Week 1 
Week 2 
Week 3 
Week 4 
Week 5 
Week 6 

Cumulative Totals through the 1st quarter were posted in Week 4's thread. Updated Totals to be posted after next week's game.

Week 7 (VS Minnesota Vikings):

What a relief we won that one because I don't know if I could have stomached watching another loss, let alone to the Vikings. Let me say that we didn't play A SINGLE base defensive snap all game. I'm sure it's been mentioned, but I just wanted to emphasize that point for those of you wondering why the Run D allowed 5-something a carry and 4.7 to AP. Pickett played only 7 snaps and Jenkins didn't play at all.


My Coverage Player of the Week:
Week 1: Tramon Williams
Week 2: Sam Shields
Week 3: Nick Collins
Week 4: Charles Woodson
Week 5: Tramon Williams
Week 6: Nick Collins
Week 7: Nick Collins

I was close to splitting the game ball in the secondary for this week's game, but on the whole and by the numbers, Collins was undoubtedly the most impressive of them all. Tramon, did however draw 84 for the majority of the game and all but one snap where our corners played man coverage. The defense limited Moss to 30 yards on 3 receptions, though Tramon did cede the touchdown at the goalline. It was a well-designed play and Percy played it to perfection. Tramon bit a little on the outside fake by Moss and by the time he tried to recover, he was too far off Moss to fight underneath the pick. It would have been a tough play to defend given the coverage the defense showed on the play. Other than that, Tramon ran stride for stride with Moss and negated his deep ball, even though it isn't what it once was.

Collins continues to play out of his mind as well and I can't help but think I'm partially responsible for his pick. I made a conscious attempt to finally not jinx him and he responded admirably in our biggest game of the season coming down with one. And what a play it was!! I was weary after his first breakout season and still unsure how good he was after last year. Given his 3rd straight season of dominance (minus the hands to capitalize on the big plays, which is disappointing and a knock), Collins has been virtually flawless. In our secondary, Collins easily has the best QB Rating against (24.2) and with only 6 completions under his watch in 20 attempts in his area. Of course it doesn't mean as much as the corners who have more man assignments. Sunday night though, Collins shared responsibility in Cover 2 coverage over Moss, as well as some Cover 1 and shorter zones. He nearly made another outstanding pick early in the game based on his film study of Favre and was inches from breaking up another pass that did go for a 1st to Shiancoe. All in all, Collins is one of the most exciting coverage safeties in the league because of his discipline, range, and now the ability to make the exciting picks.

Woodson had his first game without a penalty, which is nice. He did allow the deep one to Percy, but the fact that he matched him stride for stride should show that Woody still has some long speed in him. There was another bigger play he may have potentially allowed, but there were no good angles and I marked it as a Hole in the Zone, or "Other". I think I say this every week, but I get excited watching his courage and physicality. How many corners do you know that would be able to make solo stops on AP in the backfield, a 231 pound Gerhart, and throw himself at Steve Hutchinson to occupy a block? Most pre-schoolers could count to that number. This was one of his better games of the season and the Vikings definitely avoided throwing his direction today. Over the season, even if it seems he may have lost a step in coverage, remember that he sets the tone for this defensive with his tenacity and stubbornness in backing away from any challenge.

Another nice quiet game for Shields who spent most of his man responsibilities on Bernard Berrian. Officially, I didn't chart a single pass thrown his direction and I don't think any were really even close either. Dom is putting him in favorable match-ups thanks to our talent on defense and Shields is doing his part in shutting down the equally ranked talent on the other side of the field. This is gonna be a great year for him as he continues to learn technique, film study, and work ethic from some true pros.

Pep is our what string safety? He certainly didn't look like it today! He was all over the field and coaches will have a tough time making the substitution if he keeps playing like this. I don't expect to see Smith or Bigby start next week given the way Peprah played today, both in coverage and closer to the line of scrimmage. He did allow one medium sized completion behind him, while he bit on the playaction. Aside from that, the numbers look good and his play on the field even better.

Something's been eating at my curiosity the last few weeks. Since we suffered our linebacker injuries to Chillar and Barnett, our short pass D has actually improved. Neither Hawk or Bishop have the same pass coverage ability as they do, but maybe it's because Dom's realized this and adjusted his defense a little more. Still, I don't really see that reflected much on the field. Bishop and Hawk are still doing some of the same things with better results so far. I'm not sold yet, but it's definitely got me feeling a little better about the Barnett loss. Bishop continues to grade out highly. Hell on the last drive, we put him directly over Moss, with help over the top. On his pick, guess who was Favre's intended target? Moss. Against the run, he needs to show a little more gap discipline and tone down the aggressiveness JUST A TAD, otherwise he's gonna be responsible for a long run off of his back in the coming weeks. Hawk deserved the official game ball he got from McCarthy. [url=Pro_News/aid=148.html]full article[/url].

