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After sitting through Saturday’s trouncing of the woeful New England Patriots, I thought I would waltz through the coaches film without much to take away from it. Boy was I wrong! During the first half Greg Roman was in his element, calling well designed plays that not only delivered a dominant performance but they also hinted as to what we can expect to see in the playoffs in a few weeks time.
It’s always important to caveat any praise for stellar performances in this game as it was a complete mismatch. Jerod Mayo’s players were unprepared, mistake-ridden and just flat out not on the same level as Jim Harbaugh’s men. The graphic above goes some way to explaining how far apart these two teams were. Out of all games since 2018, the Patriots’ offensive performance ranked below the 2nd percentile, losing 0.45 expected points per play. Compare that to the Chargers’ offense who added 0.30 expected points per play which ranked above the 93rd percentile.
So whilst this was an easy day out for the Bolts, there were plenty of points of improvement in terms of play calling, individual performances and overall cohesion. I took a look at a few key areas on the offense that told me a lot more than the bare result.
Pass protection
To start with something that has been spotted by almost everyone; the pass protection was much improved even if it was against a bottom tier pass rush unit. There are a few contributing factors here however the first is that after 16 weeks Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman and Mike Devlin finally saw what an actual guard looks like on the right side of Bradley Bozeman. I have had a note in my weekly reviews that it was time to start Jamaree Salyer since Week 6 so for his performance to be as solid as it was came as a welcome contrast from the standard we have grown used to from Trey Pipkins.
We can all admit that the Patriots’ pass rush was awful but then again so was the Atlanta Falcons’ heading into the Week 13 game where they ended up sacking Justin Herbert down 5 times. Therefore that game is a valid comparison to make to this one in order to show how much the pass protection improved. Herbert was given all the time in the world to deliver a clean performance and his jersey was kept as clean as a whistle.
Jamaree Salyer’s big day
Whilst I enjoyed Salyer’s isolated pass rush reps, it his ability to drive gaps open in the run game and his awareness to pick up stunts that colored me impressed. In the example below Salyer read that Joe Alt and J.K. Dobbins could pick up the 2 rushers to his side within a flash, so he quickly works back across to the line slide direction to get hands on one rusher sending him into Bozeman for a lovely slab. This is the type of read speed, adjustment confidence and footwork that Pipkins has just not got within him and it is so refreshing to see after a whole season of watching the protection lose on simple stunts to the right side of the line.
From practice reports it seems like Salyer has kept the starting Right Guard spot even though Pipkins was a full participant, this should be welcome news to everyone.
The return of Will Dissly
The run game was much improved as well. A lot of the praise has rightly gone Dobbins’ way however there was another component that has gone under appreciated: the return of Will Dissly. Roman places a heap of trust on his broad shoulders and he delivered with some outstanding blocks including the first clip in the video below where he stonewalls Keoin White who is one of the best young defensive lineman in the league, all on his own. This is a very important role in Roman’s offense as it means he can run the ball out of 11 personnel which he has be unwilling to do without Dissly because of who his other options are.
The other way he improved the offense was what he can add as a pass catcher especially in the screen game and the second clip in the video above shows what he can do with the ball in his hands. This is not only a play calling gem to come back to each week but even the threat of him being able to do this allows Roman to give defenses pause to sending the kind of ever present run pressures that the team has seen whenever Fisk and Matlock are on the field together.
Greg Roman’s run game is slowly opening up
Going back into the run game again and it was great to see Roman being more creative whilst still committing to the simple run concepts in order to establish the ground game. The zone runs are improving but the gap concepts are becoming more detailed with layered in motion and deception to start to look like what Roman was doing in his Baltimore days. The play below was so close to working and I’d really want to see it run again. GT Counter spinner is a favorite of football film twitter circles and here Roman’s offense was so close to pulling it off.
Keoin White smartly cut blocks Zion who was pulling to clog up the lane then Fisk gets rocked back by a strong set of hands from Christian Elliss. At the same time Sam Mustipher is walked back to close the second gap in Dobbins’ progression meaning he has to do very well to get the yards he does. If Salyer is on the field this is at least going inside the 10 and if it wasn’t for a heads up play from White, this could have gone for six as everyone else other than the free safety is blocked up.
What’s to come next
There are genuinely too many plays to talk through but the key takeaway for me is that over the last few weeks Greg Roman has addressed almost all of the concerns that I laid out in this article. He has developed a quick game to reduce the opportunity for defensive coordinators to blitz with confidence, he has broken tendencies in the passing game to have multi-directional route combinations and his heavy ground game is starting to round into form with the return of Will Dissly and J.K. Dobbins.
It is my hope that this trend continues when the Bolts face an actual NFL defense in a couple of weeks time. It will take strength of character but the one thing Roman has to continue doing is the complementary play calling. Right now he is passing to set up the run and those runs are setting up the play action shot plays.
One development I expect to see off the back of this performance is the lean into 12 personnel without the Bash Brothers (my new nickname for Tucker Fisk and Scott Matlock). The pairing of Will Dissly and Stone Smartt is one fans should be excited about because it makes up for the lack of receivers who can play physically through contact which is an absolute must in play off football. Smartt is becoming a sharp route runner who has a strong set of reliable hands which compliments Dissly’s ability to block and play down low with the ball in his hands.
