Sam Bradford - Coach's Film - Jaguars

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jrry32

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Ok, this one is actually for real. I want to start off saying that while these are going to highlight some missed opportunities, I thought Bradford had a solid game overall. The Pettis throw was a gorgeous ball and a great overall play by both players. That all said, I think we've all seen the great plays. Here are a few plays that show some areas that Bradford needs to improve and also highlights some guys who are doing a good job(Pettis, Austin).

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There were two plays that really frustrated me and they were pretty much the same play vs. the same defense. Here, the Jaguars disguise their zones with what appears to be a man blitz(safety aligned over slot WR is supposed to give it away as a man blitz). However, the safety bails out before the ball is snapped which immediately tells you two things, they're likely not blitzing and they're likely not in man. This is confirmed as all the players bail out immediately. At this point, the read for Sam should be the CB. Due to the route combination, he will be forced to choose between guarding the flats(Tavon Austin) or the curl zone(Austin Pettis). Once he commits, Sam should be able to deliver the ball to the other WR. He commits to Austin which leaves Pettis in a hole in the zone.

Sam opts to scramble instead and is caught 1-2 yards short of the marker on 3rd and 3.

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Sam opts to dump it off to Kendricks when I think he could have made the throw to Pettis here. He had the time and there was a window. The CB on Pettis(in pink) falls down as Pettis makes his break. Had Sam thrown it as Pettis went into his break, this would have been a big play due to the defender falling down. Even without knowing that would happen, the Pettis had enough separation and the defender was in poor position to defend the route when the throw would have been made.(before he fell down)

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All the blame on this play definitely does not fall on the QB. The issue I had is that Tavon was open and due to the timing of the play, the logical progression would have been for Sam to look at Austin then move onto Givens because Givens ran a deep out whereas Austin ran an intermediate dig. Sam had time to look at Austin then shift his eyes to Givens. Had he done this, it would have been an easy first because Austin burnt his defender. However, at the same time, Sam had Givens 1 on 1 outside and threw the ball with great timing. He threw it before Givens made his break. Sadly, for him, Givens didn't run the route properly(yellow route) instead he rounded off his break(red route), got no separation and allowed the CB to undercut it for the diving pass deflection. Givens needs to sink his hips and dig his foot into the ground on the play so he can explode out of the break and build up separation vs. man coverage. You can round it when you're finding a hole in the zone but you should not round off a intermediate or deep route against tight man coverage. Just a really poorly run route.

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This is one of those plays that is really too bad. Pettis runs a great route and opens up over the middle. Sam sees him but is forced to try and side-step Marks who has gotten penetration. Marks grabs him and is able to pull him to the ground and knock the ball out of his hands.

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Same defensive disguise as earlier. The Jags bail out at the snap. Difference is that because the ball is aligned on the left hash, the read should be the slot CB instead of the outside CB. The basic read here is if he bails out into the hook zone, you hit Kendricks on the hitch over the middle. If he doesn't, you hit Austin on the quick out in open space. The slot CB plays the mid zone instead of the hook zone. Sam tries to fit it into Kendricks. Ball should have been caught although Posluszny makes a nice defensive play. Still, Austin had more than enough separation to pick-up an easy first.

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This is the ball that was batted down by the underneath defender. Nothing is there initially so Sam scrambles. Austin works his way open in a hole in the zone. Sam throws too flat of a ball and Harris knocks it down. Just has to get the ball over the underneath defender. It's one of the difficulties of throwing between levels of defenders(out of bounds is the over the top defender in this case). Takes a lot of touch.

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This might be a little bit nitpicky as it's a riskier play in the red-zone but I think Sam should have taken the shot here on the flag route. We brought in Cook to make plays like this. Throw the ball to the back pylon and let Cook go get it. I'll take him 1 on 1 vs. the DB running to space. Instead, he threw to Pead and the LB knocked the ball away.

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This is the QB hit on the 3rd down play where Sam barely overshot Pettis down the seam. On this play, the Jaguars DT makes a savvy move. He grabs Dahl by the shoulder pads to keep him from being able to pass the DT off to Wells and pick-up the blitz. Definitely illegal but the refs typically "miss" this call. This leaves Posluszny unblocked coming up the middle and screws up a very promising play. Again, Pettis gets open and the pass just was barely out of his reach after Sam got popped as he let the ball go.

