all.

Ball Handling: 5 points out of a possible 8 points.

  • Play fakes – 1pt: No
  • Center exchange – 2pts: Yes
  • Pump fakes – 1pt: Yes
  • Ball security while running – 1 pt: No
  • Maintains ball security when hit – 2pts: Yes

Analysis:

Pryor attempted an option pitch on a pistol formation run heading to left end, but he bounced the football off the fingertips of his tailback for a loss of 12 yards. On a 1st and 10 run of 22 yards with 9:50 in the first quarter, Pryor switched the ball to his left arm once he cut to the sideline. Good awareness of how to protect the ball.

On a 3rd and 10 with 8:26 in the first quarter, Pryor used a decent shoulder fake before climbing the pocket and delivering a pass over the middle to his receiver just inches shy of the first down marker. Although the replay booth overruled the completion, the shoulder fake was a nice move to set up the throw. If he can develop more consistent footwork and patience to go with this type of fake, he’ll look more like a veteran player.

There were moments during Pryor’s 17-yard scramble with 12:18 in the half that he held the ball low while in the pocket. With defenders around him, Pryor needs to stop carrying the ball like a loaf of bread with his non-sideline arm, especially as he approaches the sideline with defenders in pursuit and close the ball. He may have a big hand, but carrying the football this way is dangerous. He cost his team possessions in the NFL if he doesn’t fix it.

Pocket Presence: 5 points out of a possible 18 points.

  • Climbs pocket effectively – 5pts: No
  • Willing to take a hit to deliver the ball – 2pts: No
  • Senses pass rush – 5pts: Yes
  • Manages outside pressure – 3pts: No
  • Managers pressure up the middle – 3pts: No

Analysis:

Pryor’s footwork in the pocket is still in its development stages as a passer. He appears stiff with his drops or any attempt to slide and still maintain a good throwing stance as the pocket constricts. In fact, he really doesn’t slide as much as he bursts a few steps, makes a halting stop, and then tries to throw. This hampers his accuracy. Pryor needs to learn to climb the pocket with better footwork that doesn’t consist of  running and stopping.

Pryor showed this exact issue on a 3rd and 10 pass over the middle with 7:30 in the first quarter. It took a near-amazing catch attempt to even get the replay booth to examine if the result was a completion.

Pryor gained 17 yards on a 3rd and 9 passing play with 12:17 in the half when he dropped back, felt the pocket begin to constrict, and took off to the left flat. He broke a tackle attempt by the DE off the left edge and quickly getting to the left sideline, eluded a cornerback at the sideline with a nice little dip away from the defender, and then tight-roped the boundary. Although a nice play, a better pocket quarterback climbs this pocket and finds a receiver down field with the amount of room that was available to Pryor. Unfortunately,  the first thing Pryor did to react to the pressure was drop his eyes from his receivers and look for place to run.

This is very Atlanta Falcons-era-Michael Vick, and will inhibit his ability to operate from the pocket if he doesn’t work to improve it.

Pryor got tripped up by the right DE coming clean around the edge on 3rd and 9 with 3:38 in the half. Pryor felt the pressure and tried to climb the pocket a step, but he did not climb far enough. This is another example that Pryor’s feel for pressure is not refined.

On 3rd and 8 from a 2×2 shotgun formation with his RB flanking his right, Pryor dropped against Wisconsin’s four-man front and scanned down field with four yards of space between him and the closest offensive linemen blocking a defensive lineman. As another second passed, the left defensive end got up field but was still well contained by the left tackle and Pryor could have climbed this deep pocket to either make a throw, throw the ball away, or break the pocket through a nice gap to the left flat. Instead, Pryor rolled right and nullified his offensive lineman’s work. His poor choice freed the three Wisconsin defensive linemen getting blocked on the right side to release and chase.

This was particularly helpful to RDE J.J. Watt, who was double-teamed until Pryor’s poor decision in the pocket gave the DE optimal position to release and use his speed to beat the offensive linemen around the corner. Pryor had to then reverse his field to the left to avoid Watt, but this opened the lane for two more defenders and forced the QB to throw the ball across his body. Fortunately for Pryor, all of this worked. His WR Sanzenbacher had worked back to the middle of the field from a deep seem route up the right hash, giving the QB a target to hit 14 yards down field.

While I liked Pryor’s composure to find the receiver, he created a lot this pressure himself. More times than not, his lack of ability to manipulate the pocket with tight movements will hurt him in the NFL.

