Those routes are hitches on the outside and seams inside (“HOSS”). The “Juke” route is generally run by the #3 receiver, who has a lot of options for what he can do over the middle based on the coverage.

You can see the concept illustrated below:

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The play itself has a ton of answers for the quarterback. The outside receivers can convert to go-routes against any type of press coverage or sitting corners. The seams can be run upfield vs. single-high or bend inside vs split-safety looks. Against Tampa-2, they can convert to curls.

The receiver running the juke route in the middle will react based on his defender’s leverage, either taking it inside or outside. Against Tampa-2 or if he’s uncovered, he can sit in the coverage void.

It’s a great play to run against just about any defense. And depending on how the offense distributes its personnel, there are always opportunities for the quarterback to just take his favorite matchup anywhere based on how the defense responds.

Often times, that’ll be the juke since he has more options for how to run his route and because he’ll often be matched up against the Mike linebacker whether in man or zone. As you’ll see on the examples below, that’s not a fair fight.

Probably the best example of how effective this play can be was in Super Bowl LIII between the Patriots and Rams.

New England didn’t piss a drop all game on offense, and if not for one of the best defensive performances in Super Bowl history, they likely would have lost this game. But with the score tied at 3, under 10 minutes remaining, and really nothing working, New England called it 3 straight times on what would ultimately be the game-winning touchdown drive.

The way New England used their personnel was brilliant and put the Rams defense on its heels. The Patriots came out in “22” personnel (2 RBs, 2 TEs) with just 1 wide receiver on all 3 plays. That forced the defense to use their base personnel and bring more linebackers onto the field.

Then the Pats spread them out with empty formations.

Each time, they dressed up the play with a slight variation to the formation. Running back Rex Burkhead motioned out of the backfield on the first two plays and Julian Edelman motioned across the formation on the third. They also flipped the formation from the first snap to the next two to keep the Rams from anticipating identical plays.

Ultimately, Burkhead and fullback James Develin were the outside receivers to either side each time:

On a night where Rams Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’s disguises were giving Brady and the Patriots problems, this approach allowed New England to know what the coverage was pre-snap.

On this first play, it was clear that the Rams were in zone because cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, L.A.’s best coverage defenders, were aligned over Burkhead and Develin, a running back and a fullback. Inside, the Rams were left with a linebacker (Cory Littleton) on the only receiver on the field, Julian Edelman:

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The play design is simple. It includes a clear-out route to knock the top off the defense and then puts a second-level defender into a high-low conflict between a deep-in and a shallow route. Below, you can see the concept illustrated:

You’ll notice that the underneath route is coming from the backfield here. But that route can come from anywhere. Often, it’s a shallow crosser from the other side of the formation.

The Bears defense was in quarters coverage on this play, so the safety to the side of the Dagger was responsible for the #2 vertical (the clear-out). That was a post on this play, but it’s often a go-route. Either way, it removed the safety:

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• Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders (We should be talking about this more)

• The Jets’ decision at #2

• Jeremiyah Love to the Cardinals

• The Titans ruined all Mock Drafts

• The Giants’ big weekend

• The Browns, the Cowboys, and the…1981 49ers?

• What are the Rams doing?

• The Jets are laying the foundation

• The Texans get tougher

• Howie Roseman does it again

I hope you enjoy!

They appear to be taking a page out of the Green Bay Packers’ playbook, setting themselves up for the future while still competing for a Lombardi.

I’ve got a lot of thoughts on this approach, but I’ll save that for another time. For now, let’s focus on what the Rams likely saw in Simpson.

Attacking the Middle of the Field

This was probably the area of Simpson’s game that most attracted the Rams. Simpson was running an NFL-style offense at Alabama, and there were a ton of snaps where he had to deliver the ball over the middle at the intermediate level. Not only was he effective in doing so, but he actually seemed most comfortable navigating this area of the field:

Below, you can see an example of Simpson quickly getting through the front side of a play concept before hitting a back-side dig late from the pocket.

