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Like most everyone on here I look forward to Couchscout's tape breakdown's and in his last one he suggested that since the coach's tape is now publicly available different posters take a shot at breaking down different units and he said he'd start with the receivers. Well since I didn't see anyone else posting I thought I'd take a swing at it. Now I certainly don't have the credentials that he does when it comes to breaking down film but I purchased it, and I'm watching it anyway so I'll write up what I see and if enough people like it I'll try to continue it throughout the season.
I've re watched the game in it's entirety 3 times now and been through the every play of the first half of the 22 film probably 4 or 5 times but I've only been through second half of the 22 film once or twice. In an effort to get some type of write up I'll post my finding primarily base on what I saw in the first half and after I go through the 2nd half a little more thoroughly I'll update my assessment if it changes.
In what I'm calling Inside the Box I'm primarily focusing on defensive line play but with the multiple fronts Ryan is using it's hard to leave the linebackers out. So as far as the linebackers are concerned I'll primarily be focusing on their involvement in the pass rush and run support.
Let me start by saying that I now have a new and even greater appreciation for what Couchscout has provided us over the last year. The amount of time that goes into watching every play from multiple angles, identifying the players, what those players were trying to do schematically, watching their technique in their individual match ups, whether individually and collectively they won those match ups and why, and then reviewing the play again to make sure you got it right is right far surpasses what I imagined.
On to the the meat of this review:
Summary: As a whole I think the front 7 played an outstanding game. As a matter of fact after I started to organize my individual thoughts and put them together into one cohesive thought I realized that I really didn't have one negative thing to say about anyone and actually went through the tape one more time to make sure I didn't miss anything. If I had to pick an In the Box player of the game it would be Jason Hatcher and I don't think the Giants would dispute that. Jason played on the Giants side on the Line of scrimmage all night, he was a force in the run and provided more quarterback pressure than anyone else. I can't wait to see what he and a healthy Jay Ratliff look like playing next to each other. Demarcus Ware and Sean Lee also played outstanding games and would have been in the Running. I had Anthony Spencer and Bruce Carter graded as plus players, Sean Lissemore was more up than down and while Josh Brent, Kenyon Coleman, and Marcus Spears didn't stand out they played solid football. Victor Butler, Dan Connor, and Tyrone Crawford didn't really play enough for me to form and opinion.
Jason Hatcher: I'll start with the player who impressed me the most. Maybe he's not at the elite level with Ware an Lee yet but if he can consistently play like he did Wednesday night he deserves to be in that conversation. The thing that strikes me the most about Jason's game is that when reviewing the film he stood out on almost every single play. If it was a run he clogged up the right side, re-establishing the line of scrimmage a yard or two in their backfield, forcing the back to try and bounce it outside where a linebacker and safety were usually waiting. The screen grab below is from the Giant's first run attempt of the night which was the first play of their second series. I had intended to post a pre-snap shot as well which would show that the ball was placed at the opposite hashmark at the 13 yard line but Game rewind is turned off during evening games and I can't get it right now. The arrow designates the ball carrier and the yellow line is my attempt to show the original line of scrimmage.
On this play Hatcher pushed the line of scrimmage back about a yard and a half and rode his blocker about 6 yards to the right preventing Bradshaw from bouncing it outside. This play pretty much set the tone for the evening as far as runs to Hatcher's side were concerned.
As I mentioned earlier Hatcher was no slouch in the pass game either. Looking at the game film I think the Giants thought they could exploit our press man cover corners and especially the rookie with some play action and 5 step drops. A few years ago there was a study done by I think Football outsiders that if I remember correctly basically concluded that 2.8 seconds was kind of the magic number when it came to the amount of time a quarterback should have to pass before he's pressured. If the quarterback still has the ball after 2.8 seconds he's living on borrowed time. Last year after the second Giants game I went back and re-watched it. Unfortunately the computer I did that on bit the dust and I lost my results but if I recall correctly in that game Manning typically had about between 2.8 and 3.5 seconds before the pressure got to him where as Romo had in the vicinity of 2.5 seconds before the Giants rush pressured him. In that game Manning looked like a Superbowl MVP and well, Romo didn't. I believe that if we are going to be considered contenders this year we need to flip that script. The type of pressure that consistently gets disrupts a quarterback in less than 2.5 seconds comes from the middle and that's what Hatcher brought Wednesday night.
