Lamar in Rewatch of Ravens-Titans

[JimZipCode]

JT O'Sullivan did a 40 minute breakdown of Lamar's film - he is always very informative and fair.

A few things he notices:

Generally, the Titans did similar things that seemed to work for Cleveland early in their game. They would bring guys up to the line, Lamar wasn't sure who was coming, and he wasn't consistently finding his hots. Generally he was playing too fast and not letting the game come to him. Down and distance allowed corners to sit on a lot of routes and Hollywood's route running wasn't precise enough to get open on a lot of the out routes they were throwing. Lamar wasn't throwing with anticipation throughout.

SR, I love your idea of a sort of "table of contents" for this (super long!) vid. Hope you don't mind, I'm going to extend it and add timestamps, while retaining some of your text.


Intro 0:00 to 6:32
"I don't think he played well. I think the film will show that." He continues, "The future is so bright for this guy, this franchise. I'm really excited to see what he does moving forward. But THIS FILM: it's gonna hurt a little bit. There's gonna be elements of, whether you agree with it or not, I think this was a performance that you need to learn from."

1. 6:33 to 10:43
INT #1 to Andrews he points out Mekari's indecision on the double team allowed DT to get in on Lamar, which affected the throw.
AND: JT feels that Lamar lost his composure at the end of the play, drawing the penalty.

2. 10:44 to 13:10
Lamar missed a potential TD to Boykin on a scissors concept when he threw to Andrews on an out for 10 yards. The route was designed to beat quarters and go to Boykin for a TD, and he was open, but JT said it was the first sign that Lamar was playing too fast and not taking time to read the field.
“You *have* to throw the post. It is a BIG PLAY OPPORTUNITY. This is a massive miss. ... This is a touchdown. This to me was the first sign watching the all-22 that he was playing too fast. And what I mean by that is, he's processing some of these things, not letting them happen. There's NOBODY around him for five yards. You HAVE to throw the post. It has to be thrown. ... It's a brutal miss. ... Come ON. Throw the POST. That's a big miss. It's a big miss of a read.”

3. 13:11 to 18:54
First 4th down stop - He hates the play design with Gus in the backfield on the keeper. If they're going to have a RB on the field, at least do something with him, either fake it to him or motion him out to pull another guy out of the box. Lamar didn't follow the guard and instead tried to split two double teams, one of which (Zeus and Yanda) was stalemated and affected the play. On the other double team (Stanley and Boyle) Stanley explodes from the wrong foot, likely because he doesn't play on the right side very often. They don't move their guy either. Lamar should have just followed the guard but he tried to get it himself, which works a lot but it didn't there.
Gus' action here is SO useless, makes me wonder if the called play was a handoff and Lamar played hero ball. Or a fake handoff with a naked boot to the offensive left side, and Lamar just screwed it up. That would make sense based on the film – what every single other Raven is doing on the play. But would be a dire indictment of Lamar.

4. 18:55 to 20:07
Throw to Seth Roberts was beautiful and simply a drop. Gotta catch it.

5. 20:08 to 24:47
Throws a comeback or out to Marquise on the right sideline, missed. JT thinks Marquise is running to the wrong depth; Seth Robers is at the top of the screen running to the correct depth, and he's "wide-ass open," as JT puts it. More important, JT again does not like how the Ravens handle blitzers and "hot" situations. Too many free runners at Lamar. He's mentioned this in prior vids (esp the one on the Browns game).

6. 24:48 to 26:27
Lamar on the in to Marquise for 20 yds. JT lauds Lamar's "great" pocket movement here. Fahey also complimented Lamar's move up and thru the pocket on this play. JT calls out that the throw is LATE. Good throw, but late.
JT opines here that there is NEVER an anticipated throw from Lamar: which on the SEASON is bullshit, but maybe for the GAME was true.

7. 26:28 to 28:46
During two minute drill Lamar threw an out to Hollywood when the play design had Hurst running up the seam untouched. "Three's a 15-yd cushion between him and the free safety. Right there. Gotta put it on him. Can't miss [seeing] that. These misses are on the QB. There's no way aroung it."
JT thought it was another example of Lamar playing too fast and pre-determining where he was going to throw. We have to wonder whether the TE not being Andrews, was also a factor. The corner sat on the out, and JT slams the route Hollywood runs.

