Big Cat Country - Breaking down the Jacksonville Jaguars 2013 offenseStand United, Duval Til We Diehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47383/bigcatcountry_fave.png2013-05-23T07:58:15-04:00http://www.bigcatcountry.com/rss/stream/41190972013-05-23T07:58:15-04:002013-05-23T07:58:15-04:00Breaking down Fisch - Part 2
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ugANm6NAZoKiGOAl7oe7SmH7FGQ=/139x0:960x547/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/13448397/anchor.0.jpg" />
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<p>What are some of the repeated concepts Jedd Fisch used during his tenure with the Hurricanes?</p> <p>Similar to what we've heard coming out of OTAs, this is a very up-tempo, fast-paced offense. Miami rarely huddles during the first half of games. The play ends, they make their substitutions, the players look to the sideline to get the play, and they're snapping the ball quickly. The tempo made it difficult for the TV broadcasts to show replays (concurrently making it hard for me to get a feel for the route combinations), but I noticed a few concepts repeated throughout the four games.</p>
<p>Before I get into the specific pass concepts, I thought it'd be a good idea to review how route combinations actually work. While there are many instances where receivers run isolation routes and beating the man covering them, almost all route <i>combinations</i> are used to specifically attack zone coverages by creating 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 situations and putting defenders in a bind. Route combinations are used to stretch defenders horizontally or vertically. <a href="http://smartfootball.com/passing/snag-stick-and-the-importance-of-triangles-yes-triangles-in-the-passing-game" target="_blank">As explained</a> by Chris Brown of <a href="http://smartfootball.com" target="_blank">SmartFootball.com</a>:</p>
<ol>
<li> <b>Vertical stretches</b> — These place two or three receivers at different levels vertically up the field to "stretch" the defense. Examples include the <a href="http://smartfootball.blogspot.com/2008/01/divide-route-in-multiple-smash-concept.html">smash concept</a> and the frontside flood concept (see <a href="http://smartfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/flood.jpg">here for a diagram</a> and here for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI3ti9mEEpY&feature=player_embedded">a video</a>). Another name for these are high/low or hi/lo reads.</li>
<li> <b>Horizontal stretches</b> — These place two, three, four, or five receivers horizontally across the field or a portion of it to "stretch" defenders from left to right or right to left (or inside to out or outside to in). Examples include <a href="http://smartfootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/keydefender.jpg">all-curl</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p><b>The Chain Mover</b></p>
<p><img width="98%" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2654389/Snag.jpg" class="photo" alt="Snag_medium"></p>
<p>In critical situations, Miami's go-to play is the <a href="http://smartfootball.com/passing/snag-stick-and-the-importance-of-triangles-yes-triangles-in-the-passing-game" target="_blank">"Snag" concept</a>. "Snag" combines a High/Low stretch and a Horizontal stretch to create a Triangle read. The High/Low combination is a Corner Route and Flat route (also referred to as "<b>CHI</b>NA" - short for <b>C</b>orner <b>Hi</b>/Lo. The Horizontal stretch comes from the Mini-Curl (or "Snag" route) run by the outside receiver crossing with the Flat route.</p>
<p><img src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1621405/bcc3.gif" class="photo" alt="Bcc3" width="98%"><br><i>(Snag being run off of Outside Zone Action)</i></p>
<p>The beauty of Snag is that it can be run from any conceivable formation where three receivers can release to the same side - whether it's a shotgun/spread set or off of play action in the I formation - and the progression remains the same (Corner to Flat to Curl). It's an extremely versatile concept that can have success against almost any coverage, especially when combined with other route combinations on the backside.</p>
<p><img src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1621411/bcc4.gif" class="photo" alt="Bcc4" width="98%"><br><i>(Miami running Snag as a dropback pass from a shotgun set)</i></p>
<p><b>The "Shot" Play</b></p>
<p>Miami faces a lot of Quarters/Two-Read type coverages, which allows teams to get both safeties involved in the run fit quickly (essentially creating a 9 man front after the snap). One of Miami's favorite plays when they're looking for chunks of yardage in the passing game is the "Anchor" concept. The "Anchor" play is a High/Low stretch on a safety that looks to put him in a bind with two receivers in his area - one in front, and one behind.</p>
<p>You can read more on <a href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/49235/how-joe-flaccos-big-arm-can-exploit-the-49ers-secondary" target="_blank">Two-Read coverages here</a>, but the main idea is that the safeties and corners will play a matchup-zone by pattern-reading - with the safety keying the No. 2 receiver (and taking him on any type of vertical threat). This isn't strictly man-to-man defense either - if the No. 2 breaks off with a shallow route, the safety will need to be aware of deeper in-breaking routes coming from the #1 receiver.</p>
