Many NFL teams script their first 15 (or more) plays before a game starts to focus on getting a few fundamental concepts right. Whether they want to attack a particular defensive player or scheme, exploit a perceived weakness or simply drill down on the offensive elements they think are most critical to winning, they pay particularly close attention to the plays they’ll start with on Sunday as they wrap up the week.

Likewise, organizations need to pay attention to the first few critical things they do during the 2017 offseason, as those might end up defining the season to come. Some teams have a lot to do before the new league year begins March 9, while others won’t have to make critical calls until the first day of the NFL draft on April 27.

In this series for ESPN over the next two weeks, I’ll be running through the first five things that should be on the minds of each team’s brass as they prepare for the 2017 offseason. Let’s head to the AFC South, starting with the division champion Texans.

1. Pick up Jadeveon Clowney’s fifth-year option. This isn’t quite as obvious as some of the other names from the 2014 draft, owing to Clowney’s struggles to stay healthy. Clowney’s fifth-year option for 2018 would be guaranteed for injury, so if he suffered a serious injury, the Texans could be on the hook for a player who can’t really contribute. Clowney wasn’t quite as productive in 2016 as his highlight reel might indicate — he finished the year with 6.0 sacks and 17 quarterback hits, roughly in line with what Akiem Hicks (seven sacks and 17 hits) accomplished — but he’s too devastating of a force on his best day for the Texans to decline a fifth cost-controlled season.

2. Trade the 25th pick to the Patriots for Jimmy Garoppolo. As I wrote about in the AFC East preview, the Texans make the most sense for Garoppolo. They have a coach in Bill O’Brien who is familiar with the scheme Garoppolo was running in New England. They’re a win-now team with a huge need at quarterback. They have an asset that makes sense to deal for Garoppolo: It would be virtually unprecedented for a team to deal a top-five pick for a backup one year away from free agency, such as Garoppolo, so the 25th pick might be a better offer for the Patriots than one of the early second-rounders likely to come from the Browns or 49ers.

Garoppolo is also the most obvious upgrade the Texans can make, given their cap situation. With $26.7 million available this year and several starters needed on defense, Houston can afford to sign Garoppolo to an extension, which would essentially start next season. (They could give the Pats backup a signing bonus and spread it over the length of a four- or five-year deal.) Garoppolo’s base salary can spike next year, once the Texans release Brock Osweiler, who will presumably be chained to the bench after this deal occurs. Here’s a possible Garoppolo deal, which ironically resembles Osweiler’s contract, as a five-year, $100 million deal with $38 million guaranteed (and bolded):

Texans fans might not want to take a risk on another young quarterback, but what are the other options? Another run with Osweiler won’t exactly go over well. There’s little reason to think Tom Savage is very good. Tony Romo has major injury concerns and won’t take this sort of contract. They could take a one-year flier on somebody like Jay Cutler and hold onto their first-round pick, but if you don’t trust this coaching staff to develop a young quarterback, you basically need to replace the staff. Garoppolo would be a defensible risk, even if the risk the Texans took on Osweiler failed.

If the bidding goes much further than the 25th pick, though, the Texans need to bow out. They can’t trade a bunch of picks for Garoppolo. Maybe they could send a conditional late-round pick to the Patriots if Garoppolo makes the Pro Bowl, or they could trade a fifth-rounder for a player buried on another team’s depth chart who might need a change of scenery. Beyond that, the Texans would be risking too much.

3. Re-sign A.J. Bouye and trade Johnathan Joseph for a draft pick. The Texans probably can’t afford to re-sign Bouye, who is in line to make $12 million or so per year on the free market, while also retaining both Joseph and Kareem Jackson. Houston can franchise Bouye for $14.3 million en route to a long-term deal for their budding superstar at corner, who will turn 26 just before the season.

The logical move, then, would be to trade Joseph, who is entering the final year of his deal at a very reasonable cap hit ($6.9 million) as he turns 33. Joseph is still playing at a high level, but the Texans probably don’t want to be in the business of betting on cornerbacks as they enter their mid-30s, as the sudden fall of Darrelle Revis should remind onlookers. If Bouye leaves, chances are that the Texans will be looking for a cornerback across from Jackson by 2018.

4. Lock up DeAndre Hopkins. Busy offseason, huh? The Texans obviously want to bring back their star wide receiver, who had a frustrating 2016 while dealing with Osweiler. The good news is the disappointing season might bring his demands down on a long-term contract; the Texans will probably be able to buy relatively low on their former first-round pick as he enters the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.

