Mind Games: How Ryan Ramczyk Dominated JJ Watt and the Houston Texans (1 Viewer)

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What a draft class. There was some uneasiness about our two first round picks - Lattimore and Ramczyk - because there was injury concerns.

And there was those other guys - Marcus Williams, somebody named Kamara, Anzalone, Hendrickson and Muhammad. o_O

Great work, TCU. It's also fun to look at each video and isolate on the other linemen.

And Drew has been getting ball out more quickly.
 
TCUDan said:
Every good pass rusher starts each snap with a plan. As they line up, lean into their stance, and size up the Offensive Lineman across from them, a week's worth of film and tendencies runs through their mind. "This is what he likes to do." "This is what he doesn't like to do." "This time, I'm gonna' set up with speed." "This time with power." "I got him with the rip last time, so now I'll set up the spin." And on and on. Planning. Strategizing. Building his path to the Quarterback.

The Saints came into the game vs. the Texans knowing that they were going to throw the ball. 43 pass attempts. That is 43 opportunities for one of the league's elite pass rushers--JJ Watt--to get his hits in on one of the league's elite QBs--Drew Brees. The only thing standing in his way was Saints' RT, Ryan Ramczyk.

0 Tackles. 0 Sacks. 0 Hits on the QB. Those were Watt's numbers for the night.

So how did Ramczyk keep one of the greatest NFL defenders in history off of his Quarterback for 4 quarters? There are a lot of details that go into how Ramczyk won those battles in the trenches--too many to cover all of them. So I will stick to what really stood out to me the most--the ways in which Ramczyk consistently won the mental battle. Snap after snap, down after down, Ramczyk played mind games with Watt. He got him out of his plan, kept their matchup on his terms, and left the perennial All Pro frustrated with nothing to show for his effort.

So how did he do it? Here are some examples of how Ryan Ramczyk played mind games with JJ Watt.

The False Punch
To win against JJ Watt, you have to be able to do a few things: make him one dimensional by forcing him to use only speed or only power; avoid/neutralize his counter moves; and be precise with your hands. Ramczyk did a great job in all of these aspects, and moreover, he forced Watt to show his hand early (literally). He accomplished this early in the game by using a false punch.

Example 1


By flashing his right hand early, Ramczyk tricks JJ Watt into thinking that he is attempting to engage him and triggers him into showing his move early--in this instance, a bull rush.
False Punch 1.png

By triggering Watt to show his move early, Ramczyk not only disrupts Watt's timing but he also allows himself additional time and space to anchor down his weight, preventing Watt from getting under his pads and winning the leverage battle with an effective bull rush.
Engage 1.png

Example 2


Here, you'll see Ramczyk utilize the false punch again. This time, Watt attempts to long arm Ramczyk with his inside hand. Because he shoots his hand early, Ramczyk is able to swat it away.
False Punch 2.png

Watt tries to beat Ramczyk with speed and use a rip move to shorten the edge. But because his timing is off, Ramczyk is able to engage him effectively and ride him upfield and out of the play.
Engage 2.png


The Head Fake
By the 2nd Quarter, Watt was beginning to catch on to Ramczyk's false punch, so the RT decided to switch up his body language.



By using a head fake instead of a false punch, Ramczyk presents Watt with a new trigger. Watt, using a speed rush, once again shoots his inside hand too early, attempting to long arm Ramczyk who is, in fact, still gaining depth in his pass set rather than engaging the DE (as the head fake would suggest). This leaves him just out of reach of Watt's long arm.
Lunge Fake 3.png

Ramczyk is able to displace Watt's long arm attempt and win the hand combat battle. With his right hand on Watt's inside number and his left hand on his rib cage (underneath his pads), Ramczyk lengthens the edge of the pocket and forces Watt up the field, safely out of range of Drew Brees.
Hand placement 3.png

Hand Combat
False jabs, head fakes, and other trickeration is not an effective down-to-down strategy. At the end of the day, the battle in the trenches will come down to technique and precision. And when it came to this, Ramczyk still won those battles consistently throughout the game. He did so through patience, taking away Watt's speed rush by attacking his hands rather than his body. In the next two clips, you will see Ramczyk quickly react to and neutralize the inside hand of JJ Watt, then effectively lock on and establish position with his upfield hand inside the frame of Watt's body.



Hand Combat 4.png

Hand Placement 4.png



Hand Combat 5.png

Ramczyk understands that JJ Watt wins his battles with violence. He is able to stay smart and patient in his pass sets, always keeping Watt at a distance and forcing him to make the first move. He is prepared for the hand battle and wins it, putting the brakes on the DE's pass rush strategy and keeping Drew Brees clean in the pocket.

Bonus Breakdown: The Run Game
Ramczyk's domination wasn't only about the matchup between himself and Watt. His presence in the run game was also huge for the Saints, and no play demonstrated this more clearly than Latavius Murray's 30-yard TD run



The call was Outside Zone to the left, away from Ramczyk. With a 3-technique backside, Ramczyk is tasked with the difficult job of reach blocking said 3-technique without the DT penetrating and disrupting the run in the backfield.
Reach 6 (Pre).png

While Larry Warford does help slightly by posting his hand backside, his job is to get to the 2nd level as quick as possible. Ramczyk is basically left on his own to execute one of the most difficult blocks in football. He runs his feet effectively and manages to get his near hand to the 3-tech's far shoulder.
Reach 6 (1).png

Ramczyk's strength and athleticism on are on full display here. He gets just enough placement with his left hand to displace the DT's pad level and slow him down in his attempt to shoot off Warford's hip and penetrate into the backfield.
Reach 6 (2).png

While Ramczyk is unable to establish the angle to keep his head across and seal the 3-tech backside, he does manage to prevent him from squaring his shoulders and either penetrating or fitting into the gap. This is enough to clear a seam for Murray.
Reach 6 (3).png

What I love about this play is that while Ramczyk is unable to truly cut off the 3-tech--a feat which is rare in the NFL--he finishes the play with tenacity, washing the DT down the line and putting him into the ground.
Reach 6 (4).png

By opening that backside B Gap crease on Outside Zone, Ramczyk prevents the 3-Tech from fitting into the gap and forcing Murray into a hard cutback, where an unblocked DE named JJ Watt could have stopped the play at the line of scrimmage. So even when Ramczyk wasn't assigned to JJ Watt, he still did a great job at keeping him out of the play.
Click to expand...



Man really great Take here brother

Really appreciate all the time and effort you took to show us all.

Great Post man!
 
Thanks TCUDan. As others have said, GREAT post. That is why this site is the best in football, things like this. You laid it out WHY Ramczyk did such a great job on JJ Watt. We all knew he did a great job, but you showed us HOW he did it. I cannot imagine the hours of film study that went into the game preparation for Ram and how many hours go into every games film preparation.

Each play is like a mini-game of man on man, scheme vs scheme, etc.

That is why Drew's pass, that some media types, yes you Florio...you bought the bait, say was "short" because of a "weak" arm was such a real masterpiece. When you look at the pre-snap adjustments, the audible at the last possible second, making Houston commit on defense and then making a 43-yard pass off his back foot with pressure in his face, you can REALLY appreciate how special Drew Brees is. Now we see how special Ramczyk is. It is nice....really nice to be a Saints fan these days.
 

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