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Exceptional analysis; I cannot help but read your work and feel that in a few short weeks of doing this, your football knowledge has increased by the way you are charting coverages and providing analysis.

I agree with almost all that you said; only thing is that Woodson had like two or three more "slips" in this game where he lost his footing. Now maybe it was because of the rain from the previous two days had made the field wet, but the last couple of weeks Woodson seems to be spending a little too much time on his back. But I cannot give him too much flack, I dearly love him as a player.

Shields was exceptional and he did an amazing job playing towards his help. Early in the game, up top I saw Shields covering a WR (I originally though it was Moss, but it may very well have been Berrian) and I expected Brett to exploit that mismatch. Shields, however, beautifully forced his WR towards his help.

Peprah is stronger in run support than Burnett, which is good considering our top DEs are out, but I've been impressed with his ability to recover. He's been beat a few times, but most of those times he makes a textbook recovery. I have to give him props, and I do not think it is a coincidence that since Burnett went out we've seen the strongest performances of his season by Collins. Forcing Collins to play closer to the box is a travesty.

Bishop was exceptional. I have been his harshest critic, but outside of the INT it was his post-game comments that won me over. He said he watched film on Moss' favourite routes, and on the INT he realized Moss was going to try to fake a short route and then go deep. Bishop said he was prepared for it, and the film shows he indeed was. Impressive! Of course, Bishop had three missed tackles, but his hard hits and great display of versatility by covering Moss in some sort of cloud / short zone / press coverage was excellent and more than make-up for his slight blunders.

I'm excited for the return of Al Harris. He should provide more options, and dare I say it allow Woodson and maybe even Shields to perhaps rush the passer more from Nickle / Dime positions.

Excellent analysis, once again. They are quickly becoming "must-reads" after the game is done. +1

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By the way, did Nick Collins jump over the WR to get the INT?

I'm not sure if he leaped from the side of the WR to jump the route, or if he leaped from his behind to pick off the pass.

Whatever it was, it was frickin' insane. Some Superman like ability displayed there. 😃

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Hey, its posted at PH.com before here , right? 😛

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I post it at both, one right after the other.

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Glad to hear someone's actually reading rather than just browsing through the charts. :icon_smile:

This is certainly also a learning experience for me as well as one that bothers me because the TV angles are often garbage for doing this type of project. I wish they provided the All-22, or just showed more end zone cam replays, which do show a wide scope.

Woodson is slipping a lot and I'm not sure what it is. It's been one of the bigger mysteries to me this season, right after why McCarthy calls so many damn fullback dives, and why Rodgers STILL attempts so many backshoulder fades that have killed us this season.

I absolutely agree with everything you said about Shields and Peprah. I do hope we get our ends back and fairly healthy next week otherwise it's gonna be a long day and certainly a quick one for me to get the metrics up with potentially less than 10 total pass attempts. The Jets know how to stay committed to the run for the most part and have a nasty OL, though this year they have been trying to play with their toys in Holmes, Edwards, and Keller.

Loved Bishop's locker room interview too!! I think he's gonna be a good one and is a great system fit. This scheme covers up his deficiencies and allows him to do what he does best...play facing the line of scrimmage with the ball in front of him.

I'm interested to see what happens will Al Harris when he returns, but it can't hurt have a dime like Shields/Harris and a 5th/6th/7th like Bush, Lee, Underwood. We went from thin to deep in just a year! Thank god for the maturation of some of those young pups.

As for the Collins interception, he may have gone over and around Percy, defying the laws of physics. That was pure amazingness.

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It defense of Williams, I don't think ANYONE would have stopped that TD to Moss. That was a perfectly executed play by the Vikings. I could have thrown that pass.

And wow! What you said about Collins is amazing. Maybe we have yet another perennial Pro Bowler on our D. :thumbright:

+1 btw. Yet another excellent article/stats.

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We get dibs on first!! hah

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It was a great play design just like the Bess touchdown last week. They ran a perfect route to clear the coverage and isolate a player underneath. Last week I charged it to Woodson, this week to Tramon. In the end, both are credited with a TD they couldn't have done much about.

Collins just needs to learn to hang onto balls. That was his biggest criticism prior to his breakout year (Been 4 years already? Damn...) His hands were always questionable, but the last two years, it seemed much improved. This year, it's reverted back to old form. I hope this pick changes things though because with his speed, he can close on any pass and make a seemingly good decision by the quarterback into a bad one. Love watching this guy play and the work he puts in the film room really shows week after week.

Glad you enjoyed it!



Usually post it at like 4AM (East Coast) when nobody else is up anyways. As you can tell, I give my social life and sleep priority. ::wink:

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Yes. As Collins has shown, he's a very, very dangerous man when he has the ball in his hands. I too wish he'd hang on to more INTs. Nothing more frustrating for an opposing OC than a pick 6.

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