5. Try to plug the defensive holes in the draft. Houston is set to lose a pair of defensive starters, with Quintin Demps hitting free agency and Vince Wilfork likely retiring. They probably can’t afford to make all of these moves and go after veterans at nose tackle and safety. They might wait out the market to sign a veteran such as Terrance Knighton for cheap, but general manager Rick Smith will probably have to target regular contributors in the draft and hope that the star-laden defense surrounding those holes can cover for the rookies.

1. Get Arthur Jones to take a pay cut. New general manager Chris Ballard has $60 million in cap space to work with, so he doesn’t necessarily need to be spendthrift, but Jones has been a disaster since coming over from the Ravens, due to injuries and suspensions. He’s unlikely to stick on his current $7.4 million cap hit, so the Colts will probably either ask him to take a pay cut or release the former Ravens standout outright.

2. Fix the right side of the offensive line. Keeping Andrew Luck safe is job No. 1 for Ballard, after the deposed Ryan Grigson repeatedly struck out in doing so. The Colts are locked into the trio of Anthony Castonzo, Jack Mewhort and Ryan Kelly, and while Castonzo hasn’t been an upper-echelon left tackle, moving him to a position he hasn’t played as a pro in right tackle is probably just going to make things more difficult.

Ballard can’t go into Week 1 with Denzelle Good and Joe Haeg on the right side of the line. He could very well use his first-round pick on a tackle, while heading into free agency for somebody such as Larry Warford or Kevin Zeitler to play right guard. Luck’s ability and desire to extend plays means he’ll always take more hits than most quarterbacks, but teams can’t be allowed to tee off on Indy’s franchise quarterback any longer.

3. Find a top pass-rusher. Easier said than done, but the Colts are totally bereft on the edge. Erik Walden had a career year with an 11-sack campaign, but he’s a free agent and turns 32 before the season. Robert Mathis, the only other player on the team who topped three sacks, retired. Trent Cole is on his way out. Akeem Ayers is a free agent. Outside linebacker is a gaping hole.

Indy could re-sign Walden, but given the former Packers player had 12 sacks across his first three seasons before picking up those 11 sacks last season, the Colts can’t rely on him to be their primary pass-rusher. They will probably need to head into free agency and pay full freight for one of the edge rushers hitting the market. If the Cardinals and Chargers franchise Chandler Jones and Melvin Ingram, respectively, that market is going to be quite thin. Indy might have to be the team that takes a risk on paying Jason Pierre-Paul or Nick Perry, if only because they don’t really have another clear path toward an upgrade.

4. Find a long-term solution at running back. Frank Gore has been underwhelming during his time in Indianapolis, although the offensive line hasn’t helped much. The Colts could consider cutting the veteran back before the final year of his deal to save $3.5 million, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Indy hold onto Gore as part of a rotation with a younger back, one who will take over as the starter in 2018 and beyond.

That back will most likely come in the draft, given that this is a relatively robust draft class of halfbacks. Indy could feasibly consider Leonard Fournette, if he drops to the 14th pick, although the Colts have too many holes along the line of scrimmage to spend such a high selection on a running back. It’s more plausible for Ballard to consider somebody such as Christian McCaffrey, if he slipped to Round 2.

5. Add a second tight end. The Colts might be priced out of the market for Jack Doyle in a relatively thin tight end class, and they can’t really afford to pay their second tight end $6 million per year to line up behind Dwayne Allen. They could take a shot on somebody such as Luke Willson or Mychal Rivera, but more plausibly, this would be a position for the Colts to address in the draft.

If his market falls to the $4 million range, though, the Colts might very well be able to justify bringing back Doyle after a breakout 59-catch campaign. Is he worth it? Hard to say. Over the past four seasons, no wide receiver or tight end with 100 targets or more has caught a higher percentage of the passes thrown his way than Doyle (79.7 percent). Not coincidentally, though, the average pass thrown to Doyle has traveled just 4.7 yards in the air, the lowest total in the league by nearly seven-tenths of a yard.

1. Cut Davon House and Dan Skuta. The Jaguars already began their annual culling of disappointing free agents by trading Julius Thomas and cutting Jared Odrick, but that’s only the beginning. Like Odrick, House and Skuta each played fewer than 25 percent of Jacksonville’s defensive snaps while giving way to younger talents in Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack. The Jagus don’t need the cap space, but they’re better off applying the $18.6 million in actual cash that would have gone to Odrick, House and Skuta toward new talent.