First, check out the play design. Simpson was reading right to left off of play-action:

After turning his back to the defense on the play-fake, he quickly eliminated his first two receivers:

He didn’t throw to his next receiver because he wasn’t looking back at him when Simpson was ready to deliver the ball:

So he moved on to the back side and found the dig:

Simpson was aware of the middle linebacker sitting inside, so he settled his receiver, firing an absolute dart into a tight window:

He put together several key elements of high-level quarterbacking on that one.

Simpson can also make any of those throws over the middle where firm touch is required. Those are the throws where the ball has to get over a linebacker with velocity but can’t be thrown so hard that it sails into the hands of a DB behind the receiver:

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1) Will the Jets take Arvell Reese or David Bailey?

We all know that the Raiders will be selecting Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick. That means the draft really starts at pick #2 with the Jets.

The reporting in the last few weeks has gone back and forth between the Jets taking Arvell Reese and David Bailey. Reese previously seemed like a foregone conclusion, but now things seem to be leaning in the direction of Bailey.

Overall, I think Reese is the better player. He can contribute in more ways and in both phases. But the Jets seem to want to use this pick to get an impact pass rusher. Which means the choice isn’t between Reese the overall player and Bailey. It’s a choice between Reese as an edge rusher and Bailey. And right now Bailey is more of a sure thing in that department, at least in the near term.

And that “near term” piece is a huge part of this. Both GM Darren Mougey and Head Coach Aaron Glenn need quick results in year 2 for a variety of reasons. Reese might end up being the better overall player in the long term, but Bailey fits their pass-rushing need more immediately.

Or at least I think this is the reasoning the Jets would have for taking Bailey over Reese. All that being said, I still wouldn’t be surprised by the Jets taking Reese.

You can see my breakdowns of both players below:

2) Who drafts Jeremiyah Love?

As I mentioned on the podcast a few weeks ago, you have to throw “positional value” out the window when discussing Jeremiyah Love. He’s a dynamic weapon that will make any run game better and will contribute substantially in the passing game.

The Cardinals at pick #3 make a ton of sense since new head coach Mike LaFleur wants the run game to be the foundation of his offensive approach. Who better to build that type of offense around than a player like Love?

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If they don’t take him, then the Titans and Giants make a lot of sense for similar reasons; both have 2nd-year quarterbacks who need all the help they can get around them. Having a dynamic rushing attack, as well as a player who can help create pre-snap coverage indicators and 1-on-1 matchup problems in the passing game, would do wonders for both.

I don’t know who is going to take Love, but he might be the best overall prospect in this draft. I’d be shocked to see him make it out of the top-5.

You can check out more of my thoughts on why Love is so special below:

3) What will the Giants do with their two top-10 picks?

For the second time in 5 years, the Giants have two top-10 picks in the same draft. It takes a special level of incompetence and losing for that to happen. But hopefully with John Harbaugh at the helm, the Giants will be able to use these picks to help find their way out of this 15-year rut.

The interesting thing is that the Giants could go in a number of different directions. They likely won’t be able to address their two biggest needs, interior D-line and interior O-line, with these picks. Although maybe they use that 10th pick to take Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane (or move back a few spots to take him and get an additional later-round pick).

But in all likelihood, they’re going to be adding players to fortify positions or address needs that are a little less dire. RB Jeremiyah Love, LB Sonny Styles, S Caleb Downs, WR Jordyn Tyson, and a few others all seem to be on the table.

No matter what position they address, the Giants need an infusion of talent first and foremost. Giving up a player like Dexter Lawrence, who I think still has good football left in him, needs to result in an impactful player with that 10th overall pick.

The bottom line is that these two top-10 picks have to amount to far more than what they got from Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal.

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4) Does Kenyon Sadiq go higher than expected?

Most mock drafts I’ve seen have Kenyon Sadiq going in the back half of the first round. Given how important tight ends are to NFL passing games, that seems surprising.

