Acme Packing Company
The Baltimore Ravens came into Green Bay in Week 17 and won handily on the back of the running game and Derrick Henry, 41-24. Henry finished with 216 yards on 36 carries and scored four times, including on run plays from 30 and 25 yards out. They controlled every level of the Packers’ defense and forced the secondary to make tackles.
It really was the perfect storm of a really good Ravens run game scheme versus a lack of Packers depth up front in the trenches, sprinkled in with some mental errors. On early downs, the Ravens favored a zone running scheme with a lead fullback and had some success with a gap scheme as well.
On zone running plays, Henry carried the ball 11 times for 63 yards on early downs. This translated into 5.7 yards per carry and a 72.7% success rate. Success rate can be defined as when a given play gains “40% of yards required on 1st down, 60% of yards required on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd or 4th down.”
The Ravens predominantly featured a two-back weak-side zone running game when this type of run was called.
The play, widely known as BOB (Back on Backer), is a weak-side inside zone run designed isolate and lead up on the weak-side linebacker. The addition of the fullback is generally going to give the offense a +1 in gaps and allow them an extra blocker at the point of attack.
Here, the defense is outgapped from the start. Edgerrin Cooper uses a hammer outside technique on the fullback in the hole, but there’s no one else there to hammer inside. That should be Quay Walker, who couldn’t get off the block from the center.
On the backside, safety Evan Williams runs under the block of the backside guard and takes himself out of the play. Had he been able to get over the top, they may have limited Henry to a shorter gain here.
The Ravens also called it to the strong side, but more of a stretch/outside zone run with the fullback leading up after taking an outside zone path.
The Ravens go into a balanced 22 personnel formation along the line of scrimmage by motioning the second tight end over to the offense’s left.
The run will hit inside the two Packers defenders on the right edge of the defense.
Henry took the snap and is reading the blocks of the edge defenders at the end of the line. With those two defenders (Kingsley Enagbare and Lukas Van Ness) pushed outside to prevent the run bouncing to the sideline, Henry and fullback Pat Ricard hit the lane inside of them for a gain of nine yards.
Again, Walker is alone on an island and can’t get off the block, but the Ravens have five blockers for four defenders and a +1 blocking advantage.
When Jeff Halfey and the Packers condensed the front, the Ravens still got to the edge by pulling defenders out of...
