Commanders Training Camp Review: McLaurin Outstanding Catch
Breaking down an outstanding catch by Terry McLaurin from the Commanders training camp
Yesterday was the first day of padded practice for the Washington Commanders at training camp this year. Pads coming on always ramps up the intensity and brings out the best competition as it helps simulate real game situations as best as possible. This is where the younger players have their best chances to prove their worth and where the star players showcase their talents.
One of those star players showing their talents yesterday was wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Undoubtedly the play of the day from the Commanders training camp was McLaurin’s catch down the sideline. This clip comes from Mason Kinnahan on Twitter, who was at practice yesterday and tweeted a bunch of good clips, so be sure to check those out.
https://twitter.com/Mason_Kinnahan/status/1686387248068210689?s=20
Note: Twitter has banned substack from embedding tweets, so you’ll have to click the link to take you to a separate tab for Twitter in order to watch the clip.
It was an outstanding catch by McLaurin and a great throw by quarterback Sam Howell, but there’s a lot more going on here than just the throw and catch. So, let’s draw it up and break it all down.
This was the scene before the snap. The offense is in 11 personnel, consisting of one running back, one tight end and three receivers. All three receivers align to the right of the formation while the tight end is isolated on the back side. With the quarterback in the shotgun, this formation would be known as “Gun Trey Left Open”. Gun tells the offense that the quarterback is in the gun. Trey Left tells the offense that the tight end is isolated to the left of the formation while the three receivers all align to the right. Open is a tag for the tight end to line up detached from the formation, as a receiver rather than a traditional inline tight end.
With the offensive personnel and formation declared, the defense then has to react. On this occasion, we see the Commanders’ defense work out of a basic 4-2-5 nickel package with four defensive lineman, two linebackers and five defensive backs. Typically last year, those five defensive backs would have consisted of two outside corners and three safeties, known as their ‘Buffalo nickel” package, but this time it’s just a regular nickel package. Percy Butler and Darrick Forrest are the deep safeties, Benjamin St-Juste and rookie Emmanuel Forbes are the outside corners and Rachad Wildgoose is the slot corner in the nickel.
The defense aligns in a basic look too, trying to look as vanilla as possible pre-snap to not give away any of the coverage intentions. Butler and Forrest both align about 12 yards off the line of scrimmage on their respective sides of the field. St-Juste aligns over the isolated tight end while Forbes lines up in press against Terry McLaurin. Wildgoose works in the slot against Jahan Dotson and linebacker Cody Barton shifts over receiver Curtis Samuel inside. Obviously, Barton on Samuel is a mismatch for the defense, which indicates pre-snap that this isn’t man coverage. So what coverage are they actually playing? Let’s see.
The defense is in a variation of what’s typically known as Cover 8. Cover 8 is a combination coverage, combining aspects of Cover 2 and Cover 4. To the three receiver side of the field, the defense plays what’s more of a Cover 2 look, with Butler widening to a deep half at the snap. Forbes squats in press against McLaurin but peels off as he’s responsible for the flat. Wildgoose and Barton both have underneath zones that are slanted towards that three receiver side of the field.
On the back side of this coverage, the defense is meant to play quarters, with Forrest playing the deep inside quarter and St-Juste playing the deep outside quarter. However, because the offense is in a trips formation to the far side, the defense makes what’s known as a “Trix” or “Poach” check. This changes the coverage so that the safety can get his eyes on the inside receiver from the far side and carry that receiver if he runs vertically. As a result of that safety cheating to the other side, St-Juste is then left in pure man coverage, known as MEG, meaning Man Everywhere he Goes.
With the coverage sorted, let’s move onto the offense.
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