(10:26) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Stocker), right. Pre-snap, Stocker motions into the backfield and sets up at FB, offset to the weakside (left). Play is a simple FB-lead run up the weakside B-gap. Blount takes the handoff and follows Stocker up the playhole, but Winslow cannot block his DE, who pushes Winslow all the way across the formation, then gets off the block and wraps up Blount as he runs past. The DE's arms drop down to the ground but he's able to trip up Blount by an ankle tap. Blount crashes into the WLB who Stocker is trying to block, while the SLB comes across the formation and joins in. Gain of three.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much. He followed his blocker, and had no real room to do anything else thanks to Winslow's abject failure to block the DE - if he had, then Blount would have been able to bounce outside of Stocker, and then might have been able to go a fair distance. As it stood, Blount didn't have much opportunity to do anything thanks to Winslow's blown block, and truth be told, he was lucky to get even those three yards.
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(9:50) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a counter run. Pre-snap, Benn motions infield and sets up at H-back, right. Lorig runs towards the weakside (left) B-gap and blocks the Mikebacker. Blount takes a dummy step to the left, then peels off to the right, receives the handoff and runs to the strongside (right), with Zuttah lead-blocking on a pull. Blount follows Zuttah, who goes around the outside of the line (and Benn). Zuttah turns the corner, than turns inside to try and block the Sambacker, as a safety comes down round the back of Zuttah, hitting Blount low and wrapping up his legs. Meantime, the strongside DT uses a spin move to get off of Trueblood's block, while Zuttah fails to block the SLB. The linebacker and DT both hit Blount up high, who, having the safety still wrapping up his legs, goes down for a gain of one.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much. He did what he's meant to do on this type of play - follow his lead blocker, i.e. Zuttah. When the safety came down behind Zuttah, he had a clear shot at Blount, who was following Zuttah rather than looking to the outside - even if he had looked outside and seen the safety, he was in bad position to do anything about it. So who's to blame for the lake of a big gain? I'm pointing my finger at Zuttah. The safety is clearly coming down as he's turning the corner around the rest of the line. If Zuttah had blocked the safety, Blount, who has shown over the past few games that he's really good & disciplined at following his lead blockers, would have followed him up and round the outside - which meant that the SLB would have had to have gone through Zuttah and his own safety in order to get to Blount. Because of that, I feel Zuttah should have blocked the safety, NOT the Sambacker, and that could have certainly led to more yards.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much. He did what he's meant to do on this type of play - follow his lead blocker, i.e. Zuttah. When the safety came down behind Zuttah, he had a clear shot at Blount, who was following Zuttah rather than looking to the outside - even if he had looked outside and seen the safety, he was in bad position to do anything about it. So who's to blame for the lake of a big gain? I'm pointing my finger at Zuttah. The safety is clearly coming down as he's turning the corner around the rest of the line. If Zuttah had blocked the safety, Blount, who has shown over the past few games that he's really good & disciplined at following his lead blockers, would have followed him up and round the outside - which meant that the SLB would have had to have gone through Zuttah and his own safety in order to get to Blount. Because of that, I feel Zuttah should have blocked the safety, NOT the Sambacker, and that could have certainly led to more yards.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(7:11) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a running back draw. Freeman drops back, pretending to pass, while Blount takes a step to the right, as if he's in pass protection. Freeman then turns around and Blount rushes up to receive the handoff. Blount follows Lorig up the weakside (right) B-gap, but the Mikebacker comes down completely unblocked and meets Blount at the LOS. The MLB is too strong for Blount, and he pulls the running back down to the ground.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. The linebacker came down and hit Blount side-on, so Blount was in very bad position to do anything to avoid him. The play's failure is on Faine, who doubleteamed with Joseph on the strongside DT as the Mike comes down untouched inside of Faine. Faine should have peeled off and picked up the 'backer; instead, he comes down unblocked and is able to deliver a good hit on Blount, wrap up, and use his strength to drag him down.
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(6:31) 2nd & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount stays where he is for a brief second, scans the field, and, seeing the WLB blitzing up the weakside (left) A-gap, rushes up to meet him and dives at his legs, attempting to cut block him. The linebacker anticipates this and tries to step over him, but Blount clips his leg, causing him to stumble and thus not be in a position to knock down Freeman before the ball is thrown (which is completed to Stocker).
What could Blount have done better?
The more I watch Blount, the angrier I get that people claim he's "clueless" in the passing game. Not only has he shown that he can catch out the backfield, and sometimes turn them into good gains, but I've not seen a single instance yet in 2011 where he blows a blocking assignment through not knowing where he's meant to be - this play clearly shows he knows EXACTLY what his responsibility is in pass protection. However, this play equally highlights what Blount needs to improve in his pass protection. I've talked in previous parts of this study about the downside of cutblocking, which is Blount's preferred method of pass protection - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it's often actually safer to trust a running back in pass protection to cut block, rather than to block up high, as it is the easier block to perform. However, it is clear in this play exactly what Blount's problem is with cutblocking, and it's something I noticed in the previous games too; simply, he goes to cutblock way too early, thus giving the defender enough time to recognise the cutblock and adjust accordingly. The brilliant news is that Blount clearly does know the pass protection schemes, and clearly has the effort and will to go to execute those pass-blocking assignments. The only thing that is missing is that technique; that, however, can be coached, and with a much improved coaching staff, I truly believe there is nothing whatsoever that should stop Blount being kept in on every down.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(3:38) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right. Play is a simple dive up the weakside (left) B-gap. A huge hole opens up between Penn and Zuttah. The MLB thunders down into the gap but Lorig meets him head on, blocking him to the outside. Blount receives the handoff from Freeman and follows Lorig. As Lorig blocks the Mikebacker to the outside, Blount cuts inside. There is some great blocking up front - Joseph and Faine blocking the two DTs, Zuttah blocking one linebacker, and, surprisingly enough, Benn putting a great block on the third linebacker. Blount cuts to the right, running through an alley between Joseph and Zuttah, then around the back of the DT who's tied up with Faine as he turns upfield. Winslow is unable to contain a safety, who gets his hand to Blount's ankles, tripping up him, but Blount regains his feet and stays upright. He is still unsteady, however, and the second safety, in addition with a DE (who got off of Trueblood fails to deal with), and two LBs (who get off Zuttah's and Benn's respective blocks) chase him down, bringing him down for a gain of 13.
What could Blount have done better?
Blount did a great job, reading his blocks and adjusting the lines he takes accordingly. He shoes great vision in seeing the holes that open up thanks to his blockers - such as cutting down the lane between the two guards, and reading that the DT, occupied with Faine, had his back turned, and taking advantage of that moment to cut upfield. Great play by Blount - if Winslow could have blocked worth a damn on the safety, the play could have gone even longer.
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(3:06) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right. Play is a play-action pass. Freeman fakes the hand-off to Blount - the fake is sold so well that it sucks in NINE Colts defenders - only the safeties don't get sucked in to the fake, implying a Cover 2, man-underneath coverage. Blount follows Lorig to the weakside (right) of the line. Freeman holds the ball out too long and Blount runs into it, causing Freeman to bobble it. Freeman recovers the bobble and dumps it over the head of the DE into Winslow's hands, who turns and takes the ball for seven yards. Blount continues to follow Lorig until he's through both lines, then turns around and watches the play develop.
What could Blount have done better?
I'm not sure if there's more you could have asked for, he sold the fake well enough to suck in nine of the defensive players, and it does look like Freeman's fault for holding the ball out too long - if Blount had slowed down, it would have been more obvious that it was a fake, and might not have sucked in the defense as much. Again, though, I'm not a fan when players just stand and watch the play, and Blount is one of three Bucs players who did just that.
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(2:39) 2nd & 3: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is an FB-lead dive. At the snap, Lorig runs up the weakside (left) B-gap. It's a bit of a catastrophe up front in terms of blocking - pretty much the whole line seems to fall to bits with penetration everywhere. As Blount takes the handoff and tries to follow Lorig up the gap, there's two defenders in the backfield - the WLB, who Zuttah only chips on the shoulder, and a DT, who bursts through a hole that's left by Joseph going straight up to try block the SLB (which he fails to do) and Trueblood being slow to close that hole. WIth the WLB and DT through - and the MLB following the DT in - Blount bounces around the outside around the right of the line. He cuts up tight around the back of Trueblood. The strongside (right) DE, who bounces off a poor attempt at cutblocking by Winslow, goes to wrap up Blount. The MLB, peeling back from following the DT into the backfield, also wraps up Blount. He uses his power to force through them but the two guys are too strong and pull him down, but not before he's dragged the two Colts for two or so yards. He gets brought down right about the down marker. Penalty flags. Holding by Winslow.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really, the line did a very poor job of blocking and Blount tried to make the best of a bad situation. Would have been a first down if not for Winslow.