Another example of Pryor’s reckless play in the pocket came on 3rd and 6 with 0:54 in the third quarter. Pryor lines up in the shotgun in a 2×2 receiver look with his back flanking him to the right against a four-man defensive front with the linebackers set deep. He drops from his snap looking right, feels the pressure up the middle and climbs the pocket to the right, just past this oncoming DT.

Pryor correctly anticipates that the RDE getting blocked by the RT will slide off the assignment inside and sack him. What Pryor does to avoid this is truly amazing, but hard for me to imagine he could do again: he suddenly changes direction with a dip inside the DE and ducks under his right tackle so close that you can’t see space between them as he goes by. Pryor then comes out the other side, runs to his right, looks down field with the DE redirecting his pursuit, and throws a looping jump pass across his body towards the middle of the field. The pass covers nine yards and his receiver Sanzenbacher makes a leaping grab in front of coverage for the first down. While I have doubts he’ll be able to execute in the NFL if he continues these tendencies, I’ll stay open to the possibility if he can develop better conceptual skills to diagnose defensive tendencies and vastly improved footwork to become more consistently accurate.

Pryor was sacked second time with 2:10 left in the game when he tried to slide back and to the left of the RDE. Moving backwards is a common tendency for athletic quarterbacks in college football. Tim Tebow. Mike Vick. Donovan McNabb. Vince Young. All guilty. The key is to learn to step into the pocket. If he learns to do this, he’ll be in a much better position to prevent negative plays as an NFL quarterback.

Scrambling: 5 points out of a possible 5 points.

  • Positive yardage when breaking the pocket – 2pts: Yes
  • Positive yardage when pocket collapses – 1pt: Yes
  • Capable of big gains as a runner – 2pts: Yes

Analysis:

The Buckeyes have a designed run for Pryor where he’s in the shotgun. They flank a back to Pryor’s left and use an unbalanced line to the left with a tight end, a wing back, and a receiver all bunched to that side. At the snap, the tailback and the entire offensive line slant right while the quarterback follows his wing back and receiver into the flat on the left. The play looks a lot like a quick WR screen by the time Pyror begins to turn the corner.

Pryor got a huge area off the left flat to run, gaining 10 yards before he even had to use a blocker, much less change direction. He was quick enough to dip outside the block and eliminate the angle of a corner that broke down too soon, getting to the sideline for a 22-yard gain.

When Pryor scrambles, he runs a lot like Daunte Culpepper or Ben Roethlisberger early in their careers. He broke the pocket on a 3rd and 7 with 8:55 in the first quarter once he saw the linebackers drop deep, showing good acceleration as he weaved through the flat. He finished the run by lowering his shoulder into safety at the marker and then ran over the defender for the first down.

Pryor gained 17 yards on a 3rd and 9 passing play with 12:17 in the half when he dropped back, felt the pocket begin to constrict, and took off for the left flat. He broke a tackle attempt by the DE off the left edge and quickly got to the left sideline. He then eluded a cornerback at the sideline with a nice little dip away from the defender and then tight-roped the boundary for the rest of the yardage.

He took an option read around right end, dipping away from one defender and using a stiff arm to push the other to the ground, but he was tripped up by that player, limiting his gain to five yards despite a lot of open space in the flat ahead of him.

Pryor is still a better runner than he his a passer at this stage of his career. On a designed keeper off right guard with 10:50 in the third quarter, he burst through the hole, veered to the right flat, and then slowed down and spun away from a defender reaching for him to get another 3-4 yards on a 13-yard gain and a first down, putting OSU in the red zone.

As we have seen with Ben Roethlisberger, Vince Young, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, and Steve McNair, quarterbacks that run the ball a lot eventually wear down and get hurt. Either they become better pocket passers deliver production with greater efficiency and economy or they tend to fall apart and lose the athleticism that earned them an opportunity. Pryor may be able to make winning plays outside the pocket in certain situations, but in order to get to those situations he’ll need to produce inside the pocket on a consistent basis.

In Perspective: Marshall Faulk Defensive Back???

Every year the draft brings rookies into the league and many of the prospects have question marks about their game. Pick a player and there’s a criticism: too short, too light, too slow, not muscular enough, didn’t play well against top competition, came from a lesser program, you name it.

