Editor’s note: When the Baltimore Ravens turned their playbook over to fit the needs of talented quarterback Lamar Jackson during the 2018 season, the unit adopted a run-orientated scheme. Previously, Mark Bullock has broken down the basics of the read-option, one of Jackson’s most effective plays in the power read and how the Ravens cause defenses issues with multiple personnel in the backfield with the slap and double slap concepts. In this fourth and final part of the series, he’ll look at how the Ravens have incorporated the jet sweep action into their read-option concepts to create even more havoc for opposing defenses.
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One of the biggest trends over the last few years in the NFL has been the incorporation of the jet sweep and jet sweep fakes. Some teams had adopted it as a gadget play earlier, but in the last two or three seasons, it’s become a regularity in the NFL as teams recognize the issues it can cause defenses.
The jet sweep is a concept much like an end-around or reverse. It asks a receiver to motion across the formation, and the ball is snapped while he is in motion. The ball is then either handed off to him, if the quarterback is under center, or dumped off with a tap pass if the quarterback is in the shotgun. It has some similarities to the read-option because it can take advantage of unblocked defensive ends crashing inside aggressively on the backside of run plays. It also gets the ball in the hands of a speedy receiver and forces slower linebackers to try and chase him down.
Here’s an example of the jet sweep from the Ravens victory over the Patriots last season. The Ravens use base personnel with fullback Patrick Ricard joining Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram in the backfield. Receiver Marquise Brown aligns in what is known as a nasty split, meaning he’s aligned much closer to the formation than normal.
Jackson signals for Brown to motion across the formation and quickly snaps the ball as Brown takes his first few steps. Jackson catches the snap from the center and immediately dumps it off to Brown. Jackson and Ingram then execute a fake to the right while Brown works oppositely with Ricard acting as a lead blocker. Ricard cut blocks the edge defender, leaving Brown free to work to the edge.
Only safety Devin McCourty stands in his way, and Brown nearly gets by him, but McCourty manages to show him to the sideline. Still, Brown picks up 26 yards on the play.
The reason the jet sweep has caught on isn’t so much for the play itself, but more the effect of faking the play. With a receiver threatening to run one way, the linebackers have to hold their positions as they diagnose who gets the ball, some might even anticipate the ball going to the receiver and begin to work to the backside of the run to defend the jet sweep. This then takes linebackers out of position for the normal run plays, making things easier for the offensive lineman and the running back.
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It’s a great way to help the run game significantly, and they only have to hand the ball off on the sweep every so often to keep defenses honest. As long as the defense has to honor the sweep, the fake can be used effectively. For most teams, this is its way of giving the defense a threat of a second potential ball carrier, but the Ravens already have that in Lamar Jackson. So by using the jet sweep and the read-option, the Ravens can give defenses three potential ball carriers to worry about.
In this play, the Ravens use receiver Willie Sneed on the jet sweep fake while using the double slap concept.
49ers defensive end Nick Bosa is left unblocked as Sneed fakes the sweep around him. Ricard shifts back across the line toward him. With so much action coming toward him, Bosa steps outside, which tells Jackson to hand the ball off to Ingram inside. The problem for the 49ers is that Bosa isn’t the only defender drawn to all the action going to the outside. DeForest Buckner works outside as does the linebacker on the second level, making them easy for the Ravens’ offensive line to reach and block.
With Jackson executing a fake to the edge, following Sneed’s jet sweep fake, the defense bites outside and leaves a huge lane for Ingram inside. Ingram works right up the middle and forces the safety to step up and make the tackle to prevent it from turning into an explosive play.
The Ravens also get creative with who runs the jet sweep fake. They don’t always use a receiver and sometimes ask a tight end to do it, which gives the effect of the jet sweep but also allows the Ravens to use the tight end as a potential blocker if Jackson keeps the ball.
Here, the Ravens use their three tight end personnel group. As an athletic tight end, Mark Andrews is a natural choice to use on the jet sweep fake. Jackson calls for him to motion and then snaps the ball.
The Ravens leave defensive end Sheldon Richardson unblocked, and he crashes inside on the run despite the jet sweep fake from Andrews and the incoming shift from Nick Boyle. The Browns linebackers are impacted by the jet sweep action, which is followed by Boyle’s shift block. Both linebackers read the sweep fake and the sifting motion from Boyle as keys to work to the backside. Had Richardson not crashed inside, Ingram would have had a huge lane right up the middle of the defense. But with Richardson crashing, Jackson keeps the ball and works to the edge.
Even with the linebackers flowing to the edge, the Ravens are still able to pick them up. Boyle’s block puts him in the perfect position to block the first linebacker, while the second is picked up by left tackle Ronnie Stanley at first, before Andrews works back to seal him off and give Jackson a path to the edge. Jackson takes full advantage, getting outside and picking up a first down before stepping out of bounds.
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The jet sweep adds yet another layer of complexity for the Ravens and their read-option package. The threat of yet another potential ball carrier along with the shifting blocks creates extra gaps for the defense to fill on the backside, which leaves them vulnerable to runs up the middle. The Ravens do a good job mixing all of these different components together to make a dynamic read-option package that is incredibly hard to defend without completely selling out to stop the run. When teams do that, they then have to worry about play-action and the drop back passing game because of Jackson’s ability as a quarterback as well as a runner. While some might insist the read-option is a gimmick and the NFL will figure it out, it’s actually a fantastically sound set of schemes that balance the numbers and causes defenses to pick their poison. For that reason, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens run game is going to be a problem for the rest of the league for a long time.
(Top photo: Mark Goldman / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)