Film Talk, Week 6

Photo: USA Today Sports

One of the recent trends in football is RPOs = Run/Pass Option plays. Arizona ran one and I decided to highlight it to begin this week's article.

Situation

• Philadelphia 14 - Arizona 10
• 2nd quarter 2:30
• 1st and 10 yards to go
• Football on the Cardinals' own 22-yard line

The Eagles are in a 5-man front with Cover 2 to the Field(purple circles) and Cover 4 to the Boundary(red circles).

The Cardinals' passing concept has two parts. The number 1 and number 2 wide receivers (receivers are always numbered from the outside to inside) are forming a high and low concept on the slot defender. He should carry the number 2 receiver, which would create a void for the number 1 receiver. If not, a small window will appear behind him and before the safety. The second part to this concept is the number 3 receiver running a slant route for the read in the RPO.

The running concept is inside zone against a 5-man front. The Cardinals will only have a single double-team block with the rest singled up but no immediate linebackers to fill running lanes.

James Conner is reading the front side(bottom arrow) block. If he doesn’t like it, then he will cut back to the backside A gap(top arrow).

This is just one second into the snap, but you can see the blocking develop. Conner’s initial path is the purple arrow and then the red arrow. Good running backs will stick with the purple arrow path to press the hole, which forces defenders to move toward that area before cutting back to the red arrow. Notice Kyler Murray’s eyes during this image because I’ll show you this again in the next image.

Murray is looking at the defender in the purple circle. If he takes the black arrow path, then the number of defenders in the box will equal the number of blockers and create less of an advantage. This would allow Murray to throw the slant route to the WR. If the defender takes the red path, then Murray will hand off the football with likely open holes in the running game.

Only a couple of frames later, Murray made his decision, and it looks like he messed up by not handing off the football. I wouldn’t disagree with that opinion. However, the black circle shows a massive void in this coverage, and Murray knows the potential for a big play is on the horizon if he can wait for his receiver to clear the read defender. This is a gamble by Murray, but he’s taking a calculated guess and taking a chance for more yardage here.

Now a few frames further into the play, you can see the football arrive just behind the read defender, and the receiver is wide open. The gold path will lead him to the end zone. Sometimes the story doesn’t live up to the hype. Hollywood Brown drops this football and likely would’ve scored a touchdown after a great read by Murray.

Disclaimer: Coaches are critical by the nature of the profession. I will reveal the good and bad about players. It doesn’t mean I’m a homer or a hater, so the kids say. It’s just honesty.

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals

Even though the Eagles never trailed in this game, it was a heavyweight match just going back and forth. So much so that the Cardinals missed a field goal at the end to tie the game. Both teams were fairly efficient and used the short passing game to their advantage. The Eagles ran a ton of screens in many different ways.

Kyler Murray

The Good

• Makes anticipatory throws

• Throws players open or away from defenders

• Takes calculated shots down the field

• Dime thrown on the sideline in a scramble drill to convert a 3rd down

• Very good accuracy

• Smart runner who doesn’t take abuse

• Strong arm

The Bad

• Overconfidence led to a forced throw in traffic that led to an INT

• Unnecessarily faded away on a pass, and it led to an overthrow of a wide-open Ertz

Takeaway

• Kyler Murray can make special types of throws on the football field, and he made multiple in this game. He needs to improve his consistency, but his talented arm gets overshadowed by the public due to his very good athleticism. I’m not convinced that Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury is setting up Murray and the offense in ideal situations. But I am convinced that Murray has amazing talent.

James Conner

The Good

• Strong player who adds yardage after contact

• Gets up the field immediately after the reception

• Runs aggressively through contact, which creates more broken tackles

The Bad

• Stayed with the play design but missed an open hole

• The Cardinals have other talented backs that take away touches

Takeaway

• Conner is an older back, but he doesn’t appear to be falling off yet. He runs hard and breaks lots of tackles. He’s a tough player to depend on because of the other running backs on his team and the touches they take away from him.

