Examining the L'Jarius Sneed blitz that won't stop working

One might say L'Jarius teed... off on quarterbacks (I'm so sorry). Let's talk about how the CB blitz keeps having success in multiple weeks.

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Sometimes, a play call succeeds because of unique or exceptional talent on the field. Other times, a play call succeeds because the design fools the opponent and leaves them flat-footed. Either are good to have and will generally lead to positive results.

There’s a third scenario, though, where coaching and talent come together to create success that is both total and instant. When a unique talent combines with a coach whose specific schematic desires fit precisely with what that talent does best. When that happens, it can lead to game-altering plays.

One might think I’m talking about Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. But right now, today, I’m talking about L’Jarius Sneed and Steve Spagnuolo. Because right now, that pair can’t seem to miss.

On Sunday night, Sneed brought down Tom Brady on a sack that happened so quickly it was like he materialized out of thin air. It was the cornerback’s 3rd sack through four games, and the second time he’d forced a fumble in the process.

Ever since he came out of (seemingly) nowhere to steal significant snaps as a rookie, L’Jarius Sneed has been an unusual player to review and analyze. That’s in part because one of his best traits (though he’s been a solid, physical coverage player) has been his knack for getting home quickly as a blitzer with a combination of speed, balance and physicality. And so far this season, Spagnuolo has harnessed that ability in a way that’s genuinely altering the course of games. It’s been a lot of fun to watch and has helped them get to 3-1.

Even more fun, though, is the way that Spags has put Sneed in a position to succeed on those blitzes. All three sacks, while similar on the surface (slot CB blitz from the left side of the defense), were set up in a way to take each quarterback by complete surprise. That’s hard to do. And that’s what I want to talk about today.

Three games, three sacks, three excellent setups by Spags (and well executed not just by Sneed, but the entire defense), and three quarterbacks brought down. Let’s look at them chronologically and how they tied together to take the QB’s and OC’s at a disadvantage.

With 8:36 remaining in the 1st quarter, the Cardinals faced 3rd and 1 while trailing by a touchdown. This was a crucial down, as Kansas City had marched down the field their first possession and was threatening to send Arizona’s offense off the field in a mere three plays (and, thus, getting Patrick Mahomes back ON the field. So… you know, that’s bad). The Cardinals ran out a unique formation in an attempt to put the Chiefs defense in a bind, lining up 4 receivers on the left in a diamond set and a single tight end to the right. Sneed was lined up as the left slot CB.

There are a few interesting things to note about how the Chiefs line up here.

KC is showing a potential blitz with Sneed, as he’s lined up in the box off the edge rusher while Trent McDuffie is behind him ready to pick up the coverage to that side. They’ve also had Willie Gay Jr. creep up to show a potential blitz (though he ends up staying back as a spy). In the meantime, note that they’ve only got 3 defensive linemen “down” with George Karlaftis standing as though he’s looking to jam the innermost receiver (A.J. Green) at the line. Bolton is clearly moving towards coverage, with teh Chiefs rotating Justin Reid down at safety to help with the overloaded right side of the defense.

Here’s how it played out at the snap. Despite Sneed clearly showing blitz, Murray just didn’t see him coming.

My best guess here is that Murray was so focused on his numbers advantaged on his left that he thought he’d be able to get the ball out immediately. But the Chiefs aren’t trying to “man up” in coverage here across the board (that would be insane with Karlaftis and Bolton). Rather, they’ve got a pair of defenders playing shallow zone. and Reid picking up one of the receivers.

It’s worth noting that Karlaftis is only showing a jam to slow down Green, whose route is going to take him into a wide-open space. But he’s actually rushing. The right side of the line doesn’t account for Sneed at all (again, it appears that Murray just missed him or didn’t believe he was blitzing, OR the OL missed the call). Notice how Frank Clark makes a move inside here at the snap. The RT reacts, and Sneed is home instantly (his closing speed and physical finishes are perfect as a blitzing corner).

Something worth noting here is that the unusual alignment by the Cardinals prevented any real disguise from Sneed, as he’s one of two corners to that side of the field. He compensated by basically hiding behind Clark and making sure to come right off his hip.

It’s a great result that clearly took the Cardinals by surprise, but of course now it’s on film that the Chiefs will send Sneed in a high-leverage moment (something they did last year as well).

So let’s go to Week 3 against Indy. This was once again in the 1st quarter, this time on a 4th and 1 with 2:37 remaining. It’s again a high-leverage moment and Spags wants to send Sneed again, but the alignment of the opponent is very different. That said, the way Spags goes about getting this blitz lined up is also very different.

With the Colts lined up in more traditional 11-personnel formation with a single tight end on the line and a running back in the backfield, that gives Spags a chance to crowd the line of scrimmage here with multiple defenders. Note that both Darius Harris and Justin Reid are on the line on the right side (offense’s left) showing blitz, and the Chiefs are displaying a man-coverage look with a single safety shaded to the left side of the defense.

