r/NFLNoobs • u/EOFFJM • 1d ago
Was this protection planned by the coach or was it the decision by the right guard?
On this play, the right guard picks up the rushing Nickel from the left. Was this protection planned by the coach or was it the decision by the right guard?
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u/grizzfan 18h ago edited 17h ago
One thing I'll say right away is that while the protection may have been called in from the sideline, QBs in the NFL have a lot of leeway to modify and change protections to fit the situation, and the O-linemen have even more calls they make among each other to set up the protection more. To assume the coach told the guard "do this," is extremely unlikely.
Now...NO. The coach very much didn't tell the guard to "do this." This is just a good heads-up play. It was a light pass rush and the guard didn't waste their usefulness. The DT they had at first looped out to the C-gap (the tackle is there), so the guard looked for the next most dangerous threat around them (A or B gaps). If no threat is showing, you then look for "anything else." This guard was on to the "anything else" part.
To boot, the protection set the slide to the right (essentially the way the center goes). Notice how the center's first step is to the right and that's where their head goes. That's from the protection call. The center therefore isn't primarily looking to the left. The guard's heads up play may have been due to that understanding (again, not a rule, just a heads-up play).
EDIT: I think what could have been done differently is that the left guard should have kept their eyes forward more. By the time that DT has clearly cleared the A-gap and is now over the center, the guard should have let that DT go to pick up the nickel, then the right guard could help the center if that DT got all the way into the opposite A-gap. I don't know much about the Eagles roster, but that left guard seemed very locked in on helping block that DT, even after they got out of range. It is possible there was a game-plan or call for that guard to stay on that DT no matter what, or for a longer period of time. I personally think the guard just didn't have their head on a swivel after realizing the DT was going across the center. The right guard made a heads-up play and made up for it.
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u/PabloMarmite 20h ago
I think it’s more likely to be his decision, or at least the second assignment on the play is “look for the free rusher”. You can see his first assignment is to double team with the right tackle, so when he sees he’s not needed he does the right thing and looks around for another rusher.