This next shot is from the second the second play of the game. This was a play action 5 step drop pass where Manning was looking to exploit Claiborne.
This screen capture was shot 2.1 seconds after the snap. Hatcher forced Eli to take the 5 yard check down in front of Sean Lee. Although Hatcher only recorded one sack (he easily would have had another on Ware's second sack) he provided a push in the middle of the pocket that quickly forced the giants to abandon their 5 step drops and play mostly 3 the rest of the night. Towards the end of the 1st half the Giants did try to go back to the 5 step drops but they brought in an extra lineman to help with their pass protection when they did.
The following picture demonstrates a formation that I mentioned earlier where the Giants brought in an extra lineman too sell the play action provide enough protection for a 5 step drop..
Coleman, Brent, Spears
Yeah I know I'm lumping these all into one assessment but I thought they all played the same game. They didn't really have any standout performances but they all consistently held the point of attack which is what you want from 3-4 lineman. Josh Brent can provide some push in the pocket but it's not the kind of push that's going to force the qb to get rid of the ball early. They all played about the same number of snaps and quite frankly there were a lot of plays where I had trouble figuring out is it was Spears or Coleman in the game. When I can finish going over the second half I intend to try to pay closer attention to them.
Lissemore
Lissemore is a fun player to watch on film. He played all 3 positions on the line on Wednesday night. When he came in for Hatcher there was a noticeable difference in the play of the line. Based on what I've seen so far Lissemore is not nearly at strong at the point of attack as the previously mentioned lineman but he is athletic and that can make for some big wins and some big losses. There were a couple of double teams on the nose where I just watched him get blown backwards but there where there were other plays where he was able to knife through and make a play in the backfield. I think what happens when he gets blown backwards is that he lets himself get turned sideways when he tries to split the double team and loses his base at which point if he doesn't get through it's over. The other thing he is able to do is get off his blocks and follow the play down the line of scrimmage. There is now quit in him. He's another play I will watch a little closer. I think he's a dynamic player in the making but he still needs to put in quite a bit of work to get there.
Spencer
I think the 22 film is going to help me appreciate him a little more. He is stout at the point of attack on runs and does not give up the edge. There were a lot of plays when the Giants tried to run at him where they actually brought in an extra lineman to his side and put a tight end over him. He still made plays.
What he doesn't have is the quickness and ability to turn the corner like Ware and I think that's I think that's where a lot of people are down on him and I know we've all heard it before but because they try to line him up over the tight end he also drops back almost as much as he rushes. Ware rushes about 90% of the time on pass plays where as Spencer rushed about 50% of the time. I think if Spencer rushed at the same clip as Ware he could put up Ellis type sack numbers, low double digits. He's never going to be a DeMarcus Ware when it comes to pass rushing but with the way Hatcher is coming on, a developing Lissemore, and a healthy Ratliff we may not need him to. Anthony Spencer played great against the run in that game and got great pressure when he rushed. He's just not the kind of athlete that's going to get a sack from the edge on a three step drop. He is however the type of edge rusher that can force teams into a 3 step drop.
DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware was DeMarcus Ware. He anticipates the snap as well as anyone I can ever recall, he explodes off the line and can turn the corner at full speed. If a tackle starts sitting on the corner Ware has an equally explosive inside move. As if that wasn't enough when the tackle doesn't know which way to go he hits him with his bull rush. I know we tend to think DeMarcus tcan disappear for long stretches but what I saw in this game was early pressure from Ware, Spencer, Hatcher forcing the Giants into a quick 3 step passing game. An edge rusher is just not going to get there when a quarterback is consistently getting rid of the ball in 2 seconds or less. If Eli held the ball or took a 5 step drop DeMarcus was in the picture.
