https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/...sive-minded-coaches-rams-sean-mcvay-andy-reid
The NFL’s Final Four Shows Why Every Team Wants a Sean McVay
By Robert Mays
Getty Images/Ringer illustration
The
divisional round’s results explain why teams around the NFL are hiring offensive-minded, play-calling head coaches. As Matt LaFleur and Kliff Kingsbury have taken top jobs, and Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor has become the no. 1 candidate for Cincinnati’s open coaching position, it’s been said that
franchises are looking for their own version of Sean McVay.
But the trend goes further than that. Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Saints coach Asshole Face also double as their teams’ play callers, and that structure is clearly producing results. The four teams left in the playoffs had the four highest-scoring offenses in the league this season, and as long as those elite units continue to succeed in the postseason, teams are going to model themselves around that formula.
In several ways, Reid’s and Payton’s sustained successes present a stronger argument in favor of offensive-minded head coaches than McVay’s relatively short tenure in Los Angeles. Since Payton was hired as the Saints’ head coach in 2006, New Orleans has finished outside the top 10 in scoring offense just two times, and it’s never finished lower than 12th. Having a future Hall of Fame quarterback for that entire run certainly helps, but Payton has held the team together despite roster changes and alterations to the coaching staff.
A similar foundation has been tested in Kansas City each of the past few seasons, as Reid’s coaching staff has been raided repeatedly. In 2016, then–Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson was hired away to be the Eagles head coach. Last January, Matt Nagy, was hired as the Bears’ head coach. Kansas City responded by scoring a league-leading 35.3 points per game in 2018.
McVay has been forced to overcome the same challenge during his first two seasons in L.A. Last year, he lost offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur to the Titans. This season, Taylor will likely leave to take over as the Bengals’ head coach. Yet no matter how much turnover the Rams experience, the most important pillar of their franchise remains.
Some teams that follow this model will inevitably fail, as unqualified position coaches are elevated to jobs they aren’t equipped for. Taylor, for example, last called plays in 2015 as the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator. That season, Miami finished 27th in scoring offense at 19.4 points per game. Three years later, Taylor is skipping straight from position coach to head coach in large part because of his proximity to McVay. But no matter the risks, coaches like Taylor are going to get opportunities in the modern NFL, and this weekend’s results are the reason why.
To understand why these offensive coaches are considered the best minds in the league, let’s take a closer look at some of the concepts they used effectively this weekend, starting with McVay. By playoff time, it’s crucial for offenses to break some of the tendencies they’ve developed over the course of the season.
In Saturday’s 30-22 win over the Cowboys, McVay did an excellent job tweaking the Rams’ familiar patterns to create problems for Dallas’s defense. On a second-and-10 with 11:44 left in the first quarter, the Rams lined up in their
standard 11 personnel look, with running back C.J. Anderson next to quarterback Jared Goff in a shotgun formation. Just before the snap, wide receiver Robert Woods went in jet motion from left to right—
another staple of the Rams offense.
But instead of dropping back to pass, Goff handed the ball to Anderson, who ran it up the middle for a 12-yard gain. This season, the Rams only ran the ball from shotgun 32 times, according to Sharp Football Stats, the lowest total in the league. They did it twice in the first half against Dallas, and Anderson gained 23 yards on those two carries.
Another small but meaningful alteration came in the type of motion the Rams used to create misdirection. McVay’s team led the NFL in jet-motion percentage during the season (with L.A. using it on 17 percent of its plays), but on Saturday, rather than motioning the receiver straight across, the Rams repeatedly sent a wideout
behind Goff in a ghost/orb motion look.
In order to give that player credence as a runner, the Rams handed the ball off to wide receiver Josh Reynolds from that position on their second drive. For the rest of the game, the Cowboys defense had that play in the back of their minds, and that influence slowed down the Dallas linebackers on other types of runs.
Few teams effectively scheme ways to get their offensive linemen to the second level like the Rams, and the big guys dominated Dallas all game. On Todd Gurley’s 35-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, the Rams lined up in 11 personnel with tight end Tyler Higbee and two receivers clustered to the right. At the snap, Higbee came across the formation to execute a wham block on defensive end Randy Gregory.
That produced a cascading effect: By bringing Higbee across, Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth could focus all of his attention on the defensive tackle; with the tackle taken care of, left guard Rodger Saffold could easily climb to the second level. As Saffold cleared out Leighton Vander Esch, Whitworth picked off a safety and paved Gurley’s way into the end zone. You won’t see a more complete performance than the one the Rams’ offensive line had this weekend.
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