The game against the Colts was fun to watch for a lot of reasons. In this quick post, I'm just going to talk about something I've noticed frequently mentioned along very knowledgeable football analysts I respect: how our receivers always seem to get so open ("running free") compared to other offenses.
The first play I'll break down was our first offensive play of the game. Positioned at their own 20, the Eagles lined up in a two tight end bunch formation. Brent Celek and Trey Burton lined up on the right side of the formation, with Riley Cooper and Josh Huff lining up in a mirrored look to the left side. Ryan Mathews was at runningback to the quarterback's right. The play can be visualized like this:
In this first screengrab, the offensive line is blocking left per the run fake. Brent Celek is circled in red along the line, sealing the defensive end. For Sanchez to safely execute his rollout, the defensive end must be sealed. Celek's the linchpin along the line for this play. The other red circle highlights Trey Burton, releasing with some serious speed vertically off of the line. The lack of a defensive jam allows him to hit the secondary with a full head of steam built up. Moreover, 6 players in the back 7 all have their eyes firmly planted in the backfield. These players are highlighted with the orange squares. The respect for the Eagles run game is one of the reasons analysts frequently talk about receivers "running free" in this offense. A dominant run game makes passing infinitely easier.
The second screengrab still highlights Celek, who has sealed his defender off from the playside excellently. The respect for the run by the defense has pulled 4 defenders away from the passing side, numbered as so on the bottom of the grab. At this point Burton has reached the secondary, and the obviously beat defensive back reaches out to try and slow him down. Burton works through the contact and finds himself running free in the secondary.
This third screengrab highlights just how open Burton has become even within just 10 yards of the original line of scrimmage. Also note the development of a conflict read for the flat defender at the top of the screen. Riley Cooper sifted behind the offensive line during the run fake to avoid a pick by a linebacker. When Cooper releases from the protection of the backfield, the unblocked linebacker has to choose to rush the quarterback rolling out, or defend the flat pass. Either way, it protects the quarterback. If he rushes, the dump pass will be open for a respectable gain, and if he stays to cover the flat, the quarterback can set up for the 9 route down the seam.
The conflict defender hesitates on his decision, allowing Sanchez to set up for the 9 route to Burton. Sanchez fails to get enough sizzle behind the ball, and under throws him. In this screengrab, we see that Burton has a 4 yard separation from the closest defender, and he has already started to slow for the ball. At peak separation a few moments before this screengrab, Burton had 5 or 6 yards from any of the defenders. An accurately delivered ball here would've resulted in a touchdown.
It all started from the respect for the outside zone.
This second play is a play that most Eagles fans are very familiar with from the second half of last season. An outside zone run fake, complete with Brent Celek linchpin block on the backside, with a scorching Jordan Matthews crossing over the middle of the field. On our second series of the game, we called it several times.
The play is run out of a formation with Brent Celek singled up on Trent Cole, and Jordan Matthews with a reduced split into the opposite slot. Darren Sproles has subbed into the game, who had a propensity to work well on read sweeps and outside zone runs last year.
This second screengrab once again highlights the eyes of the second level defenders who are being targeted with this play. Four defenders have their eyes in the backfield, and the 3 closest to the ball have taken steps to flow towards the outside zone. Jordan Matthews is highlighted in red, cutting in front of the closest linebacker and behind the second defender, "slicing" them. On the bottom of the screen, Brent Celek seal blocks Trent Cole. This allows for Sanchez to safely execute his rollout.
The uppermost red box below highlights Matthews streaking full speed past the 3 linebackers who over committed to the outside zone action. We also see Brent Celek shedding his block and releasing into the flat underneath Matthews' crosser.
The hook defender bites down on Celek's route, and Cole cannot get to Sanchez quick enough. Matthews is streaking across the middle headed towards the endzone. Gotta be a touchdown, right?
Sanchez once again overthrows the wide open receiver. So no, no touchdown. An accurate ball here is easily a touchdown.
Keep listening throughout games and you'll start to consistently hear about "simplistic" reads and receivers "running free" in this offense. The root of that isn't really that tough of a concept to grasp: run the ball well, and everything else gets easier. Also, packaging simple reads to put selected defenders in conflict simplifies things even more, making quarterbacks look even better.
Now, if only we could get an accurate quarterback who makes good reads and can get the ball down the field efficiently, we could really be cooking something good here.
Saturday against the Ravens can't get here soon enough.