<p><img width="98%" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1617239/grant_whares3_cr_576.jpg" class="photo" alt="Grant_whares3_cr_576_medium"><br><i>via Chris Brown of <a href="http://Grantland.com" target="_blank">Grantland.com</a><a href="http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0129/grant_whares3_cr_576.jpg"></a></i></p>
<p>The Anchor concept takes advantage of overly-aggressive safeties by using their rules against them. In the picture below, Miami also has the slot receiver to the boundary come in motion and execute a fake Jet Sweep before heading into the flat to pull the linebacker away from the Post/Dig combo (and taking this from a plain High/Low to a true Triangle read). The slot receiver runs a 10-12 yard Dig route - enough depth to make the safety play him honestly on a vertical route. If the safety aggressively jumps the Dig (and he often will), a window will open up behind him for the outside wide receiver running a Post route.</p>
<p><img width="98%" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2653781/Anchor.jpg" class="photo" alt="Anchor_medium"><br><i>(The routes aren't exactly to scale, but you can see how the Dig/Post combo puts the safety in a bind.)</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img width="98%" src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1619739/bcc.gif" class="photo" alt="Bcc"></p>
<p>For this route combination to work, the quarterback needs to innate sense of both timing and anticipation by the quarterback. The Dig route syncs with the top of the quarterback's drop, with the Vertical window for the Post opening directly after his hitch step. Like in GIF above shows, anticipation comes into play as the quarterback will usually have to make this throw before the Post runner clears the underneath defender. If he waits for the Post to come wide open, it will actually be too late - as a good corner will have enough time to recover and play the ball, as shown here:</p>
<p><img width="98%" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1621399/bcc2.gif" class="photo" alt="Bcc2"></p>
<p>As far as Miami's run game goes, it's very heavy on traditional <a href="http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7429732/chris-brown-gary-kubiak-houston-texans-running-game" target="_blank">Zone Blocking Scheme concepts</a> (50% of their called runs are either Inside or Outside Zone). They also run some <a href="http://smartfootball.com/run-game/explanation-and-cut-ups-of-the-power-o-run-play" target="_blank">Power O</a>, Tosses, and Draw plays to change things up, but Inside and Outside Zone are the primary diet (and the basis for the Play Action game). Like I mentioned in the last post, they do have a Wildcat package, as well as a number of pick/rub plays and creative uses for their runningbacks in the pass game (all of which I'll get to it in later posts).</p>
<h4>Keep reading:</h4>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/21/4349526/kyle-love-diabetes-jaguars-patriots"> Love: "There’s nothing wrong with me" </a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/5/14/4281890/jacksonville-jaguars-ticket-sales-fans-stadium">The rise of "Generation Jaguar"</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/21/4351224/kyle-love-jaguars-defense">Where does Kyle Love fit on the Jaguars?</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/15/4334074/tyson-alualu-position-change-red-bryant-jaguars">Tyson Alualu moving to DE</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/14/4331700/jaguars-preseason-schedule-2013"> 2013 NFL schedule: Times, dates for preseason announced </a></p>
https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/23/4350420/jedd-fisch-offense-jaguars-breakdownEricStoner2013-05-16T14:12:15-04:002013-05-16T14:12:15-04:00Breaking down Fisch - Part 1
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tPyMZ_sJOl24VYgGltQOsPXEFYc=/46x0:690x429/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/13231965/20130417-jedd.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jacksonville Jaguars</figcaption>
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<p>Let's break down Jedd Fisch's offense.</p> <p>I charted about 250 snaps of Miami's offense (North Carolina, North Carolina State, Florida State, and Virginia Tech) to get a feel for Fisch's play calling tendencies, favorite concepts, and how he utilized the talent at hand. Besides noting personnel groupings and the plays being run (I'll get into more Xs and Os stuff in a later post), I also graded the outcome of each play according to <a href="http://www.footballoutsiders.com/info/glossary#ncaa_success_rate" target="_blank">Football Outsiders' College Football Success Rate metric</a>. A "Success" is awarded by the offense gaining 50% of the required yards on 1st down (usually five yards), 70% on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd down.</p>
<p>The first chart shows success rate according to down, distance and play type. The second chart shows what kind of plays are being run in those down and distance situations. Just a warning: these numbers aren't very pretty. On the bright side, I do like a lot of the things Fisch does conceptually, and I think it can potentially suit the personnel here very well.</p>
<p align="left"><b>Note:</b> 1st and Possession = the initial 1st down of a drive. .</p>
<table width="522" height="305" border="0">
<caption>Success Rate</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>1st and Possession</td>
<td>1st and 10</td>
<td>2nd and 1-3</td>
<td>2nd and 4-6</td>
<td>2nd and 7+</td>
<td>3rd and 1-3</td>
<td>3rd and 4-6</td>
<td>3rd and 7+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Overall Success<br>
</td>
<td>31% Success Rate</td>
<td>29% Success Rate</td>