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(4:10) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is an FB-lead dive up the weakside B-gap. Blount takes the handoff and follows Lorig. There is a nice big hole between Penn, blocking the weakside DE, and Zuttah and Faine, doubleteaming on the weakside DT. A safety blitzes the B-gap at the snap, and gets to the hole just after the WLB. Zuttah peels off his doubleteam on the weakside DT to pick up the WLB; Lorig run up through the hole, hits the WLB and drive the Will way back, leaving Zuttah free. The safety has gone around the outside of the WLB, and, unblocked, wraps up Blount's legs as he runs past, holding on and bringing him down for a gain of four.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing, with the blocking unfolding as it did. Despite Lorig doing a very nice job driveblocking the WLB, and Zuttah being left not blocking anyone while a safety tackles Blount untouched, I actually blame the breakdown in blocking on Lorig, not Zuttah. Zuttah got to the WLB first, and was the wrong side of Lorig to be in any sort of position to block the safety. However, Lorig was definitely in position to take the safety, and had he done so, Zuttah could have continued blocking the WLB, the two setting the edges of a running lane for Blount that could have seen him into the endzone. Speaking of which...
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(3:26) 2nd & 6: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB offset strongside (right), Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Pre-snap, Benn motions infield and sets up as H-back, right. Play is a Power-O to the strongside (right), with Lorig and Zuttah on a pull lead-blocking. Blount takes the handoff and follows his blockers to the outside of the line. Benn does a very good job sealing in a safety who has crept up to the LOS, with Stocker completely locking up the strongside DE. The Sam & Mike 'backers both flood down to the outside of the line, but Lorig blocks the SLB and Zuttah blocks the MLB to the outside. Blount reads his blocks and cuts inside of Zuttah, with a massive hole being there thanks to Benn & Stocker sealing that edge incredibly well, as it effectively traps in the entire of the DL (plus that safety). Joseph, meanwhile, has peeled off a doubleteam with Faine to release into the second level, and then blocks the WLB to the outside, flattening him. This opens up the entire middle of the field for Blount, who cuts to the right outside of Joseph and heads for the right pylon. The other safety is tracking him, so he leans inside, causing the safety to slow down, but continues sprinting to that right pylon. As the safety gets his hands on Blount, he leaps through the air, extending his arm and crossing the plane of the goal line with the ball for a 35-yard touchdown.
What could Blount have done better?
Ended world hunger and brokered a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, I guess?
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(2:41) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB offset to the right, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Larsen again), right. Play is a naked bootleg of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the handoff from Freeman, runs up to the B-gap and sets up just inside Trueblood, as Freeman scrambles for the first down. Indianapolis call time out.
What could Blount have done better?
On the one hand, he sucked in ten - TEN - Colts defenders with the play-action. On the other, once he reached the LOS, he just stood around and watched the play (though again, he was not the only Buccaneer doing so - in fact, by my count, there's six buccaneers doing so).
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(2:26) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a power-O to the strongside (right), with Lorig and Zuttan on a pull lead-blocking. Blount receives the handoff and follows his blockers. Lorig meets the SLB, and MLB, blocking both of them to spring Blount. Blount reads his block and cuts inside of Zuttah, running up inside of Joseph and lowering his shoulder as he runs through and over the WLB, who Joseph has gotten onto his knees. Every though he runs over the WLB, in doing so he goes to ground for a gain of seven. Indianapolis call their last time out.
What could Blount have done better?
A gain of seven is obviously great, especially with a seven-point lead and less than two and a half minutes remaining, but I do have one criticism: instead of trying to go through the WLB, if Blount had cut outside, not inside, of Joseph, he would have had a lot of open field in front of him, and would have probably gotten the first down. Still, a gain of seven is nothing to be sniffed at.
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(2:20) 2nd & 3: Same formation, same play as last time. This time, however, the WLB runs straight through the hole vacated by Zuttah pulling and, chasing Blount from behind, gets his hand on Blount's ankle, causing him to stumble. Meanwhile, Zuttah doesn't get into the hole fast enough, so that the MLB is already through the B-gap by the time Zuttah gets there, meaning he is only able to block him side-on, leaving him free to wrap up Blount. Lorig, meanwhile, appears to trip up on something, and the SLB, who he would have blocked, joins in the gangtackle, as does the weakside DT who has looped around.
What could Blount have done better?
Seeing as he was tripped up from behind and ran into defenders who his blockers failed to block, nothing really.
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Two-minute warning
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(2:00) 3rd & 4: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Franklin), right. Freeman attempts to make the Colts D jump, but they don't fall for it. Freeman calls a timeout.
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(2:00) 3rd & 4: Bucs lime up same formation as the aborted play previous. Play is a zone-dive to the weakside (left). Blount takes the handoff and goes to follow Lorig, but the strongside DT abuses Joseph, getting past him easily and diving for Blount, which forces him to take a wider angle outside the line. He heads for the left sideline but the weakside DT gets off of Zuttah's block and tries to drag Blount down. Blount and the DT spin round and round each other, and as he approaches the first down marker, Blount gets free from the DT, but not before two DBs come down and bring him down with the help of the SLB, right at the marker. Refs mark it one inch short.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much. Joseph could not stop his DT, which forced Blount to go wide outside; that aside, Blount did everything he could in that situation to try and make the first down.
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(1:14) 4th & Inches: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Larsen), right. Play is a QB sneak. Blount takes two or three steps forward at the snap, as he's not really involved in the play.
What could Blount have done better?
Moo
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(0:38) 1st & 10: Blount lines up behind Freeman's right flank in victory formation. QB kneel. Game over.
What could Blount have done better?
Well, after the kneel down, he celebrates by skipping around flapping his arms. Some might find it a little... camp. That's about it.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really, the line did a very poor job of blocking and Blount tried to make the best of a bad situation. Would have been a first down if not for Winslow.
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(2:13) 2nd & 13: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a TE-screen off of play-action. Freeman fakes the handoff to Blount; Blount gets up to the LOS, then cuts to the left and runs to the flat. Freeman throws the screen pass to Stocker for a gain of five. (Blount would have been open)
What could Blount have done better?
Well, Blount would have been open, so no complaints in the route running department. Now, the defense did not get sucked in by the play-action this time, but is that Blount's fault? Um, it's 2nd & 13. There is no way the defense are gonna be thinking 'run first' at this down & distance. Let's be honest - this is just yet another example of why Greg Olson is no longer an offensive co-ordinator. Play action on 2nd & 13? Madness.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. Blount subbed back in after the third down conversion.
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(0:49) Blount in at singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Lorig), right. Play is that god damned end around - to Williams, for a change. Blount fakes receiving the handoff and runs to the strongside (right) of the line, sucking in most of the defense, despite Lorig crossing across the backfield. Once the defense realise what is happening, Blount puts his hands on the Mikebacker, who's fired into the backfield, and tries to block him - delaying him for a few seconds. Williams gets about three on the play.
What could Blount have done better?
This goes back to what I have talked about previously - the will vs. the technique. Blount goes to block Angerer, but doesn't do a great job. However, in this particular case, Blount did definitely delay Angerer a few seconds with his attempt, which is definitely better than nothing; once his new coaches shore up his technique a bit more, Blount will be absolutely fine - he already shows the will to execute his assignment (as well as his knowledge of what his assignments are), and he does have about a 50% success rate when it comes to executing those assignments, if we include half-executions (such as this) as a point for both the success and failure tallies, despite the clear lack of coaching that was going on last year. Blount will definitely be fine IMO.
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(0:11) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount hops to the right, looks to the right of the line (appears to glance to check for a blitzer off the edge), then runs up the A-gap between Faine & Joseph. Blount runs forward until he's two yards past the LOS then looks back to the QB, essentially a button/short hook route. Freeman then takes off, rolling out the right side of the pocket, at which point Blount runs downfield. Blount appears to follow Freeman toward the right sideline. Freeman throws to Benn, who catches the ball then runs down the right sideline for a long touchdown. Penalty flags. On review, Benn stepped out of bounds before catching the ball, so the touchdown is overturned. (It looks like Blount was covered over the top but would have been open underneath)
What could Blount have done better?
He appears to have checked for an edge-rusher first rather than releasing straight into his route, which was good. Because of the camera angle, I can't be sure just how open or covered Blount was, I can only guess where the LB covering Blount was based on where the linebacker was when the camera pans with the throw. If I am, then obviously the thing Blount could have done better is getting more open - though of course, I cannot be sure. To be fair, it was different circumstances since the play did break down with Freeman being flushed from the pocket - at the point where Freeman fled the pocket, Blount was wide open as a check down option when he ran the button route, so he would have been open at that point.
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2nd Quarter
(15:00) 2nd & 12: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Stocker), right. Pre-snap, Stocker motions across and sets up H-back, left. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount runs immediately to the right parallel with where he starts, almost as if he's expecting a screen pass or similar. Freeman throws to Winslow in the middle of the field for a gain of ten.
What could Blount have done better?