So are there any teams in the first 16 picks where taking a chance on Sadiq would make sense?

The first obvious potential landing spot would be Kansas City. I know they have other needs, but wouldn’t this be a perfect fit?

That passing game has gone through the tight end position for years. Wouldn’t adding a player like Sadiq allow the Chiefs to take advantage of 2-tight end sets for a year and then give them a great replacement for Kelce for the back half of Patrick Mahomes’ career?

I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Chiefs take Sadiq (or trade down and then take him).

The Rams are another team that might make sense here. In case you hadn’t heard, Sean McVay leaned on “13” personnel (3 tight ends) often last year. The Rams were very effective in doing so, but I’ll bet you can’t name one of those tight ends unless you’re a Rams fan or a football junkie.

Adding Sadiq to an offense that already includes Puka Nacua and Davante Adams would give McVay yet another way to create mismatches and torment defenses.

Where he goes is something I’ll watch closely tonight. You can check out my full Kenyon Sadiq breakdown below:

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5) Will Ty Simpson be taken in the first round?

Ty Simpson has a lot of traits to like. He’s got a strong arm, athleticism, and the ability to attack the middle of the field. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be a lot of spots for him in the first round.

Perhaps the Steelers are an option at pick #21? Or the Browns at 24?

Most QB-needy teams seem to prefer waiting for that 2027 class to take a quarterback early. However, you might see a team with a pick at the top of the 2nd round trade back into the 24-32 range in order to take Simpson and get that 5th-year option.

The Cardinals have been rumored to be considering this type of move. If they also took Love with the 3rd overall pick, Simpson would have a great situation to step into with lots of weapons around him (Love, Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr.).

Still, you might see most QB-needy teams stay away until the 2nd round or later and wait things out until next year.

My overall feeling, however, is that if a team likes Simpson, they should take him in the back of the first round and get that 5th-year option instead of holding out for 2027. There’s no guarantee that the class will shake out the way everyone expects (injuries, performance, etc.) or that the teams in need will be in position to get one of those premier quarterback prospects.

Either way, I think Simpson does have the chance to develop into a good player at the NFL level:

For that reason, Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq will likely be a highly-coveted prospect in this year’s draft.

Sadiq is on the shorter side for a tight end (6’3 1/8”). But he ran a ridiculous 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine this year. That’s the fastest time by a tight end since at least 2003.

Not to mention, his time was faster than most of the top wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft. That’s impressive considering Sadiq is also 240 pounds.

On top of that, he had a ridiculous 43 1/2” vertical jump. He’s an athletic specimen to put it mildly.

Any team looking to add Sadiq will be doing so for what he can add to their passing game. Because in that department, he has all the tools (we’ll get to his blocking in a bit).

He has the ability to shake defenders at the line:

He can get vertical in a hurry. Watch him blow past this slot cornerback, keeping him from getting his hands on him or disrupting his route:

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Just ask the Seahawks about Nick Emmanwori, who helped them win a Super Bowl during his rookie season with his ability to cover receivers in the slot, defend the run, and rush the quarterback.

Ohio State safety Caleb Downs isn’t exactly the same type of player as Emmanwori. He doesn’t have the same size (he’s about 3 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter), but he has the ability to be a Swiss-Army knife for his new defense in similar fashion.

Downs played just about everywhere in college and was effective in doing so. The first thing that tells you is that he must be a smart football player if he can survive and thrive in a variety of roles. Multiple defensive coordinators wouldn’t have put so much on his plate if they didn’t think he could handle it.

Downs played deep, in the box, in the slot, and near the line of scrimmage. He even played on the perimeter for a handful of snaps, sometimes dropping out into zone as a part of a coverage disguise.

He contributed with his run defense, tackling, coverage, and blitzing ability. I love just about every aspect of his game, but the way he closes like a missile might be at the top of the list:

An arrow through snow:

His willingness to mix it up is a huge part of what makes him successful. Just watch him take on this pulling center and fight through him to make the tackle below:

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Bain’s shortcomings are his length (6’2” and change), short arms, and the fact that he doesn’t have elite get-off. He isn’t the quick-pressure generator that David Bailey and Arvell Reese are, for instance.

