Film observations of Vikings: Week 1 vs. Rams

[dead_poet]

Defense: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Film ... Rams090914
Offense: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Film ... Rams090914

[losperros]

Thanks for the links.

I love that tackle for a loss by Floyd. The Vikings D appears to be quicker and more aggressive this season.

I don't see how a guy as big as Patterson can have the burst and moves that he does. Incredible!

[84BreaksAnkles]

I guess I'll post this here then...
Just saying, here were Cassel's drives - For everyone who thinks he did "Great" With what opportunities he had..


Drive 1 - FG Plays: 11 Yards: ~70 Ya Kalil's 2 falsers hurt us, but still we needed to get a 7 there...

Drive 2 - PUNT Plays: 6 Yards: 24 After a 17-yd run by AD, Cassel's 1-for-3 for 2 yds passing series stumbled

Drive 3 - FG Plays: 5 Yards: ~35 After CP's 2nd end-around, Cassel goes 1-for-2 for 9 yds

Drive 4 - PUNT Plays: 7 Yards:-7 CP had a holding call, but 2 cadence issues as we had Asiata, and Kalil with Falses...

Drive 5 - PUNT Plays: 9 Yards: 39 Cassel goes 3-for-5 for 44 yds, Took a sack, and almost threw an INT....

Drive 6 - TD Plays: 4 Yards:35 Cassel's best drive by far, going 3-for-3 for 30 yds, handled pressure well, delivered a good ball to greg

Drive 7 - PUNT Plays: 10 Yards: 13 After, a holding call, a few nice runs by AD, Cassel goes 2-for-3 for 12 yds, then botches the snap, and recovers for a major loss on a big 3rd down...

Drive 8 - TD Plays: 1 Yards: 67 Joan rivers could have pitched that ball out to Cordarrelle....

Drive 9 - PUNT Plays: 4 Yards: 3 Cassel goes 1-for-2 for 5 yds....

Drive 10 - TD* Plays: 10 Yards: 70 After originally punting after 7 plays, a ROUGHING THE KICKER CALL, allowed our drive to continue. That said, Cassel ultimately capitalized and took advantage of this opportunity to go 4-for-4 for 48 yds, with a nice TD to Rudolph.


Overall takeaways:
-50% of our drives with Cassel result in points
-60% of our scoring drives with Cassel result in TD's, HOWEVER, only 40% of our scoring drives with Cassel result in TDs because of a direct impact from his play. ( See Drive 8 )
-50% of our drives with Cassel result in punts
-40% of our drives with Cassel resulted in fewer than 30 yds
-20% of our drives with Cassel come with near interceptions
-Our yds-per-drive median average with Cassel is 34 yds
-20% of our drives with Cassel resulted in fewer than 4 yds
-20% of our drives resulted in Cassel throwing 100% completion rating and Throwing a TD

After it was all said and done, there was not one long drive that Matt just took command of and got us into the endzone Directly because of his efforts. Drive 10 was kept alive by a roughing the kicker, drive 6 was 35 yds (although, very, very nice by Matt), drive 1 was a FG.....

[84BreaksAnkles]

and this Here is my film-study of Cassel vs pressure....


Cassel vs more than 4-man pressure:
10-for-16 for 93 yds, 1TD, 0INT, 2SACK (-34 yds)
Plays: 18
Notes:
1st Quarter

1)12:31 3rd & 2 from our own 38 - identified 5-man pressure, boot-legged to his right, throw on the run to greg jennings for ~9yds- 1st down
2) 11:27 big set, 2nd & 8 from opp 49 - failed to identify 5-man pressure, got hurried tried to fake screen to the left, and barely got out a risky ball to adrian on the right side screen for 10 yds- 1st down. Almost got sacked/fumbled/int
3) 5:38 shotgun, identified 6-man pressure nicely, nice quick throw, good footwork and unfortunate drop by jarius on the sideline.
4) 5:30 3rd & 8 from our own 33, shotgun trips right, exotic blitz look, does not fully identify 7-man pressure, or quickly adjust by shortening his drop or looking at his checkdown, hit from behind as he throws- ball popped up like a duck, could have very well been intercepted.

