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Greg Roman’s offense is not far away from being good so it’s time for the panic to simmer down
When you look at the numbers there is no escaping the fact that this offense is failing the team. Any metric in existence will point towards a long term trend towards doom however my impression of the tape is that there is plenty of room for optimism.
I may not have published any film reviews over the last few weeks due to work commitments but I have been studying the tape the same way I always do and what I have seen from the Greg Roman’s offense isn’t nearly as bad as it is being made out to be.
There are three component parts to the on field success during a game;
- The scheme design
- The play calling
- The execution
For me, the crucial component that we should all be paying attention to is the scheme design. Without this none of the rest matters, we have seen Herbert performing miracles on 3rd and long in both Lombardi’s and Moore’s schemes but that is not conducive to long term success. So to assess how the offensive is going to perform for the rest of this season and beyond, it is vital to have a sound system for the players to grow into.
Sweeping statement time; Greg Roman’s scheme is good enough for this offense to win double digit games when executed to a decent degree. Now let’s not get carried away here, it’s not Ben Johnson’s masterpiece of an offense but it is closer to that than Lombardi’s laughable offense in Denver. The play design is getting lanes and routes open consistently but the player execution, coaching, discipline and play calling have all been letting it down.
The video analysis and accompanying play-by-play assessment below will attempt to demonstrate how close this offense is to prosperity. I picked this drive in particular because it was one that could (and should) have put the team in position to win the game and it was one of the only drives that wasn’t killed by poor starting field position or self inflicted penalties.
There was 6:26 left on the clock in the 3rd Quarter when Justin Herbert and the offense got started from the 30 yard line after a touchback from kick off. What ensued was a 14 play, 67 yard drive that ultimately ended in a turnover on downs after almost 8 minutes of possession.
1st & 10 at LAC 30
Justin Herbert pass to Joshua Palmer to KC 44 for 26 yards
A great start to the drive with a chunk play gained by utilizing a flood concept against Quarters. Herbert made the right read and delivered a perfect ball just outside the numbers. It was important that this pass kept inside and didn’t take Palmer to the sideline as it would have fed into the corner’s underneath zone. They both corrected the mistake they made against the Raiders on this play call.
Good scheme, call and execution
1st & 10 at KC 44
Gus Edwards to KC 40 for 4 yards
As the video shows, this was a frustrating misstep that could have gone for a lot more yards. Herbert checks into this G-lead power after reading that the Chiefs are calling the strength to the field meaning they’ll have a numbers advantage. The problem is that Zion hit the wrong shoulder of Karlaftis meaning the intended D gap hole is half closed and he instead bounces this to the outside where an unblocked corner is able to bring him down. There’s reason Roman usually pulls in the opposite direction and that’s because Zion isn’t good on the move.
Good scheme, great call (by Herbert) but let down by poor execution.
2nd & 6 at KC 40
Gus Edwards KC 35 for 5 yards
Easy open hole for a good gain on a solid play call. This was a really bad spot as it should have picked up the first down.
3rd & 1 at KC 35
Justin Herbert to KC 33 for 2 yards
Simple QB sneak for the first down.
1st & 10 at KC 33
J.K. Dobbins to KC 29 for 4 yards
I don’t like the play call or design here as the motion from Palmer mean the Chiefs ended up with 8 men in the box and inside zone just isn’t going to do anything. Only a patient press from J.K. means this ended up with some yards gained. Running on first down in field goal range is never my favorite call either.
Average scheme, poor call and average execution
2nd & 6 at KC 29
J.K. Dobbins right guard to KC 29 for no gain
Another frustratingly close moment of the drive where Dobbins could have taken this to the end-zone if he kept his foot on the gas all the way to the edge. This outside zone concept is taught to be read from outside to in so he really should have hit this, it rarely gets clearer than this. I think he had Justin Reid beat to the edge as well.