However, he wins with power, leverage, and relentless pursuit of the quarterback. Each of which are attributes needed to succeed at the NFL level:

He plays like a boulder rolling down a hill, picking up momentum with each inch of ground that he covers, making him harder and harder to stop:

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Many have Carnell Tate as the top receiver in this year’s draft, although I don’t think there’s a clear-cut favorite.

Either way, if you want to simplify the evaluation of the wide receiver position, there are 4 places you can look:

1. Can he win at the line of scrimmage and beat press-man?

2. Can he win at the top of his stem and create separation out of his break?

3. Is he reliable at catching the ball?

4. Can he make defenses pay after the catch?

Tate has 3 of those things, and that means his NFL team will have a lot to work with.

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In that first area, he has suddenness in his releases, giving him the ability to win at the line of scrimmage:

In that second area, he creates separation at the top of his stem:

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He’s 6’5”, 244 pounds, and moves like a defensive back. Don’t believe me? Just check out his numbers from the Combine.

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That athleticism jumps out at you on the all-22 as well. Styles is an off-the-ball linebacker who can do it all.

He’s smooth and fluid in coverage, easily able to read and react to route combinations, close on pass catchers, and run with tight ends in man coverage:

That comfortability he has in the passing game likely comes from the fact that he was a safety up until a couple of years ago. His size kind of mandated that he move to linebacker, but that didn’t take away from his ability to cover.

Styles can eat up ground quickly and under control, and that also helps him in the run game:

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My goodness.

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His get-off is so good that tackles often don’t seem to have time to respond, and his quickness helps him create short corners to the quarterback:

Aside from the raw physical skills, he’s got several things going for him when it comes to the nuances of the position.

First, he’s got an assortment of tools and ways to get to the quarterback. He’s got a great spin move:

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Most would argue that his versatility is a plus. The team that drafts him will have the option of either playing him in one position or the other or perhaps moving him around by situation. Maybe he plays off the ball on early downs and then can get after the quarterback in obvious passing situations.

Some might argue that moving around in college makes him a bit of a “tweener.” If you’re getting half off-the-ball linebacker and half edge rusher, can he be good enough at either to be worth a top-5 or potentially even the 2nd overall pick? If the team that takes him wants him to specialize, it could take some time for him to truly grasp whichever position he takes on permanently.

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The view on Reese will certainly vary by which team drafts him and how they plan to use him. While I’d prefer to see Reese play on the edge and rush the passer as much as possible, I think his versatility, especially in today’s NFL, is a huge plus.

Wherever he plays, just check out that speed when he’s able to cut it loose:

He moves at a different pace than everyone else on the field.

As an outside linebacker, he’s got the violence, aggressiveness, and power to set the edge in the run game, and he’s got the speed to chase down ball carriers from the back side:

He is effective enough at dropping out into coverage and can track down ball carriers when playing off the ball:

In general, I do think he’s a little stiff in coverage at times. That’s one reason why, over the long term, I’d prefer to see him spend most of his time rushing the passer.

Just check out his ridiculous speed and bend off the edge:

As you could see on that play, he didn’t exactly get off the ball quickly and he was still nearly untouched.

He’s also got the raw power to run through offensive tackles:

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Feel free to read the transcript on it’s own or use it (and the plays I included) to follow along with the podcast to get more context for what I’m talking about.

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In this episode, I discuss the following:

• What Tony Dorsett Did for the 1977 Cowboys

• Jeremiyah Love Breakdown

• Why the Cardinals Make Sense

• Why the Titans Make Sense

• Why the Giants Make Sense

• The Dexter Lawrence Situation

• Kirk Cousins to the Raiders

Here is a direct link to the podcast, and below that you can find the transcript and plays:

The Football Film Room Show - Episode #26 Transcript

Welcome to the Football Film Room Show. I’m Nick Kehoe, and we’ve got another great episode for you today.

