As as been extensively discussed, Michigan is finally jumping headlong into the Era of Manbawl, and Manbawl means power. Unfortunately, every clip of Michigan running power this fall has been zoomed to extents that strain modern technology, so we don't have a good recent example. Fortunately we found a nice example of a slight twist on the prototypical power run, albeit from a random high school scrimmage from New Jersey.
Paramus Catholic lines up in a 3-wide I-form with the slot receiver aligned to the boundary. Jabrill Peppers is lined up as the tailback. This will be important.
Red Bank lines up in a two-high nickel, with the nickelback lined up over the slot. This leaves only six defenders in the box; two linebackers and four down linemen in an over front. You may notice that the offense has six guys in position to put a hat on the six box defenders.
[AFTER THE JUMP: A decided genetic advantage]
At the snap, most of the linemen block down; the play-side guard and tackle double the DT, the center takes on the NT, and the backside tackle chips the WDE (often the tackle will cut the backside end here, but here the tackle already has a pretty good angle at the snap. By chipping his man, he can accomplish his mission and still stay on his feet on the off chance that this play stays alive long enough for some downfield action). The twist here is that the playside DE is left unblocked by the line. Instead, the fullback draws that assignment.
As the play gets underway, the linebackers have a problem. The flow of the play is to the offense’s right, as the offensive linemen engage the linemen to their right and work them in that direction. For the backers, this could look like a zone to the weak (right) side. If they were keying on the weakside guard, they’d be able to diagnose and react. Instead, they just kinda hang around. The MIKE bites ever so slightly on the action, either because he reads zone or simply because HEY EVERYONE’S GOING OVER THERE, and his first couple of steps are to the weak side and toward the line. The WILL doesn’t do much of anything. This will be the start of a bad time for him.
The playside tackle releases off of the DT and goes after the WILL. The playside guard ALSO releases the DT, and goes after the same Poor Damn Random High School WILL. This leaves the DT unblocked and with a clear run at Peppers, but he gets turned around. He asks Hollywood, "where'd he go?" to which Hollywood can only respond "where'd WHO go?" Meanwhile, the backside tackle has reached the second level and goes after... Jesus. He's going after PDRHSW too.
The MIKE’s initial hesitation is enough to give the pulling guard an angle to square him up and seal him inside. The slot receiver is in position to seal the nickel to the outside. The only problem is that the fullback (who looks to be about 160 pounds) can’t get the proper leverage on the DE, who is now sitting squarely in the hole. Despite the excellent set-up downfield and the big-time RPS win by Paramus, Peppers will be dropped for no gain.
Or… okay, I guess there was a glitch in the system or something, but for whatever reason Peppers is still running downfield at full speed.
He makes a fantastic little shallow cut to beat the nickel…
And he’s into the open field. This is where his athleticism might be able to pick up a few extra yards before he’s swarmed down. Sure enough, he makes a nice open-field move on strong safety at the 24…
…which is enough to get him down to the 18 for a solid 12 yard gain before he’s gang-tackled by five Red Bankers.
Or to create a pile of five hapless teenagers who haven’t even finished tumbling by the time Peppers is back at full speed heading toward the middle of the field.
You gotta feel bad for that WILL, who managed to beat his triple-team and chase down the #2 player in the whole damn country... only to trip over a pile of his fallen teammates. Unfortunately for Peppers, when he reverses field he doesn’t see that one of the DTs has hustled downfield, and will be hitting him broadside at full speed. Surely this will…
Oh come on now.
PDRHSW has once again risen from the ashes of this play, and ONCE AGAIN chases down the #2 player in the whole damn country, and actually grabs hold of him... only to be shaken loose by a 720:
Peppy… Peppers… coincidence?
Someone get PDRHSW some orange slices.
This is a damned CORNERBACK we’re talking about, and you’re letting the guy run through your secondary like that kid from the Family Circus cartoons.
Finally, the OTHER defensive end grabs him at the 9. But of course you’re going to tell me Peppers drags this dude the rest of the way for the score, right?
Nope. He doesn’t drag the defender. HE. BREAKS. F***ING. FREE. AGAIN.
Follow me. Follow me to freedom.
There are six defenders within two yards of the ball carrier 30 yards downfield. There isn’t a blocker within ten yards. I have never seen that before. I don’t even know what it means.
If you want to summarize this run in one image, it’s this poor sprawling kid reaching in vain for his lost quarry:
Rosebud…
You can watch the full run here:
Here’s a different angle:
And another:
That running back’s DYNAMITE
TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS PLAY
- Jabrill Peppers - I can't stress this part enough.
- Recruiting matters - See: the previous bullet point
- Football = math - if you leave two safeties high and move a defender out over the slot (especially if you lift your SAM for a little guy who doesn't seem like an eager tackler), you're going to have serious problems because you've now got six blockers taking on six defenders. If properly blocked, this play will pick up yards all day long. If you move a safety down you improve your numbers but you're vulnerable over the top. If Jabrill Peppers, YOUR MATH HAS NO POWER IN THIS PLACE.
- Sharing is caring - This was a scrimmage, so getting people game action is important. Here, Jabrill gave nine different guys a chance to make a tackle, and I can't tell from the video but I think ALL 11 DEFENDERS made contact with him during the run. He's generating extra practice time for his opponents, and for this they should be grateful.
- Triple-teaming the WILL is vital - Alternatively, communication between linemen as to who is going to release is helpful. But you should probably still triple-team the WILL
- This is what a pulling guard is supposed to do - Identify the MIKE. Get through the hold before the back does. Engage the MIKE. Put the MIKE on the ground (although hopefully not by holding and pulling him on top of you as you fall down, but I digress). This is why I have more hope for Michigan's guards this year; they may screw things up, but if they do they'll be screwing up while screaming downhill looking to maul something. Tis' far better to maul the wrong thing than to hit nothing and get in the way.
- Jabrills and Joes > X’s and O’s– Genetics is a powerful force.
- Know your personnel - If you're going to run this play with the playside tackle blocking down and no tight end, you've got to have a LOT of faith in your fullback, because that's a tough assignment. He's gotta meet and seal a defensive end in space. When run by humans, this play probably goes for no gain.
- #FirstWorldRecruitingProblems – If the debate is “at which position will he be the MOST super-duper dominant,” you can bring the kid in without knowing exactly where you’re gonna play him. Not all “tweeners” are problematic.
- Spin move - ALWAYS SPIN MOVE.
- Seriously: Jabrill Peppers - There was a time in American history that Peppers would have been burned as a witch. And it would have been hard to blame the villagers.
NOTE TO FUTURE PARAMUS OPPONENTS:
The following is a recommended defensive assignment chart should you come across a similar formation.
Good luck with that.