This is why I love YouTube as a football fan. With Marshall Faulk heading to Canton this August, I wanted to check out his highlights at San Diego State. The second overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, Faulk was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Pro Bowl MVP. However just for kicks, watch this highlight package from his years as an Aztec and tell me from a physical standpoint – height (5’10”) and weight (207 lbs.) – and the plays you see on the highlights, whether you would project him as an every down back, much less a Hall of Famer.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/TDOyV1bphoE]

There’s no question about his speed and lateral agility, but nowadays Faulk might have been classified as a third-down back.

A video like this one is also why NFL teams should never judge a player based on prepackaged highlights (see my piece Evaluating the Evaluator, which highlights an argument that resulted from Rams GM Charlie Armey trying to push that style of evaluation onto former scout Dave Razzano with QB Alex Smith). Imagine a compilation of highlights like this one where we see very limited evidence of his balance after contact? A GM with Armey’s mentality could intend to show his staff the big-play ability of Faulk with the unintended consequence that Faulk lacked every down skills as a runner.

It sounds like a stretch to say this about Faulk, but remember, major college programs like Nebraska recruited him as a defensive back. Faulk could have never even gotten a whiff of the pros if he didn’t stand his ground and state he’d only play running back.

Just some things to think about when consider the value NFL teams place on the wisdom of major college programs as well as the value of highlight packages….

Grinding Tape Part III – NIU RB Chad Spann

In Part I of the Grinding Tape Series, Mid American Conference MVP Chad Spann explained the concepts behind plays that require a running back to understand blocking schemes, defensive tendencies, and reading keys.

In Part II, he revealed how quickly a runner needs to be able to process information to choose a hole, ball security protocol, and the importance of minimizing surface area to become a strong, after-contact runner.

This week, Spann discusses the difference in a runner’s pre-snap location in very similar-looking shotgun sets with very different blocking schemes, and what a back is looking at to determine the path of his run.

1st and 10, 10:00 1st QTR

Waldman: You do a nice job bouncing this run outside. You take the play behind your fullback’s lead block and get the left corner for a six-yard gain. Take us through the design and execution of this running play.

Spann: This play is once again our inside zone. The fullback is lining up on the right side, but this is not the way we normally run it. Our fullback is normally going to line up either back side or he’s going to start on the front side and come back to the backside when the ball is snapped. Every time, he’s going to cut this defensive end, which is going to give me a start at a cut back if there is one.

Waldman: This time he motions from the slot to a split position over the tight right tackle and tight end.

Pre snap look of inside zone play.

Waldman: As with the running plays we’ve looked at earlier in the game,  is the A-gap/one-technique DL the primary key for the blocking scheme?

Spann: Yes. On this particular play we’re going to double team again like we always do against that A-Gap player, the one-technique. That A-gap player is going to be double-teamed by the center and guard. Whoever had leverage is going to take over the block by himself and whoever can get free is going to come up and get the MIKE linebacker (No.32). The front side tackle has the defensive end and the tight end is going to take the stand up linebacker, which is the SAM (labeled as the OLB below).

Post snap blocking on inside zone.

Waldman: On this play the one-technique gets occupied rather quickly by the center, which allows the right guard to get into the defensive backfield and get his hands on the MIKE LB (No.32). What is the strategy for the DL lined up over the left guard – the three-technique?

Spann: That  guard and tackle on the backside are going against the three-technique and they double team him to the WILL linebacker (No.42). If the three-technique tries to cross the face of the guard, the backside tackle is going to come up and get No.42 and the fullback is going to come back and cut the defensive end to give me a lane. That’s not how we plan for it to happen, but that’s a possibility.

Waldman: So what is the primary hole for you on this play?

Spann: It is a B-gap play, which means we want it to hit the front side B-gap. We want the center and guard to mash that A-gap player down and have the center take over the block and the guard get up to the MIKE linebacker. And that’s where the hole should be (over right guard). That’s not always where it goes, because one thing that can kill zone plays is penetration and that’s what Toledo is trying to do – get gap penetration – and they did.

Toledo gets good gap penetration over center and right guard, which forces cutback.

Spann:  Their penetration jams up my holes a little bit and forces me to make this cutback, which normally I’ll get in trouble for making this big of a cutback…

Waldman: But you do a nice job of it (laughter). . .

Spann: . . . Yeah, I make a play out of it. And you see me again with the ball in the “wrong” hand, but initially this was supposed to be a front side play and by the time I make my decision with where I’m going to go I already have the ball in my right hand.

Waldman: But as you mentioned (see Part II of this analysis) earlier, you don’t want to change ball hands in traffic. At this point you do a nice job of accelerating past the Will LB (No.42) to get the corner.

