Stampede Blue
10 years ago an article like this wouldn’t make much sense. NFL All-22 film wasn’t publicly available, and to be quite honest, many fans at the time didn’t care to watch it.
That’s the one thing I love about where sports media is headed. Access to the nuances of football is at a premium. A decade ago, GMs and coaches could hide behind the idea that the public has no idea what they’re watching. But that’s harder to say in 2025.
Former players and coaches have used their platforms to become content creators. And that’s made it possible for the casual fan to learn about the complexities and nuances of football. And football media is leaning into it. The NFL even created a high-level film tool that allows fans to sort through film like they’re a coach or player.
Even I, who’s writing this article in hopes to help someone else, is learning something new everyday. In fact I have so much more to learn about the game of football. I’m trying to do that everyday. The most important thing to recognize is that just watching the game from a different angle doesn’t give you the power to draw new conclusions, but it does give you a chance to see something you might not have seen before.
So as we get ready for the NFL season, I thought I would share my process of how I watch film to create the content I do on @ColtsFilmRoom on X.
The first thing I do when loading up any play is to figure out who is on the field. The NFL is a matchup league. Players ultimately mean more than plays.
So if I’m watching the Colts offense or defense, I’ll always start with the offense. The reason for that is because they dictate who comes on the field. It’s the defense’s job is to matchup how they see fit.
You only get 5 eligible players so I want to figure out who those players are. Is it 11P (1RB-1TE-3WRs)? Is it 12P (1 RB-2TE-2Wrs)? Or is it some other combination?
Once I’ve figured that out, I want to see how the defense responds to that look. Do they matchup WRs with corners? Do they match TE’s and RB’s with linebackers? All that is important because that’s what the coaches are tracking on the sideline and in the press box.
The first thing you have to know is down & distance, spot on the field, and time on the clock/how many timeouts are available. Context is king. No two snaps of football are the same.
Alignment is the next key to the puzzle. I start with the offense again. How are they distributing the eligible WR’s on the field. Is it a 2×2 formation or is it a 3×1 formation? Are they lined up in...
