Cincinnati Bengals: Big takeaways from Week 2 vs. Ravens

Green Dominates From The Slot

Since the 2011 draft concluded, there have been few receivers better than A.J. Green. His quarterback may be mostly up-and-down throughout his career, but Green has been elite since the day he was drafted and has been a catalyst for bringing out the best abilities of his quarterback.

Green is fourth among players in terms of receiving yardage since the start of his rookie year (8,374; only Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and Demaryius Thomas have more), and the vast majority of that came from his work with his fellow 2011 draft-mate, Dalton. Among active players, only three combinations (Philip Rivers-Antonio Gates, 87; Tom Brady-Rob Gronkowski, 76; Ben Roethlisberger-Antonio Brown, 60) have more touchdown connections than Green and Dalton (56).

What Green has not done much of is work out of the slot. He has always been the proverbial X-receiver, lining up on the outside of the formation to produce his dominance over his defenders. As dominant as he can be there, however, only being used in that one particular way can limit just how dangerous of a weapon he can be for an offense.

Slot work used to just be for those players who were too small or lacking in speed, giving them a way to make an impact even if they weren’t as great as someone like Green can be. Now, with the way rules have changed over the past decade (defenseless receiver infractions, etc), guys don’t have to worry as much about crippling hits over the middle.

Slot work has expanded star receivers’ chances to make plays and even extended careers for aging superstars because of the advantages that area of the field provides (Larry Fitzgerald and Jordy Nelson have each had this elevate their late-career effectiveness).

Let the first half of this Cincinnati-Baltimore contest be a testament to what can happen when you put a mega-star pass-catcher in his prime on the inside.

In the first half, Green caught three passes total. Each of those catches became touchdowns.

The first came with Green lining up on the left side of the formation. Motion happens elsewhere pre-snap, but it was Green’s bursting speed that made the difference. With his defender backed off, Green took off from the left side and immediately darted towards the right corner of the end zone — the perfect spot for Dalton to find him free and clear for an effortless completion.

The second (starts at 0:32) saw him start on the right side of the formation. A quick two-step timing route connect by Dalton and Green had the ball in his hands for a first-down conversion already, but he went for much more. Green was able to duck under and evade an attempted Tavon Young tackle, finding himself with daylight ahead of him. Angling himself slightly to the left gave just enough space for Green to run unabated past the safety for a 32 yard score.

The third saw Green again on the left side, this time lined up between John Ross (to his left) and Tyler Boyd (to his right). Ross ran an in-route from the outside, freeing up the space along the sideline. At the same time, Green hit a corner post route to take advantage of the free space that was about to come from it. As soon as Green started to the corner and began to turn and look for the ball, Dalton was releasing it where only his receiver could hope to get it.

Green is a player who doesn’t need much to play well. Usually if you just line him up and let him go, there’s a good chance he can get open enough to make a play. Utilizing him in more intriguing ways can be a sizable advantage for an offensive attack though, and a team would be remiss to not make an attempt to put their best weapon into positions where he can elevate his impact. Let’s hope the slot usage of Green becomes a trend for this offense.