2. Re-sign Prince Amukamara. The former Giants corner benefited from playing across from Ramsey, who was a star from Week 1, but Amukamara rebuilt his value with a useful 2016 campaign and is in line for a raise on the $5.5 million he made last year. The Jags don’t have much at cornerback after Ramsey and Amukamara if they release House, and while they can address the position by adding a different free agent or hitting it during the draft, they certainly have the cap space to retain Amukamara. In fact, given that the Jags would have $81 million in space after making those releases, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Jacksonville to franchise Amukamara at the $14.3 million figure as leverage to negotiate a longer-term deal. The Jags have no other notable free agents they should try to retain, as both Luke Joeckel and Jonathan Cyprien were highly disappointing during their time in Jacksonville.

3. Upgrade the offensive line. Doug Marrone saw Jacksonville’s offensive line struggle firsthand as their positional coach, and now that he has been given the head job, it seems extremely likely he’ll target the line for improvements. If you’re wondering whether it’s a bad thing that Marrone didn’t really seem to develop the team’s young offensive linemen (or their veterans) and still got promoted to the head-coaching gig anyway, well, you’re not alone.

Jacksonville already made a move by essentially swapping Thomas for Branden Albert, which will give them a solid short-term left tackle for the first time since Eugene Monroe was on the roster. It’s not the only addition they’ll want to make. The Jags could benefit from a deep free-agent class at guard by targeting a guy like Warford or Zeitler to fill in at left guard for Joeckel. 2015 third-rounder A.J. Cann hasn’t been much better as a starter, so the Jags could plausibly replace both of their guards this offseason.

4. Re-sign Allen Robinson and Telvin Smith. Outside of Ramsey, Dave Caldwell’s two top draft picks both came in the middle rounds of 2014. Like Hopkins in Houston, Robinson had a frustrating 2016 season driven by poor quarterback play, but it’s impossible to doubt the former Penn State star’s talent. Indeed, most of what was perceived to be a Blake Bortles breakout in 2015 was magic from Robinson. The frustrating 2016 may drive Robinson’s price down a bit, but they didn’t do themselves any favors by signing Allen Hurns to an extension two years before he would have been an unrestricted free agent without getting much of a discount. Hurns might now be their third-best wideout with Marqise Lee showing signs of life last season.

Robinson is going to have his market set by the deals handed out to the likes of Hopkins and Alshon Jeffery this offseason. Beyond them, Robinson’s representation will look at the deal handed to T.Y. Hilton as a comp. Hilton received $38 million in new money over the first three years of his extension from Indy, and Robinson will be heading in the same ballpark.

The Jags will have little trouble finding the money for Robinson, and they need to shell out for Smith, who is one of the most underrated linebackers in football. Few weakside ‘backers have his range, as Smith tied for the league with 11 tackles for loss against the run last year. The closest comp for Smith is Tampa’s Lavonte David, who got $29.8 million over the first three years of his extension with the Bucs. Smith will be in the same range for Jacksonville.

5. Find a starting tight end. With Thomas gone, the leading tight end on the roster is Marcedes Lewis, who has seemingly been in a Jaguars uniform since the last time Tom Coughlin was involved with the organization. The Jags were right to move on from Thomas after a pair of frustrating seasons, but they’re left with a gaping hole at tight end in a season where there aren’t many useful tight ends on the market.

Caldwell could try to outbid the market for Martellus Bennett, who seemed to enjoy his lone season with Coughlin in New York (and vice versa), but the Jaguars may be hesitant to give another tight end a deal approaching $9 million per year after Thomas flamed out. They could head to the middle of the market and target somebody like Doyle or Levine Toilolo, but I wonder if there are better options. Maybe they try to pry somebody like Maxx Williams away from the Ravens halfway through his rookie deal for a late-round pick. The most plausible answer would be the Jags addressing the position in the draft, perhaps as early as Round 2.

1. Pick up Taylor Lewan’s fifth-year option. The Michigan product has matured into one of the best tackles in football. He’ll be in line for an enormous raise soon, but for now, the Titans can lock him in for 2018.

2. Go after a cornerback. The biggest weakness the Titans exhibited during their surprising 2016 campaign came at corner, where Perrish Cox was one of the worst regulars in football before being released at midseason. Jason McCourty also had a disappointing season after returning from an injury-hit 2015, although teams had a field day throwing away from Tennessee’s nominal No. 1 corner.