Good scheme, good call but a bad bit of execution by the ball carrier
3rd & 6 at KC 29
Justin Herbert pass to Joshua Palmer to KC 23 for 6 yards
The motion revealed the man coverage and Herbert didn’t have to check to anything as they have the man beater two man game to the wide side of the field. If the defenders switched after the route exchange then he hits Ladd but they don’t meaning the safety has to break over the stem of Ladd’s route and that gives the space for Palmer to be found towards the sideline.
Good scheme, call and execution on 3rd down
1st & 10 at KC 23
Justin Herbert pass incomplete to Ladd McConkey.
This is a filthy two man route combo to beat almost any coverage as the images below show. The issue was that Zion failed to spot another inside twist and Herbert couldn’t launch the throw this play deserved.
Great scheme, great call but poor execution in the protection plan
2nd & 10 at KC 23
Gus Edwards to KC 21 for 2 yards
The play call is a pretty simple outside zone call but Gus reads the wrong gap again as he had a decent crease up the A gap but decided to cut it back.
Average scheme, Vanilla call on 2nd and long to set up a 3rd and medium but poor execution by Gus who could and should be in a battle for RB2 at this point
3rd & 8 at KC 21
Justin Herbert pass to Quinten Johnston to KC 12 for 9 yards
A frequent trips bunch combo against off coverage with the TE and Slot running routes to clear their defenders out of the window and then the Z being tasked with winning the leverage battle off of his one foot cut. I like that they trust Q enough to try this.
Good scheme, great call on 3rd & long and great execution
1st & 10 at KC 12
J.K. Dobbins right tackle to KC 12 for no gain
The gap run game was working on this drive so Roman goes back to it once more. The GH Counter concept looked like to would create a few yards and it was going to but Salyer made a mistake on the backside and it allowed Drue Tranquill to scrape down the line for a run stuff.
Good scheme, good call but poor execution by a single player yet again
2nd & 10 at KC 12
Justin Herbert pass to J.K. Dobbins to KC 7 for 5 yards
Whilst I’m not usually a fan of single route concepts, they were working very well on this drive so why not go back to it. Hurst and Palmer switch out of the stack but post attack the middle of the field. The Chiefs are running Quarters which means Herbert knows he’ll have J.K. open after the other routes clear out the four ‘box’ defenders.
Good scheme, good play call and good execution
3rd & 5 at KC 7
Justin Herbert pass to Joshua Palmer to KC 3 for 4 yards
Really like this play design by going into trips bunch with two big boy tight ends setting up the tunnel screen for Palmer. Sometimes you really are left scratching your head because what the f**k was Palmer seeing that made him go so low? On replay I can see that the pass was a little low and rushed but if Palmer attacks the ball as he’s meant to, this is a touchdown. One criticism I have is why is it Palmer running this route when Ladd is faster and QJ excels in these situations?
Good scheme, great call but very poor execution by a single player
4th & 1 at KC 3
Justin Herbert pass incomplete short middle to H.Hurst
I have no problem with this play design as it did what it was intended to: get an open lane into the end zone however I have two issues with this:
- Don’t call two plays in a row from the bunch, this gave the Chiefs the chance to correct their coverage into man-match rules instead of their standard Quarters read.
- They did this in up-tempo out of timeout which was a very strange decision but it meant there was no opportunity for a motion to give Herbert a read on the defense.
So it was a good scheme but a terrible call given the situation (plus I would have preferred a run) but once again a small player mistake meant the play failed.
Conclusion
The bare face of the performances so far are inescapably underwhelming. I’ve spent way too many hours with my head in my hands on Sundays because of this offense’s inability to sustain drives or put points on the board. However I genuinely think that Bolt fans have reasons to be optimistic about the potential this unit has. They just need to iron out the details, execute and be disciplined enough to not put themselves in unwinnable situations.