It's only a three-step drop and Freeman delivers the ball almost as soon as he's dropped back, so it's hard to see tell really what Blount's assignment was, or what his actions would have developed into. If he was meant to be running to his right as if it was going to develop into a screen, then Blount was wide open, so that was good; but without having a copy of the Bucs' playbook, I have no idea how to grade Blount on this play.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(13:02) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + trips tight to the line: Stocker tight to Trueblood off the line, Winslow tight to Stocker on the line, Benn tight to Winslow off the line, all three in two-point stances. Play is a simple dive with Zuttah lead-blocking on a pull. Blount receives the handoff and runs up the middle of the field. As Stocker starts off the line, the strongside DE (Mathis) bursts over the LOS, and while Stocker is able to stop him - especially once Zuttah doubleteams on him - they are unable to push him back. As Blount approaches the LOS, the Mathis-Stocker-Zuttah trio are blocking his lane. Blount looks inside but sees a DT coming off of Faine's block. Blount puts his hand on Stocker's rump, as running backs do when following blockers. One of the two LBs (Colts are in nickel personnel) reads Blount and comes down to him. He tries to wrap Blount up but Blount hunkers down and slips through his hands, assisted by Stocker peeling off and pushing the LB away. A safety comes down while Blount is still crouching in half and wraps him up around his back and chest. Even in this position, Blount keeps pumping his legs, pushing the safety back for an extra three or so yards before the safety brings him down. Gain of six.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much, again this play is a case where Blount gets good yardage despite some less than great blocking - particularly Stocker & Zuttah not being able to really push Mathis out the way. If Stocker had been in a three-point stance, rather than standing up, I imagine Mathis would not have been stopped as deep into the backfield - that's more a failure on the part of the scheme, i.e. Olson, than it is on Stocker's part. Stocker definitely redeemed himself by getting his hands on the LB, making it easier for Blount to shed the tackle. As for Blount, while part of me would have preferred if he had tried to go through the LB rather than slipping under and out of his tackle, you cannot argue with results - and odds are that had Blount tried to go through, we'd be looking at a gain of three at most, rather than six, so no real complaints.
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(12:25) 2nd & 4: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB offset to strongside (left), Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount runs off to the left immediately, looking back to Freeman for the ball in the deep flat (flats are typically a few yards in front of where the running back or receiver lines up, whereas this route is parallel). Freeman takes a three step drop and then fires the ball to Williams, who takes the ball for twelve yards.
What could Blount have done better?
As with the previous pass play Blount was in on, it's a quick drop so you cannot see what Blount's route would have developed into. As it stood, though, Blount was wide open.
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(11:49) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a roll-out play-action pass. Blount fakes receiving the handoff and runs to the weakside (right) of the line, sucking in all of the front seven initially. Blount follows Lorig up and around the outside of Joseph. Once Blount gets to the LOS, he cuts sharply and turns infield. Freeman has completed a throw to Winlsow, so Blount jogs towards him as the TE is brought down.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He sucked in all of the front seven at first with his selling the handoff - though Freeney realises quickly Freeman still has the ball and peels off, and the SLB sees Winslow releasing and realises it's a pass, so he peels off from rushing to Blount to cover Winslow. As usual, Blount is one of several Bucs players who jog towards the play once the catch is made, rather than running up to help, but that's a personal pet peeve. In terms of executing assignments, Blount definitely did his job.
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(11:10) 2nd & 3: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Collin Franklin - who knew he actually saw much game time! Turns out he was active for two games last year, this one and the 49ers game. I wonder how many snaps he actually saw?), right. Pre-snap, Benn motions in and sets up effectively as H-back, right (two point stance). Play is a zone-misdirection. Blount initially follows Lorig towards the weakside (left) B-gap, then peels off to the strongside, receiving the handoff from Freeman. He rushes to the strongside but Franklin is straight up overpowered by the strongside DE and is pushed right back into the backfield, cutting off Blount. Blount goes to bounce outside, but sees a DB there unblocked, so doubles back on himself and cuts back inside. A linebacker has come down unblocked (a complete failure by Zuttah, who is doubleteaming on a DT with Faine. Zuttah sees the LB coming but is very slow to peel off - he lunges out with a hand which just slips off the LB, so then returns to his DT. The LB was clearly Zuttah's responsibility) and wraps up Blount, while the DE forces himself through Franklin to take Blount down low, and the two of them bring Blount down for a loss of one.
What could Blount have done better?
This play I put a lot of blame on Blount. Ultimately, the play broke down because Franklin was completely ineffective in blocking the DE, but once the play broke down, terrible decision making by Blount. Cutting inside or bouncing outside, Blount should have made a decision and stuck with it. If Blount had decided to cut inside, then I would be saying that the play's failure is on Zuttah for abjectly failing to pick up the LB. However, since Blount bounced outside, saw a DB unblocked, then cut back inside, I put the failure on Blount. LeGarrette, come on dude. I love ya buddy but c'mon man, you're a 250 pound wrecking ball and he's a tiny teeny DB. Lower your shoulder and blast the dude! Even if the guy brought you down, it would have at least made some positive yardage, and if you could have dragged him - which you have done in the past, and DEFINITELY have both the size and the power to do so, it would have been a first down. Instead, seeing a DB unblocked, Blount cut back in on himself and got brought down for a loss. Terrible decision making by Blount - a rarity, sure, but no less inexcusable for that.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(8:41) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right + H-back (Franklin), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Pre-snap, Winslow motions across and sets up H-back, left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the handoff from Freeman, then runs up and chips on Dwight Freeney, who had gotten off of Penn's block. The chip forces Freeney back towards Penn, who gets his hands back on Freeney; Blount then runs to the left flat. Freeman throws the ball fifteen yards to Winslow, who catches it then turns downfield and runs for another six yards. Penalty flags. Holding by Penn.
What could Blount have done better?
Blount did a great job on the play, going heads up against arguably the best pass rusher of the past decade (he had gotten completely free from Penn), knocking him back so that Penn had a chance to get his hands back on him, and then releasing into the flat to provide a checkdown option - in which he was completely open. What more could you have asked for? FWIW, it wasn't actually a "hold", Penn did have one hand on his chest and one on his back and then sorta slammed him to the ground. Is that holding? Perhaps, but it's no worse than what you see on every single play somewhere along the line.
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(8:17) 1st & 19: Blount lines up next to Freeman, on Freeman's left, Freeman in shotgun. OL + TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount takes a step to his right, looks downfield (looks like he's checking for a blitzer up the A-gaps) then runs up the left B-gap. A DT loops around and comes across Blount's face. Blount puts a hand on his shoulder but runs around the back of the DT across the middle of the field to provide a check-down option. Freeman throws to Benn for a first down. (Blount was open)
What could Blount have done better?
Tricky. It looks like Blount's responsibility is to check for two linebackers (firstly in the A-gaps, then up the left B-gap) before going into his route. He appears to be a bit blindsided by the looping DT, and the temptation is to say that Blount whiffed on his responsibility by letting the DT go. On further review, however, I do believe his assignment is ONLY to pick up linebackers, based on the fact that both Zuttah & Faine are doubleteaming one DT, and Joseph is left without anyone to block. Depending on the pass-protection scheme, you would expect either Joseph to have to look back for an inside rusher if he's been left with no-one to block, OR either Zuttah or Faine should have peeled off to pick up the looping DT. To have all your three interior linemen blocking only one DT between them implies that there was a either a miscommunication, or a breakdown, in pass protection in the middle of the line, and that, therefore, the DT would never have been Blount's responsibility. (There would never, ever be a protection scheme where you'd have three OL on one DL and leave another DL to a sole running back.)
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(7:32) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Pre-snap, Winslow motions outfield and sets up wide. Play is a counter-run to the strongside (right). Freeman takes the snap, holds the ball out to the left, with Blount heading towards the weakside. Freeman then swings further round as Blount peels back, receiving the handoff as he cross behind the QB and heads to the strongside, with Zuttah leading on a pull. The strongside DE goes wide outside and Stocker follows him, giving him a push which sends him wide outside Blount. Trueblood does a great job of sealing in the strongside DT and containing his spin move. Zuttah goes around the outside of Trueblood, sees the Sambacker coming down and runs flat into him with enough force that he bounces off and lands on his ass. The SLB stays on his feet, but is stood up and stopped where he stands. The MLB, meanwhile, is shadowing Blount, and seeing Blount run to the outside, goes outside the Sam. Blount, however, is disciplined in reading his blocks, and seeing Zuttah "block" (i.e. run into) the SLB to the outside, cuts inside, meaning the MLB is the wrong side of SLB/Zuttah to make a play on Blount. Meantime, Joseph, who originally doubleteamed with Faine on the weakside DT, is sprung free from the doubleteam, just as the strongside DT finally gets off of Trueblood's block. Joseph turns back to the backfield, sees the strongside DT free, and gets on hand on his chest for a brief second, which for some reason stands the DT up (in the replays, it looks like Joseph's hand on him is incidental rather than deliberate). Blount, having cut inside (this was actually pretty damn smooth by Blount), hunkers down low to the ground, and squeezes between Joseph and the strongside DT. As Blount emerges from between the linemen, he runs into a safety who has come down, connecting with him shoulder-into-shoulder. This contact stands Blount up and the momentum causes him to turn around, but he keeps pedaling his feet to try continue moving downfield. The SLB, meanwhile, had recovered from Zuttah's impact, and, having chased down the play, helps wrap up Blount, and the two of them drags Blount to the floor, just as the WLB joins into the pile. Gain of eight.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing, he did a good job reading his blocks, was effectively able to force a hole where there was none (between the DT and Joseph), and stayed on his feet after initial contact, powering through for an extra two or three yards.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing, he did a good job reading his blocks, was effectively able to force a hole where there was none (between the DT and Joseph), and stayed on his feet after initial contact, powering through for an extra two or three yards.
