How to sit on the couch and watch NFL like an expert?

Rugby (NFL) is the most complex sport in the world, and it may be the most confusing sport. Even if it cannot be called the most, it is one of them. But this is also its charm. The two sides play various games on every ball on the court, and even the most sincere spectators will miss some of them. Therefore, there are always many aspects for us to learn about the game, and there are also levels for watching the game.

To reach Level.1, or entry-level, you must understand the basic rules, know some knowledge of each position and some basic tactics. To reach Level.2, or the intermediate level, you must know enough rules to put forward your own rules when the red flag still challenges the team. You also need to know the nuances of each position and also be able to distinguish—some formations. To reach Level.3, or expert level, you must be clear about almost every rule and its meaning, and understand each position and the different models in each position, and be able to distinguish a variety of other formations.

To reach Level.4, the video analyst level, you must recognize as many formations as possible and thoroughly understand tactics. The difference between Level.4 and Level.5 is not in the level of intelligence, but Level.4 does need to sacrifice more important things in life to learn rugby crazy. And Level.5 is someone who can be a football coach. This article allows readers to reach Level.3, and then if you are willing to dedicate your soul to rugby learning, it will also guide you to reach Level.4.

Common misunderstandings and doubts

• 1. Can you distinguish between RPO and play action?
• 2. What is the difference between a bubble screen and an actual screen?
• 3. What is the meaning of motion and shift?
• 4. What is the difference between zone coverage and pattern match?
• 5. What is a real double team?
• 6. Quarterbacks don't always use looking off on defenders
• 7. Watching Tips: Pay Attention to the turf
• 8. How to watch the game like NFL quarterback Carson Palmer?
• 9. What does each player say before serving?
• 10. What to watch after serving?

1. Can you distinguish between RPO and play action?

Every year, as divergent games become an increasingly more significant part of the NFL, analysts who specialize in professional games still follow the ideals of college football. The most popular word now is "RPO," which means the run/pass option.

RPO is a running tactic based on the passing offense. The quarterback reads a defensive player who an offensive team has not screened by kicking off early or late. The meaning of this tactic is to read the extra defenders in the box, not to stop him directly. If there are five screens in the offensive group and 6 in the defensive group in the box, the quarterback will read the 6th defender.

The offensive team faintly runs to get the defensive team forward and then passes the ball.

However, commentators always seem to call every shotgun tactic that includes fake runs as RPO, when in fact, it is a simple play-action pass. So can you tell the difference between regular play-action and RPO? Observe the offensive line.

If the offensive line is not aggressive enough to overwhelm the defensive line, this is a play-action. Before the strikers are on the starting line, they may even start to move a few steps, looking like they will cover the running ball.

If they press forward during a passing attack, you know it's an RPO. For strikers (usually legal receivers), it is illegal to move more than 1 yard on the starting line without contact with the opposing player. For referees, this is a gray area, and they don't often call such fouls. Offensive coaches don't mind, but this is a point of contention for defensive coaches.

After the Chiefs defeated Broncos in Week 8 of 2018, former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph complained that the Chiefs pressed too much before playing RPO.

Joseph said: "The striker pressed 5 yards forward. What do we do? I don't know. What are the rules? I don't know. But we have to figure this out. These are all on the game video. And I have watched it. It's been videotaped."

After the Chiefs defeated Broncos in Week 8 of 2018, former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph complained that the Chiefs pressed too much before playing RPO.

Joseph said: "The striker pressed 5 yards forward. What do we do? I don't know. What are the rules? I don't know. But we have to figure this out. These are all on the game video. And I have watched it. It's been videotaped."

2. What is the difference between a bubble screen and an actual screen?

A proper screen means that the quarterback will use the drop-back to attract the passing passer to hit him. The offensive line will cover for a few seconds, let the passing passer pass them, and then press forward to continue the screen. The essence of the actual screen is to attract the passing passer in, then pass the ball out of their head, and then the offensive striker protects the team player in front.

The bubble screen suddenly passes the ball to the side. Only the technical players screen in the bubble screen, and the offensive line does not participate in the bubble screen. The bubble screen is usually used as a passing option for RPO.

