Does 'Static Equal Death?' A lesson from the Browns vs. Texans.
Does 'Static Equal Death?' A lesson from the Browns vs. Texans.
Predictable alignments and coverages can get you beat in the modern game. Slowik, Stroud, and the Texans' offense dominated a Browns unit that looked unstoppable. But does this answer our question?
Before we begin, let’s discuss static defenses. In the NFL, after 18 weeks, you will generally be what you put on tape. This isn’t college football, where you get almost a month-plus to cook up new ideas or review your tendencies. At the college level, bowl games are important for recruiting, marketing, and team development.
A team gets an early Spring Practice schedule when awarded with a bowl invite. The way most college academic schedules are set up, Christmas Break falls right after the end of the regular season. Coaches and players have ample time to study film and discuss ways to defeat their next opponent. I always take bowl game results with a grain of salt. Add in the transfer portal and early signing period; the results mean even less outside the College Playoffs.
NFL defenses have little time to develop a game plan, and policy doesn’t extend the hours players and coaches can spend with each other. Personnel are responsible for self-scouting, opponent scouting, and projections, but in the middle of a season, with only one week to prepare, we rarely see teams deviate from their norm.
For the most part, teams will be looking for predictable behaviors. Offenses want to know how a defense will align to specific formations, react to motions, or when star players align differently. Defenses will whittle down to what the offense does best and how it generally reacts to fronts similar to what they carry in their scheme. Further, what are they really trying to accomplish?
The chess match is more or less trying to self-scout while mitigating the risk of deviating too far from your base. At all levels, football is a copycat ecosystem. What worked against a defense will most likely show up repeatedly until they prove they have solved the issue. Offensive coaches will attempt to dress formations with motions and shifts to get the defense into misalignments or designated mismatches. A great example of this came from the Rams/Lions game.
Motions, in general, have become increasingly important in the NFL game. ESPN’s Seth Walder breaks motion into two parts, Snap Motion (motion at the snap of the ball) and motion (movement prior to snap). Quick or ‘Snap’ motions quickly create leverage or slightly move defenders as the ball is snapped. These motions are used as ‘eye candy’ for defenders.
Only the Seahawks, Chargers, and Falcons didn’t make the playoffs among the top 10 teams in Snap Motion. Kansas City, ranked 16th, uses a large number of motions before the snap (64%.2). Motion amplifies an offense’s leverage and increases a play’s overall EPA. The Eagles, Cowboys, and Bills were among the top ten DVOA offenses but ranked in the bottom ten in quick-motion usage.
Philly and Dallas have received criticism for their lackluster offensive performances in their Wildcard losses. Only the Bills, with Josh Allen, survived the weekend. When used correctly, the combination of personnel, formations, and motion can be a deadly trifecta for the modern offense.
Now, let’s examine a play that used pre-snap motion and personnel usage to gain an advantage. Week 17 was all a buzz as the Lions lost to the Cowboys on a penalty during their 2-point play that was called back because O-linemen Taylor Decker ‘didn’t report.’ Detroit has one of the best O-lines, and the unit is deep. Lions OC Ben Johnson uses heavy packages near the goal line to get defenses to bring in their goal line packages, which usually only have two or three DBs. On 4th & 1, needing a crucial TD to pull ahead in their playoff matchup against the Rams, Johnson turned to the heavy set again, but with a new wrinkle.
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