With $67.6 million in cap room, the Titans don’t have to cut McCourty, and they can afford to go after one of the better cornerbacks on the market, if they’re so inclined. Trumaine Johnson? Stephon Gilmore? If anything, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Tennessee target Logan Ryan, given that Titans general manager Jon Robinson was the director of college scouting for the Patriots when they drafted Ryan in 2013.

3. Sign Martellus Bennett. Robinson wasn’t around when the Patriots acquired Bennett last year, but the best tight end on the market makes sense for the Titans. Tennessee already has a very capable No. 1 at the position in Delanie Walker, but the former 49ers backup will turn 33 before the upcoming campaign. The Titans also lined up with two or more tight ends on a league-high 409 snaps last season, so coach Mike Mularkey wouldn’t have many concerns about putting Bennett and Walker on the field together.

4. Use at least one of your first-round picks to add a defensive lineman. The Titans are sitting pretty after last year’s trade with the Rams. They gave away some of the return as part of their deal to move back up in the first round with Cleveland, but Tennessee came away with a productive right tackle in Jack Conklin and a bevy of extra picks. The Titans are down their second- and sixth-round picks this year, but they’ll have extra selections in the first and third rounds from the Rams, including the fifth overall pick.

Robinson will have plenty of flexibility on what to do with the fifth pick. He could plausibly opt for secondary help at that spot, but it seems more likely he’ll opt to upgrade a defensive line that overachieved a bit in 2016. Jurrell Casey is a bona fide star, and Al Woods is a solid nose tackle, but the Titans may want to rotate DaQuan Jones on the opposite side. The torn Achilles suffered late last season by useful backup Karl Klug might push the Titans further in this direction. Given that this is a draft with tons of defensive line talent, the Titans can choose to head in that direction at pick No. 5 or 18.

The Chicago Bears and Jay Cutler are likely headed for a divorce after eight tumultuous seasons.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported on Tuesday that the Bears are actively shopping Cutler.

Cutler’s current contract runs through 2020, but the guaranteed portion of the deal is over. The Bears will open up $13 million in additional salary-cap space if Cutler is traded or released in the offseason (the team will carry $2 million in dead money).

Cutler is, by far, the most statistically successful quarterback in franchise history. The 33-year old (34 in April) owns almost every Bears passing record, but he has been to the playoffs only one time.

Cutler’s problem is turnovers. He has tossed 109 interceptions in 102 regular-season games for the Bears, including a career-worst 26 picks in 2009 after the club paid a hefty price to acquire him from the Denver Broncos.

To be fair, Cutler cycled through six offensive coordinators in Chicago. And he quarterbacked the Bears to the 2010 NFC Championship Game — a contest he did not finish because of a knee injury.

Cutler posted a career-best 92.3 quarterback rating in 2015, but he played in only five games last season because of thumb and shoulder problems. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing arm in December and hasn’t played a full 16-game schedule since 2009.

Blaming Cutler for all the Bears’ woes is unfair, but he definitely did not live up to expectations. All told, the Cutler era cost the Bears two long-term extensions, two first-round picks, a third-round choice and quarterback Kyle Orton — who went 9-7 in 2008.

There should be some interest in Cutler if/when the Bears cut him loose. With the help of my NFL Nation colleagues, I came up with a list of four teams that might pursue Cutler to be their starter or backup in 2017.

New York Jets: Cutler has allies in New York in quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates and running back Matt Forte. Now, Cutler’s relationship with Brandon Marshall was not good when Chicago traded Marshall to the Jets in 2015. Maybe it has improved. Maybe not. Maybe Marshall — whose contract is out of guaranteed money — isn’t even on the Jets next season. Who knows? But Cutler is better than any of the young quarterbacks currently on the Jets’ roster. Whether he’s much of an upgrade over Ryan Fitzpatrick is another story. But someone has to play quarterback for the Jets.

San Francisco 49ers: Cutler played with new 49ers general manager John Lynch in Denver. And 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s father, Mike, coached Cutler in Denver when Cutler made the only Pro Bowl appearance of his career (2008). It’s not as if the 49ers are loaded with better options. San Francisco may be content with a Matt Schaub/rookie combo at quarterback in 2017, but it would not be a huge surprise if it considered Cutler.

During the offseason, coaches at every level of the game scour tape and look for plays or concepts to steal. I know I do it as a high school coach at IC Catholic Prep in the Chicago area. That’s my plan during the winter months: Study the top teams and top playcallers, and find answers for my own game plan. Pro coaches are no different.

Today, let’s go back through the 2016 NFL season and break down 20 schemes — both offensive and defensive — that I would install in my playbook next year.

