What does Bevell see in the bubbles?

[Hawks46]

One bubble screen used vs the Bears.

Also a good way to spread things out if a team is focusing on the inside run.

But yeah, let's have another thread bashing Bevell, who makes all the decisions on offense (not Cable or Carroll, they get locked out of the room on gameplan day as Darrell gets to work using a sock puppet to brainstorm ideas).

This. English beat me to it, but our OL isn't all that great right now and we're having a hard time sustaining drives.

If we can't sustain drives, we are going to have a harder time wearing the defense out. When you can't dominate a defensive line, you try to get them running sideline to sideline. Stretch zone runs and screens are good ways to do this. Occasionally, I've seen Bevell make some clever play calls like a screen to the left side, then turn around and run a zone stretch to the right. Get them fat boys running sideline to sideline.

 

[idahohawk]

Did someone say bubbles?

 

[UGotHawked]

I, along with the rest of you, just don get why we run them so incessantly. They don't work. Ever. And of course they aren't "trick" plays per se, but they are in a sense kind of gimmicky and should only be used when catching the defense off guard for a quick hitter. Using them all the damn time takes away that ability.

I think you just coined Bevell's new nickname - "Bubbles."

 

[MontanaHawk05]

One bubble screen used vs the Bears.

So our criticism is a week out of date. They might go right back to it Monday.

 

[DavidSeven]

If you run a lot of read-zone, you likely run bubble screens or some other horizontal passing concept. The purpose is to stop defenders from cheating toward an inside run. If a receiver makes a bubble motion out of a read-zone formation, there are suddenly three things the defense has to defend at LOS: QB keeper, RB run, bubble receiver. For this to be convincing, you can't have overwhelming tendencies, which means you have to throw one every once in a while. I wouldn't rely on them heavily, but they do serve a purpose even when the gains are minimal. There are also counters you can incorporate to get the ball downfield.

My guess is Russ also occasionally checks to the bubble screen out of a called read zone based on what he sees, which means it may not always go to the most elusive receiver. But whatever, I see other teams run 'em with lumbering tight ends and possession receivers all the time.

 

[Grahamhawker]

I don't have a problem with bubbles. I have a problem with the personnel Bevell uses. Lockett seems much more suited for it than Kearse.

Screen work best if the receiver can make someone miss. That's Lockett's forte. Not Kearse's.

B-I-N-G-O B-I-N-G-O B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-o

Bubbles also need to be "sold" to work much. I've seen Lockette step backwards with his first step more than once. Not saying he's not a good blocker, but come on, don't telegraph it to the whole defense.

 

[DavidSeven]

I don't have a problem with bubbles. I have a problem with the personnel Bevell uses. Lockett seems much more suited for it than Kearse.

Screen work best if the receiver can make someone miss. That's Lockett's forte. Not Kearse's.

B-I-N-G-O B-I-N-G-O B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-o

Bubbles also need to be "sold" to work much. I've seen Lockette step backwards with his first step more than once. Not saying he's not a good blocker, but come on, don't telegraph it to the whole defense.

Telegraphing is useful if the defense thinks you're running a bubble screen but you're actually doing something else like handing the ball off on a zone read. The step back in that scenario might be freeze a DB or LB and prevent him from crashing on the RB. So, you kind of want it to look the same way every time.

 

[Grahamhawker]

Bubbles also need to be "sold" to work much. I've seen Lockette step backwards with his first step more than once. Not saying he's not a good blocker, but come on, don't telegraph it to the whole defense.

Telegraphing is useful if the defense thinks you're running a bubble screen but you're actually doing something else like handing the ball off on a zone read. The step back in that scenario might be freeze a DB or LB and prevent him from crashing on the RB.

I was talking about when they actually ran bubbles that were completely blown up.

 

[DavidSeven]

Bubbles also need to be "sold" to work much. I've seen Lockette step backwards with his first step more than once. Not saying he's not a good blocker, but come on, don't telegraph it to the whole defense.

Telegraphing is useful if the defense thinks you're running a bubble screen but you're actually doing something else like handing the ball off on a zone read. The step back in that scenario might be freeze a DB or LB and prevent him from crashing on the RB.

I was talking about when they actually ran bubbles that were completely blown up.

Well, in order to work as misdirection generally, you need to signal it to the defense whether you're actually utilizing the bubble screen or just using it as a fake. They don't know you're actually going to throw it just because the guy steps back. It's like having a receiver run a jet sweep motion pre-snap but giving it to the RB instead. The defense knows it has to defend jet sweep either way, and that's the point.

