Greg Cosell's NFL Classroom: One amazingly complex, simple-looking play

I'm going to analyze a play that looks like it's simply a quarterback throwing to a wide-open receiver for a 24-yard gain.

But it's much, much more than that, and you would never know it unless you study film and know the subtle nuances that made it happen. This came in the second quarter of the Green Bay Packers' game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16 last year.

Let's start before the snap. Here's a classic case where you have safeties in a two-deep shell as Aaron Rodgers starts to look at the defense; it could almost be quarters coverage, or maybe man. The Buccaneers try to change the defense late, right before the snap, and it becomes "Cover 3" zone.

You see the covers opening up to the field and bailing (running back) right before the snap. We know that indicates zone. The underneath defenders are dropping, and if underneath defenders move backward at the snap, you can bet they're playing zone. Rodgers sees all that right away — he has to, or he wouldn't know where to go with the ball to beat that defense.

The design of the play is to go to the three-receiver side. But here's a quiz: Against "Cover 3" zone, who does Rodgers need to beat to make the play?

The answer is the middle ("mike") linebacker, Lavonte David (No. 54), who is one of the best in the league by the way. He's the one who can foil this play to Randall Cobb, and Rodgers has to beat him somehow. So he does something that you would likely not notice unless you go back and watch the film very closely.

Let's look from the end zone angle. Watch Rodgers move his shoulders and head, then David's reaction to Rodgers' movement and you'll see how that gets Cobb open.

When Rodgers rolls his shoulders and head to the left side, David goes that way. Rodgers beats David with such a subtle move that it would be almost impossible to see live. He moves the linebacker out of the way. Then Cobb comes right in the void.

It looks so simple at first glance, right? It's anything but simple. That's high-level quarterbacking. And that's also why we watch film, to find those subtle things that you don't see right away. It's fun to discover a play like this.

It's not just Rodgers' shoulder roll that gets Cobb open. Rodgers has to wait a beat to throw the ball until Cobb is fully open. Not every quarterback is that patient. Rodgers knows the longer he sits in the pocket the more likely he is to get hit. But he waits for Cobb to clear David so he's open. That's a skill as well, to stand in the pocket when you know the rush is coming.

This looks like just a normal, easy 24-yard play that you or I could make. But so much went into it. The Buccaneers changed defenses so late, moving their safeties down, so Rodgers had to diagnose that basically as the ball is being snapped. He has to figure out the defense, where the void might be and what his best option is against it quicker than you read this sentence. He processes it's "Cover 3." Then he has to figure out where the passing lane could be and how to create it. Keep in mind, it's a totally different play if the Buccaneers play man coverage at the snap. My guess is he might have gone to Jordy Nelson at the top of the screen on a go route if this was against man. He went to a totally different receiver on a different route once he recognized it was "Cover 3" zone. And Rodgers figures all that out in about a second, like a computer chip, and executes it— remember, he alone figured out a way to open up a passing lane against an All-Pro linebacker. Unbelievable.

Then, on top of it all, Rodgers has to keep his head and understand that he needs to stay in the pocket just another beat to deliver the ball at the right time.

My friend and co-worker here at NFL Films, Ron Jaworski, says the more you play, the more you see stuff out of your vision. Even if you're not looking right at it, you see it. I guarantee Rodgers sees the cornerback open up to the field and bail and registers five different things that go with that one defender making that movement.

If you're watching this play on TV, it looks so easy. Cobb looks wide open for the gain. That's what so great about going back and looking at film. You can learn how amazingly complex this simple-looking play is.

Previous "NFL Classroom" posts
What to watch before the snap
Sometimes, the defense wins
Understanding why INTs happen (Part 1)
Understanding why INTs happen (Part 2)
Evaluating QBs with "Jaws"

- - - - - - -

NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.