I know the vast majority of people have already moved past the Green Bay Packers’ Week 4 win over the Buccaneers and are looking forward to Week 5, but I’m not quite ready to do that yet, because there are still fun things to talk about from Week 4. So let’s take a couple minutes and talk about them.
Play 1: 3rd & 2, 10:32 remaining in the 1st quarter
This is the Bo Melton [16] drop. It’s a real shame to refer to it that way, but I just assume it’s the way everyone will remember it so it’s a nice (sad?) little shorthand.
The Packers are in 11 personnel
(1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in a 2×2 spread look. MarShawn Lloyd [32] is the running back, but, with the Bucs in a mugged-up look in the A gap, Lloyd is in the Sniffer role (aligned between the QB and the line).
The Bucs are showing two-high safeties pre-snap with a lot of bodies up at the line. I mentioned the mugged-up A gap, but the slot defender over Matthew Golden [0] is inching towards the line, showing a blitz.
Melton short-motions before the snap and Zyon McCollum [27] bumps over Golden. With Melton releasing out of the slot, that is showing Melton uncovered off the line. The Packers are running vertical routes – with Melton running right down the middle of the field – so Jordan Love [10] is going to check the safety movement post-snap but is already thinking about Melton as the first read on this play.
At the snap, the slot defender drops into a hook zone (allowing Melton to fly by), the safeties are staying in their two-high look and one of the mugging linebackers is dropping off the line into zone, looking to pick up anything vertical from the slot. With Melton breaking vertical, the LB turns to run with him while the safeties turn to take a deep half of the field for each of them.
It plays out like Tampa 2, with the LB covering the deep middle 3rd of the field. So that’s essentially Melton vs a linebacker, with that linebacker dropping from the middle of the line.
Love checks the safeties, looks at the drops underneath and takes a shot on what is a very favorable match-up.
Nice throw, but Melton just can’t hang on. Nice call. Good read. Good throw. Everything was perfect right up until the moment that it wasn’t.
Still, in terms of everything that went into this, a fun call. I just wish it was a different outcome.
Play 2: 2nd & 6, 6:32 remaining in the 1st quarter
It’s been tough sledding for the Packers in the run game through the first few weeks of the season, but they broke off a couple explosive runs in this game so I wanted to look at them. Both of these runs come out of 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TE, 1 WR). I mentioned this in my numbers breakdown after the game, but this was the heaviest usage of 13 personnel we’ve seen from the Packers this season, and it worked well for them.
The Packers have all three of their TEs in-line. Jonnu Smith [18] is on the left, while Tucker Kraft [85] and Mark Redman [86] are in a YY Wing formation on the right.
Redman goes in motion to the left pre-snap, which causes the linebackers to bump over. They snap the ball just before Redman crosses the center. On the left side of the line, Smith is kicking out the EMOL (End Man On the Line), Jordan Morgan [77] and Laken Tomlinson [72] are double-teaming the man over Morgan, and Sean Rhyan [75] takes a step to his left before turning back to block inside. Redman is working as a lead blocker for Chris Brooks.
Everyone on the left side of the line does their job, with Redman taking on a LB in the hole. It looks like there’s a hole to the outside, but McCollum is lurking.
Tomlinson comes off the double-team and releases over to give Redman a helping hand. Brooks does a nice job of seeing this and makes a great cut back inside, ultimately breaking through the line and picking up 27 yards.
Play 3: 2nd & 5, 12:04 remaining in the 3rd quarter
Another run out of 13, another explosive. Same formation as the last time, with the same players in the same spot. This time it’s a run to the right, and I really like how they get to it.
Rhyan and Tomlinson work a double-team on the nose tackle to seal him inside. Travis Glover [79], Anthony Belton [71] and Tucker Kraft all block out, while Redman loops inside to work as a lead blocker. The key blocks up front are the Rhyan/Tomlinson double-team and the one-on-one with Glover. They all do their jobs wonderfully, creating a great running lane up front. Redman takes on the only other threat in the box. Kaleb Johnson [26] works behind that block and gets into the open field for a gain of 31.
There are at least a dozen more plays I’d like to highlight here, but it’s late and I’m tired.
Albums listened to: Zola Jesus – Conatus