Marquise Brown

The Good

• Fantastic fight after a reception, which led to a touchdown

• Uses athleticism within his route tree

• Tough player for his size

The Bad

• Dropped a slant route that could’ve been a long touchdown

• Tried to do too much on a play and lost more yardage because of it

Takeaway

• Brown’s an underrated receiver despite not making every play. He’s a great athlete, who runs good routes, shows toughness, and can be a threat after the reception. Acquiring Brown, even with Deandre Hopkins coming back, is a play I’m looking to make in my leagues.

Rondale Moore

The Good

• Good cut in traffic to add yardage

• Short area movements to avoid defenders

• Reversed field when he saw green grass and made a big play

• Settled in green grass in zone coverage

The Bad

• Dropped a contested pass

Takeaway

It’s nice to see what a healthy Moore can do on the field. He’s utilized often around the line of scrimmage on screens and short passes, but he also was used down the field multiple times and made a big play. The next few weeks are very crucial for Moore to see what he will likely be in his career.

Zach Ertz

The Good

• Catches well outside of his frame

• Smart route running to pick a defender but not get called for PI

The Bad

• Didn’t come down with a contested target after a hit from the defender

Takeaway

• Ertz has lost some of his explosiveness, but he’s a nice safety blanket and still an effective player in the short-to-intermediate passing game.

Jalen Hurts

The Good

• Bought time with his feet to convert a long 3rd down throw

• Legs gave him time to find a secondary WR

• Nice throw under pressure to convert a crucial 3rd down

The Bad

• Scrambled into pressure

• Stared down a read, didn’t get enough loft on the pass, and it was intercepted

• Missed open receivers due to scrambling/eyes down

• Takes unnecessary hits on runs

• Too much touch, and it almost led to another INT

Takeaway

• The Eagles are helping out Hurts quite a bit with the screens, short passing game, and the great nucleus of players around him. He doesn’t get to his second reads often, but the Eagles aren’t asking him to do too much, either. An obvious threat running the football, but he’s only a good athlete at the position and can find himself in positions where he takes some punishment. Hurts can take a few more steps in his development with his eyes not staring down reads, progressing to multiple receivers, and working on touch with his passes.

Miles Sanders

The Good

• Runs well if the designated hole is open

• Initially missed a cutback but then found it for a good gain

• Avoided in the backfield with a jump cut

• Runs hard

The Bad

• Not a creative or instinctual runner

• Hops in the backfield and between holes, but it hurts timing and ability to cut

Takeaway

• Sanders is a good athlete who just isn’t instinctual. He wastes time and movement in the backfield looking for a hole to open up. Sanders stays with the play design, which works some of the time because of a very good offensive line. But he doesn’t have the ceiling other backs possess.

Dallas Goedert

The Good

• Better after the reception than I expected for his size in regard to athleticism and vision

• Utilized in the screen game often

• Very efficient route runner

• Surprisingly good YAC player

The Bad

• Dropped a contested target

Takeaway

• Dallas Goedert is one of the most underrated tight ends in the NFL. He’s in the elite tier for me, but the problem is he’s on a lower-volume team with crowded targets.

Devonta Smith

The Good

• Good usage of space after the reception

• Focus in the offense to get targets

• Tough player for his size

The Bad

• Dropped a comeback

Takeaway

• The Eagles depended on Smith a ton in the screen game and expanded his route tree to more than just a deep ball player like in 2021. Smith is rewarding them with fantastic production. He’s a very good route runner with good hands and slippery after the reception with surprising toughness. Smith is a fantastic player that people should be acquiring in dynasty leagues.

A.J. Brown

The Good

• Confident hands

• Tough player

The Bad

• Dropped a bubble screen

• Wasn’t a focus of the offense the whole game

Takeaway

• Brown was a focus early on in this game and then the focus shifted to Goedert and Smith. Brown’s a great talent with his strength, route running, mentality, hands, and ability after the reception. But if he doesn’t get the volume to be an elite guy due to a crowded group around him, then he might be a sell for me in fantasy football.

Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams

The Rams turned the football over three times, and the Cowboys converted one of those into a defensive touchdown. Difficult to win a football game that way and allow five sacks. The reason I wanted to watch this game was to figure out what was going on with the Rams. Defensively, the Cowboys just ran all over them, which set up play-action and the passing game. Offensively, I look at the offensive line directly. Stafford is under constant pressure, and the running lanes are few and far between to sustain drives.