Titans: QB crack sweep

The Titans expanded their QB running game in 2016 by adding power-based schemes to get Marcus Mariota on the edge of the defense. This one jumped out because of the extra window dressing to disguise the classic sweep.

Remember the crack toss the Falcons used versus the Patriots in Super Bowl LI? Or the game winner in overtime with New England running back James White finding the end zone? This is the same scheme: Crack on the edge (U and Z), and pull the tackle. But the Titans add the weakside run action (H) and the off-the-ball tight end (Y) blocking on the counter look. That forces the linebackers to take the bait before Mariota pulls the ball, runs to the edge and walks into the end zone. It’s a new spin on an old-school scheme that takes advantage of an athletic quarterback.

Rams: Cover 3 invert

I really like Gregg Williams’ three-deep invert defense, along with the pre-snap disguise, as an option when defending against third-and-11 or more. Instead of playing a stale, two-deep shell (which NFL QBs can slice up), Williams shows double A-gap pressure with the linebackers walked up (B).

However, at the snap, the linebackers drop as inside hook players while the safeties (FS and SS) roll down to play the sticks. This allows both cornerbacks to play the outside third of the coverage while the nickel back moves to the deep middle of the field. Build a wall underneath at the first-down marker, close the post, and force the ball to the flat. Tackle, and get off the field.

Looking for an example? Watch the Rams-Patriots tape from earlier this season. This is one defense that Tom Brady struggled to beat on third down because of the disguise, movement and underneath defenders taking away intermediate routes.

Cowboys: Split-zone

The split-zone (or zone-whack) isn’t a new scheme, and it can be run with the back behind center, out of the shotgun, pistol, etc. The zone blocking up front — and the pulling action from the tight end, H-back or fullback (U) — creates a natural cutback lane.

However, in Dallas, the Cowboys added a cool wrinkle to the standard scheme with the tight end (Y) releasing to the flat. This pulls the safety in man coverage or widens the linebacker in zone defenses while the off-the-ball tight end (U) comes across the formation to kick out the primary edge support player.

Plus, with quarterback Dak Prescott carrying out the boot fake off the handoff, there is now an even wider lane for Ezekiel Elliott to hit on the bend or cutback. Remember Elliott’s 60-yard touchdown run versus the Bengals? This was the scheme. The cutback lane was massive after both the linebacker and safety widened with the tight end releasing to the flat.

Chiefs: Power read (shovel pass)

In the college game, we’ve seen offenses add new options to the power read scheme. (Check out Deshaun Watson on the Clemson tape.) Andy Reid did the same thing in the divisional playoffs versus the Steelers, with TE Travis Kelce on the inside shovel pass off the jet sweep look.

With Tyreek Hill (W) running the jet sweep, quarterback Alex Smith (Q) rides the WR through the mesh point while reading the edge rusher. With the defender slow-playing the mesh-point read to account for both the jet sweep and the QB keep, Smith pulls this ball and targets Kelce (Y) on the shovel pass while the backside guard pulls up through the hole. The result is a clear running lane for Kelce (off the block of the pulling guard) that forces the safety to make the tackle after a positive gain.

The power read isn’t a core concept in the NFL, but that doesn’t mean pro coaches can’t add it to the playbook and expand on the call like Reid did. Get creative, and utilize your personnel. That’s good coaching — at any level.

Seahawks: 3 Mable coverage

One way to beat a Cover 3 defense is to align in a 3×1 formation and target the No. 3 receiver (Y) on the “999” route (four verticals run from trips). This is an explosive play waiting to happen, but the Seahawks, a heavy Cover 3 team, devised a unique counter.

Pete Carroll’s club checks to “3 Mable” versus 3×1 formations to play that inside vertical. To the left side of the formation, the Seahawks play “3 Buzz” with the cornerback (C) in the outside third, the nickel (N) working to the curl/flat and the strong safety (SS) dropping to the inside hook. Meanwhile, the free safety (FS) rolls to the deep middle of the field as the Mike linebacker (M) runs with the Y receiver instead of playing the hook. That allows the backside cornerback (C) to match to X receiver one-on-one, with the Will linebacker (W) taking the back (H) or the first crossing route.

I love this adjustment for Cover 3 teams, and it can be easily taught at the lower levels.

Patriots: Double-TE play-action

The Patriots and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels have the best play-action scheme in the game because they consistently pull the guard. That’s a false run key for the linebackers. But New England doesn’t have to throw that wrinkle in to be successful on play-action.

