How the Packers Stacked the Box Against the Dallas Cowboys and DeMarco Murray
Dallas Cowboy DeMarco Murray by far had the best season for a running back in 2014. Not only did he lead the league in rushing yards, but he did so by almost a 500 yard margin. He also tied Marshawn Lynch for the touchdown crown and was tied for sixth in yards per carry for backs with at least 200 touches on the year.
To say the least, he's a top-five ball-carrier in the NFL, and is peaking, or is coming close to peaking.
The Green Bay Packers, who faced Murray's Cowboys on Sunday, allowed 1,919 yards on the ground in the regular season, placing them in the 23rd slot in the league. Their yards per attempt didn't look much better, dropping them at No. 20.
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Murray on paper should have had a big game, and if you were judging his performance by his box score, you might think he did. For his 60 minutes in Lambeau Field, he had 25 carries, 123 yards and a score to show for it. The yardage was above his season average of 115 yards, but his yards per carry didn't take the surprising jump one would have expected.
In fact, when going play-by-play down Murray's runs, there are only a few carries that stand out. Of his 25 attempts, 17 of them were stopped for a gain of three yards or fewer. There were two explosive plays that jumped the raw numbers up in the box score, but it's not like Murray was ripping off carries of seven and eight yards in a row.
Going into the weekend, our game plan piece suggested the Packers attempt to stack the box in the divisional round, giving the team the edge in numbers on the ground. This would force Tony Romo, notable for dropping the ball in high-pressure situations, to beat the squad. This thought was expounded a bit more earlier in the week during a film study of Dallas' win over Green Bay's divisional rival Detroit Lions in the wild-card round.
"With Clinton-Dix's ability to play single-high safety, Green Bay is now able to keep the top on the defense while also dropping strong safety Morgan Burnett, a playoff captain, into the box as a run defender.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Burnett even got a sack after lining up at the line of scrimmage while Clinton-Dix covered the middle of the field. In 2013, that play isn't even brought up, as Burnett was by far more competent than M.D. Jennings in the secondary.
Really, Burnett had possibly his best game ever in Tampa Bay, flying all over the field while allowed to play in the box.
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Dom Capers, the Packers' defensive coordinator, followed such plan, and it seemed to be successful for most of the game.
For the first two plays of the game, the Green Bay defense set the tone. Rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix sat over the receivers, while captain Morgan Burnett hung around the line of scrimmage.
The Cowboys came out in 12 personnel on this play, meaning they had one running back and two tight ends. Both of their receivers lined up to the right, making the "one-high" look from Clinton-Dix a bit easier, as he was allowed to creep toward his left sideline.
Looking like he was responsible for the vertical cap of those two targets, Burnett and Sam Barrington, the right inside linebacker, dropped over the tight ends, apparently assigned to them in man coverage if they went vertical. Green Bay wasn't scared of them as threats downfield, apparently.
Here's the end-zone look of the eight-man box. Everyone on the front line has an assigned gap. Barrington and Burnett, the last players to drop down, had outside containment on the play. The nose tackle was two-gapping, allowing star linebacker Clay Matthews, playing a bit of a middle linebacker role on this rep, to fill running lanes to redirect Murray or bring him down.
The play ended up being an outside zone play, also known as a stretch. The result of the snap was as advertised, as Matthews filled the play-side B-gap. Green Bay's number advantage had proved intelligent.
Josh Boyd, the back-side end, and Burnett also were freeing themselves by the time Murray got the ball. On the play-side, both the outside linebacker and inside linebacker had established a free outside shoulder, not allowing to get sealed.
Matthews forced Murray outside when he filled his running lane. Julius Peppers and Barrington then chased him to the sideline, bringing him down for no gained yards.
In the third quarter, the team was still at it. Already with eight in the box, the Packers added Tramon Williams, the slot cornerback who followed a motioning receiver. On this play, Dallas substituted a tight end for a fullback, but as blockers, the formation is fairly similar.
The end zone look shows just how crowded it got near the ball pre-snap. Clinton-Dix was playing high, and there was a cornerback on the boundary, but everyone else was looking run-first.
Matthews timed the play, this time an inside zone run. Shutting down options outside, Murray took the ball inside, where he had a free lane. The issue was that so did Mike Neal, a Green Bay outside linebacker who was "blocked" by a receiver who clearly couldn't hang on to him for much longer.
Wrapping the former Oklahoma back up, Neal stopped the play for zero yards.
Most of the game played out like that, short runs stopped quickly after the snap with a well-planned defense prevailing. There were some slip-ups, but that's to be assumed against such a talented runner with as many reps as he got.
A lot of credit goes to the overall run defense for the 26-21 Packer victory, which keeps the team alive until at least Sunday, when they face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship. That goes for Capers, Matthews, Clinton-Dix, Burnett and all the contributors in the front seven.
By stacking the box, the team put themselves in a place where they can compete for a Super Bowl bid. Against the Seahawks, who might have had the best ground game at the professional level over the last couple years, they'll need to recreate the effort.
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