8. 28:47 to 31:30
Sack. Should be 3 steps, hitch and rip it. JT says you can't hold onto the ball here. Also thinks Marquise ran his stem too long; WAY too long. This makes me wonder if Lamar held it because Marquise was not where he was supposed to be. Anyway, then it was over. JT rips Bozeman: "Selfish, bad, BAD pass-pro."

9. 31:31 to 33:29
The one-handed catch by Marquise. JT calls it an absolute seed. "The last video, talked about when they played cleveland, they run this 5-vertical play. Again, I've ever seen anybody outside of 7-on-7 run this type of play. But, HE's great at it, had a great touchdown pass against the Browns with it, has a great touchdown pass later in the game with it. Has a great throw right HERE with it. This is a ridiculous throw. Ridiculous throw, ridiculous catch. I don't necessarily understand it. Other than the fact that, they think Lamar Jasckon *IS* the checkdown, so it doesn't matter, he can just save it with his feet [if it collapses and there's pressure]." Nice tidbit on Lamar checking for a blitzer for ripping the ball. Fun to hear JT's little "whew" at the throw itself.

10. 33:30 to 35:25
On the strip sack, he just has to get rid of the ball. He didn't like the play design having Ingram chip the rusher, because he basically pushed him to the right side of Stanley and it allowed him to get by him. But once he evades the first rusher, he's got to throw it away. "This is on the QB."

11. 35:26 to 39:34
2nd INT. "This is just bad, bad QB play." Titans knew the quick out was coming. Lamar threw the out behind the wide receiver and he didn't seem to recognize they were baiting him with a cover-2 look. He had a guy hot but didn't make the call/recognize it. Common theme for JT about Lamar, that he doesn't recognize when he's "hot".

12. 39:35 to 40:33
Five verticals for a TD to Hurst. "He obviously loves this play. It's just crazy to me that it works." He follows up a bit later with "Again, I love the fact that he's just GOOD at it, and they CALL it. They should call it more, to be honest with you."

13. 40:34 to 42:02
Two point conversion play. "I despise this play calll."
Titans knew the rub was coming the entire way and it left him with no options but a jump ball. Same play we have run many times and Titans knew it. He would have run the ball.
"Just not good enough. Really encompasses the entire night, in my opinion. Just not good enough."
JT does mention in the vid – maybe not here, might have been associated with one of the other play designs that he didn't like – mentioned that it was uncharacteristically bad play-calling from a guy who's been one of the best play-callers in the league this season.

Epilogue 42:03 to end at 43:09
"Some uncharacteristic things, whether it's rust, whether it's scheme, whether it's pass-pro, whether it's decision-making, whether it's hero ball. Y'know, when all those things come together, frustrating, really ROUGH night, but great season."

[JimZipCode]

Jim, all I’m saying is look at where his head is. He’s looking toward the sideline. By the time he rotates to the deep post, the linemen would have been closing in.

Well (A) he shouldn't have come off the post to the begin with. The look to the sideline comes after the post in the route progression; so looking to the sideline at all was already a mistake.

And (B) you're still wrong. That lineman is 5 yds away when Lamar finishes his throw to the sideline. This is Lamar we're talking about. Even though he was wrong to even look at the sideline, he could still come back off it, reset his feet, finish that throw, and make a sandwich before the lineman got within 3 yards.

Did you watch the QB School vid? O'Sullivan is audibly exasperated. You've got plenty of time! The lineman is 5 yards away! Kind of fanny, when juxtaposed with your comment.

Should he have locked onto the out is a different story.

I do understand that you're throwing me a bone here, agreeing at least partially.

[organizedchaos21]

What are you asking here?

What's wrong with:
21-106-5.05 =
21 carries for 106 yards (5.05)

[JimZipCode]

What's wrong with:
21-106-5.05 =
21 carries for 106 yards (5.05)

Thanks for the translation!

[JimZipCode]

Here is something fascinating. Listen to JT O'Sullivan's opinion evolve on the Ravens Five Verticals play.

First thing to understand, when JT talks about quarterbacking, he is obsessed hot reads. The QB must know where he's supposed to go when he's "hot", ie when the blitz is coming, there's an unblocked defender. It's almost like he's walking up to the line with the QB, and that's the first & most important thing he wants to know.

So, JT is philiosophically predisposed not to like the 5 verts. There's no hot! If the defense surprises you with a rusher, there's no schematic answer. JT is a pro, and that is not how a pro does business.