The Patriots give a different kind of false run key in the play above, with Rob Gronkowski (Y) and Martellus Bennett (U) in a big wing alignment and the backside receiver (Z) in a reduced split. The Patriots add the run fake off the stretch or outside zone action, drawing the linebackers downhill and forcing the defensive backs in coverage to play with the proper eye discipline.

Stick your eyes in the backfield? Can’t do that versus Brady as both tight ends release up with the field with Bennett widening his stem. This is smart football from McDaniels to dress up a basic play-action concept and create a big play.

Ravens: Five-man zone pressure

The standard zone blitz plan in the NFL is to rush five and drop six into coverage (three-deep, three-under). I learned that early in my career after playing for defensive coordinator Lovie Smith with the Rams. However, it can get stale without movement and disguise. Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees showed a way to expand on the standard zone blitz schemes.

This alignment from the Ravens? It looks like chaos waiting to happen. Check out the personnel crowding the line: four linebackers (S, B, B, W) and two defensive linemen (T, E). Who is coming? Who is dropping into coverage? Disguise, disguise, disguise. Create confusion for the offense.

This allows the Ravens to roll the safeties (SS, FS), drop the inside linebackers (B), blitz the nickel (N) off the slot and get into your standard three-deep, three-under coverage. Remember, there is only so much you can do with 11 guys on the field, so the presentation pre-snap is critical to getting home with only a five-man rush in a zone blitz scheme. This is one I’m stealing for sure.

Saints: Red zone pick route

Every offensive playcaller needs to study Sean Payton this offseason. In my opinion, he’s the best in the league at creating matchups in the game plan. That really shows when the Saints move the ball into the red zone.

In this example from his team’s game against the Chiefs, Payton brought his big personnel onto the field with two tight ends, two backs and a wide receiver. However, coming out of the huddle, the Saints spread the formation and aligned wide receiver Brandin Cooks (Z) in the backfield. Why? To get the matchup they wanted: Cooks versus a linebacker in coverage on a pick route.

With the backside tight end (Y) in a reduced split and running an inside curl route (pick), Cooks releases on the wheel route. Come off the hip of the tight end, and carry the route to the boundary. That forces the linebacker in coverage to work through the wash and match the speed of Cooks — not happening. A good ball from Drew Brees leads to six points.

This is a great example from Payton of how to use your personnel and align players out of position to get the exact matchup you want.

Vikings: ‘Thumbs’ technique

Back during the regular season, I broke down how NFL defenses can double No. 1 wide receivers. One of those techniques focused on using a “thumbs” call with a safety trailing the wide receiver and a cornerback sinking over the top. The Vikings used the “thumbs” technique versus Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. this year. That isn’t uncommon, but I love how Mike Zimmer gets this done from his classic double A-gap alignment.

As you can see here, the Vikings show “seven-up,” with strong safety Harrison Smith (SS) aligned as an edge rusher and both linebackers (B) in the A-gaps. This tells quarterback Eli Manning to prep for the blitz.

However, at the snap, both linebackers match to their coverage or add to the front (H releases, Y blocks) and Smith drops out. This allows the Vikings’ strong safety to trail Beckham (X) with cornerback Xavier Rhodes (C) playing over the top. Now Smith can take away the curl, comeback or dig with the protection of Rhodes. That puts Smith in position to play with an aggressive technique and sit on the break. In this particular instance, the scheme took away Manning’s top target in a third-down situation.

Steelers: TE pop pass

Part of an RPO (run-pass option), the TE pop pass is easy to teach, and it’s free money for the offense on a super high-percentage throw.

In this example from the Steelers-Chiefs matchup, Pittsburgh brings three wide receiver personnel onto the field and aligns in a trips formation. That allows the Steelers to mesh the inside zone run scheme with the wide receiver bubble screen and the tight end pop.

Based on the numbers in the box and the matchup outside, Ben Roethlisberger can either hand off to Le’Veon Bell (H) on the zone run, throw the bubble to Eli Rogers (W) or hit tight end Jesse James (Y) on the quick seam. Here, with the linebackers reading run (zone blocking) and attacking the line of scrimmage, Roethlisberger has an open window to target James.

This is a top call on Friday nights at the high school level, due to the overwhelming amount of spread offenses I see. But it also has tremendous value in the pro game. It’s easy to teach and easy to execute if the quarterback makes the right read.

Buccaneers: ‘Box’ call

I’m a Cover 4 (or quarters) guy when it comes to base defensive calls because I want my safeties in the run front. Align at 8 yards and read your run-pass keys. Be aggressive and physical.