Summary
Overall the offense is clearly in a great place entering into the postseason especially when you consider where they were a month ago. Two games is too small of a sample size to call a trend but for those who have studying the tape all season they can assure you everything looks cleaner and seems to have a purpose in a macro sense rather than just trying to earn 4 yards. This is the sign of an offense that is rounding into form and credit needs to be given to Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman for exercising patience to get to this point at the right time of year.
Next stop: The playoffs (via a minor detour to Vegas)
A message from the Stormcloud team
I also wanted to say a Happy New Year to the whole Stormcloud community on behalf of myself and Kyle! We are ecstatic to be entering into 2025 with you all on board AND with the Chargers’ having secured a place in the playoffs with a week to spare! We have so much planned for this year and we can’t wait to get going with it all however in the meantime we really want to hear what you all have got in mind as the regular season comes to a close.
So jump into the comments and let’s start to talk about your predictions for the rest of the season!
I’m happy to see what I consider progress from Roman via greater recognition of the skill sets that are here and need to be utilized. Both Smartt and Salyer are starting due to injuries but I hope their play keeps them in these roles. They’re both contributors.
I was also very pleased to see more screens and passes to running backs. Getting the ball into QJ’s hands quickly and letting his athleticism work is far more productive than longer routes downfield. And wow….look what’s possible when DD’s speed is utilized in the passing game.
I realize the Pats are a weak opponent this year but we handled them as such. That’s a sea change from the past and a big confidence builder.
I’ve been hard on Roman and for now I remain a skeptic. But I’ll give credit where it’s due. He called a good game and, IMO, showed growth. Let’s see it continue on an upward trajectory.
Ryan,
Great stuff as these breakdown articles are favorites for the football nerds like me. They always bring me back to college film sessions. If you watch again, the GT counter would have been a bigger gain if Mustipher actually uses his feet and a modicum of technique to flip his hips and wall off the A gap instead of trying to stand there and muscle his defender away. He could have just as easily been called for a hold on the play as well because he uses zero technique. It was always going to be tougher block to start with the DT shading to his inside, but if he shoots to the A gap off the snap, (the DT actually helps him by going directly into him instead of shooting the gap) he can turn and wall the DT off rather easily. Not sure if Salyer was banged up for a few plays, but this rotating guards in and out is puzzling. It’s not a skill guy or a specific blocking package coming in. It just seems like subbing guys in for no reason messes with the chemistry. But this game was such a blowout, you never know if they were just trying to get some guys some burn when it was still actually sort of a game.
I was actually at the game, and I can tell you from the tailgate, to the pregame warmups, to the player entrances, there was zero juice from the Pats fans for this game. Most weren’t even upset about the effort on the field. The stadium was far from full, and it looked like most of the fans were there because they had season ticket obligations or they were bought as cheap gifts for fans who normally wouldn’t attend. There was a decent amount of Charger fans there though, so those also accounted for lack of hometown juice. With that being said, I think the energy level from the Pats and their fans combined with the weather and the LAC clinching with a W, all added up to the beatdown. So while there were some great things achieved on the field, it was against a very lackluster opponent. But, they did what good teams are supposed to do in that scenario, dominate. Hopefully this performance builds steam toward the payoffs, but I wouldn’t put to much stock in it’s overall success from last weekend. The Patriots are a bad team, only made worse by their effort. That was a game they wanted no part of.
@evolz3737 Felt a lot of that lack of effort from the Pats was leaving it all on the field at BUF. They had the lead for quite a bit of that game. Will be interesting to see if the Pats care to show up this weekend
I think the Bucs games is one of the better games to critique this team. It had the passing design mistakes, it exposed the IOL and TE blocking, DB, edge and LB depth, etc.
Coaching and health improved upon those issues , but I think it’s important to have that game in mind when the 2025 draft comes around. I think the clues on how to improve the most can be found there.
Right now I’m worried by the amount of snaps guys like tucker Fisk and mustipher are getting. The fear is they will be exposed like Ja’sir Taylor. But that will not necessarily happen just because they are at the bottom of the depth chart.
Chase Daniels put up a video of the Pats game on his youtube. It shows a lot of the improvements talked about. Second play he used shows a High/low route combination in the left side of the field and a Right-left combination on the other side. That looks like good pass play design.
You can see the two core identities of a Roman offense: 1. Overload a defender, run two routes towards a guy and make him chose which one he wants to defend. Herbert’s arm means he can throw to either.
2. Counter punch – when you think you know what is coming towards you, the play goes the opposite direction. Roman has talked about this in his run design, with counter runs, with Lamarr going the opposite direction from pullers and the O-line. Chase uses the first Ladd TD to show the same idea on a pass play.
It also helps to form a narrative surrounding Herbert’s identity as a QB. His identity is fast reads, processing the field and adjusting to it, and precise missile throws. His arm strenght also allows for quality unconventional throws, side arm, moving backwards, etc. Combined with his footwork in and out of pocket, he has great improvisation ability.
Exciting stuff!
Very good article, Ryan. Happy New Year to you, too. I can’t agree more on the late development of the offense especially in pass pro. What is underappreciated is JK’s pass pro, something I didn’t know it was another strength to his game. He’s a very smart player, too.
Salyer’s short area quickness and base strength are something Pipkins don’t have. Also, he is a player that it only takes a play or two for him to settle in and play loose, and when he does not make too many mistakes. The “Bash Brothers” are rounding it out just in time for the post season.
A great win by Cincinnati just now. It was a nerve racking 2-min for sure. Beat the Raiders tomorrow and then go beat the Texans.
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