Matthew Stafford

The Good

• Good base in the pocket and can make small movements to buy time

• Arm is strong and doesn’t look to be a problem

• Good ball on a shot play to Tutu Atwell

• Throws on time and makes multiple progressions

• Hits his check downs when needed

The Bad

• OL is trash

• Threw a screen into bad traffic

• Poor decision to throw it up to a struggling WR in traffic and then overthrow it for an INT

Takeaway

• Stafford is doing his part and isn’t the problem in this offense. His ability to produce despite the situation speaks to his talent. I’m not sure the Rams can fix these issues until the offseason, though. Which makes him a dynasty buy later in the season but probably a sell in redraft leagues.

Cam Akers

The Good

• Patient runner, who lets blocks develop

• Spin move to make a defender miss

The Bad

• Low contact balance

• Missed multiple holes

• Tries to do too much at times

Takeaway

• Inconsistent game from Akers, but I came away more impressed than I anticipated. The offensive line struggled, but he did a solid job at maximizing what was there. He did miss a couple of holes, which is the inconsistency. He could be a buy in leagues where owners have given up on him.

Cooper Kupp

The Good

• Strength after receptions helps him add yardage

• Great hands

• Smart route runner with acceleration, space and attacking coverages

• Falls forwards after contact

The Bad

• He’s too perfect?

Takeaway

• Kupp is as good on film as you’d anticipate. He wins at almost everything on the field and that’s when the defense knows he will be getting the football.

Allen Robinson

The Good

• Caught a ball well above his head

• Not much of a threat after the reception

The Bad

• Not explosive out of breaks

• Hesitates too much with his routes

Takeaway

• Remember that kid in middle school who was really athletic because he hit puberty early then, in high school, he wasn’t very athletic because everyone just caught up and passed him, and now he can’t win any other way. That’s what Allen Robinson looks like on the field. He wastes so much time and movement, but he’s not explosive. I would sell Robinson to anyone who still believes in him.

Tyler Higbee

The Good

• Toughness after the reception to add yards and break tackles

• Effort as a route runner to keep working to get open

The Bad

• Dropped a pass that hit him between the numbers

• Not much athleticism before or after the reception

Takeaway

• Higbee dropped a pass, but he’s the security blanket for Stafford when Kupp is covered. Think of a late-career Jason Witten. Higbee will be a low-end TE1 throughout this season, but I don’t see a high ceiling here.

Cooper Rush

The Good

• Hangs in the pocket and takes hits to deliver the football

• Took a big hit and didn’t fumble

• Will push the football down the field

• Dropped a dime on the sideline

The Bad

• Slightly missed on multiple throws

• Can stare down reads, which puts defenders into throwing windows

Takeaway

• Rush was impressive on film because the moment isn’t too big for him as a backup. He’s tough, throws on time, and isn’t afraid to let it rip. He doesn’t come off his first read often, but that will hopefully develop over time.

Ezekiel Elliott

The Good

• Light on his feet to make cuts and find holes

• Makes good decisions with his eyes on carries

The Bad

• Not as explosive as he was in his younger years

Takeaway

• Most aren’t a fan of Elliott, but he’s very reliable. He makes good decisions with his touches, reads blocks well, runs hard, and has more agility back in his step this season. Zeke will continue to be a solid back in the NFL between the tackles just grinding out yardage.

Ceedee Lamb

The Good

• Threat after the reception to make defenders miss

• Initial route stem has a purpose, which creates more successes with separation and targets

• Tough player

The Bad

• Low effort to block in the run game, and it costs the team yards

• Dropped a very catchable target after a hit

Takeaway

• Lamb is just a solid all-around WR. I’m not sure if he’ll ever be elite(top 5) but he’ll continue to be a good player.

Tony Pollard

The Good

• Improved contact balance

• Good athlete in space to make plays

The Bad

• Not great in pass pro

• Legs can go dead on contact, especially between the tackles

Takeaway

• Night and day difference watching him with the football on the perimeter versus between the tackles. Pollard is good when he’s schemed up in space.