GGN Chalkboard: Jets Ground Colts Second Half

The Jets ended up winning this game 20-7, so that means we have two touchdowns to highlight in this edition. Before we get there, let's take a look at the defense, which came to play and then some. Here's one of the interceptions Luck threw.

The Colts come out in trips right one left, with a tight end, slot and WR flanked on the right of Luck who is in shotgun. A running back stands next to him on the opposite side with a WR split out on the left. The Jets here are playing cover two deep with man underneath with a 5 man rush and stunt at the bottom.

The design of the play is to prevent a deep pass and allow the corners to undercut any comeback or short route. It works to perfection. the Colts run a 4 man route, with a post/corner concept designed to beat a zone defense. With the Jets in man coverage, these routes would be up to the WR to beat his man rather than find a hole in the zone. It wouldn't happen.

The pressure early on is pretty contained, and the coverage is pretty solid all across the board. The only real option that's somewhat open is the underneath out route where Skrine is playing catchup. A good pass could be a 7-8 yard gain, while a bad would go the other way for a pick 6. Instead Luck tries to fit a ball in to the man with Revis on his tail. Big mistake.

Again the defense is designed here so that the corner can be aggressive. The help over the top means the corner doesn't have to protect as hard against a deep route and is free to take aggressive angles. Mo breaks down his man getting pressure on Luck. That forces Luck to make a bad pass, one that Revis is well in position to grab. Below you see how he "trails" the WR. Again that's the idea of the scheme, it allows him to play right on the hip rather than be more conservative.

Luck throws an iffy pass in this case that's picked off by Revis in this case. However, take a look again above, there wasn't any options that were wide open. A combination of great coverage and the pressure eventually getting to the QB forces this turnover.

--

After a goal line fumble and a few possessions the Colts decided to make a game of it, scoring a 26 yard touchdown. With 10:06 left in the game, the Colts got on the board and made the Jets fans start reaching for their brown bags.

The Colts lined up in 4 wide with a tight end left. Luck was in the shotgun. They ran two deep clear out routes and were hoping to take advantage underneath with three shorter routes. Moncrief in red, runs a simple stop route.

The Jets were in cover one and rushed 5. The safety was very deep and playing center field. The problem with this scheme is that if pressure doesn't get to the QB, the corners must cover everyone perfectly.

The coverage was initially great. Below you'll see there's not too many openings. Problem is that Cromartie gets a bit flat footed on Moncrief. Credit to him and Luck on this play, as they read the defense and see the man to man scheme. Moncrief moves off the original route catching Cro off guard and opening a passing lane. The pressure is subdued on Luck so he has plenty of time to throw.

The ball is out and Moncrief ends up wide open with Cro well behind the route and in poor position to cut upfield and tackle Moncrief. Because everyone is in man, it's not the easiest defense to shift gears and have to make the stop in open field. The cover one safety is so deep that there's a ton of open field for Dante to work with here.

You see the problem really exposed here, three Jets in pursuit with only Gilchrist and Pryor having a chance to make a goal line stop. Moncrief's speed here makes a big difference as he cruises to the end zone as Jets players miss him by only a few steps.

That basically is the worst case scenario in cover one man underneath coverage. You have everyone covered, but the pass rush is late. Someone gets open and it ends in a footrace.

--

The Jets needed a quick response and got it via Brandon Marshall. Very similar play to last week. Marshall gets one on one man coverage and the rest was Marshall-mode.

Jets lined up in a strong i formation to the left with Marshall flanked right and two tight ends. This is a simple read and react play where the QB and WR have a audible. Marshall sees the one on one, Fitz sees it too and they run with a back shoulder fade route.

Kudos to the line here who gave Fitz enough time to deliver the touch pass. The only thing of note is that Marshall got an outside release (meaning he got around the CB to the outside and the CB was between him and the sidelines.)

This made the pass much easier and allowed the ability for Fitz to really throw to go back shoulder. I thought the pass was iffy at first, but watching it again and again, you see that at worst it falls incomplete and and best, it lead to a touchdown.

--

With the fans returning the paper bags to wherever Bobdolethesnapplelady is, the Jets were in control, up three scores yet again. The defense put this on game on ice with a big interception. The pressure was decent, but really it was a poor pass by Luck and again a man/zone design.

The Colts came out in 3 wide (2 right one left)  with a TE to the right. The back was on the left. They ran a 3 man route which consisted of a post route, a deep route on the opposite side and either a corner or deep out route.

The Jets meanwhile were back to playing cover two deep with man coverage underneath. Gilchrist and Pryor are on the deep. Everyone underneath has a man.

The rush eventually hurries Luck just a bit. Again because it is cover two man, that allows one defender to play aggressive while one backs up. Below you see the pass, the route the WR ran, the safety route and the CB route. Notice how the safety undercuts the route?

That's why a cover two man with this defensive line is so effective.

Not only does this defense stop other teams offenses, so far this year it's been a turnover machine not only forcing fumbles but picking passes like this one. Hope you enjoyed this edition.