When the Ravens draft Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley with the 17th overall pick of the draft back in may, they were hoping to get a linebacker with all the tools to develop into a strong, well-rounded inside linebacker. Now, 10 weeks into the season and with the Ravens on their bye week, Mosley has matched and even surpassed his their expectations. He leads the team with a total 90 combined tackles and is joint leader with Haloti Ngata in interceptions, each with two.
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As fellow Ravens writer Nadeem wrote back when Mosley was drafted, he can struggle at times to get off blocks, which makes this 3-4 scheme ideal for him. With big defensive lineman like Ngata and Brandon Williams drawing double teams up front, Mosley has been able to flow to the ball freely and make tackles.
Here, the Steelers are running the ball to the right.
A lane opens up for the running back, which Mosley quickly spots. With no offensive lineman able to work to the second level, Mosley can charge up to the line of scrimmage to fill the hole without being blocked by a bigger lineman.
Mosley fills the hole before the running back reaches the line of scrimmage. Some linebackers in this position would hold their position and wait for the runner to come to them, while others would fly through the hole and try to land a big hit and miss. Mosley plays it perfectly, attacking through the hole but keeping low.
Mosley stonewalls the running back before he makes it back to the line of scrimmage, cause the Steelers to lose a yard on the play.
But it wasn’t just a run defender the Ravens wanted when they drafted Mosley. He’s a very athletic linebacker with good traits to help him in coverage.
On this play, the Titans bunch up the formation to sell a run fake and get the linebackers to bite up and create space for the receivers on the play-action.
Both Mosley and his inside linebacker partner Daryl Smith approach the line of scrimmage on the run fake.
After Mosley identifies the play, he drops back into his coverage assignment, but keeps his eyes on the quarterback.
By keeping his eyes on the quarterback, Mosley is able to watch when the ball is throw. That allows him to get his hands up and bat down the pass before it can reach its intended receiver.
That was an excellent play from Mosley. The design of the play for the Titans worked perfectly, but Mosley’s athleticism and instincts still allowed him to break up the pass and stop the Titans from moving the chains.
Mosley has also proven excellent at deciphering and shutting down screens.
The Colts pull both guards and their right tackle out to the flat to help block for the running back screen.
Mosley drops back into coverage, but quickly recognises the play, reacting to it before any other Ravens defender.
He eludes the block of the receiver, but is forced to engage with the right tackle. Mosley does an excellent job staying slow and getting his hands inside that of the tackles. He uses this leverage to quickly shred the block.
Mosley then wraps up the running back for a minimal gain. This could have been potentially a big gain for the Colts had Mosley not reacted so quickly and blew it up.
Mosley hasn’t been perfect, of course. Pro Football Focus currently has him with the third most missed tackles in the NFL with 11. But I put that down to more of him being a rookie than poor tackling form, given that he has 90 combined tackles on the season. He’s proven so far to be everything the Ravens wanted and more, leading to many calling for him to be voted to the Pro Bowl. If he carries on in this fashion, he should certainly be in the mix come January.
Mark is an NFL follower from across the pond. He began analyzing Redskins football for SBNation’s HogsHaven.com, before moving on to The Washington Post. He also helps with NFL Draft coverage on FanSpeak.com. Mark was born and still lives in England, often battling the time difference to watch every minute of football he can.