Football season is almost here, Chiefs Kingdom.
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the types of innovative plays that Andy Reid has spent the offseason coming up with and integrating into the offense. I’m not even going to try to predict the cool stuff that he’s schemed up for the 2019 iteration of the offense.
However, there are a handful of plays I’d like to see the Chiefs bring to the offense in 2019. They’ve been proven successful in other NFL schemes, and the Chiefs have the personnel to make them work. Here’s a look at three of those plays:
PA TE Throwback
The Chiefs ran 80 percent of their plays out of shotgun in 2018, which was the most in the NFL. It was quite rare to see Patrick Mahomes under center, and when he was, a lot of the time it was for a designed running play. Eventually you have to do something unexpected out of those formations, which is one reason why I am looking at this play.
Just a day ago, Peyton Manning compared Patrick Mahomes to John Elway on Peter King’s podcast. Specifically, it was Mahomes’ improvisation and ability to throwback to the opposite side of the field that reminded Manning of Elway. Manning talked about how the Broncos eventually designed plays for Elway where he’d sprint to the left and throwback to the right. One coach who was the innovator there with those plays was Mike Shanahan.
Shanahan’s son Kyle, who is the head coach of the 49ers, has used these throwback plays as a staple in his offenses. It dates back to his earliest days as an offensive coordinator with the Texans. Everywhere he’s gone, he’s brought that PA TE Throwback with him, and it’s seen a lot of success.
One thing that you’ll notice with this play is that a lot of the time the tight end has to slow down to wait for the ball to arrive. It’s a tough throw to make across the field. Guys really have to set their feet and drive the ball to get it from point A to point B. I don’t think that will be a problem with the Chiefs because of Mahomes’ arm strength. Between that and Travis Kelce’s ability in the open field, this could make this a really deadly play for the Chiefs.
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Fake Triple Option HB Screen
I’m certain that this play is somewhere in the Chiefs’ playbook. They may have even used it with Alex Smith in the past, but I don’t recall the team using it with Patrick Mahomes in 2018. They used a few of those speed option plays early on, but they phased them out as the season went on.
Obviously, Mahomes isn’t the biggest threat to run the ball himself and the Chiefs don’t want to put him in harm’s way, but this play isn’t designed to get the focus on the QB as a runner.
One NFL team that often utilized this play in 2018 was the Panthers, and it was rarely met with any sort of defensive success. The idea is to get the defense focused on the motion on the option side, defending the run, while a halfback leaks out the back side with two or more blockers. If you get the linebackers moving in the direction of the fake, you’ve basically won the play, because your linemen will only have defensive backs in their way.
Tyreek Hill would be perfect for the decoy, man-in-motion role. The Chiefs could potentially use Sammy Watkins or Mecole Hardman as well. They also now have the personnel at the running back position to make pitch triple-option style plays a real concern for defenses.
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PA FB Seam
I know that Anthony Sherman has said he prefers to be laying out people as a blocker. But the Chiefs are such a pass-heavy offense, he needs to start making his money by getting involved in the passing game; otherwise, it’s hard to justify keeping him on the roster. Think back to Sherman’s first season with the Chiefs and he was heavily involved in the passing game. He finished that season with 24 targets and over 150 receiving yards.
The idea with this play is that the fullback is going to be isolated in man coverage against a linebacker. You can perhaps catch them off balance with the play-action. All-Go Special HB seam has been utilized with much success in the Chiefs’ offense for a few years now. It’s a similar concept in terms of getting a favorable matchup against a linebacker. Getting their hips flipped and running up the seam is hard for guys who aren’t top-tier athletes at the linebacker position.
If you get the ball into Sherman’s hands in space, he can do some great things with it. Remember his play up the sideline in the Pro Bowl? Remember his touchdown catch to open the season against the Chargers in 2018? He’s got some juice that the Chiefs can further utilize.
Again, this is a play from under center, so it won’t be used all that often in Kansas City, but as a change of pace for the offense, it has the potential to be very successful.
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