Spann beating Will LB (No.42) to the corner on the cutback behind FB's block of DE.

Waldman: The key to this cutback from what I see is that the WILL LB (N0.42) took his initial steps towards the B-gap (right guard), which gave you room to get the corner on your cutback. The MIKE linebacker (No.32) had to free himself from the guard and get through the mesh. By the time he does, you have the corner just past the WILL.

Spann gains six yards after taking the backside corner.

Waldman: You turn the corner and stay inside the numbers to possibly work off the wide receiver’s block. The WILL does manage to run you down with the help of the MIKE and the free safety who delivers a head-on shot that you manage to meet with good pad level to deflect much of the blow.

1st and 10, 5:36 1st QTR

Waldman: This formation is a shotgun set with four receivers and no tight end or fullback. Three receivers are split to the right and a single receiver is wide left.

Zone-read play from shotgun, pre-snap.

Spann: In contrast to the last shotgun play where I was closer to the quarterback’s feet, this one is the zone-read play where I’m going to back up a little more.

Waldman: Why the difference with your pre-snap positioning in the formation?

Spann: It’s because this play doesn’t only to hit front side. It could hit backside. It could hit right up the middle.

So I’ve got be deep enough to read where this hole is going to be because we are doing true double teams unlike the last shotgun play, which was a full zone. I need a little more space to make these reads because my track  is going to be more downhill than it is going to be east and west.

The depth between me and the quarterback and my path is the huge difference between the last play and what I was trying to get across with the last shotgun play.  You’re going to see me come closer and downhill than going straight through the mesh.

Waldman: Before the snap, the outside receiver on the right motions to the hash to create a more conventional bunch look and this brings the strong safety into the box next to the MIKE linebacker. Tell us about the blocking scheme and of course, that A-gap defensive tackle who is almost directly over the center.

Zone-read blocking from shotgun set.

Spann: On this play we have the A-gap player front side, which means once again we’re going to double team him to the play side linebacker (the WILL). The tackle is going to be one-on-one with the defensive end back side because it is a zone read. Because the A-Gap player stays right where he’s at and he doesn’t try to shoot outside the guard, the guard is able to get up to the linebacker instead of the center doing it, which means the hole is going to be where the guard was.

Spann getting the ball and bouncing to left end.

Waldman: This play doesn’t windup going off the guard. You actually bounce this outside. I’ve always been curious what specifically a running back is viewing to determine the direction he takes on a run. Are you looking at the defense, your linemen, open space?

Spann: I’m not looking at the defensive linemen and where they are going. I’m looking at the helmet placements of my offensive linemen. That is what tells you which way to go. If your offensive lineman has his helmet on the right shoulder of the defensive lineman then your cut is going to be inside and to the right of that offensive lineman. Now if it’s to the left then you’re going to go inside because wherever his helmet is the opposite direction he’s trying to push him.

Waldman: To make sure I get it,  you’re following the helmets and wherever the helmet is. If the helmet is inside, you’re going inside. If the helmet is outside then you’re going outside.

Spann: Yep. On this play because of the helmets and the fact the  guard gets off clean to the linebacker, the play is supposed to be inside the guard.

Now that defensive end beats our tackle inside and that isn’t supposed to happen.  But because I have that extra depth in my initial stance I can read that and I see that happen as I try to hit that hole where the defensive end comes out.

I see it, I react to it, and I know I can get outside of it. So that’s my reading and reacting and I get around the corner for a seven-yard gain (see below).

Next week, we’ll discuss the art of the stiff arm, the pain of hip pointers, and the craft of pass protection.

An Unexpected Visit With Family

On Saturday, my wife and daughter drove to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to attend a family event, which I hoped to make, but I had work that kept me home. At least that’s what I thought. Then I received news that my grandmother passed away.

By Sunday morning I was on the road for an 11-hour trek to Cleveland, Ohio for a Monday funeral. Despite the unexpected and somber circumstances, it was nice to reconnect with several members of family. I hope my wife and I can make our way to Ohio soon for a future visit to include time with those family members I didn’t get to see.

As I reviewed my route online, I realized I would be going through Canton, which got me thinking about the possibility of seeing the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When I saw its unmistakable football-shaped roof whiz by my window on I-77, it occurred to me that if I had time on my way home that this was another family I needed to reconnect with. A family that had not only added many new members, but had also made additions and renovations to its house since I was last there. A family I hadn’t seen in at least 35 years as a six- or seven-year-old who couldn’t remember much or really appreciate the time spent.