Another key aspect of Cover 4 is the ability to play “box” calls to limit bunch formations. This allows the defense to play 4-on-3 coverage with the safety in position to steal one.

Here’s an example from the Bucs’ win over the Saints, in which Keith Tandy broke on the “follow” route to intercept Brees late in the fourth quarter. As you can see, the Bucs are playing a 4-on-3 coverage with the nickel (N) and cornerback (C) playing the first and second outside-breaking routes and the linebacker (B) and free safety (FS) accounting for the first and second inside-breaking routes.

This allows the cornerback to play the 7 route (X) and the linebacker to pick up the shallow crosser (Z) while putting Tandy (FS) in position to drive the angle route (W). Jump the throw from Brees, and close out the win. That’s how you take away the bunch route with a smart coverage call in a critical moment.

Cowboys: Third-level RPO

This season, we saw NFL teams begin to read the third level of the defense in RPO schemes. In the example above, Dallas pairs the same split-zone scheme we talked about above with the slant to Bryant. The Cowboys quarterback can hand off to Elliott on the zone scheme or throw to Dez Bryant versus man coverage. Prescott is reading the safety to Bryant’s side of the field. On this particular play against the Packers, the safety was walking down to the line of scrimmage at the snap, which tells Prescott to throw the slant to Bryant.

With the safety removed, Prescott has a clear lane to hit Bryant for the score when the wide receiver wins at the snap and gains inside leverage. It’s yet another example of how RPOs are creating issues for NFL defenses.

Lions: Double-rover coverage

Let’s stay with red zone talk and hit on a man coverage scheme from the Lions. With Detroit playing straight man coverage, the safeties (SS, FS) show a two-high or quarters look before dropping down in the alleys after the snap. This allows Detroit to play aggressive man coverage underneath while also taking away inside-breaking routes based on the safeties’ alignment on the field. Plus, both safeties can fill immediately versus the run.

Plus, as I’ve drawn up here, this is another avenue to playing pick routes, which are especially prevalent in the deep red zone. With the free safety in the alley, he can drive downhill on this standard pick route to take away the slant to the X receiver. That eliminates the traffic at the point of attack and puts the safety in position to make the play.

I like this a lot better than playing Cover 1 in the deep red zone and putting your free safety in position where it’s impossible for him to make a play.

Raiders: Double-post wheel

The double-post route is a nightmare to defend in the high red zone (10- to 20-yard line) because of the stress it puts on both single and two-high safety sets. But the Raiders dress it up even more by aligning in a bunch formation and adding the wheel concept.

Starting with the double-post, tight end Clive Walford (Y) bends the underneath post in front of the safety, and wide receiver Michael Crabtree (Z) adds the “dino” stem at the break. This allows Crabtree to stem outside (widen the cornerback) before breaking back to the post. This gives quarterback Derek Carr a two-level read versus the safety.

However, by adding the wheel with Seth Roberts (W), the Raiders have a zone-beater built in (two routes through the zone). That’s nasty stuff, and it’s a nightmare to cover from a defensive perspective, no matter what coverage call you make in the huddle.

Patriots: Naked boot

Back in Week 3 of the regular season, with Brady still on suspension, McDaniels and the Patriots created a game plan (on a short week) versus the Texans that catered to the skill set of quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

The play I want to look at? It’s the naked boot. This has a little league feel to it, but when you watch the tape and study the execution, it’s a great call.

With the running back offset to the backside of trips, Brissett shows the ball on the zone or stretch run. This forces the inside linebackers to overpursue and take the bait. There’s the setup from the Patriots. But we also have to focus on the backside blocking combination.

Here, the right tackle blocks down, and the guard pulls (or traps) the edge defender. Cut the outside leg, and chop him down. That clears out the edge for Brissett to pull the ball off the fake and get into the open field. The result is a 27-yard touchdown run. That’s quality game planning from McDaniels.

Gregg Williams’ CB Cat (blitz)

One coverage that shows up on a ton of tape I study is 2-Trap because it allows the defense to play a two-deep shell while the cornerback lies in the weeds underneath. However, when you add pressure, movement and disguise to the scheme — as Williams often does in his playbook — you can get a free hit on the quarterback.

This looks like mad scientist stuff, but it’s really just another way to play 2-Trap with the cornerback blitzing off the edge. To the backside of the formation, the nickel (N) drops to the deep half and the cornerback (C) plays the trap technique. If No. 2 (W) runs the out, the cornerback drops No. 1 (X) to the nickel over the top, with the dime back (D) matching the release inside to the slot receiver.