 

[Tical21]

There just isn't a lot that can go wrong with WR screens. They don't get picked, and they don't often end in negative yardage. We also run a lot of smoke screens as well, not always the bubble, but that is semantics. The biggest thing it does for us, is give our young QB's completions and confidence. We often have a really hard time getting the passing game going early, and a coordinator might call WR screens to try to get his QB into a rhythm. In the absence of being able to run a slant against man coverage, what are you going to do?

 

[Popeyejones]

One reason for these plays is to widen out the defense.

Yep. The other reason is to give your QB some "gimmie" completions> Basically bubbles, boot actions, and five yard slants.

For whatever reason Wilson is a bit inconsistent on the five yard slants, so you see more bubbles and boot actions.

When looking at the bubble, folks should just think of it as a way to try to stay on schedule (meaning, to gain four yards or so) while still keeping the defense honest about not selling out against the run.

It's not sexy by any means, but there is a purpose to it.

 

[Yxes1122]

My one issue with Bevell's bubble screens is who they go to. Why is Kearse getting a bubble screen? Or Lockette? Baldwin is almost understandable, but Lockett should get the majority of them IMO.

 

[TheRealDTM]

My one issue with Bevell's bubble screens is who they go to. Why is Kearse getting a bubble screen? Or Lockette? Baldwin is almost understandable, but Lockett should get the majority of them IMO.

That would be way to predictable.

 

[hawk45]

Speaking for myself, my negative reaction to bubble screens stems I think from the Harvin experiment where we warped our entire offense around them. I don't have a big problem with them as an occasional change of pace call.

 

[47degreesn]

I don't know if this is true... but I heard that the way the defense reacts to a bubble and screen play tells a lot about the defense and what they run. Maybe the scheme is run bubbles/screens first half to figure out the defense ?

 

[Lords of Scythia]

I used this in another thread, but I works here too.
I hate them, and I don't mean distain, dislike, I actually HATE THEM.
They are an extension of the run game? Really? Sure, just like that, except take away the punishing physical nature of the running attack, taking away the threat of the run on play action, and that our team just plane does not do them well. They just don't work for us. Get rid of them.

I judge a play by results and the results of this play are usually really bad. I can rack my brain and this of a few instances when we made 3-4 yards, and a lot more instances when we lost a few yards.

I don't care about boring. To me they are not boring, they are insufferable because they don't work. Please show me a game when we won a game using screen plays 9-10 times. Greenbay with Harvin in Seattle? Other than that game I an think of a lot more games we lost using them, Dallas at Seattle, Seattle in Greenbay this year come to mind. It seems like the offence takes a jump when we ditch the plays.

From reading the other posts it sounds like our offense takes a jump BECAUSE of using the bubble screens.

 

[Russ Willstrong]

I don't have a problem with bubbles. I have a problem with the personnel Bevell uses. Lockett seems much more suited for it than Kearse.

Seconded..

There was a time when Tate was our bubble screen receiver which was exciting given his runningback/returner mentality. I dont know what Bevell sees in practice but imo it would be exciting to see some screens to Jackson or Lockett.

 

[Scottemojo]

There is an article quoted on the front page of .NET right now about the sorry state of OL in the NFL. The increasing reliance on bubble screens is tied to that, IMO.

I watched parts or all of a lot of games yesterday and saw a lot of both good and bad bubble screens. Almost everyone is running them like crazy, and to me it is a direct reaction to needing to get the ball out fast. You see them early in every game because they are easy passes that can settle a QB down, maybe speed up his passing rhythm, get the d to back off a teensy bit on the pass rush, and if you have a modicum of talent, some easy yards.

I know why Bevell calls them. We do seem to be a particularly bad team at executing them. But one of these games Lockett is going to turn one into a big play, and then it will be a genius play. right?

 

[Lords of Scythia]

There is an article quoted on the front page of .NET right now about the sorry state of OL in the NFL. The increasing reliance on bubble screens is tied to that, IMO.

I watched parts or all of a lot of games yesterday and saw a lot of both good and bad bubble screens. Almost everyone is running them like crazy, and to me it is a direct reaction to needing to get the ball out fast. You see them early in every game because they are easy passes that can settle a QB down, maybe speed up his passing rhythm, get the d to back off a teensy bit on the pass rush, and if you have a modicum of talent, some easy yards.

I know why Bevell calls them. We do seem to be a particularly bad team at executing them. But one of these games Lockett is going to turn one into a big
Then we should see like a million bubble screens from Detroit and their 43 yards rushing average.