Matt Bowen's Week 8 NFL Film Study

Every Thursday, former NFL defensive back Matt Bowen brings you his film study: a breakdown of the league from multiple angles.

1st-and-10

Here are 10 thoughts from a scheme and matchup perspective as we look ahead to the Week 8 schedule in the NFL.

1. The Quick Development of Rookie Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins

With any rookie wide recover, my focus is on route running and the ability to create separation within the stem and at the break point versus man-coverage.

In Week 7, Watkins consistently worked the Vikings cornerbacks to gain leverage off the release while showing an aggressive burst at the top of the route to gain that separation back to the football on both inside and outside breaking cuts.

This is a look at Watkins’ game-winning touchdown on the quick out route versus Xavier Rhodes with the ball on the near hash.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Check out the acceleration on the break after Watkins sets up the cornerback at the top of the route. There are at least two yards to work with there (into the boundary) as Watkins secures the catch from Kyle Orton and gets the feet down.

With a matchup on Sunday versus the Jets, Watkins can use the same aggressive route running style to win in the short-to-intermediate passing game while stacking on top to run the 9 (fade) route versus a secondary he matches up well against.

2. Eric Weddle’s Impact vs. Peyton Manning, Broncos

Keep an eye on the Chargers free safety in the Thursday night matchup with a focus on his pre-snap alignments and multiple responsibilities in the defensive game plan versus Manning.

Weddle can drop down in the blitz front, occupy the inside hole in a “robber” scheme, align as a “rover” (or dime back) and also gain depth to play as a single-high or deep-half safety.

He's a versatile player at the safety position who continues to stand out on tape as one of the top safeties in the league.

Here’s an example below in the chalk talk video of a four-man zone blitz the Chargers ran against the Broncos last season with San Diego showing overload pressure before dropping to a three-deep shell.

This allows the Chargers—as they did versus Manning in 2013—to show a variety of pre-snap looks while creating some confusion at the line of scrimmage before rolling the coverage scheme or bringing pressure.

Given the injuries San Diego has at the cornerback position (Brandon Flowers is out), Weddle’s ability to impact the inside throwing windows and Hi-Lo concepts is key to slowing down Manning and this Denver offense.

3. Aaron Rodgers vs. Saints’ Two-Deep Shells

The Saints played a lot of two-high looks last week versus the Lions, but if they want to sit back in coverage versus Rodgers and the Packers, the cornerbacks have to do their job on the release to take some stress off the top of the defense.

Look at this example from the Packers Week 7 win over the Panthers with the cornerback missing the jam against Jordy Nelson and the inside vertical from No. 2 holding the strong safety on his landmark drop (top of the numbers).

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This opens up a deep hole in the zone defense with Rodgers getting this ball out quickly. That forces safety Roman Harper to take a flat angle while creating a cutback lane for Nelson after the catch.

Poor technique and execution from the Panthers in a base zone scheme that produced a touchdown for Green Bay.

I like the idea of playing 2-Deep versus the Packers, but the Saints cornerbacks need to re-route Nelson at the line of scrimmage to take some heat off safeties Rafael Bush and Kenny Vaccaro if they want to limit the vertical game against Rodgers.

4. Nick Foles, Zach Ertz vs. Cardinals’ Pressure

When the Cardinals bring pressure versus Chip Kelly’s Eagles, I’m looking at Foles’ ability to identify the blitz and find Ertz on the seam, shallow drive and slant (removed from the core of the formation).

Here’s an example of Foles versus the Giants five-man pressure scheme back in Week 6 with Ertz on the shallow drive route out of Ace/12 personnel.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

I like this from Foles as the Eagles quarterback reads the pressure and delivers this ball to Ertz with a free runner (off the twist stunt) through the closed side B gap. This allows Ertz to work away from the defender’s leverage and produce an explosive gain.

Ertz has the skill set and the ability to win inside matchups and he could see plenty of targets if Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles wants to lead with pressure in his game plan.

5. Tom Brady vs. Bears’ Zone Schemes

If the Bears can’t get home with front-four or zone pressure versus Brady, the Patriots quarterback will have plenty of opportunities to work the inside seams out of Ace/12 and Posse/11 personnel (3WR-1TE-1RB).

Here’s an example in the chalk talk video below of the smash-seam concept versus Cover 3 with the Patriots occupying the cornerbacks to spilt the deep middle third on the seam routes.

The Bears are a core zone defense under Mel Tucker and that creates issues versus Brady given the quarterback’s ability to hold the free safety in the middle of the field along with the skill sets of tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Tim Wright.

Chicago’s defense must close those intermediate throwing lanes and get depth from their underneath defenders in both Cover 2 and Cover 3 if they want to limit Brady on Sunday in Foxborough.