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(6:56) 2nd & 2: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the handoff from Freeman, sucking in all the linebackers initially, then heads up the weakside (left) B-gap. Once he gets to the LOS, Blount runs to the left flat. Freeman dumps the pass off to Blount, who comes back past the LOS a yard or so, catches it then turns downfield. Seeing the pass headed to Blount, Lorig goes to block the WLB, but he takes a bad angle to him and the linebacker gets to Blount just as he goes back across the LOS. The Will does a poor job of wrapping up Blount, however, and he sheds the tackle and runs down the left sideline. About eight-ish yards past the first down marker, Blount sees two defenders (both safeties I think?) coming down towards him, so cuts back infield, into the SLB. The Sambacker pops Blount hard and he is literally decleated (i.e. his feet clean leave the ground), and Blount lands on his back, holding on to the ball for a gain of fourteen yards.
What could Blount have done better?
Another play that dispels the ridiculous myth that Blount cannot catch; however, I do have some criticism - namely, that I'd had preferred Blount lower his shoulder and try and go through the two safeties. However, I completely understand Blount's thought process - he wouldn't have been able to see the SLB from his angle, so he thought he had open field inside him; but even so, for my tastes, he cut inside way too early. If he wanted to cut inside to avoid contact, it's not my style, but whatever. However, Blount could easily have gone another three or four yards before he would have had to have made contact with the safeties, so if he's going to cut inside, he should have waited and gotten a little closer first in order to make extra yards. Still, the dude got fourteen yards after sucking in the linebackers on the fake handoff, as well as shedding a linebacker in the process, so it was still a great play by Blount, despite my nitpicking.
What could Blount have done better?
Another play that dispels the ridiculous myth that Blount cannot catch; however, I do have some criticism - namely, that I'd had preferred Blount lower his shoulder and try and go through the two safeties. However, I completely understand Blount's thought process - he wouldn't have been able to see the SLB from his angle, so he thought he had open field inside him; but even so, for my tastes, he cut inside way too early. If he wanted to cut inside to avoid contact, it's not my style, but whatever. However, Blount could easily have gone another three or four yards before he would have had to have made contact with the safeties, so if he's going to cut inside, he should have waited and gotten a little closer first in order to make extra yards. Still, the dude got fourteen yards after sucking in the linebackers on the fake handoff, as well as shedding a linebacker in the process, so it was still a great play by Blount, despite my nitpicking.
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(6:12) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and H-back (Winslow), left. Play appears to have been called as a run play, but Freeman turned it into a smoke route to Williams at the LOS. Blount runs up to Freeman, but the ball is thrown before Blount gets to him. Blount then slows down straight away, implying that he was expecting to get the ball. (Williams fights through two DBs to get the first down)
What could Blount have done better?
Seeing as the play appears to have been changed into a smoke route at the LOS, meaning Blount would not have been aware of the audible, the question is moot.
What could Blount have done better?
Seeing as the play appears to have been changed into a smoke route at the LOS, meaning Blount would not have been aware of the audible, the question is moot.
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(5:29) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Franklin), right. Play is a drop-back pass. Pre-snap, Freeman identifies the WLB as the "Mike" for purposes of the blocking scheme. At the snap, Blount runs into the weakside B-gap, apparently checking to see if the WLB, identifies by Freeman, blitzes. Seeing that the WLB has dropped back, Blount cuts back infield, then up through the weakside A-gap, turrning round three yards past the LOS to present a check-down option. Freeman throws the ball to Stocker in the end-zone but a safety gets a hand to it, tipping the ball and causing it to fall to the floor. (Blount was open)
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He stays to check his responsibility, then goes to present a check down option, and was open for Freeman, should he have chosen to check down. While, without having access to the Bucs' playbook, I cannot ever be 100% certain what Blount's responsibility was, the fact the he went to the B-gap on the side of the 'backer that Freeman identifies pre-snap, and after that linebacker drops back, he goes back downfield through the A-gap, when the B-gap would have been much easier, gives a strong indication of what Blount's responsibilities were, which he appeared to execute successfully.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He stays to check his responsibility, then goes to present a check down option, and was open for Freeman, should he have chosen to check down. While, without having access to the Bucs' playbook, I cannot ever be 100% certain what Blount's responsibility was, the fact the he went to the B-gap on the side of the 'backer that Freeman identifies pre-snap, and after that linebacker drops back, he goes back downfield through the A-gap, when the B-gap would have been much easier, gives a strong indication of what Blount's responsibilities were, which he appeared to execute successfully.
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(5:24) 2nd & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left. Play is a simple FB-lead to the weakside (right). At the snap, Trueblood steps outside to block the weakside DE, Joseph & Faine doubleteam on the weakside DT, Zuttah fires out into the second level, Penn fails to block the strongside DT, and Stocker fails to engage the strongside DE before he drops back to run across the field to track Blount. The weakside DE is about to make his way through inside Trueblood, so Lorig, leadblocking, meets the DE head-on, which appears to knock Trueblood away. In a hilarious-tragic case of "dominoes", this sends Trueblood stumbling into Joseph, pushing off him to keep upright, which he does, but in the process, pushes Joseph over. Blount runs outside of Lorig, but seeing three unblocked defensive players, cuts back infield. Lorig does a great job of driving the DE back far and powering him into the ground. This clears a little space for Blount, who cuts up inside of Faine, who pushes the weakside DT past him into the backfield. The strongside DE, who Stocker failed to block, goes to wrap up Blount's legs but Blount gets through him, but is met immediately hit high by the WLB, who stops Blount in his tracks. Two more defenders then wrap up Blount, and the three drag him down for a gain of two.
What could Blount have done better?
Blount could not have done much better. In general, I would have preferred Blount to go through defenders, but with three unblocked defenders to the outside, I cannot fault him at all for cutting inside, as he would have made even fewer yards had he not done so. Ultimately, the failure of the play is on the dominoesing between Lorig (who impressed me with his block despite the consequences), Trueblood and Joseph, and Stocker not managing to engage the DE.
What could Blount have done better?
Blount could not have done much better. In general, I would have preferred Blount to go through defenders, but with three unblocked defenders to the outside, I cannot fault him at all for cutting inside, as he would have made even fewer yards had he not done so. Ultimately, the failure of the play is on the dominoesing between Lorig (who impressed me with his block despite the consequences), Trueblood and Joseph, and Stocker not managing to engage the DE.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. Blount subbed back in after the conversion.
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(4:00) 1st & Goal, from the 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL+ TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a QB sneak. At the snap, Blount runs forward a few paces as Freeman crosses the goal line.
What could Blount have done better?
Moot, he had no real role in the play.
What could Blount have done better?
Moot, he had no real role in the play.
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Blount remains on the bench throughout the next drive.
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3rd Quarter
(15:00) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the handoff from Freeman, sucking nine defenders initially, then runs up the weakside (left) B-gap, crosses the LOS and runs to the left flat. Freeman completes a long pass to Williams. (Blount was open)
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He sold the handoff well, ran his route and would have been open had Freeman thrown to him.
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(13:39) 2nd & 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a simple FB-lead dive to the right hand side. Blount receives the handoff and follows Lorig up the weakside (right) B-gap. Lorig meets the Mikebacker in the hole, blocking him to the outside. Blount appears to fake to the outside, but cuts inside down a running lane between Lorig and Joseph, getting the first down. About two yards past the first down mark, Blount runs a DT, who has gotten off of Joseph's block; the MLB spins out of Lorig's block and wraps up Blount as well, and the two drag him backwards. The SLB, who Faine fails to pick up, thuds into the pile, and all four fall to the floor.
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(12:59) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of double-play-action. It appears that Freeman was expecting to throw the smoke route to Williams, but Williams appeared to not see Freeman changing the play at the LOS, so has fired off downfield, which appears to leave Freeman slightly confused, as he doesn't really try to sell the fake hand-off to Blount (even thought Blount does try and sell it). As a result, none of the defense are sucked into the fake hand-off. Blount gets to the LOS then runs to the left, turning back to Freeman. Seeing Freeman throw the ball, he turns right around to watch the play. (Freeman throws to Lorig, but the weakside DE gets his fingertips to the pass and the ball drops to the floor)
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(12:54) 2nd & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a counter-run with Zuttah lead-blocking on a pull. Blount takes a dummy step to the left, then peels off to the strongside (right) B-gap, following Zuttah up the hole. Zuttah, however, fails to block the SLB. Meanwhile, Stocker is unable to engage the strongside DE, who crashes into the hole and hits Blount in the gut at the LOS, wrapping him up and stopping him dead, while the weakside DT has looped round, and Trueblood fails to pick him up; the DT wraps up Blount around the legs. The SLB, who Zuttah failed to pick up, and the MLB, who loops around the outside of the line, join in on the gang tackle, and the four push Blount back, eventually dragging him down about three yards behind the LOS. Forward progress makes it a gain of one.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. After three third downs (a Bucs' penalty first time, a Colts' penalty second time, and finally, a successful conversion), Blount is subbed back in.
(10:39) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + same bunched formation as the play at 14:22. Play is a simple dive. Blount takes the hand-off on Freeman's left. As he gets to one-ish yards behind the LOS, he sees a DE bursting through inside of Winslow. This causes Blount to cut to the right, then cuts downfield outside of Stocker, who has a good block on his DE. Blount crashes into one of the OLBs, who Trueblood fails to pick up, but with enough force to knock the LB down. Blount continues falling forward with power, and as he falls to the ground, he goes through the DE and Stocker, and all four land in a heap. Gain of three.
