Film Room Preview: Week 7
Has Cam Newton Found His Swagger Again?
The Carolina Panthers have been a shell of their former selves through the first few weeks of the season as Cam Newton has slowly returned from injuries sustained before the season began. They began the season with an unimpressive win over the Bucs with Newton on the bench, and slowly picked up the pace as Newton settled into the lineup.
This past week, the Panthers tied with the Bengals in a game featuring 74 points scored, and Newton was largely responsible for the offensive explosion for the Panthers. So how did he emerge as a top fantasy option suddenly in Week 6?
The Panthers let him run, and told him to run, and it changed the entire Carolina offense.
Here’s a look at Newton’s touchdown run, which will show how the QB run game can be so effective.
Newton is going to run a QB draw here, and the blocking is designed to allow the two Bengal defenders on the right to come upfield before being picked up by the pulling guard and the running back. Newton will then cut in behind his blockers and get to the second level.
Things work as intended, as one of the Bengal defenders keeps outside contain, while the other is picked up by the fullback, meaning Newton’s path between where the guard and tackle once were is clear as can be. He still has a lead blocking lineman to pick up any defenders that try to close down his running lane.
Newton waits for the block to set up and then speeds forward, showing no signs of being slowed by a lingering ankle issue. He then powers his way into the end zone for a score.
Running with a quarterback is so dangerous because it misdirects a defense in multiple ways. In this example, the Panthers were giving the defense all sorts of mixed messages.
The QB took a snap and did not look to hand off, which would typically be a key for a pass. The blockers generally released to the left, implying the action of the play would be in that direction. So the QB draw and the counter action of the run contradict multiple keys the Bengal defenders may have been reading, and allowed the running lane for Newton to develop.
Another variety of quarterback run that the Panthers can (and will) employ is the read option, which sets up as an inside zone run (in most cases) that the quarterback can then turn into a QB keeper depending on how he reads an unblocked player on the defense.
Zone blocking schemes will often leave a backside defender unblocked, as the offense knows the action of the play will move away from him, and trust that he isn’t fast enough to cover all of that ground and reach the ball carrier. In this example, we see how the read option exploits that aspect of a zone-blocking scheme and allows Newton to pick up a nice gain.
At the snap, you can see that 95 for Cincinnati is off the ball quickly and in pursuit of the running back. The offensive lineman in front of him is ignoring him, getting to the second level instead, which allows the defensive end to run clean through.
Newton sees this, and that’s his key to keep the ball. If the end had stayed at home, there would be multiple running lanes in the middle of the field, and the back would have received the handoff. But the end crashed in, and that’s where Newton is able to shine.
Notice that 58 for the Bengals hasn’t moved at all. He’s still reading the play, and has the responsibility of covering the gaps in the middle of the field. Linebacker 59, however, has diagnosed the play, but is about to be blocked by the lineman who has moved to the second level to allow the unblocked man into the backfield.
The defensive end bought the fake hard, and is attempting to tackle the back who doesn’t have the ball. Other Bengal defenders are still staying at home for the running back handoff, with 59 representing the only defender seemingly aware of the possibility of a QB keeper.
These are the kinds of plays that Newton is capable of executing, not only because of his speed and athleticism, but because of how well he understands running from the quarterback position, and how quickly he processes information to make the right choices on plays where he has multiple options.
Newton ran 17 times against the Bengals (more than the rest of his starts combined) for 107 yards (way more than the rest of his starts combined) while still posting a respectable day through the air.
It’s safe to say that the “old” Cam Newton is back, as the Panthers trust his health enough to allow him to run the ball as he did for most of his first three seasons in the NFL. This is great news for fantasy players, as Newton’s running ability makes him a high-floor play every week, as 50-100 rushing yards is as good as 2-3 passing touchdowns, with remaining upside as a passer.
The Panthers face the Packers in what should be another high-scoring affair, and we can expect Newton to shoulder most of the offense for a banged up Carolina team, which makes him a fantastic fantasy play this week.
Why Jordan Cameron is the Definitive Tournament Tight End
Mere months after finishing the 2013 season as the most pass happy team in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns have established a new identity as a run-heavy team focused on ball control and defense. It seems to be working, as they’re currently 3-2 coming off of a huge win against the Steelers.
The team is currently third in the NFL in rushing yards per game, but still have an effective passing attack led by Brian Hoyer (who continues to hold off Johnny Manziel and retain the starting job by managing the offense effectively). But it’s tough to predict which players will feature in the passing game in any given week, as there are so few targets to go around.
Brian Hoyer has thrown only 149 passes this season, which ranks 25th in the NFL. Austin Davis and Kirk Cousins, who haven’t even played every game, both have thrown the ball more often than Hoyer, who has been under center for nearly every snap this season.
But when he does throw, he prefers his tight end Jordan Cameron, who has 13% of his team’s targets this season despite missing a game. If he had played in that game and seen his usual 5 or 6 targets, he’d have 16% of his team’s looks, which is the same as Julius Thomas’ share of the Denver offense.
When the team is in the red zone, Cameron gets 20% of the passing targets, and on third down he receives 16% (both of these numbers don’t factor in his missed game, so they would be even higher if he played every week this year). Hoyer likes to go to Cameron in big spots, and the offense is catered to setting him up for big plays in the passing game.
Here are just a couple of examples from Sunday.
The Browns used this formation quite a bit on Sunday, and the Steelers were caught being too aggressive against this setup multiple times. You can see the abundance of tight ends on the field and a very bunched formation, which will draw corners and safeties into the box for the Steelers.
