

Enough has been said on both sides about Tyrone Crawford's game in Week 1 that I am effectively late to the party. But hey, I've never minded putting my two cents in where they're not needed, and I don't mind now! I've cut the article a little short though; instead of doing the entire first half I'll only go through the Giants first ten offensive plays, (coincidentally when they score their first touchdown!)

As always, questions, comments, metaphysical musings, and symbolic tomato throwing are welcome.

Play 1:

The game starts with Crawford lined up in his usual spot at the 3-technique.

Pretty basic dive play. The tackle and guard are going to double Crawford, then the guard will peel off to take on the linebacker.

Unfortunately, Crawford slants in hard, crossing the tackles face before the double team can happen. This means the guard isn't going to be able to just chip then attack the linebacker. You can see the running backs lane, (red lines). Well, check out the guards foot.

The foot started on the edge of the hash...now it's almost been pushed back to the other side. Crawford is moving parallel to the line of scrimmage,pushing the guard, (who is looking to peel off), into the closing gap. As a bonus, the defensive end has also beaten his man. Meanwhile Terrell McClain, (blue arrow), has done a good job of anchoring.

The result is a quickly shrinking gap. The DE has pushed in so hard he's effectively taking on the tackle now. This is going to allow Crawford to just ride the back pocket of the guard, who is peeling off to block Sean Lee.

The result, an easy tackle for minimal gain. This is how Crawford can use his quickness to split double teams against the run.

Play 2:

This is a really neat play. Again we have Crawford at the 3 technique. He's going to attack the outside shoulder of the guard. Meanwhile, the DE, Benson Mayowa is going to circle around inside of Crawford, attacking the guards inside shoulder. All the while Sean Lee is going to blitz the edge of the offensive line.

So far so good. Crawford has engaged the guard and tackle, Mayowa is heading inside, and Lee is crossing behind him. But...you can see the center has watched all of this develop, (perhaps McClain should have also stunted inside?). You can also see the RB leaking out of the backfield as a safety valve for Eli Manning.

Manning sees the pressure and looks immediately to the running back. And to be fair the Giants OL did a nice job of picking this stunt up...the center has come over to help, the guard is passing Mayowa over to the center and the tackle is passing Crawford over to the guard.

Now Crawford beats the guard,and the tackle is preoccupied by the blitzing Sean Lee. But it doesn't matter, Eli throws the quick pass to the running back for a 3 yard gain.

Play 3:

Third and long. There are a couple of interesting things here. In the first picture, see how they've walked Byron Jones up to the line right across from the tight end? That's something we'll see a few times, (and we'll talk about later). In the second picture, we can see Crawford shading right to the side of the center, (which will be important in a second). The linebackers (blue arrows), are walked up to the line, and the DE's are outside of the TE spot, in the 9 position.

At the snap the linebackers drop back, the DE's rush upfield, and Crawford engages the center, attacking the strong side shoulder.

Crawford gets a good initial push and knocks the center off balance, (red arrow). But he's effectively being triple teamed. That means one of the DE's has to win their one on one, and it looks like Mayowa,(black circle), has gotten around the edge.

Remember that bend, everyone got tired of hearing Demarcus Lawrence had? Well, Mayowa doesn't. He can't bend around the corner, which allows the tackle to ride him upfield. But, he does draw the guards attention, leaving Crawford double teamed. Oh, and the other DE has beaten his tackle with a nifty swim move.

Remember when I said earlier it was important that Crawford was shaded to one side of the center? Here we can see that Crawford has beaten the center to his outside shoulder...but with no other DT, that leaves a natural lane. Eli is feeling pressure from the DE. Any guesses what's going to happen?

The guards have left to help out with the DE's, leaving Crawford one on one with the center. But since he shaded to one side, (not a mistake, it was what he was supposed to do, and since the DE on the other side got stopped, Eli has room to step up into the pocket.

The other Crawford, (Jack, as in Union), does a great job of not giving up on the rush, and is barreling down on Eli.