2nd Quarter
5) 15:00 2nd & 10 from our own 37, shotgun 2TE, 2WR - Identifies 7-man pressure REALLY well, quick throw to Cordarrelle on the back shoulder fade. Very nice throw, gave CP a chance, good coverage, incomplete.
6) 2:46 2nd & 10 from our own 28, 2 TE, identified pressure at the line, 8-man pressure, Visibly adjusted and quickened his drop and release to avoid the identified pressure, throw was tipped at the line (crowded pocket)
7) 2:38 3rd & 10, shotgun 3 WR, Identified 5-man stunt blitz, made a quick decision- stepped up threw a nice ball down the middle to Jennings for 16 yds.
8 ) 2:07 1st & 10 from our own 46, shotgun 3 WR with Rudolph split out, easily identified 6-man pressure, had a lot of time, made a nice throw to jennings on the slant, good coverage -dropped ball.
9) 2:01 2nd & 10 shotgun, 2 WR jerrick mckinnon motion wide, couldn't tell if he identified the 7-man pressure, botched the snap (hit Cassel in both hands), recovered it, and did a nice job to hang on to the football as he got a huge hit.
10) 0:50 2nd & 5 from STL 30, shotgun 3 WR with rudolph split out, Identifies 6-man pressure, quick drop, quick good decision on the outside hitch for CP. 12 yds -1st down.

3rd Quarter
11) 8:01 3rd & 7 from our own 47, shotgun, 3 WR with rudy split out, Identifies 5-man pressure well, quick drop and release - good throw to CP on the out route. 9 yds - 1st down.
12) 7:01 2nd & 6 from STL 42, bunch trips right with CP out left, Barely escapes unidentified 7-man pressure, should have audibled out of play action, barely gets throw off to jennings on a 1 yd gain.
13) 6:19 3rd & 5 from STL 41, shotgun, 3 WR with rudy split, identifies pressure pre-snap, what looks like 6-man. tries to change protection, miscommunication with Sully, wasn't ready for snap. Fumble- recovered by Matt for a sack.

4th Quarter
14) 15:00 2nd & 12 from our own 28, shotgun 4 WR with rudy split out, empty backfield, identified 6-man pressure, quick throw to rudolph underneath, hit as he threw. incomplete.
15) 11:09 2nd & 9 from our own 31,
shotgun 3 WR rudy split, identifies 7-man pressure, makes quick throw to greg jennings on the outside hitch, 10 yds -1st down.
16) 8:23 3rd & 14 from our own 48, shotgun 3WR rudy split, identifies 5-man pressure, quick throw to cordarrelle on the designed wr Bubble screen. 9 yds to jarius.
17) 7:35 1st & 10 from STL 28, nice play-action, identifies 6-man pressure, hits ellison on the nice out with pressure in his face. 22 yds -1st down.
18) 6:31 2nd & goal from the 7, shotgun, identifies 6-man pressure, but quinn wrecks kalil on cassel's blind-side, just before he gets unknowingly crushed, he throws a beautiful throw on the move to rudolph for a TD.


Cassel vs pressure (less than 5-man)
2-for-4 for 27 yds, 1TD, 0INT, 0SACK
Plays: 4

Notes:
1st Quarter
1) 10:16 1 hurry by a 4-man rush, had a bit of time, just didn't release the ball well

2nd Quarter
2) 4:13 1st & 5, identified the pocket collapsing and looked off linebackers on the zone-spy, dumped it of to jarius wright on the flat-checkdown quickly. Got rid of it nice and quick. ~15 yds -1st down
3)0:26 2nd & 1 from STL 8, pocket collapsed under a 4-man rush, Cassel identified it quickly, and read coverages well, delivering TD strike to Jennings. Good throw.

3rd Quarter
4) 8:07 2nd & 7 from our own 47, shotgun, 3 WR, 4-man pressure, pocket collapses, Cassel hit as he throws, ball is a duck, almost picked. intended for Rudolph.
Cadence issues:4

[mondry]

Personnel grouping (#)
3 receivers / 1 tight end (11): 21 plays
2 receivers / 2 tight ends (12): 18 plays
1 receiver / 2 tight ends / 1 fullback: (22): 9 plays
2 receivers / 1 tight end / 1 fullback (21): 6 plays
Total: 54 plays

Oh thank god, only 9 plays with 1 WR or less on the field and ZERO zero WR plays at all. RIP Musgrave. Glad to see 3 WR + Rudolph leading the way at 21 plays.

[Purple bruise]

Nice. I'd take this every game. Zero turnovers.

I think that I read that the Vikes only converted on 3-11 1st downs on 3rd down opprotunities, which seems pretty bad to me.