<td>86% Success Rate</td>
<td>57% Success Rate</td>
<td>29% Success Rate</td>
<td>44% Success Rate</td>
<td>36% Success Rate</td>
<td>21% Success Rate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dropback Pass<br>
</td>
<td>20% Success Rate</td>
<td>30% Success Rate</td>
<td>100% Success Rate</td>
<td>25% Success Rate</td>
<td>26% Success Rate</td>
<td>50% Success Rate</td>
<td>29% Success Rate</td>
<td>29% Success Rate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Play Action/</p>
<p>Movement Pass</p>
</td>
<td>29% Success Rate</td>
<td>33% Success Rate</td>
<td>50% Success Rate</td>
<td>0% Success Rate (1 attempt)</td>
<td>17% Success Rate</td>
<td>0% Success Rate (1 attempt)</td>
<td>100% Success Rate</td>
<td>0% Success Rate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Run</td>
<td>29% Success Rate</td>
<td>27% Success Rate</td>
<td>100% Success Rate</td>
<td>78% Success Rate</td>
<td>13% Success Rate</td>
<td>50% Success Rate</td>
<td>0% Success Rate</td>
<td>50% Success Rate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Screen</td>
<td>60% Success Rate</td>
<td>50% Success Rate</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>57% Success Rate</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>0% Success Rate</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<table width="475" height="221" border="0">
<caption>Down and Distance Tendencies</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st and Possession</td>
<td>1st and 10</td>
<td>2nd and 1-3</td>
<td>2nd and 4-6</td>
<td>2nd and 7+</td>
<td>3rd and 1-3</td>
<td>3rd and 4-6</td>
<td>3rd and 7+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>23% Dropback Pass</td>
<td>13% Dropback Pass</td>
<td>14% Dropback Pass</td>
<td>29% Dropback Pass</td>
<td>36% Dropback Pass <br>
</td>
<td>78% Dropback Pass</td>
<td>64% Dropback Pass</td>
<td>75% Dropback Pass</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>10% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>29% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>7% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>22% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>11% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>18% Play Action Pass</td>
<td>11% Play Action Pass</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>49% Run</td>
<td>74% Run</td>
<td>57% Run</td>
<td>64% Run</td>
<td>27% Run</td>
<td>11% Run</td>
<td>18% Run</td>
<td>7% Run</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12% Screen</td>
<td>3% Screen</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>13% Screen</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li> On 1st and Possession, they show a nice balance between running and passing (and variety in the types of passes they're throwing). The problem is that they weren't particularly successful in any facet, either. Poor 1st down production is crippling on an offense. Most people point to 3rd down as the most important, but <a href="http://smartfootball.com/gameplanning/first-down-means-everything" target="_blank">1st down is the real money down</a> in football. <br>
</li>
<li>You can see that Miami really wanted to establish a consistent run game and just wasn't able to do so.Their run/pass ratio really skews especially heavy on 1st and 10 situations (they ran almost 75% of time time at just a 27% Success Rate). <br>
</li>
<li>I'd like to see more use out of the screen game, especially because Fisch uses his backs really creatively in the passing game. Miami's offensive line rhad a tendency to get overwhelmed in pass protection (I completely understand the rationale of drafting Joeckel now), especially once they got into longer Down and Distance situations. <br>
</li>
<li>A lot of Miami's problems were personnel related. Their two best players on offense were good - but not spectacular - runningbacks. Their quarterback was very young and played like it. Their offensive line was overmatched often, struggling to open holes or pass protect. Sounds familiar, huh? </li>
</ul>
<p>That's not to paint a picture of gloom and doom. As noted, Miami shared a lot of the same personnel deficiencies as the <a href="https://www.bigcatcountry.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jaguars</a>. With the addition of Joeckel and some luck with health, the Jaguars' offensive line should be much improved from the last two seasons. I can see immediately how the team will want to get Denard involved, both as a space player and doing Wildcat stuff. The Jaguars also have more relative talent at wide receiver than the Hurricanes. So there's a lot of reason for optimism, and, overall, I think a lot of the pieces the Jaguars already have in place will meld nicely with Fisch's philosophy on offense.</p>
<h4>Keep reading:</h4>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/16/4336436/jaguars-mt-rushmore">Who's on your Jaguars Mt. Rushmore?</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/5/14/4281890/jacksonville-jaguars-ticket-sales-fans-stadium">The rise of "Generation Jaguar"</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/15/4334584/david-garrard-retirement-jets-jaguars">David Garrard calls it quits</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/15/4334074/tyson-alualu-position-change-red-bryant-jaguars">Tyson Alualu moving to DE</a></p>
<p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/14/4331700/jaguars-preseason-schedule-2013"> 2013 NFL schedule: Times, dates for preseason announced </a></p>
https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2013/5/16/4332550/jedd-fisch-offense-jaguars-miamiEricStoner