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(10:00) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Pre-snap, Winslow motions across the formation and sets up H-back, left. Play appears to have been meant to be a drop-back pass off of play-action. The play initially unfolds like a power-O run, with Zuttah on a lead block. Blount fakes the hand off and runs outside of Trueblood then hits the MLB, causing the MLB to step back. The MLB then drops back into coverage, seeing it is a pass, and Blount runs towards middle of the field. (Freeman is flushed out the pocket by the strongside DE, who Zuttah peels off to try and block but take a very poor angle and gets nowhere near him, but runs into a DE, who has gotten past Winslow, so Freeman throws the ball downfield but it bounces off of Stocker's hands, thought in his defence, the pass was basically delivered to shin-level).
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(7:41) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the hand-off, then pauses in the strongside (left) A-gap. Blount sees the Mikebacker coming down into the gap, so he meets him in the gap, getting his hands on him (looks like a weak attempt to 'pop' him), then runs to the left flat, with the MLB wrapping his arms around his waist. Freeman throws at Blount, and Blount reaches his hand up but sails over the top.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(6:27) 2nd & 3: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left. Play is a wide-receiver screen off of play-action. Freeman takes the snap, runs back towards Blount, who looks as if he's about to take the hand-off. Freeman stops dead just before Blount, turns to the right sideline and throws to Williams, who receives the pass and runs behind Trueblood for the first down. Blount stops still to the left of Freeman - it appears as if he's looking for a CB-blitz on the blindside (to explain - Winslow is split out wide left, so the DC might have chanced it by blitzing the CB in the hope that a TE isn't fast enough to take advantage of the lapse in coverage).
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(5:45) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left. Pre-snap, Benn motions infield and effectively sets up at H-back, left. Play is a counter-run to the strongside (left) with Joseph on a pull (This is the first time I think I've seen this season where Joseph pulling). Freeman hands off to Blount, who follows three (!) lead-blockers through the hole - in order that they hit the hole, Benn, Lorig & Joseph. Benn loops around inside Stocker (who locks up the DE) and goes through the hole, going up to a safety who's come down into the box, although he fails to engage the safety. The MLB comes down into the hole but Lorig meets him and blocks him to the outside through the end of the play. Joseph cuts up inside Lorig, with Blount following him. Penn and Zuttah doubleteam on the strongside DT, then Penn peels off to hit the WLB. This causes the WLB to step backwards, and Joseph runs up and hits him again, which forces him to stumble backwards again, clearing the path ahead of Blount. Unfortunately for the running back, five different Colts defenders swarm in from both sides, although they can't bring him down before he's forced the whole pile another yard forward. In total, a gain of six.
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(5:09) 2nd & 4: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. While the play-action doesn't suck in any of the LBs, it does freeze them, and they don't drop back until they see it's a pass. Blount fakes the hand-off, runs to the right hand side of the line, where he stops and sets up to look for the outside blitz. Freeman throws incomplete to Williams. (On a side note, Lorig actually looks pretty rapid for an FB, releasing downfield and running a deep route)
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. After the conversion, Blount remains on the bench on first down, with Graham subbed in for Lumpkin. The play ends in an unnecessary roughness penalty by a Colts DE thanks to a late hit on Freeman. After that play, Penn gets up in the DE's grill, starting to get chippy - it is actually Blount, coming off the bench, who runs up to Penn, physically drags him by the collar away from the DE, then tells him to calm down, after which Penn appears to regain his composure. Result of the penalty is a first down; Blount is subbed back in.
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(3:52) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount runs what appears to be a shallow wheel route to his left. Freeman throws to Winslow in the middle of the field. (Blount was open)
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(3:16) 2nd & 5: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a simple FB-lead belly dive. Blount takes the hand-off from Freeman follows Lorig up the weakside (left) B-gap. Lorig meets the WLB in the hole and overpowers him, wrestling him to the ground. However, another safety blitzes through the same hole. Meanwhile, Joseph peels off a double team with Trueblood on the strongside DT, but fails to pick up either the MLB or the SLB, both of whom are heading through the strongside A-gap. Faine peels off a doubleteam with Zuttah on the weakside DT but is too slow to pick up the MLB, who wrap ups Blount from behind as he gets to the LOS. The safety who has blitzed joins the Mike in wrapping up Blount. The SLB then joins in on the takle, while Zuttah is unable to contain the weakside DT on his own, and he puts his shoulder into Blount's shoulder, finally taking the pile down.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. Indianapolis calls a timeout. After the timeout, Graham is in for Lumpkin. Blount subbed back in on fourth down.
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(1:45) 4th & 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Josh Johnson under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a misdirection option. The play begins as if it is an FB-lead dive up the weakside (left) B-gap, with Lorig rushing up that B-gap, Johnson turning to his left and Blount taking a dummy step to the left. However, Johnson then rolls out to the right, with Blount following him. They both run wide around the outside of the line, with Stocker sealing in the strongside DE and Winslow actually doing a decent job engaging the SLB. With only a corner left on the right side of the field, Johnson fakes the pitch to Blount. The corner bites, shifting his weight towards the sideline, and Johnson cuts downfield, crossing the LOS with the CB now in no position to adjust and stop him. Johnson dives before the SLB, getting free from Winslow, and the safety can hit him. Gain of eight.
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(1:10) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the hand-off, sucking in the three linebackers (helped by Zuttah pulling across), then runs up the hole left by Zuttah, hitting a DT who is coming free from Faine's block, and doubleteams the DT with Faine through the end of the play. (Freeman's high pass bounces off of Winslow's one outstretched hand)
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(1:06) 2nd & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is that damned Benn'd Around. Freeman fakes the handoff to Blount, then pitches the ball to Benn. Blount runs around the right of the line, then stops at the LOS, turning around to watch the play. (Benn gets three on the play)
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down, which ends in a touchdown for the Bucs.
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(11:18) 1st & 20: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and H-back (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Freeman fakes the hand-off to Blount, who almost runs into the back of Joseph. He runs around the outside of the line then into the right flat. Freeman throws to him, and he catches the ball, cutting downfield and lowering his shoulder as a linebacker comes down. The 'backer dives at his ankles, while a defensive tackle wraps him up around the shoulders, and Blount goes down for a gain of seven. Penalty flags. Facemask by Winslow.
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(10:59) 1st & 31: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right. Play is simple dive up the middle. Blount takes the handoff and follows Lorig up the strongside (right) A-gap. There is a massive hole when Lorig runs through to successfully keep the MLB out of the play, but as Blount runs through, the hole quickly closes, with the weakside DT coming completely free from Faine and into the play hole, while the weakside DE starts to come free from Freeney. At the same time, the strongside DT bullrushes Joseph back, completely shutting off the hole. With the running lane slamming shut in front of Blount, he has nowhere in front of him, so he cuts to his right (Freeney is coming free to his left). Trueblood has failed to contain the strongside DE, who hits Blount up high, driving him back and down to the ground. Loss of two.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on 2nd & 33, remains in for the rest of the series.
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(6:05) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a dive up the left-hand A-gap. Blount takes the hand-off and follows Lorig up the hole. Lorig, somewhat rarely, completely whiffs on the safety, who wraps Blount up around the knees and brings him straight down for a gain of three.
(5:29) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB offset strongside (left), Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the hand-off, running to the left, then spins out and runs to the right flat. Freeman slips out of the grasp of the weakside DE, then scrambles to the right. Blount presents himself as a check-down option, but seeing Freeman is going to tuck in the ball, turns downfield to try and look for someone to block.
What could Blount have done better?
Not that much. At first, I thought Blount was in position to make a better block, on a linebacker who chased Freeman out of bounds, but on further review, by the time it was clear to Blount that Freeman was going to scramble himself and so started looking for someone to block, he was already outside of the linebacker, so there's not much Blount could have done different IMO.
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(4:51) 3rd & 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB offset to the right, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Larsen!), right. The play clock winds down to :00, and the Bucs are flagged for delay of game.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down. Blount subbed back in after the successful conversion.
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3rd Quarter
(15:00) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the handoff from Freeman, sucking nine defenders initially, then runs up the weakside (left) B-gap, crosses the LOS and runs to the left flat. Freeman completes a long pass to Williams. (Blount was open)
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He sold the handoff well, ran his route and would have been open had Freeman thrown to him.
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(14:22) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + H-back (Winslow in a two-point stance), left + H-back (Stocker in a two-point stance), right + receiver tight to line (Williams), left and receiver tight to line (Benn), right. Play is a simple dive up the gut. Blount receives the handoff to the right of Freeman, then cuts towards the left side of the line, where there appears to be a large gap between Winslow, blocking the DE, and Penn, blocking the DT on that side. The DE sees this and bull rushes Winslow hard backwards to shut the gap, Winlsow not offering any kind of resistance (due to a deficit in talent rather than effort). This forces Blount to cut inside of Penn, as the next defender inside (one of the OLBs) is engaged with Zuttah and has his back to Blount. Blount ploughs straight into the MLB, who has gotten off of Joseph's block. Blount, however, refuses to go down, and forces himself through the MLB, and even though the MLB keeps locked on Blount, the running back forces himself through the linebacker, dragging him for an additional seven yards for a gain of nine.
What could Blount have done better?
You kidding me? Blount showed very good vision, both in spotting the huge gap closing thanks to Winslow being bullrushed, and seeing that the defender inside of Penn had his back turned to him, thus allowing him to effectively force a hole where there was none. On top of that, he showed off his brute power by forcing himself forward for seven yards after contact, all with a 235-lb linebacker draped all over him. Great play by Blount.