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This is the deep ball to Givens. I wanted to put some explanation on this. The ball was thrown late and short. The lateness is on Sam. He had to wait for Cyprien, who was in Cover 1, to commit short in order to get the ball over the top of him on the post route. He actually did a magnificent job of manipulating Cyprien on this play with his eyes and body. That's what the second picture shows. He turned his shoulders and focused his eyes on Kendricks on an intermediate dig. Cyprien took a couple steps towards that route and then Sam immediately reset, stepped up and delivered the ball to Givens. Issue is that when he stepped up, a defender hit his arm on the follow through which is one potential cause of the ball coming up short. As far as the lateness, he probably could have delivered it a step sooner so that falls on him. That all said, Givens did nothing to help out his QB. He needs to work back to the football instead of slowing down and letting it come to him. He made it easy for the defender to knock it away.

Anyways, guys, that was it for what I saw. I wanted to highlight a few things that you couldn't see during the game. I wanted to praise Austin Pettis who has done an amazing job of getting open this year with his route running. Seriously, Pettis is developing into a player. He's getting open A LOT on these intermediate routes. If we can get them blocked and Sam gets a little more aggressive, Pettis will really break out. He's working defenders over on those routes.

As I said, overall, a solid day for Bradford. Could have been better and there are definitely some things to work on. However, he also showed some improvement. He definitely was using his eyes to manipulate Jaguar defenders during this game and that's something we had been asking of him.
 

OnceARam

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Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.
 

max

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Superb job, jrry.

Even Pettis's harshest detractors have to be impressed with how well Pettis has performed so far this year. He is where he is supposed to be consistently and he fights for the ball better than any other WR on the team. That in combination with Pettis benefiting from opposing defenses focusing on the speed guys is a recipe for solid production.

Sam should have had a better game against a team like the Jags as they weren't very good at taking the speed guys away, but against better defenses going forward Pettis should still be productive.
 

BigRamFan

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Nice work jrry! Appreciate the time investment here...and the objectivity.
 

LesBaker

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OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking at the photos.

Jrry thanks for the work.....
 

max

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LesBaker said:
OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking at the photos.

Jrry thanks for the work.....

Yup. It's a natural reaction to think Sam should be doing a lot more with the way his supporting cast played.

I just get the impression that Sam is playing way too timidly.

It's gonna be a lot tougher sledding against Houston. They haven't given up more than 183 yds passing this year and they really get after the QB.
 

rhinobean

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Thanks, Jrry! Did you look at the red zone possessions? Saw some open receivers that Sam didn't.
 

LesBaker

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max said:
LesBaker said:
OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking at the photos.

Jrry thanks for the work.....

Yup. It's a natural reaction to think Sam should be doing a lot more with the way his supporting cast played.

I just get the impression that Sam is playing way too timidly.

It's gonna be a lot tougher sledding against Houston. They haven't given up more than 183 yds passing this year and they really get after the QB.

I'm nervous because this has been an issue in every system he's been in and since he came into the NFL. I'm wondering if this is just how he will play for his entire career. Bulger had the same issues with missing open guys too.
 

jrry32

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rhinobean said:
Thanks, Jrry! Did you look at the red zone possessions? Saw some open receivers that Sam didn't.

I did. I have a couple plays up there. :bg:
 

BigRamFan

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LesBaker said:
max said:
LesBaker said:
OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking at the photos.

Jrry thanks for the work.....

Yup. It's a natural reaction to think Sam should be doing a lot more with the way his supporting cast played.

I just get the impression that Sam is playing way too timidly.

It's gonna be a lot tougher sledding against Houston. They haven't given up more than 183 yds passing this year and they really get after the QB.

I'm nervous because this has been an issue in every system he's been in and since he came into the NFL. I'm wondering if this is just how he will play for his entire career. Bulger had the same issues with missing open guys too.

Every NFL QB misses open receivers. They don't have the luxury of sitting down in front of a big screen and stopping and starting the play over and over. Did you happen to see the thread Jrry put up on Brady's last game?
 

CoachO

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As cool as these sort of pictures are, and can be a VERY useful tool in seeing things AFTER they happen, we need to keep in mind, they are STILL SHOTS, and its often difficult to see how things progress in real time from one photo to the next. Its also very deceptive in that the view from the sky, isn't necessarily what they are able to see on the field.

But keep in mind, these are the same photos that the coaches get almost immediately after each series, and when people complain about Bradford sitting on the sideline when he comes off the field, this is the type of thing he and Shottenheimer are looking at for future keys.

All that being said, kudos for putting the time in, and posting them. It is fun to see how things play out thru the course of a game.
 

max

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LesBaker said:
max said:
LesBaker said:
OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking at the photos.

Jrry thanks for the work.....

Yup. It's a natural reaction to think Sam should be doing a lot more with the way his supporting cast played.