There is plenty of blame to place on the coaching too, this is not a blanket statement of support for Greg Roman as he is ultimately responsible for everything this offense does, the timing of his play calling can justifiably be put under the spotlight too. There are some positions at which I’m starting to think cannot be improved upon until next off-season however the scheme is not the problem in this instance. The interior of the offensive line, tight ends and running backs (other than J.K.) just aren’t performing at a level that can win games. Marcus Brady, Mike Devlin, Andy Bischoff, Kiel McDonald and anyone else with a share of the responsibility for these positions have to find ways to improve the execution of the scheme through coaching and installing better discipline.
As I said earlier, nothing can be right without the scheme being the foundation to which to build from and, in my opinion when you turn on the tape, you can see that it’s there in principle. This offense is by no means a lost cause for this season and beyond, I think it has the potential to be the balanced unit this team has been crying out for. It’s just a matter of details and to borrow a quote from one of the greatest architectural minds of all time, which I am sure Jim Harbaugh would agree with:
“God is in the details”
Mies van der Rohe
I really don’t care for comparisons of football and war but I’m gonna paraphrase one here….you go to war with the army you have, not the one you want.
Roman needs to adjust. I’m not seeing much of that.
The first and 10 at the KC 23 was a bad read by Herbert. It seems like he decided where to go with the ball before the snap. QJ is wide open on the post before the pressure gets there. If he throws that on his break it’s a walk in 6 points.
The second play of the drive the 1st and 10 at the KC 44, you could say that Zion hit the wrong shoulder on his defender while pulling, but Palmer does jack shit. He stands there watching the play. If he blocks the CB right in front of him, that could have been a 10 yard gain or a broken tackle away from a house call.
Also, regardless of execution by Hurst, the final play was a terrible call. It’s 4th and 1 and the call was essentially a 1 man route. Once QJ didn’t come uncovered, it’s designed for nothing else. You could still get a 1st down. Why not use an RPO play to hold or commit to the run to open up the window behind them? Why is Fehoko lined up by himself at the top. Shouldn’t you have QJ there and put Ladd or Palmer in QJ’s spot, so if the bunch read isn’t open you can have QJ run the back of the end zone and use his height for a high pointed pass as a last option? Everyone in the building knows that play isn’t going to an isolated Fehoko, or even going to him at all. You might as well lined up Matlock there for the same result. Look how easily it was covered. You don’t put your worst WR at the top of the route and a bunch with your best WR together on the bottom. That is doing the exact opposite of getting your best WR 1 on 1 coverage in space. KC essentially ignored Fehoko’s half of the field, and had everyone manned up with 2 players in a zone. Great design. They used 6 defenders to cover your 4 on half a field. It’s even dumber from an empty set, as you are announcing it is 100% a pass to 1/2 of the field.
It’s one thing to have players hit a wrong shoulder or player blocking on the move, or a RB missing an opening to hit a hole, but there is something totally different about not putting players in a position to succeed with play designs and usage. I know the roster lacks every ideal piece, but good coaches find a way tom use what they have. Where are the plays to get Ladd or QJ the ball on the move in space, or at least get Ladd isolated to use his superb route running to get open? God forbid Dobbins goes down. What will the offense look like then? It’s already in the bottom 5 with him.
Look, we have 13 games left and I am sure improvements can be, and will be made. However, IMO, as far as the passing game, it is not dynamic enough to use Herbert or some of our “weapons” to the best of their ability. Remember, there’s a reason Roman was on the street looking for work.
@evolz3737 Maybe I am just too forgiving, but I don’t think we can judge Roman’s offense off of two games when Herbert was hobbled and 6 of 8 quarters were with pretty awful O line play. Those two games against top rated defenses with those limitations are outliers in my mind for what this offense can be. And while passing yards were down in the first two games why would you go away from a dominant running game especially when the game was in hand by the fourth quarter as it was in both of the first two games.
Let this team stubbornly establish the run and watch out later in the season. They will start scoring lots of points because defenses are not able to make them one dimensional which has been a 12 year losing strategy for this organization.
Combine that with this defense and you have a very competitive team. It takes time.