I don’t think I’m wrong to say that for most of you there’s a sense of a familial connection to many of the players in Hall of Fame. It might not be a connection by blood, but the legends and heroes of our youth has created a deep and everlasting bond. Realizing that this was a golden opportunity, I made it a priority on the way home.

With the current labor strife I think we all need a reminder why we love football. And within the confines of this building are the players, coaches, owners, and commissioners who made this game great. If I could I’d take the owners and players on a tour to remind them that it was a collective effort that made this game great, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately I don’t have that kind of money and I arrived equipped with only a cellphone camera. However, I think I did the exhibit enough justice to share them with you (105 photos with captions).  If you value the game like me then this is your family, too, and many of you might never get a chance to pay a visit. I hope you get a chance to come, but if not I hope my “photo tour” will give you a better idea of what its like.

As you can imagine, it is well worth the visit. The time flew faster than Darrell Green chasing down Eric Dickerson (which you can also see on video here). In fact, I could have stayed another four hours if not if I didn’t need to return to Athens for work the next day. Hell, I could have stayed another four hours in the post-exhibit area that’s filled with Madden games, a football throwing cage, and guess-the-play, bar games. Hopefully I’ll be back again but if I’m not, this was a visit I’ll actually remember and with players I treasured watching.

[slideshow]

Grinding Tape: NIU RB Chad Spann Part I

Chad Spann began his career as a walk-on and ended it the MAC MVP.

This is the first in a series of posts will feature a film study session I had with former NIU RB Chad Spann, 2010’s Division-I leader in rushing TDs and the Mid-American Conference’s Most Valuable Player.

If you don’t know about Chad Spann, you’re probably not alone. He wasn’t drafted in April. However, that doesn’t make him an unworthy pro prospect. He’s a smart and tough runner who began his career practically begging for a shot from any Division-I team. He began the summer of his freshman year as the ninth RB on the NIU depth chart, but by the end of August he was the No.2 RB. After a strong college career, he’s once again in a similar situation as the underdog. If there is a player who is could follow a career trajectory similar to Priest Holmes, Spann has the skills to potentially do it.

I had the opportunity to interview Spann for the New York Times Fifth Down Blog last spring. In addition to the interview, Spann generously agreed to spend a couple of hours with me over the phone to break down one of his games. He chose  his three-touchdown performance against Toledo – a game where he played a significant part of the contest with a hip pointer – as the one for us to review. A few days before our meeting I emailed Spann a list of plays from the game that I wanted to discuss and when the time came, we sat in our respect homes and queued play after play.

If Spann shows the same kind of patience on the field in a training camp that he showed with me during our call, he’s going to be a find for an NFL team with enough foresight to give him a camp invite. Most impressive was the way in which Spann communicated his role, the responsibilities of his teammates, and the actions and reactions of the defense both pre- and post-snap. Spann was instructive, insightful, and his knowledge demonstrated a good counterpoint to the overstated generalization that the running back position is mostly instinctive. There are enough analytical requirements of a good runner that it is a fallacy to imply that the position doesn’t require thought or preparation.

The initial post is a Q&A discussion of two plays from the first series of the contest. Note Spann’s ability to describe his teammate’s assignments, what he’s trying to read from specific defenders, and what he’s doing very early in the run to set up his teammates so they can return the favor and set him up for a nice gain. This is something that will become more evident with future posts.

What this session reinforced for me is that few running plays ever work exactly as designed.

1st and 10 14:55 1st quarter – One-yard gain

Pre-snap look 14:55 1st quarter

Spann: This is our first play from offense. We have a two-receiver set with both receivers to the left in “21” personnel [2 backs, 1 tight end].

The fullback lines up on the wing almost as if he was an H-back. We’re running a zone play to the weak side (away from the tight end). This is actually a variation of our inside zone play. Instead of our fullback blocking back side he’s going to stay front side and he’s going to lead up on the ‘backer…

Waldman: This play didn’t work out as drawn up. Will you explain what was supposed to happen?

Spann: What is supposed to happen ideally is that we’re working a lot of double teams.  My pre-snap read is to look at what the A-gap defender is doing in terms of his technique. On this play he is play side. That is the first thing that I look at. Now I look at that because we’re going to double team him with the play side guard and center. We’re always going to double team the A-gap player. They are going to double team him to the middle linebacker (No.32) (below).