I just get the impression that Sam is playing way too timidly.

It's gonna be a lot tougher sledding against Houston. They haven't given up more than 183 yds passing this year and they really get after the QB.

I'm nervous because this has been an issue in every system he's been in and since he came into the NFL. I'm wondering if this is just how he will play for his entire career. Bulger had the same issues with missing open guys too.

I know this will sound as an oversimplification but Rodney Harrison said this week that Bradford has all the tools to be elite. Then he said he doesn't know if Sam has the willpower to get the job done on the field.

He said Luck is a nice guy off the field as is Bradford, but Luck enforces his will on the field and Bradford doesn't.

Watching Sam for 4 years now, I am constantly urging him to go for the jugular. He teases, but just hasn't shown that killer attitude of the really good QBs.

When you look at the young QBs you see that Luck has it, so does Wilson, and RG3. And Geno looks like he has it too.

Will Bradford ever get there? I think at this point it looks doubtful. He should be showing a lot more than what he's shown so far this year.

I keep waiting for Sam to have that signature game where the light goes on but if I don't see it this year, I highly doubt he will be anything more than a bland middle of the pack QB.

So I'll watch him in Houston, and expect anything from a poor showing (with the usual explanations of why it wasn't all Sam's fault), to a decent showing that leaves something to be desired. That's my perception of what Sam Bradford is as a QB. A guy whose arm talent and smarts are better than almost every QB in the NFL, but who doesn't show that spark to put a scare in any defense.
 

Rabid Ram

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max said:
LesBaker said:
max said:
LesBaker said:
OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I was looking at the photos.

Jrry thanks for the work.....

Yup. It's a natural reaction to think Sam should be doing a lot more with the way his supporting cast played.

I just get the impression that Sam is playing way too timidly.

It's gonna be a lot tougher sledding against Houston. They haven't given up more than 183 yds passing this year and they really get after the QB.

I'm nervous because this has been an issue in every system he's been in and since he came into the NFL. I'm wondering if this is just how he will play for his entire career. Bulger had the same issues with missing open guys too.

I know this will sound as an oversimplification but Rodney Harrison said this week that Bradford has all the tools to be elite. Then he said he doesn't know if Sam has the willpower to get the job done on the field.

He said Luck is a nice guy off the field as is Bradford, but Luck enforces his will on the field and Bradford doesn't.

Watching Sam for 4 years now, I am constantly urging him to go for the jugular. He teases, but just hasn't shown that killer attitude of the really good QBs.

When you look at the young QBs you see that Luck has it, so does Wilson, and RG3. And Geno looks like he has it too.

Will Bradford ever get there? I think at this point it looks doubtful. He should be showing a lot more than what he's shown so far this year.

I keep waiting for Sam to have that signature game where the light goes on but if I don't see it this year, I highly doubt he will be anything more than a bland middle of the pack QB.

So I'll watch him in Houston, and expect anything from a poor showing (with the usual explanations of why it wasn't all Sam's fault), to a decent showing that leaves something to be desired. That's my perception of what Sam Bradford is as a QB. A guy whose arm talent and smarts are better than almost every QB in the NFL, but who doesn't show that spark to put a scare in any defense.
Usual explanations for why it's not all Sam's fault? So it's Sam's fault balls get dropped or recievers run rounded or wrong routes or the oline misses assignments and that there's no run game. Give me a break. Sam can yell till his ears bleed. Or even show the players what they are doing wrong it doesn't mean they will fix it.
 

JIMERAMS

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OnceARam said:
Nice work. I see a lot of clean pockets and a lot of open WR... Just say'in.

can you point out to me where? i see some open receivers 2 yards off the line open. SB getting sacked when one was getting open and givens rounding a route on the sideline.

what should be bothering people on these shots is SB is in a 5 step drop and we have 3 receivers 3 yards from the line. and if you look receivers are running coverage into each other on most plays.

thanks for the post i see some issues that need to be seen by our coaches also.

first play if that LB steps to his left he intercepts the pass.
2nd play ball is thrown before pettis cuts so could be SB didnt think he would be open.
3rd play bradford gets sacked
4th play 4 and yes 4 receivers within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage on a 5 step drop. :sick:
5th play i agree throw it to the corner.

JMO
 

jrry32

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JIMERAMS said:
first play if that LB steps to his left he intercepts the pass.

Disagree. That's a NFL window. Sometimes, they're not going to be wide open. If Sam places that pass where it should be, at eye level towards Pettis's outside shoulder, that LB has no play on the ball.

2nd play ball is thrown before pettis cuts so could be SB didnt think he would be open.

