Explanation and analysis

There are 3 stoppages in the GIF here’s what they mean.

The first is to highlight how far across the free safety is aligned, when he is responsible for the entire middle of the field. This is called ‘Ball Aligned’ and means the open side of the field is stronger. The alternative is ‘Field Aligned’ where the Safety would be in the center of the field, rather than over the ball.

It also highlights the CB #21. With a 7 yard off cushion, and hips pointed towards the QB, it is honestly very obvious this player is defending a deep zone. In man coverage, a CB will face the hips directly opposite the WR and stare them down.

With both Corners doing this, and 1 solitary high safety, it is simply screaming cover 3. Newton knows this, and also knows he has dialed up the perfect play call to beat it. It can’t be a fake due to how out of position people are for the alternative. Risk reward does not suggest a fake. This View is to illustrate how perfectly the Call has worked. The free safety is trapped too far over and is committed to the strong side. Each outside receiver is taking care of the outer deep zones and the slot has cleared through into the deep middle completely alone. The only reason to ever throw to the strong side is because have a preference of receiver, but in this instance that is clearly a mistake

This final freeze is to demonstrate how dialed in Newton was to passing this ball to Olsen. This is a prime example of Tunnel vision and depending too hard on a single member of your offense, causing bad performances and this counts as an in-completion for Olsen, which is clearly not a fair reflection on the stat sheet.

Russell Wilson will not make such mistakes. Many people wonder how Seahawk receivers suddenly shine when otherwise they seemed average or bad, like Hollister, Metcalf or how Lockett is always catching the ball with 20 yards of space. Wilson has made a career of somehow finding the best pass, rather than the best receiver. This suits Olsen perfectly, as I mention in my More in depth Breakdown here

The 2nd Interception

This one came in week 17 from Kyle Allen, again showing how Olsen is used as a crutch,to the detriment of the team, and Olsen.

In this instance, the Panthers are utilizing the Tare concept. The following diagrams aren’t a representation of this exact play, but rather how the Tare is used in general football.