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As the Minnesota Vikings host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at the American Bank Stadium for a Week 12 contest, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a few moments to highlight Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady, because he quickly established himself as one. of the hottest training products in the National Football League. Brady’s impact was felt not only as a freshman offensive coordinator in the NFL, but also for the role he played in the development of Vikings rookie star receiver Justin Jefferson.
For those unfamiliar with Brady, the 31-year-old offensive coordinator spent the 2019 season as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for National Champion LSU Tigers. Brady worked closely with Jefferson and played an invaluable role not only in the development of Jefferson, but he was largely responsible for taking this LSU attack to new heights. I wrote about Brady in October, highlighting the historic leap Jefferson and the LSU Tigers experienced with Brady’s coaching prowess, as well as what a Jefferson and Brady reunion might look like.
Today we’re going to take a look at some of Brady’s concepts that I’m sure have kept Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer awake at night over the past week, as well as a concept Gary Kubiak and the Vikings adopted as one of their own after Jefferson and Brady had success with him last season at LSU.
That first game took place in Week 5 with the Panthers visiting the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons lead 7-6 and Carolina faces a 3rd and 4 near midfield just before halftime. The Panthers are lined up in a 2 × 2 set with Mike Davis playing the running back alongside Teddy Bridgewater, with Atlanta giving press coverage with a single high safety on top. Robby Anderson’s move to the wide end of the pitch confirms the Falcons are in man’s cover, allowing Carolina receiver DJ Moore to occupy the short end of the pitch as the sole receiver. Atlanta decides to put the pressure on by sending their two linebackers with the simple high level of security now responsible for Panthers running back Davis out of the backfield.
Now if you decide to put up some male cover on Brady and that Carolina attack you better be on your Ps and Qs because if you’re not careful Brady will light you up like a pinball machine like you are. about to see it below. With Moore welcoming the man of the press challenge, Brady calls on the third-year wide receiver to take a whip lane, forcing the Atlanta corner to honor his inside influence, before Moore returns to the outside on the whip. Because he’s able to win indoors with relative ease, the Falcons corner is already set before Moore finishes his run. Its sheen and quickness in condensed space is a nightmare for press-loaded turns without a safety aid on top.
Moore is able to get back on the outside on the whip, as Bridgewater recognizes the obvious reading and passes the ball to his playmaker in space before the Atlanta blitz can make it home. Moore turns on the jets and leaves the corner of Atlanta in the dust. With the help of Curtis Samuel’s touchdown block, Moore has reservations for six. The only thing missing from this particular piece was that Moore threw the devil at Tyreek Hill.
Then we bring it to the Carolina Week 9 game against the aforementioned Hill and world champion Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Panthers have a 1st and 10 inside the red zone of the Kansas City 14-yard line early in the second quarter, hanging on to a 7-3 lead. Carolina lines up in a staff “11” with their three receivers in grouped formation on the short end of the field. Brady and head coach Matt Rhule clearly saw a game they liked, acknowledging the man’s cover against the Kansas City nickel defense. Much of Rhule and Brady’s offense is built around identifying the mismatches the defense presents to them, and then executing those mismatches.
For this particular play, Rhule and Brady understand that Chiefs safety Dan Sorensen is responsible for Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel. The Panthers not only want to beat opposing defenses with their top speed vertically, but also horizontally, and that’s exactly what they’re doing on this game inside the red zone. With Samuel’s speed movement on the jet concept, you’ll notice Sorensen immediately leaves and follows his responsibilities of covering the man on Samuel.
The ball is broken and Panthers tight end Ian Thomas ignores Kansas City defensive end, instead climbing to support. Davis serves as Samuel’s main blocker and is responsible for the most dangerous second level threat. Davis secures his block on the Chiefs linebacker, leaving Samuel head-to-head with his shift on Sorensen. Samuel’s clear speed advantage over Sorensen allows him to win as Sorensen finds nothing but Arrowhead grass, breathing in the diving tackle attempt as Samuel crosses the goal line.
Finally, I promised to show you a concept that is one of Brady’s favorites, coming from his time at LSU with Jefferson. This is a diagram Brady took with him to the NFL, so let’s start this one by showing you how effective this concept was for Jefferson and Brady last year in the SEC.
In LSU’s first practice against Mississippi State, the Tigers face a 3rd and a 7th from the 42-yard line from Mississippi State. LSU is lined up in an empty 2×3 set with Jefferson lined up in the inside slot on the wide side of the court. The State of Mississippi is in a dime defense, opting to rush five while still offering a man blanket look with one-height safety aid. This concept is intended to get the ball out quickly, while allowing the slot machine catcher (Jefferson) to slow down his trajectory on the hesi-shake.
Notice how security descends on Jefferson first, biting off Jefferson’s hesitation sharply, as if preparing for a quick hitch in midfield. Jefferson cradles the man-defender and quickly resumes his journey as he continues on his way. Jefferson’s responsible safety just can’t keep up with the catcher’s stopping and starting flurry as Jefferson is wide open in the middle with plenty of room for extra distance after the capture. It’s like taking candy from a baby, and it’s easy to see why it’s such a favorite concept for both Brady and Jefferson.
Below you’ll see how easily Brady’s concept translates to the NFL, as he dials it up for Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson out of the slot against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. As a coach and / or a caller it is imperative. that you feel confident about your individual match in human coverage in order to execute this hesi-shake concept for a certain receiver. Anderson plays with his cover game against the Saints and easily moves the sticks for the Panthers offense.
It’s no surprise that the Vikings took it upon themselves to put Jefferson in familiar situations in order to be successful during his freshman year in the NFL. Gary Kubiak and the Vikings offensive have pitched this concept a few times for Jefferson, most recently like last week in tight time against the Dallas Cowboys.
As Minnesota trailed 31-28 with 1:33 left in the game, Kubiak didn’t hesitate to make a brilliant play call for his star rookie to receive the ball into space on a 2nd and a 6 of. their own 29-yard line. With Dalvin Cook emptying the formation with his movement to the short end of the field, Dallas confirms the man’s cover by forcing Cook’s nickel past the numbers. With Jefferson now occupying the location of the 2 × 3 set, the midfield is wide-open after lulling his man cover defender with the hesi-shake road. All Jefferson has to do is secure the hold and it’s almost a guarantee that he picks up, at a minimum, the first one down. And when you consider Jefferson’s unique abilities, I wouldn’t dare go beyond him to miss a guy in space and role-play him.
But as we already know, Jefferson’s fall here proved to be critical as two games later the Vikings turned the ball on downs.
As Brady and Jefferson face off in their first NFL game as opponents, you can’t help but tip your hat on Brady’s next level plans and how they helped Justin Jefferson. to become the receiver he is today. Mike Zimmer and his defense had better bring in their A game, or Sunday’s game could very well turn into a shootout in the Wild Wild West inside the US Bank Stadium.
And I don’t know about you, but I still am just a little bit intrigued by the idea of reuniting Jefferson with Brady. I think we can all agree that they both look great in purple and gold with confetti flying from the sky after winning a championship.
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