Now both Crawford's are hot on Eli's heels. He is forced to check down, and throws well short of the sticks on third down. That is a victory for the defensive line; even without a sack, they forced a dumpoff on third and long with a 3 man rush.

But...since this is Dallas and we can't have nice things Barry Church misses an open field tackle and the Giants convert. Because of course they do.

Play 4:

This play is a great example of how bad linebacker play can make everyone look bad. We're going to focus on Crawford, (yellow), Sean Lee, (blue), and Anthony Hitchens, (black).

The Giants are going to block down with the weakside tackle and guard, blocking Crawford and Lee respectively. The center blocks down on Terrell McClain, and the strong side guard pulls around. The TE also puls around, but I forgot to mark it here.

It may not look like it, but Dallas has already blown this play up. Crawford has passed in front of the tackles face, and is about to knock into the guard who thinks he is going to block Sean Lee. Terrell McClain blows right by his blocker and is into the backfield, meaning the TE has to block him. If Anthony Hitchens just fills his gap quickly, (right between the two DT's), there is no place for the ball carrier to go.

Let's start with the DT's. McClain has just blown this play up, and is taking on two blockers. And Crawford has gotten enough penetration that he is occupying the tackle and has knocked the guard off of Sean Lee. Lee recognizes the play and is moving to get to the end. Meanwhile Hitchens is reading the pulling line, and overruns his gap, thinking that the RB is going to attack the edge. To be fair that is the design, but there is also the cutback lane...which is Hitchens responsibility.

So this is what we have. McClain has effectively blocked off the far end. Mayowa has beaten the pulling guard and cut off the playside end. Sean Lee isn't in great position, but he has the playside gap contained. The running back sees all this and cuts back, right into the gap Hitchens has overran. Hitchens sees the cutback, and changes direction himself.

I hate this picture, but it's a great tutorial. I hate it because it looks like Lee, Crawford, and Mayowa got blocked out of the play. In fact, they did everything right. If Hitchens had stepped in to fill his gap this would be a tackle for loss, right now.

Instead it's a 3 yard gain...but it looks like Hitchens made a great open field tackle, when he actually failed in his job.

Play 5:

Crawford lines up at the 3 tech spot. Check out the linebackers...have you guys noticed that we haven't put 3 linebackers on the field so far?

The defense shifts, moving Crawford over to the one tech position. Just a nice reminder...Crawford is not a "3-tech". He is a defensive tackle who predominantly lines up in the 3-tech position.

Crawford takes on the double team.

Not a lot going on here. It shows you the difficulty the coaches are going to have though, until Lawrence comes back. We don't have a DE who can consistently win his matchup without being schemed free.

Play 6:

There's a lot going on in this play, so bear with me. Let's start with the alignment. Crawford is at the 3-tech, and Lee is pressed up outside him, close to the line, (blue). On the strong side we can again see Byron Jones pressed up tight on the TE, with the DE aligned in the 9 technique.

I said earlier I wanted to talk about this formation with Jones on the line and the DE at the 9. I am so excited about this. One it forces the offensive tackle to block the DE "in space". So the tackle is going to take a deeper drop to compensate. This has me excited, because something that both Lawrence and Randy Gregory like to do and are good at, is to push hard upfield, then cut back underneath. This formation sets them up for doing so beautifully.

On the other side we've got Crawford and McClain both crash in hard. This leaves the weakside guard and tackle doubling Sean Lee, (thats a good thing), and Jack Crawford one on one with a RB.

A few things to note here. Jack Crawford has dropped out of his rush and is following the RB into coverage. Mayowa has his tackle beaten. The DT's and Lee are blocked fairly effectively at this point.

The big problem with sending Lee on a blitz is, we don't have another linebacker who can cover. Where is Anthony Hitchens? He's not on the running back, (Crawford is). He's not on the TE, (that would be Jones). And the middle of the field is wide open to the crossing receiver.