We’re going to talk about Jeremiyah Love, do a deep dive into his game, tell you which team should be interested, and tell you why, quite frankly, you can take your positional value arguments when it comes to Love and throw them out the window.

But before we do any of that, I want to go back to 1977 and talk about the Dallas Cowboys.

What Tony Dorsett Did for the 1977 Cowboys

Now, back in the 70s, that was the era of Tom Landry, Roger Staubach… The Cowboys were one of the best teams in the NFL. Arguably the best team in the NFC throughout that decade.

They had won a Super Bowl in 1971. They’d been to three Super Bowls by the time that 1977 had rolled around. But in the previous two seasons, 1975 and 76, they had lost the Super Bowl to the Steelers, and then they lost in the divisional round to the Rams.

And both times, their feeling was that the run game, that was kind of the culprit. It just didn’t have enough there.

So in the 1977 draft, they traded three picks in order to take Tony Dorsett. Now, Dorsett was the Heisman Trophy winner out of Pitt, and he was a game changer at the running back position. He had the ability to break off big runs, create those explosive plays that the Cowboys felt they were lacking:

So they took him, they brought him in, thinking he could change the complexion of their team.

But Dorsett didn’t enter that season as the starting running back. Part of that was he just had to earn his way. That’s how the Cowboys did things.

But another big reason for that was that the Cowboys, Tom Landry, the way he did things, the way they designed their plays, you were supposed to do what you were told. If a run play was designed to go to the left and hit in the B gap, that’s where you as a running back were supposed to go. But Tony Dorsett didn’t run that way. He ran to what he could see, in his own words:

And sometimes that meant that even though the play might be designed to hit the B gap to the left, the true opening is going to be cutting it back to the other side.

And there was a point early in that season, about a month in, where the Cowboys were getting ready to play the Cardinals. And in practice that week, going against a scout team, Dorsett took a run and then cut it back behind the center, and he got chewed out by his coaches.

“The hole will never break back behind the center!” They told him. “Do not cut it back. Run where the play is designed to go.”

Again, the Cowboys were machine-like in their approach.

And so, of course, Sunday rolls around. They play the Cardinals. Dorsett’s in the game. The same play that was called in practice where he got yelled at by his coaches. The same play is called, and Dorsett takes the ball, starts where the play is designed to go, and then he sees an opening where he can cut it back, just like the coaches said wouldn’t happen in an actual game, and took it to the house from 77 yards away.

Cowboys would go on to win that game. And according to Dorsett, that very next day, Tom Landry came in and he told his offensive linemen, hey, Dorsett runs differently. What we’re going to have to do is just get a hat on your guy, stay on him as long as possible, and he’s going to run to what he sees. He’s going to run to daylight.

And the move paid off. The Cowboys went from 12th in rushing yards per game the year before to 4th in 1977. Tony Dorsett would go on to win rookie of the year, and the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl.

In fact, the Cowboys would make it back to the Super Bowl the next year as well. And on top of that, they’d go on to play in five NFC Championship games in Dorsett’s first six years. He ended up in the Hall of Fame.

But the big point here is that the Cowboys thought they had a way of doing things schematically. They thought that it made the most sense to say, hey, here’s where the play is designed.

Doesn’t matter what your name is, who you are as a running back, you’re going to run it the same way as everyone else. And then Dorsett kind of opened their eyes, kind of made them realize, you know what, we can expand what we’re doing if we let him run, if we let him use his special talents.

He can add on to our offense. We can do things we didn’t even plan to do. He can make adjustments within each play to make that play work better than it would have if we just ran it exactly as designed.

But the reason I tell you that story is because Jeremiyah Love can do the same thing for whatever team he goes to.