6. T.Y. Hilton vs. Steelers

I wrote about Hilton leading up to my Week 7 film preview and I’m going to do it again because the wide receiver continues to light up secondaries with his speed and natural route running ability.

Back in Week 6, Hilton went to work on the Texans Cover 4 and man-pressure schemes. This past Sunday versus the Bengals? It was Cover 1 and the matchup against Leon Hall that the wide receiver exploited.

Check out Hilton on the deep over route in the “speedo” combination (two deep crossing routes) versus man-free with Hall in an outside leverage position.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Hall maintains his leverage throughout the route versus Hilton, but without impacting the release, the Bengals cornerback is stuck trailing the play. That allows Hilton to run away from the coverage with the free safety stuck in the deep post.

The Steelers could show more 2-Man this Sunday to limit the vertical route tree for Hilton and quarterback Andrew Luck, but that will create opportunities underneath for tight ends Dennis Allen and Coby Fleener along with the running backs releasing out of the backfield.

But even when the Steelers add some safety help to the mix, Hilton is still a tough matchup for cornerback Cortez Allen.

7. Multiple Tight End Sets in Dallas

The Cowboys should be able to run the football with DeMarco Murray versus the Redskins, but don’t forget about the multiple tight end sets they showed against the Giants in Week 7 with Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar on the field in Ace/12 (2WR-2TE-1RB) and Heavy/13 (1WR-3TE-1RB) personnel.

This created opportunities for Tony Romo to target Escobar on the deep seam route (Cover 1) and the inside post (Cover 2) for touchdowns while the Cowboys also utilized the tight end position to run inside Hi-Lo concepts.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

With both Witten and Escobar aligned to the closed side of the field (and clear-out fade routes outside of the numbers), the Cowboys run Hi-Lo Crossers versus Cover 2. That allows Escobar to work the intermediate dig in front of the Mike backer running the inside seam drop.

Let’s see if the Cowboys continue to use the multiple tight end sets on Monday night and take advantage of some positives matchups versus the Redskins safeties.

7. Hue Jackson, Andy Dalton vs. Ravens’ Defense

If you watched the Colts defense this past week versus the Bengals, you saw a unit that played press coverage, challenged receivers and sent pressure on third downs.

The Bengals—minus A.J. Green—failed to win outside of the numbers and Dalton had nowhere to go with the ball versus pressure.

Check out this man-pressure from the Colts with safety Mike Adams rolling down to match running back Gio Bernard on the flat release.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The Colts are showing press outside and roll the safeties at the snap with a blitz stunt that produces a free rusher. That forces Dalton to throw the flat route (hot) with Adams in a position to drive downhill and put a helmet on Bernard.

The Bengals lack an identify an offense right now under Hue Jackson. And if Green can’t go this Sunday, they will struggle to move the ball against an aggressive Ravens defense that is playing good football.

Expect more overload pressure from Baltimore with Cover 1 and 2-Man over the top to attack the Bengals after studying this tape.

9. Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks’ Running Game

During the Seahawks Week 7 loss in St. Louis, the defending champs struggled to run the football early with Lynch because of the athletic ability and speed of the Rams defensive front.

In the base zone schemes, the Rams were able to penetrate, close the edge and fit up inside to squeeze running lanes while eliminating cutback opportunities for Lynch.

This is the two-back stretch zone that resulted in a negative play for the Seahawks versus an eight-man front.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The Seahawks fail to reach the nose tackle with the defensive end stacking the edge of the formation. That allows the linebacker to attack downhill and fill the hole with the backside pursuit (nose) in a position to clean up versus Lynch.

Looking at Sunday’s matchup versus the Panthers, the Seahawks have an opportunity to establish the run game early versus a defensive front that has struggled to limit opponents on the ground.

That’s key for a team that is dealing with some adversity and needs a win to get off a two-game slide at the start of a favorable stretch on the schedule.

10. The Progression of Ryan Tannehill in the Dolphins System

Tannehill looked comfortable running the Dolphins system in the Week 7 win over the Bears as Miami utilized the read-option, play action and the dropback game to produce consistent numbers.

This is a play-action concept (split zone) with Charles Clay running the deep over route versus a five-man zone pressure from the Bears.

Take a look at the mechanics of Tannehill as he shows the ball to the open side of the formation, flips his hips and then sets his feet to deliver a nice throw over the top of the linebacker for an explosive gain.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

That’s a sign of a quarterback who is confident in the system and comfortable with the technique required to make a play.

Tannehill also produced running the zone-read and throwing the ball out of the packaged plays (run-pass option) that should create even more opportunities for the Dolphins offense this Sunday versus the Jaguars Cover 3 scheme.

Five Quick Takeaways from the Week 7 Film

1. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald showcased the same skill set that demanded everyone’s attention down at the Senior Bowl this past January. The rookie was quick off the ball, played with leverage at the point of attack and consistently disrupted the line of scrimmage versus the Seahawks.