To the front side of the formation, the Sam linebacker (S) rushes off the edge and the cornerback (C) stems to a blitz alignment. That gives the defense two outside rushers while the free safety (FS) rolls down to the flat (trap technique), the strong safety (SS) moves to the deep half, and the Mike linebacker (M) matches the release of the tight end (Y).

I know it sounds like a lot. And it looks like a lot too. However, with the proper teaching, technique and execution, this is a great pressure/coverage to run. Set the traps outside to take away the inside receivers and get a hit on the quarterback. That’s good football.

Falcons: Swing route (pick)

During Super Bowl LI, the Falcons jumped to a 28-3 lead over the Patriots in the third quarter on Matt Ryan’s touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman. The route? A simple swing to Coleman out of the backfield. It was another example of the high-level playcalling we see from Kyle Shanahan.

With the Falcons showing a bunch formation and Coleman offset to the weak side of the formation, Atlanta’s goal is to get Coleman matched up versus a linebacker and create a mess of traffic for that linebacker to work through. That’s why we see the shallow cross (W) and the tight end (Y) working to the middle of the field.

Yes, the Falcons showed this play during the regular season and in the playoffs. But that was from a wide trips alignment. Here, Shanahan reduced the formation and played off the defensive tendencies of the Patriots to get Coleman free for an easy score.

Texans: Man pressure

I wanted to get some man pressure in this post, and I love what Romeo Crennel does in the Texans’ game plans because of the stunts he uses along the defensive front. Line up in press-man, challenge the releases outside, and go to work on the offensive line with stunts that create free rushers to the quarterback.

With dime personnel (six defensive backs) in the game, the Texans don’t hide much. They are playing press-coverage and sending five-man pressure. However, check out the stunt inside with the defensive end (E). That’s Jadeveon Clowney in the middle of the line. At the snap, the defensive tackle (T) and the linebacker (B) slant inside. The two defenders occupy the center and the guard, while the right tackle has to kick out versus the edge rusher. This allows Clowney to loop around on the stunt and rush up the field to plant the quarterback on the ground.

Now, I understand that not every coach has a game-wrecker such as Clowney. But you can engineer interior pressure with twist stunts. This blueprint from Crennel shows up quite a bit on the Texans’ tape — with positive results.

Seahawks: ‘Quads’ alignment

During the Seahawks’ win over the Patriots in the regular season, Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell used a quads formation (four receivers) to beat man coverage and take advantage of the matchup ability of rookie running back C.J. Prosise.

With three wide receiver personnel on the field, the Seahawks align Jimmy Graham to the backside of the formation (Y) and create a bunch look to the front side. The bonus here is Prosise (H), removed from the formation as that fourth receiver. This forces the Patriots to walk out a linebacker in coverage.

At the snap, the Seahawks clear out with the X receiver on the 7 route and run an inside Hi-Lo combination (Z, W) as Prosise releases the pivot route. Given the amount of traffic the linebacker has to manage because of the quads formation, plus the route from Prosise, this turns into a positive play for the Seahawks as Russell Wilson targets the running back when he separates at the break.

Panthers: 4-minute-drill power scheme

Every NFL offense has a “four-minute” package to close out games. It’s a series of run schemes, quick passes and some play-action designed to move the sticks and keep the clock running. Stay in bounds, get first downs, and win the game. That’s the idea.

This past season, the Panthers used a big boy scheme to close out the Redskins with a downhill run to Jonathan Stewart. I’m talking about straight power football at the point of attack, with extra beef in the game.

The NFL combine is less than two weeks away and days after that, the free-agency period will begin with the start of the new league year. So it’s time for the Detroit Lions – and every other team in the NFL – to begin to take stock of what they have and where they can upgrade.

With that in mind, we’ll do that as well with every position on the Lions’ roster leading into next week’s combine. And just a reminder that things can change incredibly quickly over the next few weeks as Detroit decides which players to re-sign and let go.

Today we’ll look at a position of some question with Detroit, running back.

The position group under contract: Ameer Abdullah (starter), Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner, Dwayne Washington, Mike James, Michael Burton (fullback)

Round 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

Christian McCaffrey, Stanford: If the Lions choose to go with an early-round running back, McCaffrey could be intriguing at No. 21 (or in a trade-back scenario). He is a dynamic runner with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons (including 21 career rushing touchdowns) and two seasons of at least 35 receptions. He’s a smart runner who should be available as Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette are likely to be gone before Detroit selects.