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Breaking Down Jeremiyah Love

Now, he’s a different runner than Tony Dorsett, but his ability to expand an offense, to allow an offense to do something that other teams just aren’t doing, or to allow a team to do things that they didn’t even think that they could do or they didn’t know that they wanted to do, his ability to do that is similar to Dorsett’s. The value, the impact he can have on a team can be the same as what Dorsett’s was.

Love is a special, special player. There’s really nothing he can’t do as a running back.

He can fit into any scheme. You can run zone with him, gap, power, duo, whatever the heck you want:

He’s good in the passing game. You can design plays for him, screens, swing passes… Get him the ball in space and he’ll make defenses pay:

Even more impressive though is that you can line him up in the slot, you can line him up on the perimeter, and he’s got really good receiving skills.

There were times when I was watching him on film and I’d see him aligned in the slot and I couldn’t tell the difference between him and a typical slot receiver. Didn’t look like a running back out there:

When he has to stay in and help out with protection, he’s also really good there. Saw him deliver some punishing blows to safeties and linebackers, scan coast-to-coast, pick up blitzers:

Obviously, you probably want him having the ball in his hands or getting out into routes, but if he needs to stay in and protect, he can absolutely do that. But he’s a versatile, versatile running back.

Now, as a runner, the things that make him special are that he’s very quick twitch. He’s got that 4.36 40-time. But really one of the most impressive things about him is that he can be running full speed and then cut on a dime. He can change directions when the defense isn’t expecting it:

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And it’s because of that reason and because of the versatility that he brings that I don’t think you look at him and say, well, he’s a running back, and he’s only a running back, and that position we don’t want to draft third overall, fourth overall, fifth overall, too many cautionary tales.

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And to that, I just say, with a player like Love, you have to throw that out the window. I agree that with any other draft class, if you just have your standard running backs coming out in the draft, you don’t just take a guy because he’s the best running back in the top-10 or whatever.

But with a player like Love, because of what he can do for an offense, because of the ways he can elevate it, because of the versatility he brings, which is so important on both sides of the ball in today’s NFL, I don’t think you should just view him as a running back. You should view him as a versatile weapon for your offense.

And by the way, this isn’t just my opinion. I think the general consensus is that most around the NFL view Love in the same way.

I think you can certainly look at the Saints and the Chiefs who are picking 8th and 9th in this year’s draft. Both were in the market for running backs. If they thought Jeremiyah Love was going to drop all the way to them, you wouldn’t have seen them go out and sign Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker.

So I do think he’s going to go early, and it’s just a matter of, does he get out of the top-5, really?

Because if we’re going through the draft here, we know the Raiders are going to pick Fernando Mendoza number one. The Jets have Breece Hall. Franchise tagged him. Doesn’t seem like a situation where they’ll tag and then trade him. It seems like they want him around for the long haul, at very least for the start of 2026.

So that leaves the third overall pick, the Arizona Cardinals. And you haven’t really heard a lot of connections between the Cardinals and Love. I don’t know if that’s because people just don’t want that to happen. No one seems to want the good players to go to the Cardinals and just fade into anonymity out in the desert.

Most of the talk has been about the Titans taking Love with the fourth overall pick or the Giants getting Love with the fifth overall pick. But To me, if you’re the Cardinals, why wouldn’t you take Love?

Mike LaFleur is the head coach there. As we all know, LaFleur views the run game as foundational to his offense.

So who better to be the first draft pick of his tenure in Arizona than Jeremiyah Love? And especially for the Cardinals, who last year were 31st in rushing yards per game.

I know they lost James Conner early in the season to injury, and injuries in general definitely played a role, but their leading rusher last year had 333 yards. So they could use an every-down back, believe me.

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I also discuss which teams should be interested in him at the top of the draft, the Dexter Lawrence situation in New York, and why the Raiders signed Kirk Cousins.

I hope you enjoy!

There’s not much to dislike about Fernando Mendoza.

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Most importantly, the way he plays on the field translates to being a consistent quarterback at the NFL level. He’s accurate. He processes quickly. He plays with timing. He makes good decisions. He keeps the offense on schedule.

