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By Gary Horton
Scouts Inc.
After breaking down film, Scouts Inc. gives its take on what to watch in the NFL this weekend:
Trap coverage in Dallas
One of the reasons the Cowboys are surging now is the new, aggressive approach of their defense. It all starts with the corner "rerouting" the receiver by forcing him to take an outside release. Meanwhile, the inside receiver releases and runs an out route as he and the quarterback read that the short-to-intermediate perimeter is open with the corner appearing to go vertical with the outside receiver. However, the corner feeds the outside receiver to the safety, and turns back and steps into the hole the QB thought was vacated. This brings one of two results: either an interception or a big hit the receiver never saw coming. This scheme used to be a staple of the New England pass defense, as former Patriots corners Asante Samuel and Ty Law did a great job of baiting QBs into throwing into a hole that was not there. Dallas now is carrying on the same scheme.
Indianapolis' pass-rush versatility
The Colts' defensive line is playing at a high level right now and might be the best-coached front four in the NFL under defensive line coach John Teerlinck. The Colts seem to be in sync on every pass rush, and all four guys have every move in the book. The outside guys, DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, get most of the credit with their edge rush, but the defensive tackles, Antonio Johnson and Daniel Muir, are underrated; they do a good job as well. All four might show the patented spin move on the same play. They will attack the B gap with two guys to force the back to step up inside while a DE rushes wide against an OT. These guys are a nightmare for offensive line protection schemes because they are always on the move and give so many looks.
Vintage Brett Favre
We know Favre threw seven TD passes in Minnesota's two wins over Green Bay, but he is doing the little things to keep the Vikings' passing game going. On a TD play in the first Packers-Vikings matchup in Minnesota, Favre pump-faked to pull Packers corner Al Harris out of position (jumping a route); Harris thought he had good safety help over the top. However, after the pump fake, Favre turned back to the safety, froze him with his eyes and lured him into thinking the throw was going across the middle. The play ended with a TD pass to a wide-open receiver in the left corner of the end zone. In the Vikings' win this past Sunday, Green Bay tried to confuse Favre by changing up blitzes and playing a lot of rush-four, drop-seven looks. When he saw coverage schemes, Favre had time to put the ball into those tight windows, and when he saw pressure, he went to his "hot" receiver and got the ball out quickly. We think of him as a gunslinger, but Favre is a pretty cerebral guy, and there is nothing he hasn't seen from a defense.
Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson
This is one of the hottest QB-WR combos in the NFL right now, and McNabb and Jackson are producing a lot of explosive plays. Jackson has a real knack for taking an inside release, as he runs right at the safety, who is looking for the post route. This causes the corner to relax, thinking there is safety help. While this is going on, McNabb does a good job of maneuvering the safety with his eyes, selling the post route and freezing the safety. When Jackson gets to the safety, he plants, drives and extends the play to a post corner route. Both the safety and corner can't recover, and it's a nice pitch-and-catch for McNabb and Jackson. This worked to perfection in Week 8 against a struggling Giants secondary. They are a perfect example of a duo who trust each other and pay attention to detail.
Gary Horton, a pro scout for Scouts Inc., has been a football talent evaluator for more than 30 years. He spent 10 years in the NFL and 10 years at the college level before launching a private scouting firm, The War Room.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/columns/story?columnist=horton_gary&id=4625474
Scouts Inc.
After breaking down film, Scouts Inc. gives its take on what to watch in the NFL this weekend:
Trap coverage in Dallas
One of the reasons the Cowboys are surging now is the new, aggressive approach of their defense. It all starts with the corner "rerouting" the receiver by forcing him to take an outside release. Meanwhile, the inside receiver releases and runs an out route as he and the quarterback read that the short-to-intermediate perimeter is open with the corner appearing to go vertical with the outside receiver. However, the corner feeds the outside receiver to the safety, and turns back and steps into the hole the QB thought was vacated. This brings one of two results: either an interception or a big hit the receiver never saw coming. This scheme used to be a staple of the New England pass defense, as former Patriots corners Asante Samuel and Ty Law did a great job of baiting QBs into throwing into a hole that was not there. Dallas now is carrying on the same scheme.
Indianapolis' pass-rush versatility
The Colts' defensive line is playing at a high level right now and might be the best-coached front four in the NFL under defensive line coach John Teerlinck. The Colts seem to be in sync on every pass rush, and all four guys have every move in the book. The outside guys, DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, get most of the credit with their edge rush, but the defensive tackles, Antonio Johnson and Daniel Muir, are underrated; they do a good job as well. All four might show the patented spin move on the same play. They will attack the B gap with two guys to force the back to step up inside while a DE rushes wide against an OT. These guys are a nightmare for offensive line protection schemes because they are always on the move and give so many looks.
Vintage Brett Favre
We know Favre threw seven TD passes in Minnesota's two wins over Green Bay, but he is doing the little things to keep the Vikings' passing game going. On a TD play in the first Packers-Vikings matchup in Minnesota, Favre pump-faked to pull Packers corner Al Harris out of position (jumping a route); Harris thought he had good safety help over the top. However, after the pump fake, Favre turned back to the safety, froze him with his eyes and lured him into thinking the throw was going across the middle. The play ended with a TD pass to a wide-open receiver in the left corner of the end zone. In the Vikings' win this past Sunday, Green Bay tried to confuse Favre by changing up blitzes and playing a lot of rush-four, drop-seven looks. When he saw coverage schemes, Favre had time to put the ball into those tight windows, and when he saw pressure, he went to his "hot" receiver and got the ball out quickly. We think of him as a gunslinger, but Favre is a pretty cerebral guy, and there is nothing he hasn't seen from a defense.
Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson
This is one of the hottest QB-WR combos in the NFL right now, and McNabb and Jackson are producing a lot of explosive plays. Jackson has a real knack for taking an inside release, as he runs right at the safety, who is looking for the post route. This causes the corner to relax, thinking there is safety help. While this is going on, McNabb does a good job of maneuvering the safety with his eyes, selling the post route and freezing the safety. When Jackson gets to the safety, he plants, drives and extends the play to a post corner route. Both the safety and corner can't recover, and it's a nice pitch-and-catch for McNabb and Jackson. This worked to perfection in Week 8 against a struggling Giants secondary. They are a perfect example of a duo who trust each other and pay attention to detail.
Gary Horton, a pro scout for Scouts Inc., has been a football talent evaluator for more than 30 years. He spent 10 years in the NFL and 10 years at the college level before launching a private scouting firm, The War Room.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/columns/story?columnist=horton_gary&id=4625474
