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Pass Rush (cont.)
Play 11
Situation: 1st and 10 at IND 23
Description: Q3 - (9:57) A.Luck pass incomplete short right to C.Fleener [R.Ninkovich].
The Colts motion TE83 Allen into offset-I formation. This motion moves Ninkovich further outside for his edge contain responsibilities in case it’s a running play to the right edge. Luck snaps the ball and RB36 Herron attempts to chip block LB54 Hightower in the backfield. Hightower jumps over the diving runningback and forces Luck to step up into the pocket.
Ninkovich starts wide going around TE83 Allen and then angles his body back inside to hit Luck during his throw. Ninkovich was the free rusher on this play, but he takes advantage of it but angling his body to prevent Luck from doing any damage with his excellent pocket presence.
Play 14
Situation: 3rd and 10 at IND 33
Description: Q3 - (1:40) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass incomplete short right to Z.Tipton.
Ninkovich starts wide left and attempts to speed rush around RT76 Reitz. Reitz mirrors his move following him outside placing his left hand on Ninkovich’s lower back and hooking Ninkovich with his right arm. This is the ideal technique to stop a spped rusher.
http://i.imgur.com/oSnqmEv.png
Ninkovich uses his surprising agility to shed the right tackle by spinning around him to make his move back inside.
http://i.imgur.com/1Lu0DKb.png
This was an excellent use of the spin move to shed the tackle. One of the biggest complaints of speed rushers is that they can get mirrored or boxed out of the play if the tackle recognizes the move early on. Even though in this play, Reitz recognized and reacted perfectly off of the snap, the spin move was still able to shake the tackle for Ninkovich to chase down Luck.
As you can see in these plays, Ninkovich combines his surprising strength and pursuit abilities to make an impact in the pass rush game. It was surpising just how often Ninkovich made his way into the backfield versus the Colts.
Pass Coverage
Outside of pass rushing, the Patriots like to drop Ninkovich into zone coverage over the middle and in the left flat. As we discussed previously, Belichick requires his players to be versatile in order to fool the offense.
Play 7
Situation: 1st and 10 at IND 7
Description: Q2 - (9:11) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass short middle to D.Allen to IND 16 for 9 yards (D.Hightower).
Pre-snap, Luck audibles from a heavy running formation (Power-I) to a heavy passing formation (Empty-set shotgun). This changes Ninkovich’s play responsibilities. Initially it looked like Ninkovich was playing the B- or C- gap for run support, but after the audible Ninkovich switched to press-man coverage of TE83 Allen.
Allen runs a zig-route which is an excellent route against man-to-man coverage since the double move gains separation especially over the middle against linebackers. Ninkovich is unfortunately no exception and Allen uses his superior athleticism out of the cut to get open for Luck. Even though Ninkovich is beaten for a gain of 9 yards, he doesn’t allow Allen to release freely, which is exactly what Belichick likes off of the line of scrimmage from his linebackers.
Run Defense
The last three plays we will take a look at Ninkovich’s plays in run defense. It’s clear that Ninkovich’s greatest skills are his pursuit and general play recognition abilties as seen below.
Play 4
Situation: 1st and 10 at IND 20
Description: Q1 - (1:20) (Shotgun) D.Herron up the middle to IND 25 for 5 yards (R.Ninkovich).
The Colts run a zone read-option HB Dive with Luck and Herron. Luck takes the snap and reads the edge defender (Ninkovich) to determine his course of action.
http://i.imgur.com/6N696K6.png
Ninkovich plays edge contain outside to make sure Luck doesn’t take the handoff. Herron instead gets the carry up the mniddle and Ninkovich closes in for a quick tackle limiting the gain on the play.
Play 9
Situation: 1st and 10 at NE 31
Description: Q2 - (7:05) A.Luck left guard to NE 28 for 3 yards (R.Ninkovich).
Ninkovich starts pass rushing wide left and then realizes that Luck is starting to scramble outside the other side of the pocket. Ninkovich turns to his right and angles his body perfectly to tackle Luck for a short gain on the play. Again this shows Ninkovich’s pursuit skills in space of the runner.
Play 12
Situation: 2nd and 10 at IND 23
Description: Q3 - (9:53) (Shotgun) D.Herron right guard to IND 25 for 2 yards (R.Ninkovich).
The Colts run FB Lead Off-Tackle to the right from shotgun formation. Ninkovich engages with TE83 Allen who is trying to set the edge of the cutback lane for RB36 Herron. Ninkovich uses his strength to hold the point of attack and make sure that Allen doesn’t push him out of the play. He then wraps up Herron and brings him to the ground for a short gain on the play.
As you can see from these plays, Ninkovich’s versatility is exceptional. His pursuit, awareness and general play recognizing ability is a great asset for the Patriots. if you are a Seahawks fan, you need to hope that Pete Carrol is devising a plan to make sure his underrated effectiveness is diminished in the Superbowl.
