When the Bucks take on the Lions on Sunday, they will face one of the toughest tests of the young season. With wins over Minnesota and Chicago, Tampa Bay showed they can beat bad teams on schedule. In their loss to the Eagles, the Bucks showed they may not be ready to compete in the class of the NFC.
Week 4’s win over the division rival Saints showed that they can still come out victorious against traditionally tough opponents. The Lions will be a replay of sorts from Monday Night Football, where the Bucks lost 25-11 to the Eagles.
In their four wins this year, the Lions have held each opponent to 25 points or less, showcasing an improved defense that will match their offensive talent and performance early in the 2022 NFL season. In those four games for him, the Lions allowed him an average of 17.5 points per game.
In the only loss of the year against the Seahawks, Detroit’s defense was held to 37 points. Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales spoke to the media Thursday and said he used the Seahawks game (and the 2022 game) as part of his preparation for the upcoming matchup with Detroit.
Bucks OC Dave Canales – Photo by Adam Slivon/PR
“Oh yeah, we played in Detroit last year too.” Canales said. “So, we have two games here that are really valuable for us. Even on a micro level, the technique of their play, the different shades on the defensive side, some of the secondary players, and how similar they are. It’s just a matter of how they stack up against teams like DK. [Metcalf] and mic [Evans] Chris, they’re bigger. [Godwin] He’s a bigger guy so they can see some of those things. Of course, we have some new players, which is really helpful.
“Honestly, just crossing over, there are some similarities in Detroit’s offense. I really think highly of them and their progress over the last three years, the development of their offense, I’ve been watching the run game, the play action, the attitude, it’s just the style. [where] That’s what I want to be like eventually as I put things together and really hone it. The team is in its third year of existence and appears to be quite sophisticated. It helps our defense as well by seeing some of the things they might be looking at as well as our offense. ”
Bucks learning from Seahawks
Could what Dave Canales learned from the Seattle tapes lead to similar success this coming Sunday? I watched the Lions vs. Seahawks matchup earlier this year and thought Canales would be successful against Detroit. We focused specifically on the passing game to see what we were trying to recreate. To see how Canales gets chunk plays, he pulled every play that gained at least 16 yards.
Separate X
Detroit runs a fair amount of Cover 3 zone. The Bucs can take advantage of this by putting Mike Evans in an isolated split all the way to the perimeter and flooding the concept side of the formation or the backfield with multiple receiving options. This will force the Lions’ single-high safety to make a difficult decision.
Either play in the shadow of the multi-threat Concept side or help Evans’ side. In most cases, the former is chosen over the latter due to safety considerations. This puts Evans in a one-on-one situation with a corner where he must protect his verticality. This gives him a lot of space to work underneath with slants, digs, deep outs, etc. Or you can run a deep curl like DK Metcalf did on this route.
For MOTFC, the X receiver can be isolated from the C3. The Bucks have been very successful in finding these opportunities for Mike Evans this year. pic.twitter.com/gKnlN3zmow
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
Alternatively, Evans could work in space under a deeper zone in the post, such as:
Similarly, they isolated Metcalf against C3 looks near the goal line, allowing this post to work under the deep zone and nearly contributing to the score. pic.twitter.com/vJDQ2BpOFe
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
As part of our breakdown on how Canales was able to help beat the Saints in Week 4, we reviewed how the Bucs were able to win with Evans in a similar isolated look. Pewter Report TV YouTube channel.
Seahawks create advantage through talent
The Seahawks operate with a staff of 12 (one running back, two tight ends) and 13 (one running back, three tight ends), one of the highest percentages in the NFL. . Once they were in these packages, the Bears replaced defensive backs with linebackers to force base personnel. That defensive package is often more disadvantageous against pass plays.
From there, Seattle moves players around and looks for very favorable matchups, like this one where pass rusher James Houston gets coverage in space against tight end Noah Fant. Fant leads Houston to a big lead.
SEA leverages talent to find favorable matchups. Seahawks win Fant vs. Houston in space. pic.twitter.com/XDGDSA7Nx4
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
There’s no telling how well the Bucks will be able to emulate this strategy. The Seahawks have one of the deepest tight end rooms in the NFL, with him working with 12 personnel and he with 13 personnel. The Bucks…not so much. The trio of Fant, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson is far more athletic and talented than Cade Otton, Ko Kieft and David Wells.