Ware did have two sacks to go along with several pressures. On his first sack he beat his guy on an inside move and broke free from a bear hug that allowed Sensabaugh a free release off the end. When Eli stepped up to avoid Sensabaugh, Ware was there to finish him off. Here's a breakdown of that sack.
The right tackle is going to step out to seal the edge on Ware but instead of coming straight up the field Ware is going to come hard accross his face to give Sensebaugh a clear path to the QB.
Ware's hard inside move caught the tackle off guard and he whiffed. At this point he turns and put's Ware in a bear hug which only briefly slows him.
The Giants are trying to run a play action to the strong side which is the left and leave no one in position to block Sensebaugh.Ware runs through the bear hug and when Sensebaugh misses Eli Ware is right there to finish him off.
The combination of athleticism and strength that Ware possesses were both on display on that play. Ware was accross Diehls face before he had one step out of his stance leaving him no choice but to turn and put Ware in a bear hug. Ware just powered right through it.
Martellus Bennett may be one of the better blocking TEs in the league but the best he could hope for against Ware and Spencer was a stalemate. Ware also played great agianst the run. He was able hold his point of attack and hold his edge forcing runs to flatten out toward the sidelines. I think Spencer is a little stronger than Ware at the point of attack but what separates Ware from ordinary men as an edge guy is his backside pursuit.
Here's another sequence that left me just as impressed with Ware's ability.
This is another one of those runs where the Giants brought in an extra lineman and put the tight end on that side. On this play the outside tackle is going to block down on Coleman, Bennett who is out of the picture on that side is going to block down on Carter, the other tackle is going to pull and kick out Spencer, and the guard is going to pull around the end and clean up the hole.
This play actually looked like it was going to pop for a big gain but an unblocked Ware chases it all the way down from the back side for no gain. This wasn't a delayed hand off our a counter this was a toss sweep that Ware ran down to the other side.
Still photos don't really do this play justice.
Sean Lee and Bruce Carter
I'll start with Bruce and where his suffers in this write-up is the fact that he plays next to Sean Lee. It's hard to watch him and not compare him to Lee. What I like about Bruce is the speed with which he plays. There were quite a few plays where he played at the line of scrimmage and he looked like he had a good feel for it. He play recognition didn't look too far off from Lee's. What I didn't like was that he tends to get caught up in traffic sometimes. It's almost like he know's were the ball is going but gets tunnel vision on his way to it and this is where I think he suffers in my assessment because he plays next to Sean Lee.
Sean Lee is a full speed kind of guy. When the ball is snapped he will kind of side step with the flow of the O-line until he recognizes the play and then it is instant full speed for him. Even his change of directions are at full speed which are worth the price of the 22 film by themselves if you ask me. But the thing that I was most impressed with was his ability to use his hands to shed blockers at full speed without slowing down and that's where it's hard for a guy like me to properly evaluate a guy like Carter. I think Carter played a plus game, certainly better than anything we got at that position last year, but Sean Lee is special.
Here's a play sequence that I think demonstrates what I'm talking about. At the snap the Lee just kind of slowly side steps to his left mirroring the offensive line until he recognizes that the play is heading for the A gap on his left then it's full speed to fill the hole.
By the time Bradshaw gets to the hole Jason Hatcher has come from the other side to close the hole. Bradshaw cuts to his left to the area vacated by Hatcher at which point Sean Lee does an almost cartoonish change of direction at full speed.
And here Lee meets Bradshaw on the other side for no gain
Here is another play that shows Lee working his way through traffic. In this picture it's hard to see but he is putting his hands out to ward off the blocker. To the Right of him you see Bruce Carter who has let his blocker get into his body.
In this final still you can see where Lee has gotten off his block and is making a tackle about 6 yards from that spot while Bruce Carter is still struggling to get off of his.
I'm excited to see what a healthy Ratliff, an improving Lissemore and hopefully Crawford, can bring to this front seven. Those are three high motor guys who if rotated and kept fresh can bring a lot of spark to an already impressive in week one group.