@gbgh The team has not established really anything outside of breaking a few big runs and a busted coverage to QJ. If Dobbins ever went down, what is your calling card on offense? And don’t you think teams will realize there is nothing scaring them with the passing offense and just load the box? You don’t have to be the Greatest Show on Turf, but you can’t be the ‘23 Jets either. Good teams have balance, even if they lean more heavily on one aspect. Look at the Steelers game. They took the rushing attack away and the offense was limp. Until they can prove they can win with the passing offense if the run game stalls, expect more of the same.
@evolz3737 I agree with you the goal is balance but recall the lack of balance for years with this team. I want the opponents stacking the box to stop the run. They do that with a mobile Herbert and decent pass protection and the passing game will unlock.
I think also Herbert does not trust his interior O line protection nor should he which is limiting play calls down the field. The emergence of McConkey will help as he knows he has a place to go with a guy who gets open quickly if the pressure is coming. I am also hopeful a true deep threat with Chark returning will help open things up for Herbert. And Palmer and the TE’s need to step up. I know Palmer has been hurt so maybe that is his main issue but I thought he would be better than he has been so far.
Put all that together with a respectable run game and things will change for the better on O.
@evolz3737 good post. As I said in a response to Ryan’s last post (though I’m loathe to use military lingo to describe football), you go to war with the army you have, not the one you want. Color me quite unimpressed with Roman’s ability to adapt.
We’ve seen that story before.
I share your sentiment regarding the 4th and 1 call, I absolutely despise going into empty with a immobile QB anywhere on the field let alone in the redzone on a critical down. I also agree with your personnel decision criticism, why Fehoko was on the field in a situation where man beaters should be on there is beyond me.
Just an FYI on the play you criticise Palmer he’s tasked with climbing up to the safety on that play and letting the corner crash down on the edge as the hole was the one I pointed out. I think Palmer isn’t right for this offense and I wouldn’t be suprised if he is traded away before he becomes a free agent but he was right here.
I think Roman’s biggest weakness is his hyper focus on one hole or one side of the field. This is something that the offensive brain trust of Harbaugh, Trestman and Brady have to address if Roman isn’t able to build in more options.
One thing I’ve seen a few people talk about in various locations is the “play to what you have” mentality. This is something I would agree with if your team is nearing completion but that is absolutely not the case right now. The longer term view is that you are building an offense that will transcend the limits of a 4 week window, or even across multiple seasons. You run the ball to break your opponents down drive after drive so that you have an advantage when the game is on the line, you don’t do it just because that’s what seems like the right call in that moment. Offense has the burden of being the first to move therefore what you do cannot simply be a reflection of your opposition. White moves first in chess and there are a billion opening gambits to be had, black’s response is based entirely on that first move.
These are the coaching nuances that Harbaugh should never be questioned on because he has a better feel for rebuilding teams than almost any other coach in history. Look at his early Michigan sides, they didn’t break 5 yards per carry until his 6th season but they still ran the ball 40 times a game. I’ll admit that them having a string of middling QBs skewed those statistics but when they finally found some talent to pass with, they had the foundations of a brutal rushing offense that decimated any team they came across.
This is why football is the best sport on the planet. You can have the perfect view of the data, have studied all the tape, know every scheme known to mankind but you can lose to someone who smashes you in the face because that’s what they’ve been taught to do.
Sorry for the rant towards the end there but all I’m saying is let’s just look at the offense with a long term view of what this team needs to get over the hump and play some meaningful football in January.
@ryanwatkins I don’t believe keeping long term goals in sight while adjusting to current realities are mutually exclusive.
That is true to an extent and if Herbert and others had been playing healthy maybe we would have seen the proper plan for this season. Again, I am not a staunch defender of Roman, not at all. There are plenty of areas of the game that is well below expected standards with the talent level available to him. But there is also enough reason for optimism on tape that should give fans pause in their clamour for a new OC four weeks into the season.
@ryanwatkins I’m not clamoring but I am closely watching to see if his detractors were correct. So far, what I’ve seen isn’t proving them wrong.
