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Few plays carry as much psychological impact as the opening play of a series. Many teams are out to make statements, while others are trying to shift from their typical offensive patterns. There’s a lot of thought that goes into it, and the Chiefs turned up prominently in this examination of open play calls by Daire Carragher of Pro Football Focus.
Start with opening running plays. The Chiesf were actually one of the most run-heavy teams in the league on this play, according to a survey in the piece. They ran 73 percent of the time, which was surprising given the perception that there offense is freewheeling.
Part of that might be due to a different trend with first down passes. They’re usually not successful, as quarterbacks have an overall QB rating of well below 100.
The alignment falls in line with that trend. On opening snaps, quarterbacks line up under center on 48.8 percent of the time, versus just 31 percent of the time on other downs. The Chiefs also run more out of the shotgun on first down, which makes them unusual.
Another factor in all this is the frequency of RPOs. The Chiefs used to run a lot of them when Mahomes was younger and more athletic, and he was known for pulling off plays that other quarterbacks can’t from an RPO configuration.
Those days are likely gone for at least a while especially in the first month or two of the season. Mahomes won’t be as mobile, and it would be surprised if they used RPOs at all initially this season.
One area where RPOs could come into play is if they implement a short yardage package with Justin Fields as the quarterback. Fields is a weapon as a runner, and it would make sense to put him in a plce where he can make decisions and be more versatile.
No one knows quite how the addition of running back Kenneth Walker III will affect all this, either. His skill set would dictate that he lines behind Mahomes in a traditional under-center setup, but coach Andy Reid is well known for his use of motion and deception, so the Chiefs may run unusual variations on his normal motion plays.
The scrip is definitely going to change for Kansas City, and in some ways it will be fun to see. The Chiefs have become predictable in the last couple of years, but last season made it clear that it’s time for a change.
Continue reading...
Start with opening running plays. The Chiesf were actually one of the most run-heavy teams in the league on this play, according to a survey in the piece. They ran 73 percent of the time, which was surprising given the perception that there offense is freewheeling.
Part of that might be due to a different trend with first down passes. They’re usually not successful, as quarterbacks have an overall QB rating of well below 100.
The alignment falls in line with that trend. On opening snaps, quarterbacks line up under center on 48.8 percent of the time, versus just 31 percent of the time on other downs. The Chiefs also run more out of the shotgun on first down, which makes them unusual.
Another factor in all this is the frequency of RPOs. The Chiefs used to run a lot of them when Mahomes was younger and more athletic, and he was known for pulling off plays that other quarterbacks can’t from an RPO configuration.
Those days are likely gone for at least a while especially in the first month or two of the season. Mahomes won’t be as mobile, and it would be surprised if they used RPOs at all initially this season.
One area where RPOs could come into play is if they implement a short yardage package with Justin Fields as the quarterback. Fields is a weapon as a runner, and it would make sense to put him in a plce where he can make decisions and be more versatile.
No one knows quite how the addition of running back Kenneth Walker III will affect all this, either. His skill set would dictate that he lines behind Mahomes in a traditional under-center setup, but coach Andy Reid is well known for his use of motion and deception, so the Chiefs may run unusual variations on his normal motion plays.
The scrip is definitely going to change for Kansas City, and in some ways it will be fun to see. The Chiefs have become predictable in the last couple of years, but last season made it clear that it’s time for a change.
Continue reading...
