Touchdown to Luke Wilson - Coaches Film

[texbumthelife]

At 5:33 in the second quarter, Russel Wilson hit Luke Wilson down the seem for a go-ahead touchdown. This play has been looked at by countless reporters and some former scouts as they tried to deduce whether it was Church or Heath who blew the coverage.

First of all, it was laughable to even think Heath had responsibility, as he has either single high, or high half safety responsibility on the play. Either way, he has no chance to get to this ball and in fact was one of the few people who didn't bite on the play action and was where he was supposed to be.

So, what did happen in this busted coverage? According to what you've read and seen, if it wasn't on Heath, it must have been on Church. He takes a lot of heat around here, and is often singled out for his poor coverage and bad angles. I won't defend the fact he has been a step slow this season, but on this particular play, I don't think he was to blame.

As you can see from the first still, the Cowboys are showing a bear formation with Church playing the slot on the far side. We also see from the still, that Lee is lined up in the middle of the field. I believe Lee was supposed to take his normal 8-15 yard drop and take away the intermediate middle of the field.
http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/presnappremotion_zps6aqwxoci.png
Here is the play after motion. By the alignment it is clear at this point, the Cowboys are in a zone scheme. Claiborne is set up outside with deep third responsibility. I believe Church's first responsibility on this play, is to watch the left flat, as Mo carries his receiver to the deep third.
http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/presnappostmotion_zpswuhwk5sw.png
Here we see Church, Lee and McClain all bite hard on the play action. Church is caught sitting as Wilson runs by. Lee is almost in the backfield. McClain bites, but recovers more quickly than the other two and is working back. From this frame, this looks like a Bear Cover-3 Zone all the way. This is actually the formation and play the Seahawks have made their living on. You will, however, notice the gaping hole in the intermediate/deep middle. This is where your MLB generally take his drop. If Lee doesn't bite, he should be just left of the hash, at the 11 or 12 yard line.
.http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/aftersnapplayfake_zpswc2a99on.png
In this final frame, you see the result of a busted coverage. Wilson catches the ball, wide open at the 12 yard line, just outside the hash. This is Sean Lee's zone on the play. In fact, with the prowess he has shown, if Lee makes his drop and Wilson throws the ball anyway, this may even get picked. You can also see that, although he is in recover mode and racing for Wilson, Church has set himself up so far outside, I am convinced, he was responsible for that flat.
http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/afterpass_zpsglcs8uo0.png

This was a busted coverage and an absolute fail no matter how you chalk it up. However, I think Church, as usual, is taking some absolutely unwarranted heat for this play. Could he have been in better position? Absolutely! However, if you want to lay blame on one player who really gave this play up, I think Sean Lee is your culprit.

I love Sean Lee and think he is a tremendous talent. However, I think he has been in "prove it" mode all season and as such, he has been even more aggressive than usual. It is causing him to miss tackles and run himself out of position. Maybe he is still getting acclimated to the position change, but this sort of play used to be Sean Lee's bread and butter. I appreciate the aggressiveness, but sometimes you just have to let the scheme do its job.

 

[xwalker]

At 5:33 in the second quarter, Russel Wilson hit Luke Wilson down the seem for a go-ahead touchdown. This play has been looked at by countless reporters and some former scouts as they tried to deduce whether it was Church or Heath who blew the coverage.

First of all, it was laughable to even think Heath had responsibility, as he has either single high, or high half safety responsibility on the play. Either way, he has no chance to get to this ball and in fact was one of the few people who didn't bite on the play action and was where he was supposed to be.

So, what did happen in this busted coverage? According to what you've read and seen, if it wasn't on Heath, it must have been on Church. He takes a lot of heat around here, and is often singled out for his poor coverage and bad angles. I won't defend the fact he has been a step slow this season, but on this particular play, I don't think he was to blame.

