Breaking down Clay - All 22

[Bocephuz]

The topic of what has happened to Charles Clay in this offense is likely at the top of many minds here at TwoBillsDrive. Many of us were probably expecting Clay to be one of the beneficiaries of the OC change to Anthony Lynn.. who many thought would manufacture some designed plays to feature Clay.

 

I took a look at the All 22 of this Cards game and discovered a few things: ( keep in mind I of course do not know the play call but am just going off of what I see on the screen.. I also may have missed a play or two.. but this should analysis should at least be directionally accurate)

 

I looked to answer the following questions:

 

How many passing snaps did he get?

 

Was Clay doubled most of the day?

 

Was Clay getting open..getting separation consistently?

 

Did Clay appear to be the first read often?

 

__ ____

 

PASSING SNAPS

• Clay was on the field for 19 called pass plays by my count

 

 

DOUBLE TEAMED/ BRACKETED:

• Clay appeared to be doubled or bracketed closely by two defenders on 4 out of 19 pass plays ( 21% of the time). Below is an example of Clay being bracketed/doubled on the first play of the game
• Clay is lined up next to the RT and runs an intermediate out route.. This is a designed roll out for TT and I'm going to assume Clay is the 1st read here. However.. as you can see he is nicely bracketed by 2 defenders and isn't really a good option

 

• There were several other examples where it was pretty clear Arizona was purposefully taking away Clay later in the game. In short.. double teaming/bracketing can account for 1 out of 5 missed Clay opportunities.
• Here's another one where he gets double the attention.. Clay is lined up in line next to the RT on this one.

 

SINGLE COVERAGE/ NOT OPEN

• To my eye Clay was single covered.. and not getting separation or not open on 8 out 19 plays .. or 42 % of the time

 

 

OPEN

• To my eye Charles Clay appeared to be open on 7 out of 19 pass plays.. or 37% of the time. In other words.. he appeared to have beaten his defender and gotten good separation 37% of the time.
• Below is an example where he is open but doesn't get the ball.
• Clay lines up in the slot on the right.. runs a crossing route on the goalline.. but doesn't appear to be the first read as TT is looking right to Powell right after the snap. The CB blitz doesn't give Tyrod a chance to progress to Clay..resulting instead in a completed slant short of the goal ine to Powell. TT actually does a pretty good job here in the face of the blitz.

 

 

1st READ?

• This was my biggest surprise.To my eye in reading where Tyrod was looking right after the snap and hitting his drop.. Clay was only the first read in 3 out of 19 pass plays .. or 16% of the time. The Bills were not able to execute on any of these opportunities. This was surprising in light of the fact that Watkins and Salas were both out. Below are 2 two examples

Here's an example where they were clearly targeting Clay up the seam as the first read.. but they don't quite execute. Given.. this is a tough throw for TT to get it over that linebacker.. however.. if Clay and TT had better chemistry this would have been executed somehow. Elite QBs make this throw

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY

• Based on this game.. Clay's issues can mostly attributed be to him not getting separation when he is single covered. It also appears that Anthony Lynn did not really feature him too much in this game as by my count Tyrod only looked at Clay as a first read 3 times. That being said.. there were several times where Clay got separation and was actually targeted..but circumstances (CB blitz) or inaccuracy by TT resulted in misses.

OUTLOOK

• When Sammy comes back.. that should eliminate most of the double teaming/bracketing that Clay sees.. so that should help
• Also.. I'd really like to see Clay running less deep routes and more crossing routes/ intermediate routes .. maybe even some deigned rub routes
• I also didn't really see any designed play action to Clay .. now that the run game is hitting I think some designed play action to Clay could really do damage

Let's hope he can be featured more going forward.. and let's hope he and TT can somehow develop some chemistry as right now it's pretty clear they don't have much.

 

OK .. flame away:)

Edited September 27, 2016 by Bocephuz

[John from Riverside]

Why did Clay not break upfield in that first video? It would seem to me that a sharp cut up the middle seam would have freed him from that double bracket and Tyrod could have just thrown it to a spot......to me it looked like Tyrod WAS looking to get the ball to him but just ran out of real estate (the sideline) and time.

[NoSaint]

Why did Clay not break upfield in that first video? It would seem to me that a sharp cut up the middle seam would have freed him from that double bracket and Tyrod could have just thrown it to a spot......to me it looked like Tyrod WAS looking to get the ball to him but just ran out of real estate (the sideline) and time.

are you asking why clay didnt freelance a totally different route? Id assume the answer was he was making the read that was expected on the play.

 

i do wonder how complex the passing reads are though, if we are seeing things kept really tight even pre-snap.

[John from Riverside]

are you asking why clay didnt freelance a totally different route? Id assume the answer was he was making the read that was expected on the play.

 

i do wonder how complex the passing reads are though, if we are seeing things kept really tight even pre-snap.

When Tyrod breaks the pocket and needs a target I would think it is ok for Clay to freelance a little bit......to me that coverage looked they they expected Clay to do exactly what he did.

 

Tyrod is just looking for an option downfield at that point

[LeGOATski]

I'd love to see Clay featured more. Last year he had some great runs after the catch. He's a big, tough runner and can help set a physical tone for the offense.