Luckily, pressure from McClain, (black arrow), and Mayowa, (blue circle), prevent Eli from throwing the ball. And the receiver, seeing his QB in trouble, stops crossing.

From here it's a jailbreak. Eli ends up throwing across the field, off balance. We didn't sack Eli. But as I said before the game, if the defensive line could make Eli leave the pocket, and get him off his spot, that's a win.

Play 7:

Play 7:

Crawford, (yellow), comes out in the 1 technique, with McClain at the 3.

The line shifts before the snap, moving Crawford to the 3. This is something Dallas loves to do, and I have no idea why.

The Giants are running a kind of stretch play. The center and tackle are going to shoot out and block the linebackers. The backside tackle is going to seal of the DE and the guards have to cross the face of the DT's, while the TE kicks out the playside DE.

And this play is over before it starts. Both Crawford and McClain have slanted into the play, crossing the face of the guard instead of vice versa. For good measure Crawford bumps the tackle, preventing him from getting a clean release on the LB.

With nowhere to go, the RB, decides to run and get a hug from Terrell McClain. But check out the nice hold on Crawford!

Play 8:

There's not a lot going on this play, but it's a good example of a bullrush, and why that is pretty ineffective against the quick passing game. Crawford is at the three, but we're going to focus on the guards feet.

Crawford bullrushes, and the guard gets a nice wide base. For fun, watch how quick Manning gets the ball out. He starts his drop on the line.

Eli is back a yard, and we see the guards outside foot is driven back about the same.

Eli has dropped three yards, and has set. In about the same time, Crawford has pushed the guard's outside foot two yards, and his inside foot a yard.

Now the guard's inside foot is back two yards, and his leg is buckling. For comparison, every other DL is still on the line of scrimmage. But Eli is already throwing the ball. This was a nice bullrush. But unless you catch the OL off balance, (like George Selvie in that Preseason game against Miami), you're not going to pressure the QB on a quick drop.

Play 9:

This is the long ball to OBJ that changed the momentum of the game. We're going to focus on three things; Jack Crawford, (blue), Tyrone Crawford, (yellow), and Anthony Hitchens, (red).

At the snap we see that Hitchens is blitzing. McClain is drawing the double team. Jack Crawford is being blocked by the tight end, Tyrone Crawford by the guard, and the OT is free to help on either.

The weakside guard sees Hitchens blitzing and comes off the double team. This causes Hitchens to stop his blitz. Tyrone Crawford has the guard beat, (all his weight is forward and hes leaning), so the tackle is coming over to help. Mayowa, (black arrow), is around the tackle, (but again, no bend!), while Jack is blocked by the TE.

Hitchens resumes his blitz, but is now attacking the far side of the line. Mayowa is attempting a spin move. Crawford is past the guard, and looks to have the tackle beat inside, but the running back is coming over to help. Jack is fighting the TE.

Mayowa is swallowed by the tackle. Hitchens has claerd the garbage and has a line on the QB. Crawford has passed the tackle, and is not being locked by the RB. The TE has disengaged from Jack, who is now rushing the the QB. But Eli has spotted OBJ downfield.

What's the opposite of a coverage sack? If Orlando Scandrick could have stayed with OBJ just a second longer, this is a big sack, not a huge completion. Just a reminder...Crawford fought through a triple team on this play.

Play 10:

So Tyrone Crawford isn't in on this play. Instead we're going to focus on the horror that is Anthony Hitchens in coverage. Here we see Barry Church lined up across from the TE. Church and Hitchens make eye contact, communicating something.

Eli is looking for the TE all the way. And it looks like Hithcens is in man coverage, as he immediately moves to cover him. But like Fry playing Space Invaders, Hitchens loses because he goes to where the TE is, not where the TE is going to be.

Notice Hitchens going horizontal while the TE goes vertical? I think Anthony and J.J. took geometry together.

Now Hitchens turns upfield! As the TE runs by him...

And Touchdown.

WHAT'S IT ALL MEAN?