Why no jet sweep with lockett

[sutz]

The fact is that the jet sweep is incredibly easy to defend if you know it's coming or expect it. With Harvin, it worked the first time, then not so well after that. It's a play you kind of have to set up for it to work effectively, no matter who the ball carrier is. Last year, we went to it several times. If the DE and the CB stay home and set the edge properly, the play goes nowhere and is likely to lose yards. It is, after all just another form of a reverse play. If you catch the D off guard, you get positive yardage and possibly a big play. If the D is disciplined and stays home, you're lucky to get back to the LoS.

It wouldn't surprise me if we try it in the playoffs, but only because we haven't used it much since Harvin left. What we'll probably see is No-E, or other WR in motion behind the formation on a fake reverse a few times, and then pop the real one when they think the D is set up properly.

Strategy, guys.

But wouldn't it be good toforce the DE and CB to stay home? I don't think anybody is calling for it to be a staple of the offense (maybe they are). But it seems like a good play to run every now and then and fake a few times as well.

Sure, it would do that. I'm not totally against running the play, especially with Lockett's speed. But it has to be set up properly and sprung on the D when they aren't looking for it to be successful. After we run it, it can help freeze the DE and CB a bit for something else. Just faking an end around or jet sweep will tend to do that, too.

 

[Largent80]

Save it for the playoffs.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

The fact is that the jet sweep is incredibly easy to defend if you know it's coming or expect it. With Harvin, it worked the first time, then not so well after that. It's a play you kind of have to set up for it to work effectively, no matter who the ball carrier is. Last year, we went to it several times. If the DE and the CB stay home and set the edge properly, the play goes nowhere and is likely to lose yards. It is, after all just another form of a reverse play. If you catch the D off guard, you get positive yardage and possibly a big play. If the D is disciplined and stays home, you're lucky to get back to the LoS.

It wouldn't surprise me if we try it in the playoffs, but only because we haven't used it much since Harvin left. What we'll probably see is No-E, or other WR in motion behind the formation on a fake reverse a few times, and then pop the real one when they think the D is set up properly.

Strategy, guys.

But wouldn't it be good toforce the DE and CB to stay home? I don't think anybody is calling for it to be a staple of the offense (maybe they are). But it seems like a good play to run every now and then and fake a few times as well.

I'd love to see a quarterback keeper on a jet sweep fake. Watch the entire field go left and Russ go right with nothing but green turf and blue sky ahead. Now THAT would be a fantastic adaptation of the play.

 

[AF_Hawk]

Please no more jet sweeps. I'm happy that we rarely if ever use them now since PH has left.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Without getting into a referendum of whether the play is worthy or if Harvin sucked, I'll focus on why we used this play with Harvin and don't with Lockett.

To successfully pull that run play off, you need to be a strong runner. Harvin is not a good receiver -- really he sucks at it. But he is an outstanding runner. He has a unique blend of speed, strength and quickness. And that unique blend led him to lead the league in broken tackles for any position. Recall that was one of the main reasons to pair him with Tate as they were both #1 and #2 in that regard at the WR position.

Lockett is an outstanding receiver. And he has outstanding speed and quickness. But he doesn't possess Harvin's strength. Lockett is a guy who either makes guys completely miss, or he goes down with a glancing blow. He is consistently arm tackled. He isn't the same kind of runner that Harvin was (able to run through contact and get to the next level).

The physical skill tools for these two players is similar. But in this particular case Harvin was much better suited than Lockett. I have seen us use Lockett on a jet sweep with modest success. It's not a play that he's physically suited to succeed at. If he was successful, I'd fully expect the success to be due to a misplay on the defense's part. In that case Lockett's speed and open field agility would allow him to do real damage. But if a defender gets an arm on him, he's going down.