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(13:39) 2nd & 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a simple FB-lead dive to the right hand side. Blount receives the handoff and follows Lorig up the weakside (right) B-gap. Lorig meets the Mikebacker in the hole, blocking him to the outside. Blount appears to fake to the outside, but cuts inside down a running lane between Lorig and Joseph, getting the first down. About two yards past the first down mark, Blount runs a DT, who has gotten off of Joseph's block; the MLB spins out of Lorig's block and wraps up Blount as well, and the two drag him backwards. The SLB, who Faine fails to pick up, thuds into the pile, and all four fall to the floor.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really. As Lorig blocked the MLB to the outside, standard block-reading rules meant Blount should have indeed cut inside of Lorig, even though there certainly appeared to be more open field to the outside of the line. Still, Blount didn't try and dance about but rather followed & read his blocks and got the first down - if Joseph and Lorig had sustained their blocks, he MIGHT have gotten an extra yard or so, but certainly no more than that. Nonetheless, he got the first down, which is the main thing.
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(12:59) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of double-play-action. It appears that Freeman was expecting to throw the smoke route to Williams, but Williams appeared to not see Freeman changing the play at the LOS, so has fired off downfield, which appears to leave Freeman slightly confused, as he doesn't really try to sell the fake hand-off to Blount (even thought Blount does try and sell it). As a result, none of the defense are sucked into the fake hand-off. Blount gets to the LOS then runs to the left, turning back to Freeman. Seeing Freeman throw the ball, he turns right around to watch the play. (Freeman throws to Lorig, but the weakside DE gets his fingertips to the pass and the ball drops to the floor)
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He tried to sell the hand-off, lifting his arms to "receiver" the ball, but Freeman didn't do his part, seemingly perplexed by Williams running off rather than running the smoke route. However, he was open once he got to the LOS, so if Freeman had chosen to throw to him, he would have been in position to catch the check down.
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(12:54) 2nd & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a counter-run with Zuttah lead-blocking on a pull. Blount takes a dummy step to the left, then peels off to the strongside (right) B-gap, following Zuttah up the hole. Zuttah, however, fails to block the SLB. Meanwhile, Stocker is unable to engage the strongside DE, who crashes into the hole and hits Blount in the gut at the LOS, wrapping him up and stopping him dead, while the weakside DT has looped round, and Trueblood fails to pick him up; the DT wraps up Blount around the legs. The SLB, who Zuttah failed to pick up, and the MLB, who loops around the outside of the line, join in on the gang tackle, and the four push Blount back, eventually dragging him down about three yards behind the LOS. Forward progress makes it a gain of one.
What could Blount have done better?
If you want your running backs disciplined and following the rules, then nothing. He followed his lead blocker up the designed hole, and was let down by Stocker's technique (there's one mistake I often see Stocker doing... but I'll discuss that when I [eventually!] get round to doing a study purely on Stocker), and Trueblood's & Zuttah's failures to pick up defenders. So, if you're the kind of person who accuses Blount of too much "dancing" and not enough running north-to-south, you shouldn't have any complaints about what Blount did. That said... if you want your running backs improvising, then if Blount had bounced round the outside of the line rather than following Zuttah up the B-gap, I believe Blount would have gotten probably three or so more yards on the play - but this would have needed Blount to do the whole "bouncing around rather than hitting the hole" thing that people always accuse him off, so in that sense, Blount couldn't (or at least "shouldn't") have done anything different.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. After three third downs (a Bucs' penalty first time, a Colts' penalty second time, and finally, a successful conversion), Blount is subbed back in.
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(10:39) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + same bunched formation as the play at 14:22. Play is a simple dive. Blount takes the hand-off on Freeman's left. As he gets to one-ish yards behind the LOS, he sees a DE bursting through inside of Winslow. This causes Blount to cut to the right, then cuts downfield outside of Stocker, who has a good block on his DE. Blount crashes into one of the OLBs, who Trueblood fails to pick up, but with enough force to knock the LB down. Blount continues falling forward with power, and as he falls to the ground, he goes through the DE and Stocker, and all four land in a heap. Gain of three.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really. He reacted quickly to seeing the DE coming down inside Winslow, and lowered his shoulder to go through the OLB outside Stocker instead of trying to bounce away from him. There really wasn't much in the way of running lanes anywhere, so a good job by Blount to even get those three yards - running backs who wouldn't have hit the OLB as hard would have been knocked back for a gain of one, rather than three.
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(10:00) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Pre-snap, Winslow motions across the formation and sets up H-back, left. Play appears to have been meant to be a drop-back pass off of play-action. The play initially unfolds like a power-O run, with Zuttah on a lead block. Blount fakes the hand off and runs outside of Trueblood then hits the MLB, causing the MLB to step back. The MLB then drops back into coverage, seeing it is a pass, and Blount runs towards middle of the field. (Freeman is flushed out the pocket by the strongside DE, who Zuttah peels off to try and block but take a very poor angle and gets nowhere near him, but runs into a DE, who has gotten past Winslow, so Freeman throws the ball downfield but it bounces off of Stocker's hands, thought in his defence, the pass was basically delivered to shin-level).
What could Blount have done better?
Well, Blount sold the play-action well enough to suck in the linebackers, in particular the Mikebacker, who he went to block, but the DEs never fell for it, which is hardly Blount's fault. After the fake hand-off, he went to block the MLB, hitting him and causing him to take a step back so he would never have been a threat to Freeman - if the DEs hadn't coming crashing in on Freeman, rushing him into an inaccurate throw to Stocker, the play could have actually gone pretty damn far.
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(8:14) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL+ TE (Stocker), left and TE (Franklin), right. Play is a zone-run to the right. Blount receives the hand-off and runs to the right hand side of the line. Running to the right, he gets to Trueblood, who, doubleteaming with Franklin, has been unable to push the DE further back, so he cuts back inside. He tries to force open a hole between Penn, blocking a DT, and Stocker, blocking the DE (Freeney), but, unable to see any daylight, he pulls up short, and looks like he is waiting for Stocker to get past him (as he is actually doing a very good job of driving Freeney back), but one of the OLBs runs into his back, wrapping him up from behind and getting him down to the ground. Gain of three.
What could Blount have done better?
This might be the first time this game where Blount shows that indecision he occasionally shows. I have no problem with Blount's decision making in terms of his cuts, but I do not believe at all he should have stopped to wait for the line to get past him. If he had just forced himself through the (admittedly tiny) hole between Stocker and Penn, then he would have, at worst, ended up with exactly the same yardage, and, at best, burst through and have only DBs to contend with. The choice should have been obvious.
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(7:41) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the hand-off, then pauses in the strongside (left) A-gap. Blount sees the Mikebacker coming down into the gap, so he meets him in the gap, getting his hands on him (looks like a weak attempt to 'pop' him), then runs to the left flat, with the MLB wrapping his arms around his waist. Freeman throws at Blount, and Blount reaches his hand up but sails over the top.
What could Blount have done better?
Firstly, Blount should have put much more force into the 'pop', as that would have allowed him to run his route unimpeded. That said, once he did run into the flat, I don't know how the MLB wasn't flagged for something - I mean, come on, he had wrapped up Blount! Now, the MLB did then raise one hand up behind Blount, so that he could say he was "playing the ball not the man", and anyway, Blount was behind the LOS so DPI was never applicable. But, to me that looks like a clear example of defensive holding, even if the Mike did then let Blount go as the ball was thrown. Regardless, if he had never wrapped up Blount, even for a second, Blount would have been in better position to catch the too-high pass; so I cannot blame Blount's route running or that he didn't catch the ball - the only legitimate complaint was sloppy technique in not 'popping' the MLB hard enough.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down.
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(7:10) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right. Play is a simple FB-led dive up the weakside (left) B-gap. Penn, for once, actually does a good job in the run game, sealing Freeney to the outside throughout the end of the play. Even more shockingly, Winslow actually deals with his DE on the play, cut blocking him and taking him out the play. Joseph more than lives up to his not-always-justified reputation on this play, completely manhandling his DT like a ragdoll and powering him to the ground. The other DT is initially doubleteamed between Zuttah and Faine until Zuttah peels off, at which point Faine handles the DT well enough on his own. Zuttah goes to block the WLB, but whiffs on picking him up. Lorig, through the hole, meets the WLB heads on, blocking him inside for long enough to spring Blount. Blount runs up the B-gap, and seeing Lorig block the WLB to the inside, cuts downfield outside him. Zuttah completely whiffs a second block on the play, this time on the MLB. With the MLB being completely unblocked thanks to Zuttah's failure, he hits Blount up high, wrapping him around chest. Blount continues pumping his feet and forcing his way through Blount, until the MLB can get enough purchase on the ground to wrench Blount around and close to the ground. He is able to stay off the ground, but the two outside linebackers (one of whom Trueblood failed to pick up, and the other getting off of Lorig's block) join in and the three bring Blount to the ground. Gain of seven.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. Blount followed his lead blocker, read the block, and used his power to get a good three-four yards after contact, and showed how strong his thighs and butt-muscles (yes, seriously) are by being able to keep both himself and the full weight of Angerer off the floor, only going to ground once two more LBs piled on.
