I've decided to roll with releasing both parts of the podcast today, in part because I think people want to hear more about the Browns game as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we invited a guest to come on to our podcast on Tuesday and things changed a little bit.
Regardless, the first part is still pristine. In this one, we review the Chicago game and discuss some notes around the league.
Episode Notes
- There are quite a few plays being discussed, so I've GIF'd them below
- If you want to see amazing breakdowns from non-Vikings sources of the Bennett play, be sure to check out what Matt Bowen has to say. He was a safety for the Chicago Bears for several years, and had seven total years in the league. He's also written for the National Football Post and New York Times on occasion.
- Another great breakdown comes from Pro Football Focus, who analyzed the play as an example of communication breakdown.
- We discuss the Brandon Meriweather hit. If you want to know more about his previous transgressions, check out this ESPN piece.
Here are those GIFs:
This is the Ponder sack. Greg Jennings (15) is lined up in the slot to the left.
This is the Gerhart target
This is the Ponder interception
This is the final defensive play.
I've also decided it would help for me to describe the coverage on that play:
In the play above, Xavier Rhodes rolls to the top in coverage, while Sanford takes the hook/curl zone underneath it. Erin Henderson is responsible in part for an underneath zone, but is also tasked with guarding the seam against slot receivers or tight ends attempting to expose the middle of the field. Chris Cook has underneath coverage as well, but needs to pass Earl Bennett off to Harrison Smith, which he can't do because Harrison Smith isn't in his assigned coverage (deep strong zone), although Smith hesitated because Rhodes didn't have the deep weak zone figured out.
If you want other breakdowns on the play, I have them linked in the Episode Notes, or you can click here for Matt Bowen's breakdown or here for Pro Football Focus' breakdown.
This next episode was recorded before the Browns' blockbuster trade and the decision they made at QB becoming clear, so excuse it a little bit. As it stands, Justin seems prescient.
Episode Notes:
- Like I said above: this was recorded before the Browns made their big trade and named a QB, so cut it some slack. And Justin is a bit of a home-run hitter when it comes to foreshadowing these moves.
- We were visited by Justin Higdon at DraftBrowns, which is a great website for learning about anything football, including the Salary Cap, the Ray Horton defense and Trent Richardson's foibles. Also, the draft.
- Follow Justin Higdon on twitter for great draft analysis, football analysis and occasionally Browns analysis. He's @afc2nfc.
- If you wanted to know more about the stadium issue that James brings up, this is what the Star Tribune had to say.
I really encourage you to click on the Ray Horton defense link, as that will provide a better glimpse than I ever can.
As always, find us on iTunes and Stitcher by searching for us in those applications, or subscribe to our RSS feed. We also have one available through SoundCloud, if BlogTalkRadio is not your thing, you can use the SoundCloud feed.
Once again, contact me at arifmhasan (at) gmail dot com or the podcast at NorseCodePodcast (at) gmail dot com. Follow us on twitter at @NorseCodeDN or just me at @ArifHasanDN.
Thanks for listening!