One reason we were excited about the Panthers hiring Joe Brady as their offensive coordinator was the hope that he would embrace analytics and new ideas in his playcalling like utilizing more motion. Last year, the offensive playcallers for the Ravens, 49ers and Chiefs all had tremendous success using more motion compared to their opponents. Other teams seem to be joining the trend based on the early numbers for the 2020 season.
So, how much did Brady try it in his first game in the NFL? According to Seth Walder at ESPN, not a whole lot. Here’s a look at his motion stats across the league from Week 1.
How often did each team use motion in Week 1? First column is motion at the snap, second column is all pre-snap motion.
Shoutout to our video trackers who make this stat possible. pic.twitter.com/mDf6aPEgyI
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 16, 2020
It’s only one game, so we can’t look too much into that percentage. Hopefully we see that number tick up as the season develops, though.
Brady has several very interesting offensive weapons and if he’s not consistely putting them in motion then he’s leaving points on the field. Receiver Curtis Samuel in particular is a player who will put stress on defenders when he’s on the move.
In any case, Brady’s offense looks and feels relatively modern and will get a lot of people involved.