So don't get annoyed by the play-caller calling too many bubble screen tactics. He may use a bubble screen as an option and is sometimes discarded because of the number of advantages.

3. What is the meaning of motion and shift?

The shift is the movement of multiple players before the ball is released. The change is usually used to quickly switch formations so that the defensive team does not have enough time to adjust.

Motion is when a player continues to move before serving. According to the rules, only one player is allowed to move before the kick-off.

Why does the team want a player to move?

• In the early stage of the game, the play-caller may use a lot of motion to observe the reaction of a defensive player. These players may be able to rely on reading to gain an advantage later in the game.
• Motion can bring some information to the quarterback. For example, if the defensive player moves with an offensive player in the movement, the offensive team will predict that the defensive team may use man coverage tactics.
• The offensive team may use fly motion to press the defenders from the side or confuse them that they are about to press the side to react.
• Because motion is before the service, the defensive team must communicate quickly in this minimal time gap, leading to errors.
• In the face of motion, the defensive team will not sit and wait for death and will not be at ease.

At the time, Cowboys' first-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore used motion or shift in almost every offense in his first game against the Giants. In the game clip, he used motion to delay the defender's position in the shotgun. Defensive players usually think this is an RPO because the running back is outside the gun and then moves in the backcourt. Moore did not give the Giants a chance to defensive RPO.

4. What is the difference between zone coverage and pattern match?

The classic zone coverage or NickSaban's so-called "country" zone refers to a specific area of the court that the defender is responsible for. They will defend in these areas while staring at the quarterback and reacting to the ball.

 

Pattern match is the general term for one match and man match. In zone match defense, the defensive player defends in a particular area while staring at the receiver and reacting accordingly. Their movements and changes depending on the division of routes. Nick Saban's Rip/Liz defensive tactics are an example.

In a man-match defense, the defensive player will read the receiver and lock the receiver man-to-man through the released route. The defensive formation under Vikings' Mike Zimmer tactic is an excellent example of a man match system.

5. What is a real double team?

You should often hear the announcer say that the quarterback passes the ball to the double or triple defense. On the surface, it looks like they are right because the camera captures the direction of the pass, and there may be multiple defensive players. But if you look closely, in most cases, it is just the defense of the second line to the pass.

The actual double team is a defensive tactic. The team that uses double team most often should be Patriots. You can often see their defensive guards performing double-team tactics.

YOU'RE NOT THE BEST WR IN THE GAME UNTIL YOU GET DEFENDED LIKE GUNNER ON PUNT COVERAGE 😂———WILL BLACKMON (@WILLBLACKMON) SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

For a very easy-to-understand example, you can see two defensive guards double-teaming a catcher. A more common example is if a safety guard is particularly inclined to a receiver before the ball is delivered and still stares at the receiver after the serve. Patriots call this tactic in the general form "1 double (player number)".

For example, if they want to double defense against Reggie Wayne (No. 87), the tactic is "1 double #87". 

HEN THE PATRIOTS & BELICHICK PLAYED THE COLTS IN THE 2014 AFCCG, TY HILTON SAW 1 DOUBLE & COVER 7 BRACKETS THE ENTIRE GAME. HAVE TO TAKE AWAY #13.——JAMES LIGHT (@JAMESALIGHT) JANUARY 5,2019

6. Quarterbacks don't always use looking off on defenders

The quarterback may look at the security guard in the distance or deliberately look to the other side to move the defender because the area defender will react according to the quarterback's eyes. This is called "looking off." But the term is used too widely.

Just because the quarterback looks elsewhere before finding his target doesn't mean he is "looking off" the defender. He is just following his process. If there is a well-designed offensive tactic, then his approach should have the same effect as "looking off." The route combination has been designed, so if one of the routes is targeted, there should be a gap in the other route. 

7. Watching Tips: Pay Attention to the turf

When we watch the game on TV, we are primarily affected by the camera angle. TV stations always like to zoom in to show where the ball is. The problem is that there are 22 players on the court, and it is often difficult to see the running routes of the second-line players and the backcourt. The general content of the game is covered up, especially now that a large number of pass attacks are used.

The NFL began to try to use sky-cam, but considering the backlash from fans, I don't have much hope for the presentation of the game. We may watch the game more innovative, but wait until the fans can independently choose the game's camera angle and find the information we want.