This might be true but imo, Sam should have seen the positioning of the defender and taken the chance there. Hopefully, this is something that'll change as he builds his trust up with the entire WR corp.

4th play 4 and yes 4 receivers within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage on a 5 step drop. :sick:

I'm not sure which play you're referring to here. The one I think you're referring to was a 3 step drop and a quick throw. And they were within 5 yards of the LOS although the two outside WRs were running deeper routes.


I appreciate your take. I might not fully agree but I appreciate seeing someone else's perspective.

Playing QB in the NFL is very difficult. I couldn't do it. Doubt I could process things fast enough. But I still will try to analyze the game and bring up issues when I see them. Sam has taken a few steps forward this year but hasn't quite taken the leap I was hoping for. Hopefully that leap happens soon.
 

Yamahopper

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Nice work. Great analysis. I know it's hard to diagnose off the coaches film and it takes a lot of time. Good effort. Thanks.

On the dump off to Kendricks. Pettis looked open and he was for a second, but the CB had already turned his shoulders and was driving on him. That ball has to be thrown before Pettis makes his cut inside. It couldn't because the other receiver was clearing the underneath. And that's where the ball should have went. He had the defender shielded and the ball should have hit him in Stride as he headed downfield.

On the dump to Austin in the flat...Wrong side of the field. The rec. topside has a step and shielded his defender, the ball has to be put in front of him for a hands catch because he's in stride and heading downfield.

Notice a trend? Other than the Givens throw...Why are all the targets running sideways, coming back towards the Qb or worse yet just standing there?

This is not new either.
 

jrry32

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max said:
When you look at the young QBs you see that Luck has it, so does Wilson, and RG3. And Geno looks like he has it too.

Eh I gotta disagree. Wilson is showing the same sort of issues that Bradford is having this year...except Wilson's might be a little worse.

Geno hasn't really proven to be anything yet to me. Like most rookies, he's way up and down. Has a gunslinger mentality but his overall game has been shaky thus far. I liked him as a prospect so we'll see where he goes from here.

RGIII just doesn't look comfortable this year with the knee.
 

bluecoconuts

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max said:
When you look at the young QBs you see that Luck has it, so does Wilson, and RG3. And Geno looks like he has it too.

Luck? Yes.

The other three? Not that I've seen.
 

jrry32

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Yamahopper said:
Nice work. Great analysis. I know it's hard to diagnose off the coaches film and it takes a lot of time. Good effort. Thanks.

On the dump off to Kendricks. Pettis looked open and he was for a second, but the CB had already turned his shoulders and was driving on him. That ball has to be thrown before Pettis makes his cut inside. It couldn't because the other receiver was clearing the underneath. And that's where the ball should have went. He had the defender shielded and the ball should have hit him in Stride as he headed downfield.

The CB fell down and was out of position to make a play on the ball if it was thrown when Pettis went into his break. Even if he hadn't fallen down, he wouldn't have made a play on it. When Pettis made his break, the CB had to continue up-field a few yards to gear down and break with him. That took him from inside his hip pocket to a couple yards over the top and on his outside hip. He can't make a play on the ball from that position.

That's the issue with Givens's out route. You can round breaks vs. zone coverage to get to the soft spot in the zone or if you win at the line against press coverage because you already have separation.

But you never round off a route when you have a CB in man coverage in your hip pocket. It's one of the worst sins you can commit as a WR.

You sink your hips, you plant your foot into the ground and you make a hard break. The vast majority of the time, if you do it correctly, it'll be enough for you to gain a yard or two of separation at minimum. Especially on a deep route with a hard break such as the out or dig. Because the defender is running so fast and often leveraged inside, it takes him a few yards to gear down and break with you which puts him to the outside of the WR and behind the WR. Which puts him into a position where he can't make a play on the ball. When you round it, you make it easy on him to sit on your hip, gain inside position and undercut the route.

Also, I don't see the opening that you do for the other WR.

On the dump to Austin in the flat...Wrong side of the field. The rec. topside has a step and shielded his defender, the ball has to be put in front of him for a hands catch because he's in stride and heading downfield.

Disagree. You have Tavon Austin in space at the first down marker on 3rd down. Take the easy conversion.

The other WR hadn't gained the separation needed to make that throw imo. We don't have a guy like Dez or Calvin or Fitz who you can take that sort of shot with. What likely would have happened is the CB would have hooked the WR's outside hip and reached around to knock the ball down. Then you're counting on a 50/50 call from the refs for PI. I'd take the sure thing there.

But I appreciate your thoughts here even if I disagree. You make some valid points and maybe that shot would have paid off.