Inside the Jets vs. Jaguars Film Room: Offense

Dec 9, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; New York Jets running back Bilal Powell (29) moves past Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Jeremy Mincey (94) in the fourth quarter of their game at EverBank Field. The New York Jets beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

Yes there was a big signing in Jets land yesterday, Braylon Edwards. But, there was still a game last week, and it’s time to look at the film. The Jets beat the Jaguars by a score of 17-10, and now we look back, starting with the offensive film. Specifically, we are going to look the resurgence of the running game.

During the game, they talked about the running game being like “chopping down a tree”. You have to keep swinging that axe, even though you might not have success right away. If you put the axe away after only a few swings, that tree is not going to come down. But if you keep swinging, eventually the axe comes all the way through, and the tree comes down. It is a great analogy, because the running game can work exactly the same way, and it did. Early in the game, the Jets didn’t see great success on the ground, but they stuck with it. In the second half, the tree came down, and the Jets started breaking off chunks of yardage. This morning, we are going to look at two runs from the third quarter, one by Bilal Powell, and one by Shonn Greene. First, the Bilal Powell run:(scroll down a bit to take a look at the formation)

Powell is lined up straight behind Mark Sanchez. The blocking scheme is interesting. The guards are in the green circles, Slauson in the light green, Brandon Moore in the dark green. These guys are actually going to cris-cross, Slauson coming over to block to the right, and Moore coming over to the left to aid Nick Mangold in sealing off the left side:

Moore and Slauson are still highlighted in the green circles, same as the previous frame. See how they have switched places? Now take a look at the hole they open up:

They open up a huge hole for Powell, and with his speed, Powell takes advantage by hitting it fast. The result?

12 yards later, it’s first and goal New York Jets. The Jets worked and worked, and broke through with a big run. Turn the page and we will take a look at a run from later in the quarter by Shonn Greene, that had a couple of surprises.

The Jets are in the jumbo package, with Jason Smith lined up on the left side as a tackle eligible. Mark Sanchez is under center, with Lex Hilliard and Shonn Greene lined up straight behind him. After the snap, Hilliard is going to move toward the right guard, as indicated by the blue arrow. This gives the defense the impression that he is going to lead Shonn Greene off the left guard, or maybe even off tackle, so the flow of the defense moves in the that direction. Greene takes the handoff, and instead, fakes in Hilliard’s direction, and runs off the left end. Who’s leading the way? The “great” Vladimir Ducasse. Trouble, right?

Not so far. Ducasse is ready to attempt to make the block at the point of attack, circled in green. Shonn Greene has the ball, but….there is a defender ready to take down Shonn Greene. See the guy circled in blue? It seems like the guy has a good angle on Greene, and is ready to take him down for a loss, doesn’t it? We know that Shonn is not exactly the most elusive running back in the game today. So, trouble right?

Nope! Here are your two surprises. The first, if you look in the red circle, is that Shonn Greene actually made somebody miss. Can you believe it? I had to roll the tape back a couple of times to make sure that wasn’t Bilal Powell. Despite the angle, Greene deftly makes the defender miss. Then, look ahead into the green circle. Look who is doing a good job getting his man downfield! Ducasse! It’s a miracle. Ducasse is leading Greene down the field, along with Jason Smith (#63), and the result was……

14 yards down the field, and it’s first down for the Jets.

The moral of the story is two-fold. One, the Jets running game is getting better. Second, that you have to stick with the running game. When you do, no matter what the results are early, your persistence will pay off. It did for the Jets last Sunday.

Thanks for reading.