Smart Football editor Chris Brown presented his insights, and he is also one of the core figures of the rugby analysis revolution.

"Pay Attention to the turf before serving. Many people say that you should understand the game by watching the defensive team' or watching the linebacker' (the result of some theories is that you can naturally find where the ball is)", this is wrong. But, if you look at the whole game or some rounds, this is a weird way. "

"For me, the more pleasant and interesting things happen before the service, looking at the defensive team and trying to figure out where on the court this round, rather than watching the quarterback staring at the sideline and other things. Is the defensive team tightly lined up? Is it far away from the receiver? Is there a large gap in the inside gaps/bubbles from the hash? Is there someone defensive slot outside? What you can see, the quarterback and the offensive coordinator can also see. Then you will be amazed at the ball's movement on the court and the opening and closing of the common good defensive teams on the court. Then the ball is sent out, and you watch it as you normally would, but in this way, you can gain more information as a fan."

You can see the defensive backs retreating and the inside linebackers and outside linebackers line up tightly in the box. There is a lot of space on the inside of the catcher array on both sides. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found his catcher, who ran a slam route and entered the gap area for many yards.

Following Brown's suggestion, you can predict the direction of the ball more frequently. If a gap on the court is quickly blocked, you may have realized that this is a defensive disguise worthy of our attention.

8. How to watch the game like NFL quarterback Carson Palmer?

If you want to go further, you can be a sitting quarterback and predict the defense like a quarterback. To help us understand how quarterbacks interpret defenses, I talked to former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, who is as intelligent as any quarterback who has played in the NFL. This is what he observed step by step on the attack line:

1. Which players are on the court?

Please Pay Attention to the defensive team and their reaction. If there are 11 people in the offensive group (3 receivers, one running back, one near the end), is there a nickel (5th defensive guard) or dime (6th defensive guard) in the defensive group? ? This will affect the matchup. Paying Attention to these aspects will help you find the missing points, and if you say in front of your friends: "Look, a linebacker is defending Travis Kelce," it would be pretty cool.

2. Is a security guard in the middle of the court a high defense? Will there be a gap between the two security guards in the middle of the court from a long-distance?

On TV, you can at least see the security guards before serving. Count how many security guards are in far-reaching positions. If there is only one security guard in the far-reaching position, it is likely to cover three zones or covers one-person defense. If there are two security guards in a far-reaching location, it is expected to be cover 2 zone or covers four or 2-man this time.

3. Then you start to confuse the defensive team and try to get the security guards to reveal their rotation and movement.

Because the NFL quarterbacks are so good, it is difficult for the defensive team to stay still to skim the defensive tactics. When the quarterback starts to confuse the defense, the security guards often move or rotate. The direction and method of the security guard's movement gave the quarterback clues, letting him know the defensive tactics and the direction of the pressure.

"If two security guards line up high, leaving a gap in the middle of the court, and suddenly retreating before serving, do they only let one of the security guards retreat? In which direction are they moving? Is it a tight end or an outside slot? If they retreat or rotate to one side, are they putting pressure on that side? Is it because Nickel will make a surprise attack that brought the security guard to Nickel's side? Or did you come to the inside of Nickel because you need to defend against running in the middle of the formation?"

Amazingly, Palmer and other NFL quarterbacks have to answer these questions and process the information in just a few seconds when they shout the password. As a spectator, the more you practice searching for this information on the TV screen, the better you can predict the game trend after they serve, and even predict what the quarterback is observing, but remember that you can as a spectator Seeing the wide-angle the lens on the screen is your advantage. You don't have to face the passers who want to strike you. They all treat the quarterback as a Thanksgiving meal.

I was surprised when I heard Palmer say he didn't stare at where the cornerbacks lined up before serving. He said that he would look at the photos were taken by the bird's eye view of the game after the offense, and then he would make a decision from the video analysis of the game preparation on the spot.

"It's difficult to observe or say what's happening on the outside or even the influence of cornerbacks. There are a lot of players playing press bail now. They will come forward and press the receiver when they serve and then turn back. This is a little irrelevant. It's good to know that, but you don't need to see so much before you serve."

