Heath and Angles

[Blackthorn]

Lewis appeared to screw up and as you said, Heath was not watching for the run, he was watching the slot WR that nobody else was covering.
As you said, Lewis following the slot WR from one side of the formation to the other pre-snap indicates man coverage, but Lewis played zone.
Both outside CBs played man coverage, which normally means the Nickel CB would play man.

People love Lewis, but there are reasons that he is the 4th CB.

Notice how Byron Jones stays much deeper than the WR as compared to Awuzie trying to play tighter against Anderson. Regardless of speed, Awuzie needed to play further off if that's what he needs to stay over the top of the WR when he is isolated in man coverage with no help.

Was Woods the Mike?
Also what the heck was Jaylon doing?

This play was very odd coverage on the team. I thought Heath, Jones , X Woods, LVE and Quinn all did their job well. But I am very perplexed with Jaylon and Lewis.

I really believe that Lewis forgot the coverage at the snap. This appears to be a pattern.

 

[xwalker]

His play may be amongst the biggest drop off from last season.

Him and Jaylon have fell off a friggin cliff

They've changed the way they use Awuzie this season.

On all of the big plays he has given up, he is covering the receiver on the side of the formation with only 1 receiver.

The deep Safety always shades closer to the side with 2 receivers.

Awuzie is already on the side that's easier for right handed QBs to complete passes.

Then they put him in man coverage with zero help (no short or deep help).

Awuzie came in towards the WR when he thought the WR was going to cut inside.

When Richard Sherman was with Kris Richard in Seattle, Sherman would normally either have help to the inside or have help deep.

The WR Awuzie is covering can go right, left of deep at any point and Awuzie has no help in any direction.

On passing downs they would have had either the Safety that was in the box drop into the intermediate area or they would have a LB or LBs in that area when the WR Anderson faked the inside cut. The problem is that it was 1st and 10 and the QB was under center. The LBs and the Safety in the box were focused on the run.

 

[xwalker]

Was Woods the Mike?
Also what the heck was Jaylon doing?

This play was very odd coverage on the team. I thought Heath, Jones , X Woods, LVE and Quinn all did their job well. But I am very perplexed with Jaylon and Lewis.

I really believe that Lewis forgot the coverage at the snap. This appears to be a pattern.

I think they would still consider Jaylon the Mike.

The Nickel CB is normally considered to be replacing a LB; therefore, the MLB is normally between the Nickel CB and the OLB.

Notice that before the slot WR motions, that from left to right it's Lewis-Jaylon-LVE.

After the slot WR and Lewis move to the other side, Jaylon also moves over and it's LVE-Jaylon-Lewis.

 

[xwalker]

Slow motion version starts at 0:16 of the video.

 

[KingintheNorth]

you're trying too hard.

 

[Blackthorn]

They've changed the way they use Awuzie this season.

The problem is that it was 1st and 10 and the QB was under center. The LBs and the Safety in the box were focused on the run.

Now, Every team that Dallas faces will show this exact same formation with motion again. If Dallas reacts the same way again, everyone best be prepared for the opposing QB to make the same throw again. Dallas can't leave Chido on an island and expect anything different. Teams try not to throw at Jones or Brown because of their elite speed but they will go after Chido with his tight coverage. Dallas has to provide strong side help to Chido or expect the same results.

On 1st and 10 under center the Lbers have to be able to hit the gaps on 3 receiver sets. Dallas should have been playing 2 deep high instead of single high.

 

[KingintheNorth]

Every team Dallas face will show this exact same formation with motion again.

Agreed, teams are going to motion to force the shift from Xavier Woods to come down, and Jeff Heath to single high, and then attack vertically.

He's suspect overall and extremely vulnerable in deep coverage. People can apologize for him forever and he is still a glaring weakness.

 

[JustChip]

This thread is what’s so great about CZ. Informative and educational. Thank you.

 

[Kaiser]

If he is your #3 safety, you’re probably in good shape.

I agree Heath is a #3 but I think people overreact to the breakdowns he has in coverage and forget the plays he makes in run support and in disrupting plays with hard hits. Bob Sturm has a metric of "splash plays" where Heath and Awuzie are tied for 4th on the team with 7.5 (DLaw, LVE and Quinn are ahead of them).

That said, I'm really starting to think they should give Jourdan Lewis reps at safety. He is already in the Dime package and you would lose something in run support, but this team desperately needs a playmaker in the secondary.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Forget the angle, you don't think he should have stayed deeper than he did? Especially in that situation? Who cares if the underneath is completed, you can't give up the deep pass in that situation. Especially considering Anderson's speed.

 

[Blackthorn]

Agreed, teams are going to motion to force the shift from Xavier Woods to come down, and Jeff Heath to single high, and then attack vertically.

He's suspect overall and extremely vulnerable in deep coverage. People can apologize for him forever and he is still a glaring weakness.

You just split hairs with your statement. Heath is not a glaring weakness, he is an asset to the team and I applaud him.
1) the shift with Woods dropping into the box is not typical. Jeff is the one that drops down.
2) Single high is normally Woods. If I am not mistaken, Brown was off the field due to injury. Which created a weird double move on this play.
3) Brown is a better CB than play Lewis. We all can see that Lewis blew the coverage which had to be covered by Heath.