2. Is Demaryius Thomas the best wide receiver in the NFL right now? I would put Dez Bryant in the discussion also, but I haven’t seen many receivers that can produce after the catch or separate with the ball in the air like Thomas.

3. Cam Newton’s footwork was an issue during the loss to the Packers. Too often, he failed to set his feet while relying on his arm strength to push the ball down the field.

4. Bears right tackle Jordan Mills couldn’t match up in one-on-one situations versus Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake. Too much strength and speed at the point of attack for Mills to handle.

5. “Motion to empty” is an automatic check for any defensive coverage. How did the Texans bust this inside of the five-yard line versus the Steelers when Le’Veon Bell motioned out of the backfield?

Five Players to Watch in Week 8

1. Jay Cutler, QB, Bears

In the Bears four losses this season, Cutler has accounted for 10 turnovers (seven interceptions, three fumbles). That’s a major problem for an offense that was expected to produce consistently given the talent at the skill positions.

This is from the Week 7 loss with Cutler targeting tight end Martellus Bennett on the out route versus the Dolphins quarters scheme.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

With the Dolphins playing a “trap” scheme (cornerback reads inside to No. 2), the cornerback jumps the out cut and drops No. 1 to the safety. However, Cutler still targets the tight end and sails this ball to safety Reshad Jones for an easy interception on the overthrow.

We should expect Bill Belichick to install a game plan that challenges Cutler’s ability to protect the ball on Sunday. It’s on the quarterback to make the proper decisions and keep his team out of adverse situations on the road in a game the Bears desperately need.

2. Percy Harvin, WR, Jets

It’s hard to predict how the Jets will utilize the skill set of Harvin from a game plan perspective, but I would be surprised if the new receiver didn’t see plenty of opportunities in his first game this Sunday versus the Bills.

RICH SCHULTZ/Associated Press

Based on what we have seen from Harvin the last two seasons (in limited reps) with the Seahawks, the Jets and Geno Smith can get the ball to the receiver in the boot schemes, on the jet sweep and from an inside the numbers alignment in the short-to-intermediate passing game.

Harvin is an upgrade to the Jets roster. We all know that. Now let’s see how he fits from a scheme perspective in his first game. The former Seahawk could be a valuable target for Smith if the Jets create positive matchups in the middle of the field.

3. Brian Hoyer, QB, Browns

The Browns quarterback struggled in the Week 7 loss to the Jaguars as Gus Bradley’s defense leaned on Cover 3, shut down the run game and contained the boot action to limit Hoyer.

However, the quarterback still had opportunities to make some plays and produce points. Take a look at the “Y Shake” versus Cover 3 in the red zone.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

With Jordan Cameron widening the strong safety (Cover 3 cur/flat defender) on the quick outside stem, there is an inside throwing window open in the end zone when the tight end pushes this route up the field.

This is a throw Hoyer has to make, but he sails the ball and the Browns leave points on the field.

Without establishing the run game, this Browns offense has issues. Let’s see if Cleveland can get some production early on the ground versus the Raiders this Sunday to open some throwing lanes for Hoyer.

4. Andre Ellington, RB, Cardinals

Ellington had 24 carries as the first place Cardinals moved to 5-1 on the season with a win over the Raiders in Week 7, but I’m focused on his ability to catch the ball versus the Eagles this Sunday.

Ellington can produce in the screen game and the Cardinals will remove the running back from the core of the formation in their empty sets to run three-step routes.

Norm Hall/Getty Images

This could be a matchup issue for the Eagles defense if Ellington can work the inside angle route, option and flat when the Cardinals clear-out the top of the secondary. That’s where we will see his speed and open field ability after the catch.

The Cardinals were very balanced in the game plan last week and Ellington is a major part of what they do from a scheme perspective. I would look for another 20-25 touches against the Eagles.

5. Glover Quin, FS, Lions

The Lions front-seven is generating a lot of well deserved hype this season, but don’t forget about the play of Quin at the safety position.

The veteran has three interceptions this season and he has shown the ability to break on the ball from the deep middle of the field in Cover 1 or as a deep half defender when the Lions show their 2-Man scheme.

Check out Quin’s interception in Cover 1 “Robber” versus the Saints that set up Matthew Stafford’s game-winning touchdown pass.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Quin shows high in his pre-snap alignment (2-Man0 and drops to the inside hole (“robber”). This puts the Lions safety in a position to read the quarterback and break on the throw when Drew Brees targets the inside cut.

The Lions travel to London to play the Falcons this Sunday, and Quin should have more opportunities to make plays with the matchup advantage Detroit has up front. The ball could come out quick from Matt Ryan given the protection issues of the Falcons offensive line.

Seven-year NFL veteran Matt Bowen is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.

Follow @MattBowen41