This is a suitable remark because a quarterback can see and deal with little things from a favorable angle. By judging the defensive screen type (one high/two high) of the defensive team, the quarterback may know how the offense should develop. But as spectators, it is straightforward for us to observe cornerbacks. They can give us some clues to identify defensive tactics.

Does the cornerback retreat? Where are they observing? If there is only one far-reaching security guard and the cornerbacks are retreating while staring at the quarterback, then this might be a try to cover three zones. You can't determine defensive tactics before serving, but you can understand most defensive tactics by positioning the security guards and corner guards before serving.

4. Anticipate raids in advance

Palmar explained: "Pre-judgment is to observe as much as possible which side of the nose tackle is shielding because many teams will put pressure on the B-gap, but that is the next level of Ph.D. This is what you will Observe for eight, nine years, or even longer. But for young quarterbacks, sometimes this is overestimated, and there is no way to figure it out."

Many of the surprise attacks come from the side of the B-gap or 1-technique defensive tackles. This is not a very difficult or urgent matter, but to find other clues to help the quarterback find out where the raid will come from. Palmer also mentioned that some defensive groups would move the forwards before serving so that quarterbacks can't find where they come from.

Palmer said: "As my experience became more sophisticated, I began to observe more illusions from the defensive players. For example, when a young nickel cornerback landed on the offensive line before the service, he was ready to move. Raid, but in this case, the defensive team will usually make a raid on the other side. So looking at this kind of bluff, I assume he will not make a raid unless he proves that he will raid. Usually, they try to attract your attention and then bring pressure on the another side before you realize it."

Even Palmer, a quarterback, admits that it's hard to identify things like where stress comes from on TV. We follow the camera lens, but usually, the lens will focus on the quarterback, who will miss half of the game. But this does not mean that we give up trying. If you can see something Palmer said, it will make the game more enjoyable.

9. What does each player say before serving?

Broadcasters often collect the communication sentences of the quarterback before serving, but we can't understand all the meanings. Below are some common passwords that we can understand.

Turn up your volume and listen to the password in the game clip.

"Rip" usually means that the offensive team leans to the right to protect, while "Liz" means that the offensive team leans to the left to watch. Each team may be different, but if you hear a word beginning with "R," then the word is right, and in the same way, "L" means left. These words may not point to protection every time; they may also indicate that the quarterback has changed the ball's direction.

If you hear a quarterback or center yelling: "52 is the Mike" or a similar password, he must determine who is the center back because this affects how the offensive team is protected.

Quarterbacks can completely change tactics, but they use unique passwords, which are often difficult to understand because they change them every week.

One of the last commands the quarterback shouted was a signal to start to confuse the defensive team. Peyton Manning's famous password "Omaha," tells other offensive players to serve at the next password. Different passwords such as "Sunday" or "Monday." Some passwords will tell the offensive player to do once or twice.

If the defensive team is looking at the password in some games, the offensive team will change all of the passwords. Manning can make his Omaha's password is difficult for the defensive team to understand. It is impossible to understand every password on the attack line, but some common passwords can be heard in your ears time and time again.

10. What to watch after serving?

After the service, the audience will follow the camera lens completely. Radio stations also usually focus on quarterbacks so that you can't see the offensive team's running route and the defense team's response.

If you are lucky enough to see a security guard rotating and then defend or see a defensive camouflage to confuse the offensive team, the defensive team will show two different defensive tactics before and after they serve. You can often watch the cornerbacks disappear for a glance before they disappear on the TV screen. If their eyes are locked on the catcher in front of them, they may be man coverage.

Slightly focusing on the offensive line is the most informative method after serving, and the main focus is on the ball. The offensive frontline will not lie. If the offensive line is aggressive, the offense will execute the run. If they are still some distance from the offensive line, then it is a passing attack. The striker can be confusing to a certain extent, but usually, there is no way to lie.

Last, Do you understand everything? Suppose you read this article carefully or already know the things mentioned above. In that case, you are either already an "expert" spectator, or at least you are already on the way to become an "expert." But the details are the key. After all, only if you understand cover four can you recognize it in the game. Clicking through other articles will help, but don't stop there. There are many good resources related to rugby on the Internet for you to improve. The more formations you know, the closer you can even surpass Level.3.

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