As you can see from the first still, the Cowboys are showing a bear formation with Church playing the slot on the far side. We also see from the still, that Lee is lined up in the middle of the field. I believe Lee was supposed to take his normal 8-15 yard drop and take away the intermediate middle of the field.
http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/presnappremotion_zps6aqwxoci.png
Here is the play after motion. By the alignment it is clear at this point, the Cowboys are in a zone scheme. Claiborne is set up outside with deep third responsibility. I believe Church's first responsibility on this play, is to watch the left flat, as Mo carries his receiver to the deep third.
http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/presnappostmotion_zpswuhwk5sw.png
Here we see Church, Lee and McClain all bite hard on the play action. Church is caught sitting as Wilson runs by. Lee is almost in the backfield. McClain bites, but recovers more quickly than the other two and is working back. From this frame, this looks like a Bear Cover-3 Zone all the way. This is actually the formation and play the Seahawks have made their living on. You will, however, notice the gaping hole in the intermediate/deep middle. This is where your MLB generally take his drop. If Lee doesn't bite, he should be just left of the hash, at the 11 or 12 yard line.
.http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/aftersnapplayfake_zpswc2a99on.png
In this final frame, you see the result of a busted coverage. Wilson catches the ball, wide open at the 12 yard line, just outside the hash. This is Sean Lee's zone on the play. In fact, with the prowess he has shown, if Lee makes his drop and Wilson throws the ball anyway, this may even get picked. You can also see that, although he is in recover mode and racing for Wilson, Church has set himself up so far outside, I am convinced, he was responsible for that flat.
http://i776.***BLOCKED***/albums/yy49/ddooling/afterpass_zpsglcs8uo0.png

This was a busted coverage and an absolute fail no matter how you chalk it up. However, I think Church, as usual, is taking some absolutely unwarranted heat for this play. Could he have been in better position? Absolutely! However, if you want to lay blame on one player who really gave this play up, I think Sean Lee is your culprit.

I love Sean Lee and think he is a tremendous talent. However, I think he has been in "prove it" mode all season and as such, he has been even more aggressive than usual. It is causing him to miss tackles and run himself out of position. Maybe he is still getting acclimated to the position change, but this sort of play used to be Sean Lee's bread and butter. I appreciate the aggressiveness, but sometimes you just have to let the scheme do its job.

Broaddus checked with the coaches and confirmed that the bust was on Church.

Yes, Lee probably should have stayed back a bit, but at best he would likely be in an underneath zone to make the completion more difficult. If is was completed even with Lee having a deeper drop, there was still nobody there for the tackle.

Speaking of Heath, he has played quite a few snaps the past 2 weeks and has done a good job from what I've seen. I recall a play where he had good man coverage on a deep sideline route and another play where he prevented a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. He played more snaps against the Seahawks than Wilcox.

 

[texbumthelife]

Broaddus checked with the coaches and confirmed that the bust was on Church.

Yes, Lee probably should have stayed back a bit, but at best he would likely be in an underneath zone to make the completion more difficult. If is was completed even with Lee having a deeper drop, there was still nobody there for the tackle.

Speaking of Heath, he has played quite a few snaps the past 2 weeks and has done a good job from what I've seen. I recall a play where he had good man coverage on a deep sideline route and another play where he prevented a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. He played more snaps against the Seahawks than Wilcox.

I haven't seen that Broaddus confirmed it, only that he speculated. Could you link me to that story?

 

[Gaede]

Broaddus checked with the coaches and confirmed that the bust was on Church.

Yes, Lee probably should have stayed back a bit, but at best he would likely be in an underneath zone to make the completion more difficult. If is was completed even with Lee having a deeper drop, there was still nobody there for the tackle.

Speaking of Heath, he has played quite a few snaps the past 2 weeks and has done a good job from what I've seen. I recall a play where he had good man coverage on a deep sideline route and another play where he prevented a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. He played more snaps against the Seahawks than Wilcox.

I remember that sideline play. I did a double take, thinking, 'when did we get that guy?'

 

[texbumthelife]

Speaking of Heath, he has played quite a few snaps the past 2 weeks and has done a good job from what I've seen. I recall a play where he had good man coverage on a deep sideline route and another play where he prevented a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. He played more snaps against the Seahawks than Wilcox.

That third down play was on Jimmy Graham with Byron Jones in single deep coverage. That was a hell of a play. Heath can definitely turn and run with anyone, he has the wheels.

It's interesting that Church has been hurt but instead of them giving Heath and Jones his minutes, their giving them Wilcox's.

I like the look of Jones as the S/LB hybrid with Heath in single deep. It puts a lot more athleticism on the field.

 

[gimmesix]

Speaking of Heath, he has played quite a few snaps the past 2 weeks and has done a good job from what I've seen. I recall a play where he had good man coverage on a deep sideline route and another play where he prevented a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. He played more snaps against the Seahawks than Wilcox.

I'm not sure why Heath has been receiving more playing time. I thought it would primarily Jones and Wilcox picking up the slack for Church being slowed by his injury, but it seems that Wilcox is the primary player losing playing time. Not sure why because I haven't really dissected Wilcox's play this year.

 

[xwalker]

I haven't seen that Broaddus confirmed it, only that he speculated. Could you link me to that story?

He speculated 1 day and then followed it up in the next day or two with confirmation. I would have to search dc.com but I assume it's his article after the initial one where he speculated.

