The Chip Wagon

The Philosophy and Evolution of Eagles Run Game Part 8- Adjusting to the Adjustments

In a previous post, I highlighted how different defenses have schemed to attack the Eagles inside zone run game. The next series of posts will illustrate how Chip has reacted to some of these adjustments that the defense has made. We'll talk about various formations, we'll talk about the counter play, we'll talk about the split zone the Eagles like to run along with the various motions that they use. But let's first talk formations. As we mentioned yesterday, the thinking behind some of the defensive strategies we've seen is based upon the fact that Eagles dictate the playside with their inside zone formation. In other words, when the defense see where Lesean McCoy or Darren Sproles line up, they believe they know where the play is designed to go. As we've seen, sometimes the defense can't stop it anyway, and other times the defense really attacks that playside A gap and play good backside contain to plug up the play. 

So in 2014, Chip began to use various different formations to disguise his inside zone that would not give away the direction of the playside. Here are a few examples:

The Philosophy and Evolution of Eagles Run Game Part 4- Packaged Plays

Part 1 we covered why shotgun, part 2 we tackled mobility at the QB position, and part 3 we dove into the use of bubble screens as a constraint to our inside zone read option game. Today we'll tackle a topic that perhaps is more Foles-friendly. Packaged plays. 

Here's Chris Brown on packaged plays:

Good offense has always been about deceptive simplicity — the clearest path to success is to make things as simple as possible for your players while also keeping defenses off-balance. It’s a difficult recipe, as an offense that is too simple can get dissected, analyzed, and shut down by a savvy defense, but a team that tries to do too many things will master none of them. Packaged plays solve the quandary by combining simple plays all the players can execute in such a way that — if the quarterback makes the right decision — the offense always has the advantage, because no defender can be in two places at once.

There have been two major reasons behind this expansion. First, they work in perfect harmony with the up-tempo no-huddle offenses that have swept through college football and will seemingly be ever-present in the NFL this fall. But rather than ask a bunch of young quarterbacks to get all Peyton Manning with audibles and gestures at the line, these plays build the options right in and let the quarterback make a decision on the fly. In short, these plays use the mental part of the read-option — allowing a quarterback to read a defensive player to ensure that the defense is always wrong — without putting him at risk. As long as the quarterback can make smart, quick decisions, these plays should work as well with Joe Flacco as they do with RG3.

To round out the discussion surrounding, "Why Shotgun?" and with the packaged play definitions from Chris Brown above in mind, let's look at how the Eagles have used packaged plays over the last couple of seasons. 

The Philosophy and Evolution of the Eagles Run Game Part 3- Bubbles and Constraint

In part 1, I covered the basic philosophy and advantages of running the football from the Shotgun. Part 2, we touched on how the dynamics of those advantages are increased if your QB is a threat to run. One way teams have adjusted to try and regain that advantage in the box is to have a force defender (usually a safety or CB) cheat in and defend the backside run from the slot position. 

 

The Philosophy and Evolution of the Eagles Run Game Part 2- The Need for Speed

Yesterday, I kicked off this series with a detailed explanation of why Chip Kelly uses Shotgun as the formation of choice for his running game. In that post we highlighted how the shotgun gives the offense an arithmetic advantage against the defense and also touched on the importance associated with the QB being able to keep his eyes on the defense the whole time.  Of course one of the major things the shotgun formation opens up for the running game is the ability for a QB to read and essentially block a defender with his eyes. This gives the offense the numbers advantage we talked about yesterday. Certainly we have covered the read-option exhaustively on this blog over the years, but it's worth discussing a bit more here for the context of this series. 

Comfort Plays in a QB Friendly System

Earlier this week Chip Kelly was asked about his "QB-Friendly System":

"You try to make a friendly system for the quarterback, running back, wide receiver, offensive line — that's your job as a coach," Kelly said. "If it's not a quarterback friendly system, it's not a good system."

Later, Kelly explained that the only difference in the offense will be that they might add a throw or 2 that Mark likes. One play, that Nick Foles clearly loved was route combinations that include a snag concept. This was covered brilliantly by @SheilKapadia and @Coach_Flinn during the season last year. This concept has once again been a major staple in the 2014 offense and is a good example of the friendly reads the offense gives the QB in Chip's offense.