What that means for Ryan is that he should have some open spaces if the Chiefs blitz, but the protection is primarily focused on Reid and Harris, with the potential of Bolton coming from the middle of the field as well. However, (as the arrows show), Thornhill isn’t actually playing back as a safety, he’s rotating up to replace the blitzing Sneed. Here, unlike the previous play, Sneed doesn’t show any sign of being a blitzer, instead setting up as though he’s playing press man.

At the snap, you can see what showing blitz from the other side does to the Colts’ protection, as well as the way the Colts are terrified of Chris Jones (at the left defensive tackle here)

With Harris and Reid the obvious blitzing threats (particularly given that Reid as a CB to his outside shoulder as the obvious coverage man), extra protection of the tight end and running back are focused squarely on those two.

In the meantime, with the defensive line having four down linemen the offensive line does have the numbers advantage to, in theory, watch for Sneed. However, with Jones on the interior and the entire defensive line all inside the tackles, the OL instead chooses to squeeze its protection to try and contain the interior rush (with extra help on Jones). Note that Karlaftis moves inside to assure the RB has to account for Reid with the tackle following him inside.

All of this is very sensible and would’ve resulted in a good protection against man coverage across the board with time to throw. Except, of course, Sneed.

Give credit to Matt Ryan, he’s a sharp veteran who recognizes what is unfolding in front of him as he runs a play action fake. He sees that Thornhill is picking up the middle of the field and that there’s instant leverage there for a quick throw. However, by the time he even starts to unload (the play action was good in theory but bad in practice here) Sneed is on him and knocking the ball loose.

Same player, same technical spot (slot defender, left side), but the way that Spagnuolo freed up space for Sneed was very different than in Week 1.

Let’s fast forward now to Week 4, against Tom Brady, who is one of the best in history at setting up his protections and recognizing blitzes as they come. Spags is planning on sending Sneed again, but look how different it appears presnap (we’ll get to post-snap, where the entire execution was different).

The first note is that this play was 1st and 10. Until now, Spags had only sent Sneed (for the most part) on obvious passing downs or in high-leverage moments. By sending him on 1st down it’s already throwing a changeup it try and fool Brady. The second thing he does is dress it up completely differently and have some different post-snap action at the line.

We’ll talk about the post-snap movement in a second. Let’s talk about alignment first.

Sneed isn’t showing press man coverage here, but is playing off the line (and in fact is fiddling with his helmet and gloves in a bit of subterfuge).

This time, the Chiefs are showing a 2-high look and could be running any number of coverages based on where the safeties (Cook is lined up at the 40 as underneath help) and Bolton are lined up. There’s not an overloaded line of scrimmage, and in fact the only defenders there are the defensive linemen themselves. All of them have their hand in the dirt, and they’re aligned wider than they were against Indy (which makes sense, given it’s not a short-yardage down). In short, there aren’t any “tells” here that resemble the previous two plays we’ve talked about here.

Brady motions into empty, a sign that Brady thinks there’s a blitz coming and wants to get the ball out hot. But Spags has account for this, PLUS added a wrinkle to keep the right side of the offensive line from adjusting as Sneed comes flying in. Let’s look at it from the all-22 angle first.

Brady wants to go hot to his receiver out of the backfield, but in a twist from what Spags has done previously, not all four linemen are rushing here. Instead, Karlaftis drops back and laterally right into the route of the receiver in order to prevent an obvious throwing lane inside. It’s an excellent change to account for how capable Brady is of ID’ing a blitz post-snap and getting it out to the side without numbers, and it made the difference on this play. If Karlaftis doesn’t drop, Brady gets this out quickly and it’s a positive play for Tampa.

There were other changeups here post-snap as well, once again designed to help Sneed get home. For those, let’s look at the Madden cam view.

The most noticeable change (other than Karlaftis dropping off) is that Bolton is sent on the blitz this time. This forces the center to account for him. That’s step 1 in giving Sneed a free run, as it creates a 2x2 matchup between Clark/Saunders and the Bucs’ RG and RT.

That’s where another change comes into play. Rather than rushing straight in, Clark and Saunders run a game with Saunders going up the field and Clark cutting back inside. This requires the linemen to switch defenders mid-play, which requires communication and concentration on the fly (it’s the reason stunts are successful on their own; OL struggle with them at times). Because they’re so focused on flushing out the “game” they’ve correctly identified (the tackle in particular), Sneed doesn’t even get a glance until he’s already flown by the tackle.

From this angle you can also see Brady clearly looking for that hot route and having to pull it down. That’s because Karlaftis is standing right where the route would’ve taken the receiver into the interior of the defense. Him pulling it down was actually a sharp move, as some QB’s might have thrown a pick there. Of course, with everything else that’s occurred to give Sneed a free run (which, again, his specific skillset allows him to exploit quickly) that means Brady has no time left and gets smacked as he brings the ball down.

Three plays. Three “similar” blitzes. Three sacks. And all successful due to an excellent combination of a uniquely skilled player and a smart defensive coordinator who understands the need to dress up the same call differently.

I’ll be honest, this stuff right here is why I love football. Something so simple on the surface (slot blitz!) is actually a bunch of different pieces falling into place. And when it happens, it’s beautiful to watch.