But he also trusts his eyes. It's clear that he doesn't pre-script these things, because over the course of 3 or 4 of these plays you can hear him change his mind in "real time" on the Ravens use of Five Verticals in their offense. By the end he's completely reversed himself! Fascinating.

I've quoted extensively below. But I highly recommend you actually listen to the timestamped sections of the vids. I've elided a lot; plus the tone of voice and explosions of breath etc have their own message.

(All transcriptions by me. If JT is misquoted in here, I did it, don't blame him or anyone else.)

Play #1
Vs Cleveland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8AN8zMrmk
12:01 to 15:00

The sick contorted throw to Andrews for TD in back of end zone:

This is the play – y'know, obviously it's an amazing play. It really is. But this is NOT SOUND. ... There aren't any good hot throws here. They're running Five Verticals. In my opinion, you only see Five Verticals in seven-on-seven tournaments in San Diego high school football. *OR*, right here from the Ravens. The only throw you have [if you're hot], especially in this situation where if you take a sack you don't get a FG, is to throw the outside fade if you're hot.
...
Not many QBs would take a drop like that knowing they have a free running on them.
...
To me, concept wise ... Five Verticals. The throw for the hot is to the outside vertical. That's it. ... You get hit with an all-out [blitz]. all you got is these [outside routes]. ... This to me is not sound. ... This is six guys [rushing], versus five guys [blocking].

The clear message is, kids don't try this at home. Lamar got lucky and pulled off a miracle with his absurd athleticism, but they should burn this play. It's fun to watch the vid, cuz even as he's trying to be critical about how they handle pressure on the play, he can't refrain from interrupting himself to praise the throw. He's constantly rewinding and replaying; he's trying to stay on-topic, but then he sees the throw and he's just awestruck.


Play #2
vs Titans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TLWDtTyUik

31:31 to 33:29

The "seed" down to Marquise for the one-handed snag.

The last video [on the Ravens], talked about when they played Cleveland, they run this Five Vertical play. Again, I've never seen anybody outside of 7-on-7 run this type of play. But, HE's great at it, had a great touchdown pass against the Browns with it, has a great touchdown pass later in the game with it. Has a great throw right HERE with it. This is a ridiculous throw. Ridiculous throw, ridiculous catch. I don't necessarily understand it. Other than the fact that, they think Lamar Jackson *IS* the checkdown, so it doesn't matter, he can just save it with his feet [if there's pressure].

He's still skeptical: but he's seen it twice now, so he has to set the gears turning to see if there's something to it. I think he's right, that they're trusting Lamar's vision & athleticism to handle the pressure. Which: reasonable.

Nice tidbit on Lamar checking for a blitzer for ripping the ball. Really you gotta listen to the vid, to hear the sounds JT makes at the throw itself.


Play #3
Same game vs Titans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TLWDtTyUik

39:35 to 40:33

The TD to Hurst.

"Here's comes that Five Vertical. ... He obviously loves this play. It's just crazy to me that it works."

He sounds so defeated! Like, I don't even understand this world anymore. He continues:

Lamar Jackson does a great job SEEING this play. Throw the ball high, give his guy a chance. ... Again, I love the fact that he's just GOOD at it, and they CALL it. They should call it more, to be honest with you. Whoomp. Strike. Nice catch, great job going up to get it. Really nice job. Again, Five Verticals. Something he's good at.

From burn this play to they should run it more. Have you ever heard one of these analysts reverse himself so completely?? Honestly I admire that in a person.

Pretty cool.

[edromeo]

Thanks for the translation!

Run the ball more and all this is moot.
1st done outside zone. 1st down duo. 1st down zone-read. 1st down toss/sweep. But I digress...…..

---

RE: Missed throw to Boykin

First that outside breaking route was a gorgeous throw. Teaching tape stuff...anyhow....my take on the play....

Lamar drops back and starts with his helmet middle of the field.
The S that ends up covering Andrew initially looks like they could be dropping back to play half-field S.



Focus on the (L) S


I think Lamar comes off the post read because he got fooled by that S and because Lamar has better chemistry with Andrews then Boykin therefore he's more drawn to Andrew's reads in any progression (kinda like early Favre with Sterling Sharpe....If Sterling was the backside route on a progression that was meant to be thrown to the frontside concept you better damn we believe Favre was going to throw that backside progression.) I think Lamar got fooled by the S and trust Andrews more then Boykin and didn't give the post route a real look/chance

I know Lamar was mad at himself after looking at the cut-ups with Urban after that series.
But you know one thing I'm 100% certain of?
If Lamar gets that same play again he's gonna give the post route a longer look

[Iamjacks]

Run the ball more and all this is moot.
1st done outside zone. 1st down duo. 1st down zone-read. 1st down toss/sweep. But I digress...…..

