As I watched this for the 3rd time, I watched Levi O.
2 things, 1st he was the only one doubled, second he does not look like he’s attempting to penetrate.
Do you think this is by design to keep Ryan in the pocket?
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I think he realizes that he is not going anywhere considering he was getting double teamed on both sides. Not sure why we would try to contain Matt Ryan to the pocket?
Watch the play again and imagine Levi sliding to the edge. The middle would be wide open, even Joey Goff could pick up an easy 5-8 yards. I’m hoping it is defense by design, it shows it is well thought out.
Could be, but if Mcneil doesn’t win his rep he would’ve been sitting in that void. Tough to say either way.
It is also important to note the down and distance… and the defensive play call.
It was 2nd and 7 yards to go… and AG had a blitz called on the weak side with JRM.
Notice in the screen shot below… Charles Harris drops into coverage, which leaves Levi as the only D line player on that entire side of the O line. His job is to occupy blockers while the blitz on the weak side allows for 1 on 1 rushes.
Since it was 2nd and 7 to go… Levi wasn’t playing contain on Matt Ryan… he was playing the run in that call. If he rushed upfield… that would have the strong side open to draws or screen passes.
It was by design.
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Makes a lot of sense
Excuse my ignorance with this question. Is rushing 4 in a 3-4 defense considered blitzing?
Traditionally… blitzes were considered to be rushing more than 4 guys. With the increased use of zone blitzing… I think it is fair to characterize rushing players from unexpected positions (DBs and off ball LBs) as a blitz even if only 4 guys rush…. particularly on disguised overload blitzes.
In this case…Lions had nickel personnel in on that play.
2 DTs, 2 edge rushers, 2 off ball LBs, and the 5 DBs.
Since JRM rushed, and Harris dropped from his edge position… I would call that a zone blitz… designed to create a numbers advantage against 1 side of the protection.
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By definition, no. It’s just trying to disguise who is rushing and who is not and trying to confuse the O-line. Not to mention that it all of a sudden puts a defender underneath the short routes to that side that the DE or DT drops into coverage.
Yeah, it seems whenever you send an off-the-ball LB and/or a Secondary player, it’s a blitz in my mind as well…even though your still only rushing 4 players.
Idk, maybe there’s a better term for it, maybe a “stunt” of sorts.
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Stunt is its own thing.
It’s known as a zone blitz.
I’d be interested to know if the statisticians see it that way.
Hmm. I do seem to recall one of the sites stating that it’s a 5th rusher that qualifies as a blitz.
a stunt… or twist… only invloves 2 DL players changing their rush (trading places) lanes.
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I think this is another “term” that has become different over time.
20+ years ago… it was pretty rare to see NFL teams in 5 wide sets. Rushing more than 4 guys against a 5 WR set means little safety help.
I posted some screen shots recently of the Panthers “blitzing” a safety… on a 3 man rush.
It might make old school guys uncomfortable… but this is the new reality.
I’m familiar with what a stunt or twist is on the d-line. When sending LB’s, a lot of times they have a d-lineman go one way or the other to open-up a lane for the LB to run through…stunt is just what came to mind for lack of a better term.
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Here’s from a 2014 PFF article:
“There are many ways to define a blitz, but here we’re defining it as someone pass rushing that the offense wouldn’t expect to. For example, in a goal-line situation if there are six defensive linemen and they all rush the passer, that wouldn’t count as a blitz. However, in a base 3-4 defense if an ILB pass rushes instead of an OLB, it is a blitz even though it is still potentially just a four-man rush.”
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There were pictures being shared last year that showed Detroit rushing 3 the most and blitzing the least. Blitzing was defined as 5 or more rushers. I can’t remember whose stats they were. Ultimately, as far as stats sites go anyway, you just have to look at the fine print. 
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Thanks guys, I feel a lot better about my ignorant question.
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So, if not on the goal-line and I line-up 6 on the d-line and drop a DT but rush one of the LB’s that are already on the d-line, I wonder how that is scored?
If I line-up 3 on the d-line and drop one into coverage but rush a LB, is it really a blitz if there’s only 3 rushing the QB?