On this particular play, there’s a play action fake, which freezes about four Pittsburgh defenders in place and sucks them in to defend what they feel is a likely run based on the formation and the blocking. But Hoyer has kept the ball, and Jordan Cameron is going to quickly break out from the middle of the defense and take off for a big play.
Cameron released and moved just like all of the other linemen for Cleveland, and there’s no reason for any Pittsburgh defender to follow him if they believe this to be a run play. His job on a zone run to the right would be to get to the second level and block a linebacker, so it’s no surprise that he’s running untouched to the second level.
And because the only receiver on the play is going to clear out from right to left, Cameron will have no one to stop him in the open field. The single deep safety is 20 yards deeper than any receiver, while strong safety Troy Polamalu helps track the single wideout, leaving no one on Cameron.
The Browns went with the same formation for Cameron’s long touchdown, but didn’t go with any trickery on Cameron’s route. He simply ran up the seam against a cornerback, but the run-heavy personnel and the play action fake threw off the Pittsburgh defense, and Cameron’s athleticism allowed him to break a big play.
Here you can see Polamalu looking into the backfield, while Cameron is going one-on-one against top corner Cortez Allen. The way Allen plays Cameron, there’s reason to believe he thought Polamalu would have help for him inside, which didn’t develop because of the play fake.
Allen has outside leverage on Cameron, who gets a step on him and gets up the seam into open space. Polamalu is now tracking another receiver on the other side of the field, not reading Brian Hoyer’s eyes, which are already focusing in on the athletic tight end.
Allen is stuck a step behind Cameron, and Polamalu is nowhere near to help out as Hoyer drops in a perfect pass for a long score.
Cameron is a big-play capable tight end on an offense that runs the ball well, and is able to set up shot plays down the field with play action passing. He’s never going to be a reliable option (the passing game simply doesn’t have enough volume to ever consider him a “lock” for any amount of targets or catches), but he’s always going to have the upside to find a touchdown or two, with the possibility of a long catch and run.
Which is why he’s always a good tournament play. He’s essentially the Cordarrelle Patterson of tight ends, as he’s not guaranteed touches, but when he gets them, they can result in huge plays.
The Browns play the Jaguars, Raiders and Buccaneers over the next three weeks, and those are three excellent matchups that Hoyer and Cameron can exploit for huge plays. There’s some risk involved due to the low overall volume of the Cleveland offense, but if you’re chasing touchdowns (and you are, as they’re crucial in daily football), there are very few options at tight end as good as Cameron.
How the Dallas Offensive Line Paves the Way for the Ground Game
DeMarco Murray has begun the season on fire, leading the league in every rushing category by a wide margin. And while Murray is certainly a very capable back, it’s the Dallas offensive line that deserves a lot of credit, along with the playcalling and concepts used to give Murray room to run.
This past weekend the Cowboys stunned the Seahawks by running all over them, picking up a victory in the Pacific Northwest with over 160 rushing yards. So how did they do it?
This first play proves that this offensive line is capable of setting the table for any back, not just Murray. Here, Joseph Randle will be running on a zone run to the left, and will make his cut based on how his linemen are setting up against their defenders.
Randle’s interior linemen have done such a good job of establishing inside leverage and forcing their defenders toward the sideline that he sees the daylight ahead of him and cuts upfield for a big gain.
Notice that there are no Dallas linemen getting blown up at the point of attack, as the only defender to sneak through the line is Michael Bennett, who was chipped and then left unblocked as the linemen on his side worked to other defenders. He was left unblocked on the backside of the play, which as we saw above in the Carolina game, is a frequent concept in zone blocking schemes.
The Cowboys also used misdirection and counters to take advantage of the speed of the Seattle defense by putting it to good use and taking them out of position.
On this play, the general release of the offense line will be to the defenses’ right, so linemen and linebackers will read that as a key, and generally shift or flow to that side. But you can see the two Dallas linemen I’ve noted as moving to the defenses’ left, and they’ll be the keys to what is a very nice gain in the shadow of the Cowboys’ own end zone.
You can see that many Seattle defenders are filling their gaps and preparing for a run to their right, with defensive end O’Brien Schofield (93) getting caught too far inside as he pursues down the line of scrimmage to get after what he believes is a run to the other side of the formation.
Schofield is caught up inside, and cannot fill the gap that’s opened to his left. Pulling linemen will pick up 31 and 53 for Seattle, and Murray will follow behind his linemen for a nice gain and a first down.
Here’s another example of some misdirection leading to a nice run, as the Seahawks are following the general flow of the linemen who are releasing right. Two offensive linemen are pulling left, however, and you can see that Murray is already cutting back to make his run in that direction.
Here are two different angles on the running lane, as you can see the pulling linemen getting out in front of Murray and picking up any players attempting to fill the gap and bring down the Dallas runner.
But also notice that in all of these examples (and in many of the plays we’ve seen from Dallas this year), there are no linemen breaking into the backfield to disrupt the flow of the play. These runs are being executed perfectly, just like they’re walked through in practices and drawn up in meetings.
That’s because the wealth of first-round talent along the line for Dallas is finally coming together and playing at a high level, and that’s led to a running game that is matchup proof and running back independent. It doesn’t matter who lines up behind Tony Romo, because if the blocking is this good, a back will be able to succeed if he knows how to make the reads when the team goes with a zone blocking scheme.
This means that Murray is a viable play any week, and should he sit out a game with an injury, his replacements would be roster worthy as well. The front five for the Cowboys is setting up big plays for their backs, even against a stalwart run defense from Seattle, and that’s something that daily players must keep in mind as the season wears on and running back options thin out due to bye weeks and injuries.