IronHead34 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2015/9/24/9389707/misconceptions-surrounding-robert-alford-against-odell-beckham-jrOdell Beckham Jr. had a big day against the Falcons defense (7 catches, 146 yards, and a touchdown). Most of that yardage came against third year cornerback Robert Alford. The backlash from Beckham's performance has been a bit strange. We have to keep two important facts in mind when looking at Beckham's stats:1. Beckham is one of the best receivers in the league, and only a handful of cornerbacks are capable of completely slowing him down.2. Dan Quinn's scheme will never ask the top cornerback, Desmond Trufant, to shadow the opposing team's top receiving option. This defense positions each cornerback to sides to of the field, Alford mans the right cornerback spot and Trufant is the left cornerback. In order to avoid facing Trufant, a lot of team are going to put their top targets across from Alford.Overall, Alford didn't play a bad game against Beckham. He wasn't perfect by any means, but once you take note of the two facts above it's much easier to contextualize how he played.Let's take a closer look. In this instance, the Falcons are lined up in Cover One. Atlanta is playing all man coverage except for Ricardo Allen playing deep, and Justin Durant lurking in the middle of the field. Alford is in a one on one situation with Odell Beckham and plays him very well up until the point Beckham catches the ball, but it isn't on Alford here. Beckham gets away with an uncalled push off on this play, Alford was in perfect position to make a play on the ball until he was shoved out of position. If the referees had called offensive pass interference on this play, then the stat sheet would look a little kinder towards Alford.Most of Odell Beckham's completions against Alford were short curl and slant routes where Alford was in good position to make a tackle immediately after the ball was caught. Great players are going to make plays on a routine basis, and Beckham is most certainly a great player in today's NFL. The long touchdown that Beckham scored in the second quarter was more on Ricardo Allen than it was on Robert Aflord. Atlanta employed their standard Cover Three look with Allen playing the deep middle third while Alford was protecting the sideline at the top of the screen.In this particular instance, Alford's responsibility was to play outside leverage with the free safety helping on potential routes breaking towards the middle of the field. The post route that Beckham was running ran right into Allen's coverage. Eli Manning threw a great ball that sliced right in between Allen Bradford and Nate Stupar into Beckham's hands.Since Alford was loosely trailing Beckham the touchdown is likely going to be tallied under his name on the stat sheet. However, Allen was in a better position to make a tackle around the fifty yard line, so most of the blame should be shifted towards him. Allen took a poor angle which sprung one of the most explosive athletes in the game to sprint for a touchdown; I wouldn't really chalk this up as a "coverage bust" per se, just a great play by Beckham to read Ricardo Allen's angle on the fly and explode for a touchdown. The Falcons were playing Cover Three again here, and Alford executed his assignment to the fullest. He had the deep, left portion of the field which essentially turned into man coverage on Beckham as he was running a "go" route towards the endzone. This is where Alford's technique and athleticism truly shined. As the graph above shows, Alford tested well above the league average (for cornerbacks) in the forty yard dash, vertical jump, and broad jump. Long "go" routes like this play right into Alford's strengths as an athlete and player and he exemplified those traits in this instance.Notice that Alford almost bites on the double move around the 45 yard line, but quickly accelerates as Beckham explodes out his route and flies down the sideline. Alford is able to keep up and make a phenomenal pass break up on the ball for an incomplete pass.All of these plays took place in the first half of the game where Beckham did the vast majority of his damage. In the second half the Giants diversified where they lined up Beckham. He faced Trufant more frequently which Eli Manning obviously didn't test (Desmond Trufant, in my opinion, can be just as good as peak Darrelle Revis). Robert Alford is much improved from where he was this time last year, but the stat sheet doesn't always embody those same sentiments. It's not a bad idea to take a closer look at the film which clearly shows that Alford is capable of being the number two corner in this scheme that sees a lot of targets.Moving forward, expect Alford to play much better as he becomes more comfortable with the coaching staff and scheme. Currently, Atlanta is ranked 13th in the NFL giving up 6.8 yards per attempt. Once Alford and Ricardo Allen gain more chemistry through in game reps, don't be surprised to see that number move into the top ten in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capologist Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 The only inaccuracy is saying that "most of the yardage" was on Alford when in reality less than half was on Alford... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Chief Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I think everyone pretty much moved on from it Monday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I explained this same thing after the game. Good break down. Ppl gotta understand cover 1 and cover 3 and the differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurtyBurdz155 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I think everyone pretty much moved on from it MondayOh no. People are still gonna bring this up as an argument as to why they think Alford is the sorriest CB in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurtyBurdz155 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 This was a good article. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Chief Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Oh no. People are still gonna bring this up as an argument as to why they think Alford is the sorriest CB in the league. and this is supposed to stop that? He's gonna continue to get a negative rep as long as he keeps getting picked on and big plays happen in his vicinity. That's just how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonnyjim Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) Thanks for this analysis. Added to yesterday's observation by another poster that one of Alford's interference calls prevented a touchdown makes me feel much better about #23. People who watch live TV shouldn't be too opinionated about the secondary.Better luck next time at getting all your graphics posted.The Fatboi's post registered too. Edited September 24, 2015 by sonnyjim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isproab Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Not really concerned. CB is a hard position to play. When you have someone like Trufant, the other guy is going to get picked on. Alford does a good enough job in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHead34 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 I think everyone pretty much moved on from it MondayWell, the article was posted today, so I could not post it Sunday or Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runshoot Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 and this is supposed to stop that? He's gonna continue to get a negative rep as long as he keeps getting picked on and big plays happen in his vicinity. That's just how it goesThis is what intelligent board posters do. They put fact on posts. Others just sit around and complain.Nice post OP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DurtyBurdz155 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 and this is supposed to stop that? He's gonna continue to get a negative rep as long as he keeps getting picked on and big plays happen in his vicinity. That's just how it goesOf course. Alford held his own Sunday considering he was getting "picked on" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronHead34 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 This is what intelligent board posters do. They put fact on posts. Others just sit around and complain.Nice post OPThanks. I didnt write it, but I enjoyed reading it :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 and this is supposed to stop that? He's gonna continue to get a negative rep as long as he keeps getting picked on and big plays happen in his vicinity. That's just how it goesYea but that's only cause most don't understand the responsibilities of cover 1 and cover 3. That's why I try to explain as much as I can. I knew he didn't have as bad a game as our fans were saying. But I also know what his responsibilities were. The big TD they were in cover 3 so his job was cover the sidelines and bail straight back. OBJ ran a slant so the coverage responsibility switched to someone else and they weren't in position. Then Allen missed the tackle and the rest is history. His coverage was actually like glue tho. Eli was throwing some beautiful passes. Other than that it was curls and come backs that were caught on alf. With some push offs at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Chief Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Well, the article was posted today, so I could not post it Sunday or Monday. pretty obvious when the date is in the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernscot Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Really good post. Encouraging sign was that the Falcons' defense tightened up in the second half and — after having a field a day in the first half — OBJ had minimal impact in the second half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtybird2k5 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Man I wish I could get my hands on that all 22 film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtybird2k5 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Yea but that's only cause most don't understand the responsibilities of cover 1 and cover 3. That's why I try to explain as much as I can. I knew he didn't have as bad a game as our fans were saying. But I also know what his responsibilities were. The big TD they were in cover 3 so his job was cover the sidelines and bail straight back. OBJ ran a slant so the coverage responsibility switched to someone else and they weren't in position. Then Allen missed the tackle and the rest is history. His coverage was actually like glue tho. Eli was throwing some beautiful passes. Other than that it was curls and come backs that were caught on alf. With some push offs at that.I see you out there. I read your posts. Good call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FentayeJones Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 and this is supposed to stop that? He's gonna continue to get a negative rep as long as he keeps getting picked on and big plays happen in his vicinity. That's just how it goesWho cares if folks stop complaining about Alford... I don't. This was a good post by the OP because it provides good analysis and insight on the type of defense we play. This is real football talk. Cant be worried about about a few people on this board who always complain about dumb chit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FentayeJones Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Yea but that's only cause most don't understand the responsibilities of cover 1 and cover 3. That's why I try to explain as much as I can. I knew he didn't have as bad a game as our fans were saying. But I also know what his responsibilities were. The big TD they were in cover 3 so his job was cover the sidelines and bail straight back. OBJ ran a slant so the coverage responsibility switched to someone else and they weren't in position. Then Allen missed the tackle and the rest is history. His coverage was actually like glue tho. Eli was throwing some beautiful passes. Other than that it was curls and come backs that were caught on alf. With some push offs at that.Bro this post is exactly what you were saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Chief Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Who cares if folks stop complaining about Alford... I don't. This was a good post by the OP because it provides good analysis and insight on the type of defense we play. This is real football talk. Cant be worried about about a few people on this board who always complain about dumb chit.am I the one who mentioned how other folks feel about it? I responded to a post mentioning it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I see you out there. I read your posts. Good call.Thanks bro!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiv_T_E_C_O_ Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Another good post breaking down Alford's coverage responsibilities and how he played well overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capologist Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Man I wish I could get my hands on that all 22 film.You can, just get NFL Game Pass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM12 Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I broke that play down Tuesday.... Get it together Falcoholic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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