[84BreaksAnkles]

4th Quarter
14) 15:00 2nd & 12 from our own 28, shotgun 4 WR with rudy split out, empty backfield, identified 6-man pressure, quick throw to rudolph underneath, hit as he threw. incomplete.
15) 11:09 2nd & 9 from our own 31,
shotgun 3 WR rudy split, identifies 7-man pressure, makes quick throw to greg jennings on the outside hitch, 10 yds -1st down.
16) 8:23 3rd & 14 from our own 48, shotgun 3WR rudy split, identifies 5-man pressure, quick throw to cordarrelle on the designed wr Bubble screen. 9 yds to jarius.
17) 7:35 1st & 10 from STL 28, nice play-action, identifies 6-man pressure, hits ellison on the nice out with pressure in his face. 22 yds -1st down.
18) 6:31 2nd & goal from the 7, shotgun, identifies 6-man pressure, but quinn wrecks kalil on cassel's blind-side, just before he gets unknowingly crushed, he throws a beautiful throw on the move to rudolph for a TD.

Cassel actually did brilliantly in the 4th quarter.

[J. Kapp 11]

@28BreaksAnkles:

That's an awful lot of work to show us you don't think Matt Cassel should be the starter.

Here's a quicker take ... Zero turnovers. 113 passer rating. Vikings win. Next.

[Funkytown]

@28BreaksAnkles:

That's an awful lot of work to show us you don't think Matt Cassel should be the starter.

Here's a quicker take ... Zero turnovers. 113 passer rating. Vikings win. Next.

[Delaqure]

I understand Cassell didn't do a well as you would like. Long sustained drives is what we all want. However long sustained drives against a defense like the Rams is the exception not the rule for most teams. Peterson was shut down and our receivers were covered pretty well. I think Cassell did very well in a hostile environment and against a very strong defense. He capitalized when he should have and put points on the board. By the way the bad snap that went by him was not on him. You could see he was trying to direct things and the center snapped when he shouldn't have.

[Pseudo Everything]

We had a play where Loadholt lined-up in between Kalil and Johnson. Kalil jumped offside and the play was whistled dead before the snap. We never had that formation again in the game. When Kalil jumped offside he moved laterally, not downfield as in run blocking but also not taking a step backward in pass blocking. Would love to know what kind of play we were going to run from that formation. Any guesses?

[S197]

We had a play where Loadholt lined-up in between Kalil and Johnson. Kalil jumped offside and the play was whistled dead before the snap. We never had that formation again in the game. When Kalil jumped offside he moved laterally, not downfield as in run blocking but also not taking a step backward in pass blocking. Would love to know what kind of play we were going to run from that formation. Any guesses?

Chip Kelly is well known for using the overload formation with two tackles on the same side. There's a number of things you can run out of that formation, either using the numbers to your advantage and running that way or some sort of misdirection by pulling a lineman on a defense that overloads to the strong side. I believe Dead Poet posted an article on CK and how it's utilized. Should be in the NFL section.

[CbusVikesFan]

Personnel grouping (#)
3 receivers / 1 tight end (11): 21 plays
2 receivers / 2 tight ends (12): 18 plays
1 receiver / 2 tight ends / 1 fullback: (22): 9 plays
2 receivers / 1 tight end / 1 fullback (21): 6 plays
Total: 54 plays

Oh thank god, only 9 plays with 1 WR or less on the field and ZERO zero WR plays at all. RIP Musgrave. Glad to see 3 WR + Rudolph leading the way at 21 plays.

[chicagopurple]

having gone back and watched the game again......Cassel did enough to not lose the game for us...ala Joe Flacco....and he went through his progression of receivers..something Ponder NEVER learned to do.
AP looked like he was missing a step, indecisive, and just not AP......I hope it was just shaking off the cobwebs from not playing preseason........REALLLY HOPING
Our D is looking up...Hitting like they mean it...finishing tackles....playing the ball.....How refreshing!
THe D line held up well.....the O line needs some work....I am not convinced that the Rams Defense was a tough challenge, I think it was more likely our O Line wasnt quite right....next week will be more telling.

[KSViking]

The St Louis D-Line is really the strong point of the team. Aaron Donald which everyone felt was a stud coming into the draft this year is their rotational guy. Quinn Lead all DEs in sacks last year, Brockers is a force up front, Chris Long at the other End. Langford would probably be the weak spot if they had any, and he is more of a run stuffer than a penetrator.

If the Rams offense hadn't played so terrible, and I will give due credit for our defense playing well. This could have been a whole diff ball game. Rams Defense is pretty good, they just can't keep them in the game when the Rams offense 3 and outs 50% of the time, and everytime they had any momentum, they would commit some penalty and stall the drive. I think the Rams are in for a long long season unless they upgrade their QB position. Maybe we can trade them Ponder! LOL