I have been playing and watching football in some capacity for the last 35 years but breaking down film like this is allowing me to see the game in ways I never have before. It's also been humbling. One of the things I'm struggling with is that I have no point of comparison so much like the Cowboys I'm hoping to improve as the weeks go by. That's all I have for right now I hope you guys enjoy this and that someone finds it helpful.
I've re watched the game in it's entirety 3 times now and been through the every play of the first half of the 22 film probably 4 or 5 times but I've only been through second half of the 22 film once or twice. In an effort to get some type of write up I'll post my finding primarily base on what I saw in the first half and after I go through the 2nd half a little more thoroughly I'll update my assessment if it changes.
In what I'm calling Inside the Box I'm primarily focusing on defensive line play but with the multiple fronts Ryan is using it's hard to leave the linebackers out. So as far as the linebackers are concerned I'll primarily be focusing on their involvement in the pass rush and run support.
Let me start by saying that I now have a new and even greater appreciation for what Couchscout has provided us over the last year. The amount of time that goes into watching every play from multiple angles, identifying the players, what those players were trying to do schematically, watching their technique in their individual match ups, whether individually and collectively they won those match ups and why, and then reviewing the play again to make sure you got it right is right far surpasses what I imagined.
On to the the meat of this review:
Summary: As a whole I think the front 7 played an outstanding game. As a matter of fact after I started to organize my individual thoughts and put them together into one cohesive thought I realized that I really didn't have one negative thing to say about anyone and actually went through the tape one more time to make sure I didn't miss anything. If I had to pick an In the Box player of the game it would be Jason Hatcher and I don't think the Giants would dispute that. Jason played on the Giants side on the Line of scrimmage all night, he was a force in the run and provided more quarterback pressure than anyone else. I can't wait to see what he and a healthy Jay Ratliff look like playing next to each other. Demarcus Ware and Sean Lee also played outstanding games and would have been in the Running. I had Anthony Spencer and Bruce Carter graded as plus players, Sean Lissemore was more up than down and while Josh Brent, Kenyon Coleman, and Marcus Spears didn't stand out they played solid football. Victor Butler, Dan Connor, and Tyrone Crawford didn't really play enough for me to form and opinion.
Jason Hatcher: I'll start with the player who impressed me the most. Maybe he's not at the elite level with Ware an Lee yet but if he can consistently play like he did Wednesday night he deserves to be in that conversation. The thing that strikes me the most about Jason's game is that when reviewing the film he stood out on almost every single play. If it was a run he clogged up the right side, re-establishing the line of scrimmage a yard or two in their backfield, forcing the back to try and bounce it outside where a linebacker and safety were usually waiting. The screen grab below is from the Giant's first run attempt of the night which was the first play of their second series. I had intended to post a pre-snap shot as well which would show that the ball was placed at the opposite hashmark at the 13 yard line but Game rewind is turned off during evening games and I can't get it right now. The arrow designates the ball carrier and the yellow line is my attempt to show the original line of scrimmage.
On this play Hatcher pushed the line of scrimmage back about a yard and a half and rode his blocker about 6 yards to the right preventing Bradshaw from bouncing it outside. This play pretty much set the tone for the evening as far as runs to Hatcher's side were concerned.
As I mentioned earlier Hatcher was no slouch in the pass game either. Looking at the game film I think the Giants thought they could exploit our press man cover corners and especially the rookie with some play action and 5 step drops. A few years ago there was a study done by I think Football outsiders that if I remember correctly basically concluded that 2.8 seconds was kind of the magic number when it came to the amount of time a quarterback should have to pass before he's pressured. If the quarterback still has the ball after 2.8 seconds he's living on borrowed time. Last year after the second Giants game I went back and re-watched it. Unfortunately the computer I did that on bit the dust and I lost my results but if I recall correctly in that game Manning typically had about between 2.8 and 3.5 seconds before the pressure got to him where as Romo had in the vicinity of 2.5 seconds before the Giants rush pressured him. In that game Manning looked like a Superbowl MVP and well, Romo didn't. I believe that if we are going to be considered contenders this year we need to flip that script. The type of pressure that consistently gets disrupts a quarterback in less than 2.5 seconds comes from the middle and that's what Hatcher brought Wednesday night.