The Raiders, who hold the #1 overall pick, have been looking for a quarterback like this to lead their team for the longest time. It would be a huge shock if his name was not called to kick off the draft.

Quick Release, Accurate Thrower

The first thing that stands out about Mendoza is that he’s got a quick release and a compact throwing motion. There aren’t a lot of moving parts which makes it easier for him to replicate his mechanics. And that leads to better accuracy as a thrower:

He doesn’t have a cannon for an arm like you’ll often see in a #1 overall pick. But he’s got enough juice to make every throw he’ll need to on a regular basis at the NFL Level:

Good Ball Placement

Mendoza is a very accurate thrower as you could see on the examples above, but his ball placement is especially impressive. Remember, ball placement is different than accuracy. It goes beyond accuracy.

It’s more about making the right type of throw based on the coverage, the defenders in the area, and the leverage of the defender who is covering the receiver you’re targeting.

And Mendoza does this consistently.

You could see it on a throw like this where Mendoza slowed his receiver down and actually put the ball on his back hip to keep him away from the awaiting defender:

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You can see a couple of examples of this below.

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This first play was from a 2021 game between the Cowboys and Chargers. L.A. faced a 3rd-and-4, a typical man-coverage down-and-distance.

Dallas had established earlier in this game that when playing man coverage, cornerbacks Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, and Jourdan Lewis would match up to wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Jalen Guyton respectively. And that’s how they lined up at the snap here:

Also, safety Jayron Kearse was aligned over tight end Jared Cook to the boundary. The pre-snap alignment and matchups indicated that this was some form of man coverage.

So the Chargers went with a play called specifically to beat man.

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It might vary by opponent or situation, but by and large, the defenders in man coverage will play with outside leverage on routes between the numbers and funnel their receivers inside where the help is. Notice all three of the DBs on this particular example (in red) playing to their help in the middle:

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Those help defenders try to read the route combination and the quarterback. Here, the hole defender was able to track the routes and the quarterback’s eyes and then make a play on the ball for the interception:

The Buccaneers offense used reduced splits on this play (receivers inside the numbers). But for an offense that aligns with receivers outside the numbers, the defenders matching up to them will generally play with inside leverage and use the sideline as their help:

On this example, let’s focus on those outside cornerbacks. Pre-snap, one was aligned inside and the other was aligned outside of his receiver. But both would ultimately play with inside leverage, taking away the middle of the field and forcing their receivers to the sideline:

The slot defenders inside the numbers would play with outside leverage, funneling their receivers to the middle:

This play was interesting, though, because the defender over the #3 inside receiver (safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson) wouldn’t follow his receiver inside. Instead, he let him go and the hole defender locked onto him:

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Feel free to read the transcript on it’s own or use it (and the plays I included) to follow along with the podcast to get more context for what I’m talking about.

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In this episode, I discuss the following:

• Why Every Quarterback Needs Help

• Joe Montana’s Early Years

• Tom Brady’s Development

• Breaking Down Fernando Mendoza

• Breaking Down Ty Simpson

• Mendoza vs. Simpson

• Who Should be Interested?

Here is a direct link to the podcast, and below that you can find the transcript and plays:

The Football Film Room Show - Episode #25 Transcript

Welcome to the Football Film Room Show. I’m Nick Kehoe, and we’ve got another great episode for you today.

We’re going to talk about the top quarterback prospects in the draft. A couple weeks ago, nobody was talking about anyone other than Fernando Mendoza. Seemed like a foregone conclusion that he’d be going number one overall to the Raiders.

And based on reports that he is already learning the Raiders playbook, it seems like that’s still a foregone conclusion. But in recent weeks, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has entered the discussion.

And that’s thanks in large part to Dan Orlovsky throwing a giant turd in the punch bowl and mixing things up, I guess you could say. Saying that he thinks Ty Simpson is actually the better prospect.