 

Like you said, set him up with some crossers and curl routes up the seam, 1 on 1 with a LB or safety. That's a favorable matchup as long as Tyrod places the ball well.

[Bocephuz]

I'd love to see Clay featured more. Last year he had some great runs after the catch. He's a big, tough runner and can help set a physical tone for the offense.

 

Like you said, set him up with some crossers and curl routes up the seam, 1 on 1 with a LB or safety. That's a favorable matchup as long as Tyrod places the ball well.

Yes.. his best attribute is run after catch.. so more quick passes in space and less deep post and seam routes

[NoSaint]

When Tyrod breaks the pocket and needs a target I would think it is ok for Clay to freelance a little bit......to me that coverage looked they they expected Clay to do exactly what he did.

 

Tyrod is just looking for an option downfield at that point

are we both talking about the first (designed roll out) video?

[Coach Tuesday]

are we both talking about the first (designed roll out) video?

 

No - he's talking about the seam route where Clay is bracketed. I agree that Clay should've broken it upfield into open space, regardless of what was called. He beat the double coverage but then turned back into it for no discernible reason.

[TakeYouToTasker]

When Tyrod breaks the pocket and needs a target I would think it is ok for Clay to freelance a little bit......to me that coverage looked they they expected Clay to do exactly what he did.

 

Tyrod is just looking for an option downfield at that point

I'm sure Anthony Lynn would appreciate Charles Clay freelancing his way through the offense with your seal of approval, rather than doing what the coaches may have instructed him to do on a given play.

[bobobonators]

Great job by the OP! If Watkins continues to be out of lineup, Clay needs to become a focus of the offense. Heck, even with Watkins in clay needs to be specifically targeted more when possible. Majority of offense should revolve around Shady, Clay and Watkins when healthy.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

Sounds like we expected them to scheme for him - so we didnt really gameplan much to use him. He isn't watkins... You can scheme to cover him.

[mob16151]

Those single coverage ppays,were they man or zone ?

[Bocephuz]

Sounds like we expected them to scheme for him - so we didnt really gameplan much to use him. He isn't watkins... You can scheme to cover him.

 

In watching all these plays he is certainly does not have the route running/ separation skills that Watkins has and appears to be much easier to take out of a game than Watkins would be.

 

That being said he's a tight end so it's not apples to apples. But still.. it seems clear to me that his route running is average.. but his run after the catch seems to be his forte. So get him the ball in space and let him run some dudes over rather than throwing deep to him

Those single coverage ppays,were they man or zone ?

 

In general.. from what I saw they played a mix of zone and man D looks. There were instances in both coverages where he didn't appear to be doubled in man.. or appear to have an extra zone guy shaded towards him.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Bocephuz

[NoSaint]

 

In watching all these plays he is certainly does not have the route running/ separation skills that Watkins has and appears to be much easier to take out of a game than Watkins would be.

 

That being said he's a tight end so it's not apples to apples. But still.. it seems clear to me that his route running is average.. but his run after the catch seems to be his forte. So get him the ball in space and let him run some dudes over rather than throwing deep to him

well, the WR vs tight end issue is obviously HUGE in that discussion. WRs get paid a whole lot more because they are a whole lot harder to contain.

[Bocephuz]

well, the WR vs tight end issue is obviously HUGE in that discussion. WRs get paid a whole lot more because they are a whole lot harder to contain.

Good point.. but we are paying him a HUGE salary to run a lot of deep routes that WRs typically run.

[NoSaint]

Good point.. but we are paying him a HUGE salary to run a lot of deep routes that WRs typically run.

at 7.6m per year he would be 24th on the WR pay list. just for a gauge on how huge that deal actually is.

 

its large for a TE, but its hardly huge by NFL standards.

[BringBackOrton]

at 7.6m per year he would be 24th on the WR pay list. just for a gauge on how huge that deal actually is.

 

its large for a TE, but its hardly huge by NFL standards.

Which makes him a top tier #2 receiver and borderline #1, in terms of resources allocated. He needs to be utilized as such.

[NoSaint]

Which makes him a top tier #2 receiver and borderline #1, in terms of resources allocated. He needs to be utilized as such.

right - he does, and he needs to impact the passing game. im not arguing against that -- im just saying that comparing him on the field to sammys presence..... well.... hes not supposed to be as impactful, and some of that impact is in different ways too. thats what specifically had me mentioning it.

[John from Riverside]

are we both talking about the first (designed roll out) video?

yes...the one where he was bracketed by two defenders

I'm sure Anthony Lynn would appreciate Charles Clay freelancing his way through the offense with your seal of approval, rather than doing what the coaches may have instructed him to do on a given play.

That is not what I am saying

 

When a QB has escaped the pocket the play has broken down....it is up to pass catchers to know find open space and give their QB a target.

[TakeYouToTasker]

yes...the one where he was bracketed by two defenders

That is not what I am saying

 

When a QB has escaped the pocket the play has broken down....it is up to pass catchers to know find open space and give their QB a target.

Being open on a scramble drill does no good if you aren't in your quarterback's field of vision, which becomes much more limited as they are rapidly flushed to one side of the field. You certainly don't want to flow into space where you're asking your quarterback to throw across his body on the run.