Chapter 1101 Advancing with the Times
Before we fully understand the Green Bay Packers' offense, we need to understand that the two coaches before and after McCarthy and LaFleur belonged to completely different systems.
McCarthy, the traditional West Coast offensive system, has also been popular in the league for thirty years. This tactic is based on short passes and flat passes, emphasizing the quarterback's passing accuracy and quick release of the ball. The shooting guard controls the rhythm like a metronome and resolves defensive impact and pressure.
This set of offensive tactics originated from the San Francisco 49ers and has been carried forward throughout the league, eventually achieving the quarterback's current supremacy.
LaFleur, the modern outside zone offensive system, originated from the current head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan, but the first success was with the Atlanta Falcons——
In the 2016 season, Shanahan served as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and LaFleur served as the quarterback coach of the Atlanta Falcons. They relied on this set of offensive tactics to bring Matt Ryan a regular season MVP and won the Super Bowl finals. The final championship trophy is only one step away.
Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, McVay of the Los Angeles Rams, and LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers are all the leaders of the modern outside zone offensive system.
Last season, McVay relied on this tactic to allow Goff to have a magical season. Unfortunately, he was ruthlessly suppressed by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
So, what is the modern outside zone offensive system?
Everything originated from the Washington Redskins from the 2010 season to the 2013 season. At that time, Shanahan was the Washington Redskins offensive coordinator and LaFleur was the Washington Redskins quarterback coach. They finally merged. McVay serves as the Washington Redskins assistant offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
Under the shadow of Shanahan's legendary coaching father, a group of young people used their imaginations, constantly collided with inspiration, and finally came up with a new set of tactics.
To some extent, it is similar to the philosophy of legendary coach Shaban of the University of Alabama: run the ball.
When the entire league is overwhelmingly inclined to pass the ball, the pressure on the quarterback is too great. Even top quarterbacks like Manning and Brees cannot turn the tide and save the ball time and time again. Team.
The reason why the New England Patriots were able to break through in the passing era, in addition to Brady's exquisite control of the short passing area, is that Belichick relied on the defense team and special teams to lay the foundation.
This group of young people believe that they should find a breakthrough from the ground attack.
"Modern outside area offensive system", to put it simply, is based on the classic outside area ground advancement tactics, incorporating a variety of pass fakes and read option attacks, and finally creates a dazzling and unpredictable offensive system.
In the first step, the fake coordination between the quarterback and the running back is the key.
After the kickoff, the quarterback observes the running of the defensive players through fake movements with the running back, then responds to the situation and decides whether to run the ball or pass the ball——
Actually, this is the read option offense. But the real difference is the route running down the stretch.
The second step is the coordination of the running routes of the running back, wide receiver, and tight end.
If it is a ground attack, rely on the running back's ability to break through on the outside.
If it is a passing attack, the running back will also play the role of receiving the ball, running dazzling routes on both wings to complete the connection, relying on the quarterback's pass.
In the traditional West Coast offensive system, the quarterback often needs to take two steps back to open up space; but in this modern outside zone offensive system, the quarterback does not retreat and remains parallel to the running back. .
The advantage is that the entire offensive rhythm is accelerated.
The disadvantage is that the quarterback has no time to think and adjust, and faces more pressure.
In the West Coast offensive system, Manning is undoubtedly a legendary master. Manning often changes offensive tactics temporarily before and after the kickoff, relying on his own observation and judgment, as well as unparalleled tactical knowledge, to disrupt the defensive layout. It's the equivalent of having another offensive coordinator on the floor. In the modern outside zone offensive system, quarterbacks also need to make on-the-spot judgments and make on-the-spot choices, but they do not have the time to adjust like Manning. Everything often happens in a flash. Once the defensive team can exert enough pressure, the four sides will The shooting guard may make mistakes.
Because of this, the cooperation between the quarterback and the head coach often requires a period of running-in, and may even take a whole season.
In the next five seasons when McCarthy coached the Green Bay Packers, the offensive tactics were rigid and lacked changes. The entire burden often fell on Rodgers' shoulders, which made the Green Bay Packers' offensive tactics easy to see through. .
This is also the reason why LaFleur was able to get this job. Shanahan and McVay have proven the feasibility of this tactic in the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams.
In this system, some quarterbacks with obvious talent ceilings can also play exciting games, such as Goff.
So, imagine what it will look like when such a new modern tactic meets an elite quarterback?
After taking over the head coaching duties of the Green Bay Packers, LaFleur immediately promoted a new tactical system to the team, and Rogers is also adapting.
Although Rogers does not have unparalleled tactical reserves like Manning, in fact, adjusting tactics before kickoff and changing strategies on the spot is also one of Rogers' strengths:
There should be many people in the league Everyone knows that Rogers is a master of early moves, and false adjustments before kickoff can often lead to defensive errors in judgment.
This season is the first season that Rogers and LaFleur have worked together: they are still in the running-in period.
Imagine that even in the running-in period, when Rogers still made many mistakes, the Green Bay Packers still easily won seven consecutive victories.
What if the running-in is completed?
However, precisely because it is still in the running-in period, the Green Bay Packers' offensive tactics still have many loopholes and shortcomings.
The most typical point is that the Green Bay Packers' poor offensive line is not trustworthy, and they have no way to provide more protection for Rodgers.
So much so that Rodgers was exposed to pressure for a long time, and the Green Bay Packers' running backs were not the best in the league, just average.
So, in the new offensive system, Rogers often relied on fake moves to deceive the defensive team, but in the end he chose to believe in himself and pass the ball himself.
So, this scene appeared——
According to LaFleur’s original intention, the Green Bay Packers should start relying on ground offense, running the ball to share the offensive pressure, and providing space for the quarterback. Get space to pass the ball.
However, so far this season, the ratio of passing and running the ball is still seriously unbalanced.
In the end, what appeared in front of us was an illusion. The Green Bay Packers were still relying on Rodgers to win, and there seemed to be no difference in the tactics of LaFleur and McCarthy.
But Lafleur understands that the team's winning announcement has completely changed. Although it looks similar on the surface, the entire tactical core is completely different.
The problem is that Lafleur knows it himself, so can other teams see through the phenomenon to see the essence?
(End of this chapter)