Plus, the Titans are playing real ornery football
We’re entering a playoff push for a certain section of the league, but the fun never ends for the other teams with their eyes towards the NFL Draft. We’re into Week 11, and now we’re getting to find out which teams make the final playoff run and which players separate themselves going into the playoffs, or into the next season.
Welcome back to Establish the Fun, where football is fun and we’re establishing that fun more than a Derrick Henry high school football game. I’ve had fun looking at every team and player, and reading your thoughts as well has made me really happy. So again, thanks for reading! I really appreciate it!
This week, we’re focusing on both sides of the ball, and on a couple of players who have improved week by week, as well as a defense that can only be described as “ornery”.
Derrick Brown: God of War
Around this time last year, there were many questions surrounding Panthers DT Derrick Brown and his long term fit in Carolina. His pass rush potential was minimized, and he was exclusively a run stopper.
However, Brown slimmed down in the offseason to help his pass rush and boy has it been noticeable. He has more pressures through 10 games than last year and is 18th among defensive tackles in tackles for loss. Against Atlanta, Brown unlocked Spartan Rage and dominated the interior offensive line, and showcased some things I didn’t know he had in his bag.
The first thing that stood out about Brown’s game was his quickness. He looked quicker and more agile than he did at any point last year, and that agility gave the Falcons PROBLEMS.
Watch Brown on the zone run here. As a shaded nose, the right guard expects him to attack the gap that he’s in, and he can get his outside shoulder pad on him to drive him out the gap and create a cutback lane for the RB to attack. Brown shoots back into the opposite gap, and his initial quickness stuns the right guard. Then watch the closing speed to make the tackle for loss, it’s absurd.
The move was so nice that he did it twice, whew.
This quickness also stood out in the passing game, but then Brown combined it with powerful pass rush moves that completely disregarded the Falcons interior offensive line. Atlanta tries to run a rollout pass where the Falcons offensive line. Brown is working on Falcons right guard, and puts him on rollerskates before getting the initial pressure that leads to a sack.
The Panthers are currently in a rebuilding phase and evaluating players who are going to be a part of the franchise in the future. With the way Brown has played, and the potential he has, he should be a part of the Carolina Panthers’ future plans, regardless of who the head coach is.
Elementary, my dear Christian Watson
It has been largely known that Aaron Rodgers might not have liked his receivers very much. Since trading away Davante Adams, Rodgers has been throwing to Allen Lazard and the 2022 version of Randall Cobb, looking for another threat, especially downfield. Through the first nine games of the season, Rodgers was first in the NFL in passing attempts of over 15 air yards, but his completion percentage was a horrid 39.4 percent.
Christian Watson was drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft to stretch the field, but he had to be able to catch the ball first. Through nine games, he only saw two more targets than Josiah Deguara and 26 less targets than Aaron Jones. This constricted the offense, and they couldn’t generate explosive plays.
Then the Cowboys game happened.
In their upset of Dallas, Watson caught three touchdowns, two of them over 30 yards downfield. This was the perfect game to get a receiver going for the Packers, especially Watson. What was interesting was how they did it.
Essentially, they used Watson as the vertical, downfield threat off of the effectiveness of their run game against Dallas. Watson is a size-speed marvel at 6’4 and running a 4.36 40 yard dash, and against the Cowboys that speed was evident.
His first touchdown, the Cowboys CB is in a press technique, but doesn’t get hands on Watson. If you don’t get hands on a speedy WR in press technique, he’ll run right past you. What I love about this from Watson though was how he works back outside after winning on the inside and stacking the corner. He’s finally getting the chance to flash downfield, and he’s making the most of it.
His second touchdown was a really good design by Green Bay against the Cowboys’ Cover 1 defense, which they play on the fifth-most snaps in the entire league. The Packers are in a bunch formation, and at the snap, the Cowboys are in LIB coverage. This means that the point man, in this case Allen Lazard, is locked in man coverage by the pressing corner, in this case Trevon Diggs.
Then, the two other defensive backs are playing Banjo coverage. The inside corner takes the first man inside, outside corner takes the first man out. The Packers know this, and with their bunch they have Watson, who’s all the way on the outside of the bunch be the first man in. How this helps is giving him a free release where he doesn’t have to worry about press coverage.
Watson gets a full head of steam and sets up the DB inside, then breaks outside, AND THEN has enough speed and burst to break back inside, setting up the safety who’s expecting an outside route. It’s a great route and a great concept that gives Watson a TD.
There are still reservations I have with Watson’s hands, and the occasional concentration drop, but if he can stretch the field like this in addition to being the jet sweep guy for Green Bay, it should help the Pack get more explosive in their passing game, something they desperately needed.
UPDATE: since this writing, Watson has caught two more TDs. It’s like the Packers are reading my mind. In that case, get out of my head!
The Titans’ boa constrictor defense
The Titans defense can only be described as “ornery”. Through the first ten games of the season the Titans are third in EPA/rushing attempt and 12th in total EPA allowed per play. What I love about the Titans defense is that they play so well in concert with each other. It makes not having Jeffrey Simmons, Bud Dupree, or any healthy corners a little bit passable, because they cover those problems as a unit.
The Titans put the Denver Broncos in the Walls of Jericho for four quarters in their victory, and it really starts up front. The combination of Simmons, Denico Autry, Teair Tart and others have created a dominant front, which allows for linebackers like David Long to fly into open gaps.
This is a run blitz by the Titans, and watch Tart work back across the center’s face, then David Long insert himself on the run blitz. They get two free defenders for a TFL from an Over front.
The Titans’ discipline in the run game also stands out. They’re in an 5 man over front set to the in-line tight end, and the Broncos try and run Power with the H-back. 53 not only does a great job of spilling the pulling guard (hitting him with your outside shoulder instead of inside shoulder), but he disrupts the path of the RB as well, forcing him outside to his help. The Titans also always have numbers around the ball. There are at least 2-4 Titans defenders around the ball on every play, you can’t teach that.
The Titans rarely blitz; Pro Football Reference has them at the fifth-lowest blitz rate in the NFL. However, among the teams with the ten lowest blitz rates, they have the second highest pressure rate in the group, sixth highest in the entire league. How they do this is twofold: compressing the pocket instead of bending around it, and using tight coverage plus shifting coverage shells in both zone and man.
The Broncos are in the red zone and at the beginning of the play it looks like three deep, correct? Well, on the snap, the Titans shift to Cover One with Kevin Byard robbing any over route (Byard is their robber guy—and he’s real good at it). Nothing is open downfield, and the pocket is slowly closing in on QB Russell Wilson. If you think about it, the Titans defense is like a Boa Constrictor, making everything tighter and tighter, compressing everything until you make a mistake.
When the Titans do blitz, it’s normally a fire zone, or some type of simulated pressure. A second level defender comes and a lineman drops. On this play, Tennessee brings David Long from the short side of the field, and drops the edge defender to the wide side. What this does is takes away the hot route of the quick in breaker, and it forces Wilson to tuck it and run, to no avail.
The constrictor known as the Tennessee Titans defense has dominated the competition this year, and forced many teams into mistakes and errant throws. Keep in mind, they’re losing players like Denico Autry, Simmons, Kristian Fulton and their 2021 first round draft pick Caleb Farley at corner. How they keep getting good results is astounding, and a lot of credit goes to head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. Even without stars on offense and an oft-injured defense, they’ve remained one of the best defenses in the league.
Even when the head of the snake is gone, another one pops up.
