We're back! Almost like we never really left. 

As we all know, the preseason is a weird time. It's football, and that's exciting, but we can't really evaluate it like we would a regular season game, because the goal of a preseason game isn't the same as the goal of a regular season game. The goal of a preseason game isn't always to win. Coaches are getting their game rhythm back a bit, but they're also seeing how players do in game situations. We're watching second and third stringers battle out some simulations in front of us and coaches aren't using their whole playbook. Because of that, it doesn't do us a ton of good to dig into scheme in the same way we do during the regular season.

Still, there are things to be looked at. Pieces of information to glean. And, most importantly, there are talking points. That's where we come in.

This isn't going to be the article we get during the season. We're only looking at a few plays, and one of them is on the defensive side of the ball. I'm easing into the season just like everyone else. You ready? I'm ready.

Play 1

This play was in the 1st quarter, and, while it only went for a modest gain, it was impressive for a couple reasons. The first thing that jumps out is the throw itself. It's not a long throw, but Jordan Love [10] throws an off-platform bullet while breaking out of a crumbling pocket. The Packers are running curl/flat to one side and Dagger to the other, with AJ Dillon [28] running a flat route under Dagger.

With it being 2nd & 9, Love's first read is the curl/flat combo on the right. He hits his back foot and sets to throw, but it's covered, so he moves to Dagger. Jace Sternberger [87] splits the two-high coverage with a vertical route, but the pocket breaks down and prevents Love from hitting the throw. Love escapes pressure and keeps his eyes up. He sees the boundary defender inching in to guard against a potential scramble, but Love knows where his checkdown is. He clears the muck in front of him and whips a pass to Dillon.

I wanted to take a look at Love's footwork on this progression. He works a three-step drop, then hops to load for the throw. He's reading the curl/flat during the dropback and is ready to throw on the load. It's not open, so Love resets to his next read. His feet are tied to the read, so he's ready to throw if it's open.

Unfortunately, there is already a rusher in his face at this point, so he has to break contain. But he doesn't drop his eyes; he calmly breaks to his left, keeps his eyes up, then utilizes his checkdown option.

Really nicely done.

Play 2

On 3rd & 9, the Texans are playing two-high safeties. It looks like they're playing Tampa 2, with the inside linebacker sinking to the middle of the field. I've talked about this before, but every coverage has its weak spots. In Cover 2, one of the weak spots in deep coverage is the middle of the field. Tampa 2 attempts to solve that by dropping a linebacker to take away that gap. 

The Packers attack the two-high alignment with a Dagger concept on the right and a vertical route on the other side. Jace Sternberger is running straight up the middle of the field from inside spot on the right side. With the two outside receivers pushing vertical, the safeties are held in place, opening a nice area of space in the deep middle. The Tampa linebacker tilts his body and sinks back, but he doesn't sink quite enough.

Love hits his back foot, steps up into the pocket and drives a throw over the sinking linebacker.

Play 3

We're going to end on a defensive play; specifically, the sack by Oren Burks [42]. Burks showed some really nice things in this game. I'm currently caught between telling myself "it was just one preseason game" and "I think it's all starting to click for him." But we're not really here to talk about Oren Burks specifically on this play.

There are two main things I'm expecting to see out of Joe Barry's defense: 5 man fronts and pre-snap two-high alignments. Right now we'll just talk about the 5 man fronts. I'm not going to get into the specifics of the Tite/Mint front here - Maggie Loney did a good job with the philosophy on that alignment a couple weeks ago - but we will talk about the general thought behind a basic 5 man front. It's really pretty simple: against a 5 man protection scheme, you've got one-on-ones for your entire defensive line. With some of the talent the Packers have up front, they'll be able to take advantage of those opportunities.

It can also mess with protections. On this play, the Texans have a tight end on either side of the line, but both of those men are running routes. The Packers show a 5 man front, with 2 linebackers behind them. The Texans offensive line has to pick up the men on the line first, as that's the immediate threat. 

The Packers only end up rushing 4, with 3 from the line and 1 from the second level. The two edge rushers drop off, leaving the LT and RT dropping back without anyone to block. That leaves the center and two guards blocking against 4 rushers. The center and right guard block right and the left guard blocks left, leaving the middle wide open. Burks times it perfectly and hits the QB before the RB can even try to block.

When we think of overload blitzes, we typically think of that in terms of overloading one side of the field. On this play, the Packers isolate and overload the middle of the line. They only send 4 men on the rush, but they get a +1 rush advantage with a direct line to the quarterback. Nicely drawn up and very well executed.

I had a lot of fun over the offseason, diving back into plays from Packers history, as well as a few deep dive into concepts we're going to see this year. But there's really nothing like writing about a game we all just watched. Even if it's just preseason, football is back, and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for joining me this week! I look forward to spending the rest of the season with you all.

Albums listened to: The Killers - Pressure Machine; Kississippi - Mood Ring; William Fitzsimmons - Ready the Astronaut; The Lonely Wild - The Sun As It Comes