This next shot is from the second the second play of the game. This was a play action 5 step drop pass where Manning was looking to exploit Claiborne.
This screen capture was shot 2.1 seconds after the snap. Hatcher forced Eli to take the 5 yard check down in front of Sean Lee. Although Hatcher only recorded one sack (he easily would have had another on Ware's second sack) he provided a push in the middle of the pocket that quickly forced the giants to abandon their 5 step drops and play mostly 3 the rest of the night. Towards the end of the 1st half the Giants did try to go back to the 5 step drops but they brought in an extra lineman to help with their pass protection when they did.
The following picture demonstrates a formation that I mentioned earlier where the Giants brought in an extra lineman too sell the play action provide enough protection for a 5 step drop..
Coleman, Brent, Spears
Yeah I know I'm lumping these all into one assessment but I thought they all played the same game. They didn't really have any standout performances but they all consistently held the point of attack which is what you want from 3-4 lineman. Josh Brent can provide some push in the pocket but it's not the kind of push that's going to force the qb to get rid of the ball early. They all played about the same number of snaps and quite frankly there were a lot of plays where I had trouble figuring out is it was Spears or Coleman in the game. When I can finish going over the second half I intend to try to pay closer attention to them.
Lissemore
Lissemore is a fun player to watch on film. He played all 3 positions on the line on Wednesday night. When he came in for Hatcher there was a noticeable difference in the play of the line. Based on what I've seen so far Lissemore is not nearly at strong at the point of attack as the previously mentioned lineman but he is athletic and that can make for some big wins and some big losses. There were a couple of double teams on the nose where I just watched him get blown backwards but there where there were other plays where he was able to knife through and make a play in the backfield. I think what happens when he gets blown backwards is that he lets himself get turned sideways when he tries to split the double team and loses his base at which point if he doesn't get through it's over. The other thing he is able to do is get off his blocks and follow the play down the line of scrimmage. There is now quit in him. He's another play I will watch a little closer. I think he's a dynamic player in the making but he still needs to put in quite a bit of work to get there.
Spencer
I think the 22 film is going to help me appreciate him a little more. He is stout at the point of attack on runs and does not give up the edge. There were a lot of plays when the Giants tried to run at him where they actually brought in an extra lineman to his side and put a tight end over him. He still made plays.
What he doesn't have is the quickness and ability to turn the corner like Ware and I think that's I think that's where a lot of people are down on him and I know we've all heard it before but because they try to line him up over the tight end he also drops back almost as much as he rushes. Ware rushes about 90% of the time on pass plays where as Spencer rushed about 50% of the time. I think if Spencer rushed at the same clip as Ware he could put up Ellis type sack numbers, low double digits. He's never going to be a DeMarcus Ware when it comes to pass rushing but with the way Hatcher is coming on, a developing Lissemore, and a healthy Ratliff we may not need him to. Anthony Spencer played great against the run in that game and got great pressure when he rushed. He's just not the kind of athlete that's going to get a sack from the edge on a three step drop. He is however the type of edge rusher that can force teams into a 3 step drop.
DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware was DeMarcus Ware. He anticipates the snap as well as anyone I can ever recall, he explodes off the line and can turn the corner at full speed. If a tackle starts sitting on the corner Ware has an equally explosive inside move. As if that wasn't enough when the tackle doesn't know which way to go he hits him with his bull rush. I know we tend to think DeMarcus tcan disappear for long stretches but what I saw in this game was early pressure from Ware, Spencer, Hatcher forcing the Giants into a quick 3 step passing game. An edge rusher is just not going to get there when a quarterback is consistently getting rid of the ball in 2 seconds or less. If Eli held the ball or took a 5 step drop DeMarcus was in the picture.
Ware did have two sacks to go along with several pressures. On his first sack he beat his guy on an inside move and broke free from a bear hug that allowed Sensabaugh a free release off the end. When Eli stepped up to avoid Sensabaugh, Ware was there to finish him off. Here's a breakdown of that sack.