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(6:27) 2nd & 3: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left. Play is a wide-receiver screen off of play-action. Freeman takes the snap, runs back towards Blount, who looks as if he's about to take the hand-off. Freeman stops dead just before Blount, turns to the right sideline and throws to Williams, who receives the pass and runs behind Trueblood for the first down. Blount stops still to the left of Freeman - it appears as if he's looking for a CB-blitz on the blindside (to explain - Winslow is split out wide left, so the DC might have chanced it by blitzing the CB in the hope that a TE isn't fast enough to take advantage of the lapse in coverage).
What could Blount have done better?
The play looked very much like a run - even though Freeman threw the pass before he got to Blount, he ran with such purpose that I was sure he was going to be carrying the ball. He then stopped dead and was looking around, which I imagine must have been for a blitz pickup, and seeing no-one there, jogs towards the play.
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(5:45) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left. Pre-snap, Benn motions infield and effectively sets up at H-back, left. Play is a counter-run to the strongside (left) with Joseph on a pull (This is the first time I think I've seen this season where Joseph pulling). Freeman hands off to Blount, who follows three (!) lead-blockers through the hole - in order that they hit the hole, Benn, Lorig & Joseph. Benn loops around inside Stocker (who locks up the DE) and goes through the hole, going up to a safety who's come down into the box, although he fails to engage the safety. The MLB comes down into the hole but Lorig meets him and blocks him to the outside through the end of the play. Joseph cuts up inside Lorig, with Blount following him. Penn and Zuttah doubleteam on the strongside DT, then Penn peels off to hit the WLB. This causes the WLB to step backwards, and Joseph runs up and hits him again, which forces him to stumble backwards again, clearing the path ahead of Blount. Unfortunately for the running back, five different Colts defenders swarm in from both sides, although they can't bring him down before he's forced the whole pile another yard forward. In total, a gain of six.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much. He followed his blockers, got five yards, and then when he was swarmed on by FIVE defenders, still managed to get an extra yard, so no complaints. For those wondering, the five defenders were: a CB, who was initially marking Benn, and so was left unblocked by the blocking scheme; the safety who Benn failed to engage, meaning he remained unblocked; the strongside DT, who Zuttah was unable to sustain a block on by himself once Penn peeled off; the weakside DT, who got off of Faine's block; and the SLB, who initially fell for the counter, mis-reading the play and heading to the wrong side of the line, so he actually ended up unblocked because he failed to read the play - if he had been where he 'should' have been, he would have actually been potentially blocked by either Penn or Joseph. All in all, Blount did a good job - if everyone had blocked well, he should have only had the single CB to contend with, at least until the other safety came down into the box.
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(5:09) 2nd & 4: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. While the play-action doesn't suck in any of the LBs, it does freeze them, and they don't drop back until they see it's a pass. Blount fakes the hand-off, runs to the right hand side of the line, where he stops and sets up to look for the outside blitz. Freeman throws incomplete to Williams. (On a side note, Lorig actually looks pretty rapid for an FB, releasing downfield and running a deep route)
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really. He faked the hand-off, then set up outside Stocker (who remained in on the pass) to help in pass protection, even though he wasn't needed (the Colts only rushed their four DL).
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. After the conversion, Blount remains on the bench on first down, with Graham subbed in for Lumpkin. The play ends in an unnecessary roughness penalty by a Colts DE thanks to a late hit on Freeman. After that play, Penn gets up in the DE's grill, starting to get chippy - it is actually Blount, coming off the bench, who runs up to Penn, physically drags him by the collar away from the DE, then tells him to calm down, after which Penn appears to regain his composure. Result of the penalty is a first down; Blount is subbed back in.
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What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. He ran his route and was wide open.
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(3:16) 2nd & 5: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a simple FB-lead belly dive. Blount takes the hand-off from Freeman follows Lorig up the weakside (left) B-gap. Lorig meets the WLB in the hole and overpowers him, wrestling him to the ground. However, another safety blitzes through the same hole. Meanwhile, Joseph peels off a double team with Trueblood on the strongside DT, but fails to pick up either the MLB or the SLB, both of whom are heading through the strongside A-gap. Faine peels off a doubleteam with Zuttah on the weakside DT but is too slow to pick up the MLB, who wrap ups Blount from behind as he gets to the LOS. The safety who has blitzed joins the Mike in wrapping up Blount. The SLB then joins in on the takle, while Zuttah is unable to contain the weakside DT on his own, and he puts his shoulder into Blount's shoulder, finally taking the pile down.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really. The failure of the play was a huge breakdown in blocking - it's pretty clear that, in an ideal world, Faine should have picked up the MLB while Joseph picks up the SLB, leaving Blount with only the blitzing safety to contend with. As it was, Blount still would not go down until the DT hits him - although even if Zuttah was able to hold up at the point of attack, the refs would have likely blown the play dead due to stopping of forward motion. As it was, Blount could not have really done anything better.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down. Indianapolis calls a timeout. After the timeout, Graham is in for Lumpkin. Blount subbed back in on fourth down.
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(1:45) 4th & 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Josh Johnson under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is a misdirection option. The play begins as if it is an FB-lead dive up the weakside (left) B-gap, with Lorig rushing up that B-gap, Johnson turning to his left and Blount taking a dummy step to the left. However, Johnson then rolls out to the right, with Blount following him. They both run wide around the outside of the line, with Stocker sealing in the strongside DE and Winslow actually doing a decent job engaging the SLB. With only a corner left on the right side of the field, Johnson fakes the pitch to Blount. The corner bites, shifting his weight towards the sideline, and Johnson cuts downfield, crossing the LOS with the CB now in no position to adjust and stop him. Johnson dives before the SLB, getting free from Winslow, and the safety can hit him. Gain of eight.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing. His dummy step helped sell the misdirection, sucking the defense to the weakside and therefore making it easier for the two TEs to lock in their defenders. He then kept step with Johnson the hole way, making him a credible option to be pitched to throughout, helping Johnson fake out the CB and get the first down.
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(1:10) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the hand-off, sucking in the three linebackers (helped by Zuttah pulling across), then runs up the hole left by Zuttah, hitting a DT who is coming free from Faine's block, and doubleteams the DT with Faine through the end of the play. (Freeman's high pass bounces off of Winslow's one outstretched hand)
What could Blount have done better?
Absolutely nothing. He sucked in the LBs when faking the handoff, then hits a DT about to come free off a block and successfully doubleteams on the DT through the end of the play. To those who say Blount can't block, let me say this: you're an absolute idiot who's clearly never watched much game film, as Blount has shown a willingness at all times to engage in his blocks, and shows he has completely knowledge of the pass protection schemes. The only thing missing is consistency in his techniques, but this plays shows unquestionably he has the ability to block - I fully expect him to be used as a blocker in 2012, now that he has better coaching.
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(1:06) 2nd & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is that damned Benn'd Around. Freeman fakes the handoff to Blount, then pitches the ball to Benn. Blount runs around the right of the line, then stops at the LOS, turning around to watch the play. (Benn gets three on the play)
What could Blount have done better?
I've talked at length of how much I dislike when players just stand around doing nothing after their part of the play is over, but as always, Blount is not the only guilty party in this. Still, there was little Blount could have done to effect the outcome, and he sold the fake well, sucking in nine defenders initially.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down, which ends in a touchdown for the Bucs.
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4th Quarter
(11:38) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Winslow), right. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount runs up, appears to fake receiving the handoff (Freeman never pretends to handoff to him, however), then runs up the middle of the line, crossing the LOS then turning round to face Freeman about two yards past the LOS. Freeman throws the check down to him. Blount cuts up field, leaning to his right as if he's about to head that way, then cutting back inside as the three LBs converge on him. The three wrap him up and bring him down for a gain of six. Penalty flags. Holding by Joseph.
What could Blount have done better?
I suppose I might have preferred if he had just gone straight downfield rather than leaning one way then cutting back, but realistically, it would have made no difference to the yardage.
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(11:18) 1st & 20: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and H-back (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Freeman fakes the hand-off to Blount, who almost runs into the back of Joseph. He runs around the outside of the line then into the right flat. Freeman throws to him, and he catches the ball, cutting downfield and lowering his shoulder as a linebacker comes down. The 'backer dives at his ankles, while a defensive tackle wraps him up around the shoulders, and Blount goes down for a gain of seven. Penalty flags. Facemask by Winslow.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really. He ran into the back of Joseph because he had to run in a straight line in order to make the play-action look realistic, although, unsurprisingly for 1st and twenty, none of the defense fell for it. After that, he made the catch, lowered his shoulder for contact rather than trying to dance around the LB, and made seven yards. That's two decent gains through the air in a row for Blount that was wiped out by stupid penalties.
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(10:59) 1st & 31: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right. Play is simple dive up the middle. Blount takes the handoff and follows Lorig up the strongside (right) A-gap. There is a massive hole when Lorig runs through to successfully keep the MLB out of the play, but as Blount runs through, the hole quickly closes, with the weakside DT coming completely free from Faine and into the play hole, while the weakside DE starts to come free from Freeney. At the same time, the strongside DT bullrushes Joseph back, completely shutting off the hole. With the running lane slamming shut in front of Blount, he has nowhere in front of him, so he cuts to his right (Freeney is coming free to his left). Trueblood has failed to contain the strongside DE, who hits Blount up high, driving him back and down to the ground. Loss of two.
What could Blount have done better?