---

RE: Missed throw to Boykin

First that outside breaking route was a gorgeous throw. Teaching tape stuff...anyhow....my take on the play....

Lamar drops back and starts with his helmet middle of the field.
The S that ends up covering Andrew initially looks like they could be dropping back to play half-field S.



Focus on the (L) S


I think Lamar comes off the post read because he got fooled by that S and because Lamar has better chemistry with Andrews then Boykin therefore he's more drawn to Andrew's reads in any progression (kinda like early Favre with Sterling Sharpe....If Sterling was the backside route on a progression that was meant to be thrown to the frontside concept you better damn we believe Favre was going to throw that backside progression.) I think Lamar got fooled by the S and trust Andrews more then Boykin and didn't give the post route a real look/chance

I know Lamar was mad at himself after looking at the cut-ups with Urban after that series.
But you know one thing I'm 100% certain of?
If Lamar gets that same play again he's gonna give the post route a longer look

LJ plan for this offseason

https://youtu.be/x-JU81dYZIc Lamar can throw

Brett Kollmann says that he has only one real hole to fix in his game

[bmoreravenous]

You don’t throw that against cover 2, which is what the safeties showed. The out is the right read - unfortunately, he got baited and looked off the read right as the safety turned back upfield.

I think it’s Byard on that play - arguably the best FS in the game right now....

[Uli2001]

Run the ball more and all this is moot.
1st done outside zone. 1st down duo. 1st down zone-read. 1st down toss/sweep. But I digress...…..

---

RE: Missed throw to Boykin

First that outside breaking route was a gorgeous throw. Teaching tape stuff...anyhow....my take on the play....

Lamar drops back and starts with his helmet middle of the field.
The S that ends up covering Andrew initially looks like they could be dropping back to play half-field S.



Focus on the (L) S


I think Lamar comes off the post read because he got fooled by that S and because Lamar has better chemistry with Andrews then Boykin therefore he's more drawn to Andrew's reads in any progression (kinda like early Favre with Sterling Sharpe....If Sterling was the backside route on a progression that was meant to be thrown to the frontside concept you better damn we believe Favre was going to throw that backside progression.) I think Lamar got fooled by the S and trust Andrews more then Boykin and didn't give the post route a real look/chance

I know Lamar was mad at himself after looking at the cut-ups with Urban after that series.
But you know one thing I'm 100% certain of?
If Lamar gets that same play again he's gonna give the post route a longer look

You can see that there is one linebacker on each side spying LJ. I think the Titans had a great game plan against the Ravens offense. It was a bend don't break designed to remove the big plays. You have to give credit to Dean Pees on that.

[s.r.genovese]

You don’t throw that against cover 2, which is what the safeties showed. The out is the right read - unfortunately, he got baited and looked off the read right as the safety turned back upfield.

I think it’s Byard on that play - arguably the best FS in the game right now....

they're in quarters not cover-2. all the DB's drop to the same depth. that route is designed to beat quarters.

[edromeo]

they're in quarters not cover-2. all the DB's drop to the same depth. that route is designed to beat quarters.

i don't think they're in quaters or 2 zone.
If they're in quaters the S would continue dropping and pick up Boykin, this safety immediately chased and trailed behind Andrews as if he had Andrews in man OR he was supposed to cover the (L) outside underneath zone defender.....it could be disguised coverage possible a Cover 3 variation

[The Excellector]

You don’t throw that against cover 2, which is what the safeties showed. The out is the right read - unfortunately, he got baited and looked off the read right as the safety turned back upfield.

I think it’s Byard on that play - arguably the best FS in the game right now....

The issue that some have to understand is that the Titans were mixing up their coverages all night long. And generally, were not allowing much in the middle of the field.

When you look at a few of the good plays we had, they were against man coverage. The Titans likely ran it, more than anything, to keep Lamar guessing, and were willing to live with a few big plays.

Not to mention, the tendency of focusing more on Andrews and Brown had to have shown up on tape. I mean we’ve all seen it ourselves, justified or not.

But rest assured. They were not running man all game.