The New York Jets tried to use new acquisition Percy Harvin to execute a spectacular special teams play: a lateral to a hidden player in the end zone on a kickoff return. But, being the Jets, the only thing spectacular was the failure. The New York Jets made a splash two weeks ago, acquiring wide…
Instead of a build up to Super Bowl XLIX, the media has, for over a week now, thrown the book at the New England Patriots over their alleged culpability in “Deflategate.” One such argument involved using the Patriots fumble rate as a data point to support the rabid dogs. Luckily, Inside the Pylon has better…
With the regular season around the corner, Inside The Pylon reached out to former NFL scout and current Scouting Academy director Dan Hatman for a cheat sheet on who the pros are keeping an eye on – and who may be in danger of losing their job. Below are all eight of his articles for his…
Why travel nearly two hours to an NCAA Division III football game? To see Matt Pawlowski ‒ the best college quarterback you’ve never heard of. The town of Winchester, Virginia, about 75 miles northwest of the nation’s capital, is best known for its rich Civil War history, and as the birthplace of country music legend…
The New York Jets rolled up 218 yards against the New England Patriots run defense. What went wrong for New England? Part 1 of this four-part series explores what things look like when they go right, Part 2 on the failure to fit, Part 3 the failure to flow and here, the dangers of losing…
On Monday night, the New England Patriots attempted to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a game of football. They lost. Convincingly. For much of the night, they were outclassed, outhustled, and outthought by a Chiefs team that manhandled them in nearly every facet of the game. I use the qualifier “nearly every” because…
This article serves as a primer on understanding pass defenses in the NFL. Familiarity with the concepts here will help you identify these coverages, but more importantly their strengths and weaknesses to better understand why an offense might use them in a certain situation. To break things down into manageable chunks, topics are organized as follows: Basic…
Football offensive personnel packages refers to the kinds of players used on each play. In addition to the quarterback and five offensive lineman, teams use a variety of skill players (running backs, wide receivers, tight ends) to create favorable matchups and execute their play book. At all levels of football, teams use various terms to…