No doubt, there are people who will say this is another play where Blount was "dancing in the backfield". Well, if you only look at Blount, it might look like that; but if you take a wider view of the play - specifically, watch the O-line - and you will see, again, that this play is rife with a breakdown in blocking. Blount had no option but to "dance", since there was nothing open at all in front of him thanks chiefly to Faine and Joseph. With Penn failing to lock up Freeney to his left, Blount had to bounce to the right. Even in this situation, had Trueblood blocked Mathis, Blount would have been able to get something on the play. Instead, all four of these linemen blocked terribly - the only one who did a decent job was Zuttah, and he was up in the second level blocking the WLB anyway. Just terrible play up front.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on 2nd & 33, remains in for the rest of the series.
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(6:47) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a zone-counter to the strongside (right) with Zuttah lead-blocking. Blount takes the hand-off and follows Lorig & Zuttah. The two lead blockers run around the outside of Stocker, who blocks the strongside DE inside. The SLB comes down around the outside of the line but Lorig meets him and engages him. The MLB goes around them but Zuttah locks him up and turns him around so he's out of Blount's way. Blount hits the running lane between Stocker & Lorig setting one edge & Zuttah setting the other. He emerges out of the other side of the lane into the arms of a safety, who wraps up Blount around the shoulders. Blount continues running through, and the safety cannot bring him down. The SLB gets off of Lorig's block and chases down the play, starting to wrap him up from behind while the SS comes down and lays a big hit on Blount. One of the corners, plus the WLB, thud into the pile, bringing Blount down for a gain of ten.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing, he followed his blockers, read their blocks, and trusted them to set the edges of the running lane, hitting the hole and powering through a safety for a good five or six yards after contact, finally being brought down by five players.
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(6:05) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left and TE (Stocker), right. Play is a dive up the left-hand A-gap. Blount takes the hand-off and follows Lorig up the hole. Lorig, somewhat rarely, completely whiffs on the safety, who wraps Blount up around the knees and brings him straight down for a gain of three.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really, it was a failure on Lorig's part to pick up the safety - that's his job as a lead blocker. As it stood, the safety tackled Blount around the knees, coming around the back of Blount, so there was nothing he could have really done to avoid it.
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(5:29) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB offset strongside (left), Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), left. Play is a drop-back pass off of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the hand-off, running to the left, then spins out and runs to the right flat. Freeman slips out of the grasp of the weakside DE, then scrambles to the right. Blount presents himself as a check-down option, but seeing Freeman is going to tuck in the ball, turns downfield to try and look for someone to block.
What could Blount have done better?
Not that much. At first, I thought Blount was in position to make a better block, on a linebacker who chased Freeman out of bounds, but on further review, by the time it was clear to Blount that Freeman was going to scramble himself and so started looking for someone to block, he was already outside of the linebacker, so there's not much Blount could have done different IMO.
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(4:51) 3rd & 1: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB offset to the right, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Larsen!), right. The play clock winds down to :00, and the Bucs are flagged for delay of game.
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Graham subbed in for Blount on third down. Blount subbed back in after the successful conversion.
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(4:10) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is an FB-lead dive up the weakside B-gap. Blount takes the handoff and follows Lorig. There is a nice big hole between Penn, blocking the weakside DE, and Zuttah and Faine, doubleteaming on the weakside DT. A safety blitzes the B-gap at the snap, and gets to the hole just after the WLB. Zuttah peels off his doubleteam on the weakside DT to pick up the WLB; Lorig run up through the hole, hits the WLB and drive the Will way back, leaving Zuttah free. The safety has gone around the outside of the WLB, and, unblocked, wraps up Blount's legs as he runs past, holding on and bringing him down for a gain of four.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing, with the blocking unfolding as it did. Despite Lorig doing a very nice job driveblocking the WLB, and Zuttah being left not blocking anyone while a safety tackles Blount untouched, I actually blame the breakdown in blocking on Lorig, not Zuttah. Zuttah got to the WLB first, and was the wrong side of Lorig to be in any sort of position to block the safety. However, Lorig was definitely in position to take the safety, and had he done so, Zuttah could have continued blocking the WLB, the two setting the edges of a running lane for Blount that could have seen him into the endzone. Speaking of which...
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(3:26) 2nd & 6: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB offset strongside (right), Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Pre-snap, Benn motions infield and sets up as H-back, right. Play is a Power-O to the strongside (right), with Lorig and Zuttah on a pull lead-blocking. Blount takes the handoff and follows his blockers to the outside of the line. Benn does a very good job sealing in a safety who has crept up to the LOS, with Stocker completely locking up the strongside DE. The Sam & Mike 'backers both flood down to the outside of the line, but Lorig blocks the SLB and Zuttah blocks the MLB to the outside. Blount reads his blocks and cuts inside of Zuttah, with a massive hole being there thanks to Benn & Stocker sealing that edge incredibly well, as it effectively traps in the entire of the DL (plus that safety). Joseph, meanwhile, has peeled off a doubleteam with Faine to release into the second level, and then blocks the WLB to the outside, flattening him. This opens up the entire middle of the field for Blount, who cuts to the right outside of Joseph and heads for the right pylon. The other safety is tracking him, so he leans inside, causing the safety to slow down, but continues sprinting to that right pylon. As the safety gets his hands on Blount, he leaps through the air, extending his arm and crossing the plane of the goal line with the ball for a 35-yard touchdown.
What could Blount have done better?
Ended world hunger and brokered a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, I guess?
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(2:46) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback,, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Winslow), right. Play is a dive to the right. Blount follows Lorig to the right of the line, but there are no running lanes open. Blount bounces to the outside around Stocker, but there is a safety there. Blount lowers his shoulder and goes through him, but the safety holds on and brings Blount down for a gain of three. Indianapolis call time out.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really - the line failed to really open much up for Blount at all, so he had to ultimately bounce outside. Winslow was barely able to contain the DE, so bouncing to the left rather than the right was probably the right choice.
What could Blount have done better?
Nothing really - the line failed to really open much up for Blount at all, so he had to ultimately bounce outside. Winslow was barely able to contain the DE, so bouncing to the left rather than the right was probably the right choice.
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(2:41) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB offset to the right, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), left and TE (Larsen again), right. Play is a naked bootleg of play-action. Blount fakes receiving the handoff from Freeman, runs up to the B-gap and sets up just inside Trueblood, as Freeman scrambles for the first down. Indianapolis call time out.
What could Blount have done better?
On the one hand, he sucked in ten - TEN - Colts defenders with the play-action. On the other, once he reached the LOS, he just stood around and watched the play (though again, he was not the only Buccaneer doing so - in fact, by my count, there's six buccaneers doing so).
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(2:26) 1st & 10: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a power-O to the strongside (right), with Lorig and Zuttan on a pull lead-blocking. Blount receives the handoff and follows his blockers. Lorig meets the SLB, and MLB, blocking both of them to spring Blount. Blount reads his block and cuts inside of Zuttah, running up inside of Joseph and lowering his shoulder as he runs through and over the WLB, who Joseph has gotten onto his knees. Every though he runs over the WLB, in doing so he goes to ground for a gain of seven. Indianapolis call their last time out.
What could Blount have done better?
A gain of seven is obviously great, especially with a seven-point lead and less than two and a half minutes remaining, but I do have one criticism: instead of trying to go through the WLB, if Blount had cut outside, not inside, of Joseph, he would have had a lot of open field in front of him, and would have probably gotten the first down. Still, a gain of seven is nothing to be sniffed at.
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(2:20) 2nd & 3: Same formation, same play as last time. This time, however, the WLB runs straight through the hole vacated by Zuttah pulling and, chasing Blount from behind, gets his hand on Blount's ankle, causing him to stumble. Meanwhile, Zuttah doesn't get into the hole fast enough, so that the MLB is already through the B-gap by the time Zuttah gets there, meaning he is only able to block him side-on, leaving him free to wrap up Blount. Lorig, meanwhile, appears to trip up on something, and the SLB, who he would have blocked, joins in the gangtackle, as does the weakside DT who has looped around.
What could Blount have done better?
Seeing as he was tripped up from behind and ran into defenders who his blockers failed to block, nothing really.
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Two-minute warning
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(2:00) 3rd & 4: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Franklin), right. Freeman attempts to make the Colts D jump, but they don't fall for it. Freeman calls a timeout.
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(2:00) 3rd & 4: Bucs lime up same formation as the aborted play previous. Play is a zone-dive to the weakside (left). Blount takes the handoff and goes to follow Lorig, but the strongside DT abuses Joseph, getting past him easily and diving for Blount, which forces him to take a wider angle outside the line. He heads for the left sideline but the weakside DT gets off of Zuttah's block and tries to drag Blount down. Blount and the DT spin round and round each other, and as he approaches the first down marker, Blount gets free from the DT, but not before two DBs come down and bring him down with the help of the SLB, right at the marker. Refs mark it one inch short.
What could Blount have done better?
Not much. Joseph could not stop his DT, which forced Blount to go wide outside; that aside, Blount did everything he could in that situation to try and make the first down.
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(1:14) 4th & Inches: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Winslow), right and H-back (Larsen), right. Play is a QB sneak. Blount takes two or three steps forward at the snap, as he's not really involved in the play.
What could Blount have done better?
Moo
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(0:38) 1st & 10: Blount lines up behind Freeman's right flank in victory formation. QB kneel. Game over.
What could Blount have done better?
Well, after the kneel down, he celebrates by skipping around flapping his arms. Some might find it a little... camp. That's about it.
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