So I’ll get into all that. I’ll break down both players’ games, tell you their strengths and weaknesses, compare the two, and tell you why I don’t entirely disagree with Orlovsky’s analysis.

But before I do that, I want to reiterate a point I made on the podcast a few weeks ago about the quarterback position in general…

Every Quarterback Needs Friends

When you look at the all-time great quarterbacks, there are very few in the history of the NFL who you can say they’d still be considered all-time greats no matter what situation they were in, no matter what team they were drafted by or traded to or signed with.

I think you could even make the argument that there are no quarterbacks in the history of the game that would have still had their level of success had they been in any other situation.

And that’s because football is the quintessential team sport. It depends who you have blocking for you. It depends who you’re throwing to, what running game you have to support you.

And on top of that, it depends who your head coach is, what his philosophy is. It depends who your offensive coordinator is, who’s calling the plays. Depends who your quarterback coach is. Depends how you’re developed.

And if you want a little proof of that, just think about who the two best quarterbacks are in the history of the game, at least according to the general NFL-world consensus. Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Now, I’m not going to get into a discussion with you today about if they are actually the best. We’ll save that for another time. But I think that’s just the general consensus.

But the interesting thing is that both of those quarterbacks would not be considered the GOATs if not for the exact situations they were in.

Now, again, I want to emphasize, I’m not trying to take away from either quarterback. I’m not trying to say that each individual player doesn’t have a significant amount of say in how well they play, how well they perform based on their preparation, physical training, their mental makeup, etc.

But I think it’s hard to deny that Joe Montana would be the Joe Montana we all know and love if he hadn’t been drafted by Bill Walsh. And I think the same can be true of Tom Brady with the Patriots.

Joe Montana’s Early Years

Let’s go back to 1979. That was the year that Montana was drafted. He was not highly regarded around the NFL at that time. He ended up getting drafted 82nd overall, end of the third round.

But there were questions about his size. He was 6’2”, but just 185 pounds. Receiver Dwight Clark, when he first met him, he thought he was the kicker or the punter. So there were questions about could he withstand the beating that quarterbacks in the NFL took at that time.

He didn’t have a powerful arm. And in that era, the NFL passing game was kind of a complement to the run. You were attacking downfield. No one was dinking and dunking and getting four yards at a time.

And then, of course, Bill Walsh came along. 1979 was his first year as the 49ers head coach. We all know now that he implemented that West Coast offense where the passing game was based on timing and rhythm and you mixed in short throws with your intermediate and downfield passes.

And because he was the only one running his offense that way, he saw something in Montana. He liked how quick and agile his feet were. I believe he said Montana looked a bit like a ballet dancer. That’s how smooth and rhythmic he could be with his feet:

And that fit perfectly for his passing game:

So he was able to push aside the fact that Montana didn’t have an especially strong arm or was inconsistent in college or was slight in his build.

And I think it’s fair to say that if Montana had been drafted anywhere else, he may not have been playing in a system that was perfectly suited for those abilities.

On top of that, Walsh didn’t just throw Montana into the fire. Montana barely played his first season. He only had one start.

But here’s the thing. Walsh found ways to insert him into the game at times. But he wouldn’t do it randomly. He was very deliberate with the way he developed Montana. He would wait until the offense crossed midfield so that he could put Montana in position to succeed. And again, he did it sparingly. Montana threw just 23 passes that season. 49ers went 2-14.

The next year they came back, and Walsh started to work Montana into the offense a little bit more. Same sort of thing. He would put Montana in when it was advantageous to do so, when he could be put in a position to succeed, either in the opponent’s territory or in the red zone.

And eventually, by season’s end, Montana became the starter:

I think he started seven games that year in total. But there were 11 overall games where he threw a pass. So again, Walsh was very intentional with the way he developed Montana.

And then 1981 comes along. That’s the first year he’s the full-time starter. 49ers go 13-3, go on to win the Super Bowl, and the rest is history.

But I think it’s safe to say that wouldn’t have happened anywhere else.

Tom Brady’s Development

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