The right tackle is going to step out to seal the edge on Ware but instead of coming straight up the field Ware is going to come hard accross his face to give Sensebaugh a clear path to the QB.
Ware's hard inside move caught the tackle off guard and he whiffed. At this point he turns and put's Ware in a bear hug which only briefly slows him.
The Giants are trying to run a play action to the strong side which is the left and leave no one in position to block Sensebaugh.Ware runs through the bear hug and when Sensebaugh misses Eli Ware is right there to finish him off.
The combination of athleticism and strength that Ware possesses were both on display on that play. Ware was accross Diehls face before he had one step out of his stance leaving him no choice but to turn and put Ware in a bear hug. Ware just powered right through it.
Martellus Bennett may be one of the better blocking TEs in the league but the best he could hope for against Ware and Spencer was a stalemate. Ware also played great agianst the run. He was able hold his point of attack and hold his edge forcing runs to flatten out toward the sidelines. I think Spencer is a little stronger than Ware at the point of attack but what separates Ware from ordinary men as an edge guy is his backside pursuit.
Here's another sequence that left me just as impressed with Ware's ability.
This is another one of those runs where the Giants brought in an extra lineman and put the tight end on that side. On this play the outside tackle is going to block down on Coleman, Bennett who is out of the picture on that side is going to block down on Carter, the other tackle is going to pull and kick out Spencer, and the guard is going to pull around the end and clean up the hole.
This play actually looked like it was going to pop for a big gain but an unblocked Ware chases it all the way down from the back side for no gain. This wasn't a delayed hand off our a counter this was a toss sweep that Ware ran down to the other side.
Still photos don't really do this play justice.
Sean Lee and Bruce Carter
I'll start with Bruce and where his suffers in this write-up is the fact that he plays next to Sean Lee. It's hard to watch him and not compare him to Lee. What I like about Bruce is the speed with which he plays. There were quite a few plays where he played at the line of scrimmage and he looked like he had a good feel for it. He play recognition didn't look too far off from Lee's. What I didn't like was that he tends to get caught up in traffic sometimes. It's almost like he know's were the ball is going but gets tunnel vision on his way to it and this is where I think he suffers in my assessment because he plays next to Sean Lee.
Sean Lee is a full speed kind of guy. When the ball is snapped he will kind of side step with the flow of the O-line until he recognizes the play and then it is instant full speed for him. Even his change of directions are at full speed which are worth the price of the 22 film by themselves if you ask me. But the thing that I was most impressed with was his ability to use his hands to shed blockers at full speed without slowing down and that's where it's hard for a guy like me to properly evaluate a guy like Carter. I think Carter played a plus game, certainly better than anything we got at that position last year, but Sean Lee is special.
Here's a play sequence that I think demonstrates what I'm talking about. At the snap the Lee just kind of slowly side steps to his left mirroring the offensive line until he recognizes that the play is heading for the A gap on his left then it's full speed to fill the hole.
By the time Bradshaw gets to the hole Jason Hatcher has come from the other side to close the hole. Bradshaw cuts to his left to the area vacated by Hatcher at which point Sean Lee does an almost cartoonish change of direction at full speed.
And here Lee meets Bradshaw on the other side for no gain
Here is another play that shows Lee working his way through traffic. In this picture it's hard to see but he is putting his hands out to ward off the blocker. To the Right of him you see Bruce Carter who has let his blocker get into his body.
In this final still you can see where Lee has gotten off his block and is making a tackle about 6 yards from that spot while Bruce Carter is still struggling to get off of his.
I'm excited to see what a healthy Ratliff, an improving Lissemore and hopefully Crawford, can bring to this front seven. Those are three high motor guys who if rotated and kept fresh can bring a lot of spark to an already impressive in week one group.
I have been playing and watching football in some capacity for the last 35 years but breaking down film like this is allowing me to see the game in ways I never have before. It's also been humbling. One of the things I'm struggling with is that I have no point of comparison so much like the Cowboys I'm hoping to improve as the weeks go by. That's all I have for right now I hope you guys enjoy this and that someone finds it helpful.