 

[texbumthelife]

He speculated 1 day and then followed it up in the next day or two with confirmation. I would have to search dc.com but I assume it's his article after the initial one where he speculated.

Im sorry, I am not questioning you read it, but I have a very hard time believing coaches would come out and say "X player blew his coverage"

 

[xwalker]

Im sorry, I am not questioning you read it, but I have a very hard time believing coaches would come out and say "X player blew his coverage"

I'm not sure that stuff is a big secret. It the one advantage that Broaddus has over other media. He can occasionally get an answer from coaches.

He probably won't word it directly in his follow up as "The coaches told me.."; however, he said he didn't know the answer originally and then said he found out the answer which indicates he talked to the coaches or the players. Its' possible that Church would admit to the mistake himself but I think it's more likely that Broaddus asked a coach to confirm. I don't think he goes around bugging the coaches often, but I'm fairly certain that he can do it occasionally. I think the coaches have probably been encouraged to cooperate with the dc.com staff considering that they are all Cowboys employees. On the flip side I think the dc.com staff has been told to minimize how often they bug the coaches.

 

[cowboys2233]

Broaddus checked with the coaches and confirmed that the bust was on Church.

Yes, Lee probably should have stayed back a bit, but at best he would likely be in an underneath zone to make the completion more difficult. If is was completed even with Lee having a deeper drop, there was still nobody there for the tackle.

Speaking of Heath, he has played quite a few snaps the past 2 weeks and has done a good job from what I've seen. I recall a play where he had good man coverage on a deep sideline route and another play where he prevented a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. He played more snaps against the Seahawks than Wilcox.

Yeah, I see a lot of posters on here knocking Heath but from what I've seen, he seems like a pretty solid and smart player. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't focused on his play but I like the guy.

 

[xwalker]

Yeah, I see a lot of posters on here knocking Heath but from what I've seen, he seems like a pretty solid and smart player. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't focused on his play but I like the guy.

They all hate him because he was a starter as a rookie back in 2013 when Kiffin was the DC and the defense sucked.

Nobody really knows much about him since that time.

 

[gmoney112]

They all hate him because he was a starter as a rookie back in 2013 when Kiffin was the DC and the defense sucked.

Nobody really knows much about him since that time.

Heath? I actually really like him as a player, especially as a DB who flat out drilled Brandon Jacobs as a rookie. Jacobs always had our number and Heath not only wasn't hesitant, he laid the wood on him.

He's also really athletic and just a football player. He's always the one mixing it up on ST and I'm pretty sure he was the main guy holding Hardy back during that sideline thing. He's not soft, that's for sure.

He was pretty bad at the S position though. Took a lot of poor angles and had problems timing balls in the air. But players improve and maybe he's actually turning into one of those pivotal depth/role players you get on the cheap but go massively underappreciated.

 

[Jenky]

They all hate him because he was a starter as a rookie back in 2013 when Kiffin was the DC and the defense sucked.

Nobody really knows much about him since that time.

No. He looks inept at safety.

 

[phildadon86]

I don't really care who blew the coverage, because the referees in New York blew the review, but that's just me.

 

[xwalker]

No. He looks inept at safety.

When?

 

[Rack]

When?

I don't know about his coverage ability but he does miss too many tackles in space which, IMO, is the most important trait you want from a safety.

 

[xwalker]

I don't know about his coverage ability but he does miss too many tackles in space which, IMO, is the most important trait you want from a safety.

When? Has that happened in the past 2 games where he has played the most snaps since his rookie season?

I have not focused on him in my 1st review of the Seahawks game, but I didn't notice him missing tackles.

 

[Risen Star]

Hopefully our children or their children will live to see quality safety play in Dallas some day.

 

[Jarv]

I'm not sure that stuff is a big secret. It the one advantage that Broaddus has over other media. He can occasionally get an answer from coaches.

He probably won't word it directly in his follow up as "The coaches told me.."; however, he said he didn't know the answer originally and then said he found out the answer which indicates he talked to the coaches or the players. Its' possible that Church would admit to the mistake himself but I think it's more likely that Broaddus asked a coach to confirm. I don't think he goes around bugging the coaches often, but I'm fairly certain that he can do it occasionally. I think the coaches have probably been encouraged to cooperate with the dc.com staff considering that they are all Cowboys employees. On the flip side I think the dc.com staff has been told to minimize how often they bug the coaches.

Lol...Didn't The Big Tuna have a policy of no coaches talking to the media at all. Sounds like your saying it's not the same for JG?

 

[dirtycallahan]

and after the conclusive replay the touchdown stands.