Now in this front where we have both receivers to our left the defense adjusted what they were doing and bumped the receivers over. Instead of going corners over they brought the corner down into the box as if he was a linebacker. What should happen is that our line should adjust and make the cornerback the backside linebacker (the FS drops before the snap), No.42 the MIKE linebacker and No.32 the play side backer – or the WILL.

That’s how it should happen, but we had a miscommunication upfront where No.42 – now the MIKE linebacker -was unblocked. That’s why the play wasn’t that big of a gain. The front side guard should have been double-teaming up to No.42…

[Author’s Note Instead, the guard stumbled out of his double-team and this freed the linebacker (No.42) to make the play on Spann who tried to hit the hole between center and right guard.]

Waldman: So at what point do you see that you’re going to have to make an adjustment? Is it at the point of the exchange or even before that with the cornerback moving into the box?

Spann:  What we’re taught is that we have an initial read and a primary read as we’re running zone. My initial read on this play is the front side defensive tackle, which in this case is the A-gap player – the one-technique. My primary read on inside zone plays is also the one-technique/A-gap player. So in this case, he’s both my initial and primary read and he’s going to tell me which way the play is going to go. If [this defensive tackle] tries to cross the guard’s face then the play is going to hit up the middle where the center is going to come off the tackle and get the MIKE linebacker (as diagrammed above).

If the defensive tackle says where he’s at the double team should push him back the other direction and I should be able to hit it play side B-gap where it is supposed to hit (below).

If one-technique (DT) doesn't cross the guard's face...

So that’s what I know going into the play and when I see [the defensive tackle/one-technique] at the beginning of the play. So when the ball is snapped, I’m reacting to either the one-technique going outside the B-Gap or staying where he’s at…that’s the first thing I’m looking at.

I already know what could happen so that gives me the ability to look at the next level a little bit earlier. Now I know exactly what is going to happen to that A-gap player so I keep the ball play side. But he drives back into the hole and I have to make the cut back.  Since we didn’t block it correctly…

Waldman: …The result is a short gain.

1st and 10 13:14 1st Quarter

Waldman: This is a run to right end from a two-TE Pistol formation where you follow your pulling guard to the flat.

12 personnel from the pistol - NIU's Bounce Play

Spann: This is “12” personnel (1 back, 2 tight ends). We’re in the pistol with two receivers to the right. This is our bounce play. It’s set up to look a lot like our power play. We run it mostly out of “12” or “21” personnel.

It’s supposed to look identical to Power except we’re either pulling a guard and a center or a tackle and the center. My steps on this play are identical to Power if we were just running Power Right, except I’m going to take two steps in and then I’m going to start rolling with the pulling tackle and center on this play (below).

Initial post-snap look with RB taking two steps towards line to bait LBs.

Waldman: Tell me about the importance of these first two steps to begin the play. I’d imagine it helps you set up a good distance to follow your pulling linemen, but does it also help set up the defense?

Spann: Absolutely. If you watch Nos. 32 and 42 – the two ‘backers on this play – the whole point of me taking those two steps is to bring them into the line of scrimmage as close as possible. So now when I make this cut – the cut outside on No.32 – he’s out of position to make that play (below).

After two steps towards line, Spann cuts outside and forces No.32 to chase.

Now he’s chasing me rather than being there to make the play. It’s supposed to suck them inside so they get caught up in line and they have to weave through the center and the guard to get to me. I’m going to follow this center’s block. Usually the tackle who is pulling is going to kick out and I’m supposed to follow the center who is pulling up field and usually that cut will be between the two. Sometimes the tackle will get up field and cut somebody inside and I can get to the outside. Normally both linemen split and I make that cut in between them.

Power as blocks develop outside.

Waldman: When the center makes a diving cut to the linebacker’s feet, you accelerate, charge forward to the line of scrimmage, and then leap over the linebacker’s diving attempt to hit you. For the defender it’s either dive at you or fall from the cut block. You land two yards ahead of the line of scrimmage with a backside defender wrapping your waist while quickly lowering your pads and ducking under the oncoming safety for one more yard (a gain of three).

Spann: We’ve run it better – watch the Minnesota highlights and we were hitting this play very well.

In Part II we study a zone read and a shotgun play that appears very similar presnap but for a small difference in the RB’s stance. We’ll also talk more about pressing the hole, the thought process behind ball security, and concepts behind gaining yards after contact – plus some love for RB Edgerrin James.