New York Jets Madden Film Session: Part II

In Part II of our Madden Film Session, JETSerious will focus in on another play that could benefit the New York Jets and Tim Tebow, in their run-oriented offense.

If you missed Part I, featuring Tim Tebow and his possible role as Halfback… you can visit it, by clicking here.

Because Madden NFL 12 doesn’t feature the Speed Option as an Offensive play-call, we had to get a little creative. Nevertheless, the pitch will still serve as a threat to defenses, in which they will have to stop like they would with the option.

In our Madden Film Session Part II, we will be using a Split-backs formation:

3WR-Stephen Hill (left), Chaz Schillens (slot left), Santonio Holmes (right)
1RB-Joe McKnight
1FB–John Conner
1QB –Tim Tebow (subs in for Mark Sanchez on this play)

Although it appears like RB Joe McKnight is the lone tailback…that is not the case. Prior to the snap, FB John Conner would be lined up behind Guard Brandon Moore, and to the right of RB Joe McKnight. He is eventually put into motion (left) to help block when the ball is snapped. Conner looks like he is lined up in the Tight End spot, standing up.

The idea is to get WR Stephen Hill (lined up left), to run his man deep off the line of scrimmage. This helps to distinguish whether the Cornerback is playing man or zone coverage. If he runs with Hill he is playing man, but if he’s sitting in a spot–he’s playing zone.

If your wondering why Chaz Schillens is missing, it’s because he was supposed to seal a block left…but failed to do so. (But hey… the computer can’t do everything, right?).

Anyway, Joe McKnight looks to be WIDE OPEN running in the flat. Tebow can complete the pass to him, but a TD is no guarantee. Patience is key on this play, because when Tebow presses the line of scrimmage, it forces each defensive player to defend one thing or the other. You can say that this is a big asset when having a running QB, because he counts as an extra man on offense. By extra man, I mean that if it were Sanchez under center, he would hand the ball off and not serve as a blocker. Here, Tebow is the runner, so essentially, the RB is an extra blocker—assuming he doesn’t get the handoff. He takes a man out of the play though, serving as a decoy.

The next image will explain it further.

As Tebow presses the line of scrimmage it forces the Giants player to pick a man… McKnight or Tebow. He can attack one. Again, he simply cannot choose both.

Tim Tebow has four options here, believe it or not:

Keep it and run with it.
Attack the line of scrimmage and pitch/throw to McKnight.
Pass it to Stephen Hill in the left corner of the end zone.
Pass it to Santonio Holmes (missing from picture) on a slant route, mid-field.

The Holmes read would be last, if everything else fails. That would mean the Linebackers left the middle of the field to prevent the first three options.

Here’s another shot of the same play, from a different angle:

McKnight still seems to be wide open, but let’s see how the play unfolds in the next shot.

Right now, the Giants defender (far left) commits to the Running Back. McKnight doesn’t seem so wide open now, huh?

Stephen Hill has taken his man to the back on the end zone, where it’s very difficult to stop any type of run.

Both of these factors are key for Tebow. They let him know that he should keep the ball and run with it. He does just that. At this point, the few defenders that are in position to make a play are the ones that Tebow needs to beat on his own.

Tebow avoids the nearest defenders by sprinting left.

You will see in the next picture, that the CB runs up to make a play, forcing Tebow to cut back inside and make a move for the end zone.

There is no guarantee that this play will work. It is, however, very effective when it’s ran—because Defensive players need to choose (within seconds) who they want to contain.

This is just one of the many ways to utilize Tim Tebow in the Jets “Ground-n-Pound” Offensive system.

Keep your eyes peeled for Part III of our New York Jets Madden Film Session, coming later this week!

Courtesy of EA Sports and Madden NFL 12.

Schedule