This may be one strategy Canales should avoid. Especially considering the success Canales has seen among the 11 players and the Lions already ruled out talented rookie nickelback Brian Branch.
Translation of concepts useful for business
Bucks OC Dave Canales – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
One of the things Canales did well this year was adjusting the play concepts and game plans that quarterback Baker Mayfield does best. One of those things he does is create a simple half-field read progression for Mayfield. Flood is a concept that successfully enables that strategy. The flood concept takes most, if not all, of the available receivers and operates them on the same side of the field. This effectively “floods” that side of the field with options and reduces the amount of field for the quarterback to explore.
These concepts send the receiver to that side at different depths of the field, making it easier for the quarterback to read the first open option high and low vertically. Here the Seahawks created a simple and effective read of Geno Smith from an innovative pistol look. Trey Palmer lined up as the “Z” receiver where Tyler Lockett (No. 16) was positioned, Chris Godwin lined up in the backfield as the second sidecar (No. 84 Cobley Parkinson), and Cade Otton lined up as the sidecar. Imagine this play. First Sidecar (No. 89 Will Dissly).
of #backs Baker Mayfield has had success this season with a flood concept that suits his skill set. Here, the Seahawks used a creative pistol formation to get the win against DET. pic.twitter.com/E3xm0Z73wH
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
play action
One of the central elements of Canales’ short time with the Bucks was his use of play-action.Mayfield is Average of 7.6 yards per attempt He makes throws during play action, and effectively wears running boots and half boots during run action. Against Detroit, the Bucks will likely run some type of midzone boot action similar to what Seattle produced.
Canales continued to focus on balancing the run and pass this year. It helped improve the Bucs’ PA game. MZ Run It’s this kind of thing that leaks out of his look that helps create his YAC opportunities for guys like Cade Otton. pic.twitter.com/VSdoNEnwVK
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
Not only does the Bucks intend to continue their action from under center, Canales also said he has been exploring it from shotgun in recent games. “Chic Podcast Network” With former pewter reporter JC Allen. The Bucks could have success against Detroit’s defense with adjustments similar to this play out of 12.
Canales has spoken on various occasions about further exploring PA from shotguns. This stacked look on the trip (possibly from different HR groups) could be something he explores. pic.twitter.com/pqhlRX7E8J
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
The Bucs did this, with Otton lining up as the top player on Tripp Bunch’s side, and Godwin was seen taking in a deep cross from One.
Use center of field
Detroit’s linebackers have been decent against the pass this year. Backups Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez have struggled, but Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone have not been net negative. That doesn’t mean they can’t give up a play or two in the middle of the field.
This is an area the Bucks haven’t covered much yet. Canales, Mayfield and the offense could start layering those types of options into their game plan this week. That could come in the form of a static route from play-action, giving Mayfield an easy read as this curl works under cover 3 and threatens to clear the safety vertically.
This week #backs Start layer further in the middle of the field option? pic.twitter.com/WduR48w8q4
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
Or they could have the option of making some chunk plays underneath when the Lions transition into a two-high shell like this.
In contrast to many of the other clips that were MOTFC, Smith does a backside dig under a 2-high shell. It’s not a strong suit for Mayfield, but you might have to reach into your bag and pull this one out to get chunk plays. pic.twitter.com/aO6I1WYQ2J
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 14, 2023
Throughout his career, Mayfield has struggled to practice the middle part of the field more than the midfield. Up until this point in the season, Canales has written a game plan that doesn’t depend on Mayfield winning in that area. If the Bucks want to win Sunday, they may need to stack up some key shots on this part of the field. Especially if Detroit decides to run more of a two-high shell where it vacates the middle of the field.
Detroit will learn from Seattle too.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have proven to be very smart coaches who can learn from their mistakes and develop over time and tape. Canales learned from Detroit’s past two games against the Seahawks, and so have Campbell and Glenn.
This makes for a very fun matchup with the two staffs countering each other, with both sides likely to throw changeups at the other. Canales certainly has several options prepared based on Seattle tape and will likely challenge Detroit due to similarities in concept and personnel.