If Brown is in the game, I don't think Heath would have to be be preoccupied with the underneath receiver running free. Which would have allowed Heath a split second more reaction on his back pedal. Heath broke perfect on the release of the pass.

Chido has to realize coverage, He could have given more cushion or not bite on the inside move. If Chido did not play the break (lets suppose Robby breaks inside on the cut and catches the ball. Both Heath and Chido would have had better opportunity to succeed and Byron would have had the speed to help if the tackle was missed.)


The play went south with the walk-down from Woods. The Jets had nothing to lose.

 

[Blackthorn]

Forget the angle, you don't think he should have stayed deeper than he did? Especially in that situation? Who cares if the underneath is completed, you can't give up the deep pass in that situation. Especially considering Anderson's speed.

Good point, I respect that view. He was standing on the 20, where did you want him at the 30? He was about 17 yards off the ball which is normal. I would just hate to see him any deeper than about 20 yards back. I think that the problem was just bad play calling to bring the safety up. If Chido kept his footing, then both Chido and Heath would have made the tackle and this play would not be in discussion other than being a big chunk play. Chido has to be more aware of when he is on an island. I like Chido, it was just an error and he bounced back. Our team assumed that Bell was going to run. The Jets got us, hook, line , and sinker.

 

[KingintheNorth]

he is an asset to the team and I applaud him

nope.

1) the shift with Woods dropping into the box is not typical. Jeff is the one that drops down.
2) Single high is normally Woods. If I am not mistaken, Brown was off the field due to injury. Which created a weird double move on this play.

Go back and re-watch the Rams playoff game. The Rams shifted all game long and depending in the formation, Woods and Heath rotated to single high throughout. The Rams exploited the Cowboys defense and teams have taken notice.

3) Brown is a better CB than play Lewis.

also nope.

 

[Blackthorn]

nope..

Explain to me the stellar play that Lewis did on this play.

Brown 4.37 Brown has massive acceleration, quicker hips and plays longer.
Lewis 4.55 I love Lewis, however he is the 4th best CB.

1) Jones - 4.36
2) Brown - 4.37
3) Chido - 4.43
4) Lewis - 4.55

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Heath is just too aggressive. Like on that 50 yard run by Barkley. Heath thought he could make the tackle without using the sideline. On this 92 yard pass he played the ball thinking he could get their in time to disrupt the completion. He could have taken a route more up field to make the tackle or force the WR back towards Awuzie. So all of his so-called bad angles is just him being too aggressive or him just believes in himself too much.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Was Woods the Mike?
Also what the heck was Jaylon doing?

This play was very odd coverage on the team. I thought Heath, Jones , X Woods, LVE and Quinn all did their job well. But I am very perplexed with Jaylon and Lewis.

I really believe that Lewis forgot the coverage at the snap. This appears to be a pattern.

Looks like a three deep zone. I don't know the play call so I can't tell you if someone made a mistake. But if no one made a mistake then it was three deep zone.

They were caught off guard because the Jets went really deep from their own goal line. That's not a typical play call in that situation.

 

[Creeper]

I don't blame Heath on this play. It was a first down deep in Jets territory and the Cowboys were clearly thinking run. This was one of those pays that just worked for the Jets. The caught the Cowboys with a single safety deep and Darnold threw a perfect pass. They used play action to freeze the LBs and safeties. Not that Heath is good, he's not. Heath is usually one or two steps too slow to react. He has no anticipation and that's why is is always late on those deep throws.

The rush wasn't that bad either from the 2 DEs. The problem on this play is there was no penetration at all from the two tackles. Collins gets no penetration at all against a single team block. Woods gets a double team and gains no ground either. If the Cowboys defensive linemen do not start beating those one on one blocks we are going to see good QBs carve them with big plays.

But again, it was a perfect play call for the defense the Cowboys were in and the play fake caught them off guard because they were expecting a pass. Teams that are 0-4 are dangerous for this reason. Most teams would run or throw a safe pass in that situation.

 

[Ekspozed]

Explain to me the stellar play that Lewis did on this play.

Brown 4.37 Brown has massive acceleration, quicker hips and plays longer.
Lewis 4.55 I love Lewis, however he is the 4th best CB.

1) Jones - 4.36
2) Brown - 4.37
3) Chido - 4.43
4) Lewis - 4.55

He's the 4th best based on speed? What?

 

[KingintheNorth]

He's the 4th best based on speed? What?

He's also the 4th best based on the alphabet.

Brown is fast, no doubt about it. His athletic ability gets him on the field, but his technique is poor gets him a lot of flags. He panics too easily and grabs. It's just who he is.

Lewis has better FBI and playmaking ability than Brown. It shows in the limited opportunities Lewis gets on the field.

 

[Clove]

Heath was is and will be trash. The sooner we understand this the better. But he's playing because Jones doesn't give a **** about the defense, thus all of the high "offensive" contracts.