@ryanwatkins based on what you have seen so far from this offensive style, do you feel that the IOL is more important than tackle play? It seems like the bad IOL play is not providing the push in the run game or stopping immediate interior pressure into the pocket. With this being the case, I am surprised this wasn’t a bigger area to address in the offseason, especially when at the first sign of injuries, our first choice is a PS player to plug in at G. This seems like a big oversight by the FO and could really be the crutch for this offense to bear this season. If they had this little faith in Jaimes or McFadden, why weren’t they churned for better players? This reeks of a Telesco lack of talent evaluation and planning.
Roman’s run scheme (to my eyes at least) targets off tackle just as much if not more than between the tackles which is why they coveted such an athletic tackle in Alt to stretch and climb. They are also far more important in the pure drop back passing game additionally I think having bookend tackles is important to give Herbert time on the play action concepts Roman relies on for explosive passing plays.
That said in an ideal world they would have addressed a Center at the very least. There were plenty of developmental prospects that could have sat behind Bozeman but they chose to strengthen elsewhere, only time will tell if these were good decisions.
I think the Telesco label is a bit harsh here, this FO have already made more moves this season than the previous one did in the whole of last season. I flagged that Jaimes was a problem that needed to be solved but maybe he’s been kept around because he is a multiple spot guy however with McFadden I just don’t understand why he wasn’t given the start.
@ryanwatkins Fair points and maybe the Telesco association was a little harsh, but plugging in a PS player over players that made the 53 man roster just seem to be a big miscalculation that oozed of the Telesco depth issues of the past. I am a big roster construction/draft nut so I like to take a macro look at the contracts and roster and I think the IOL might be an issue again next year because with all the one year deals and people on the final years of contracts, there will be a ton of holes to fill especially on defense and arguably to more important positions losing considerably bigger talent (Edge, CB, LB, DL, TE, WR, RB, QB). The one year deals are a double edged sword. They provide you a chance to get a hungry player giving you max effort and production at a cheap cost, but if they hit, you either have to pay them or let them walk for more $, which creates a roster hole. It also can create a comp pick, but those take a year to generate and do not immediately help with the roster construction. So, with all things being equal I would say just from returning player depth, Edge, CB, RB, WR, TE, LB, QB and IDL would take priority as they are losing more overall depth and talent than IOL. Here are some of the prominent names in that boat. Dobbins, Mack, Fox, Heinecke, Samuel, Palmer, Molden, Niemann, Fulton, Chark, Smartt, Dye, Ford, Hurst, Fehoko, Bozeman, Tart, Scott, Perryman. Not to mention that Bosa’s contract might make him a cut candidate, and other names such as Sarrell, Stick, Jaimes and Finley are goners and suddenly IOL seems to be one of the least needy position groups. IMO, this roster churn for next year is also a factor for the trade deadline because there will be plenty of holes to fill, and I can’t see Hortiz trading away picks to plug in holes for this season. With all the depth that will be needed for the rest of the roster, I could easily see more one year stop gap deals at C and for IOL depth.
I would say just from returning player depth, Edge, CB, RB, WR, TE, LB, QB and IDL would take priority as they are losing more overall depth and talent than IOL. Here are some of the prominent names in that boat. Dobbins, Mack, Fox, Heinecke, Samuel, Palmer, Molden, Niemann, Fulton, Chark, Smartt, Dye, Ford, Hurst, Fehoko, Bozeman, Tart, Scott, Perryman. Not to mention that Bosa’s contract might make him a cut candidate, and other names such as Sarrell, Stick, Jaimes and Finley are goners and suddenly IOL seems to be one of the least needy position groups.
You characterized Dobbins, Fox, Palmer, Niemann, Chark, Smartt, Dye, Hurst, Fehoko, and Perryman as “prominent names”. You later mentioned Sarrell, Stick, Jaimes, and Finley. Everyone on this list is easily replaceable, and none should be expected to have a lot of teams lining up in free agency.
You also characterized Mack, Heinecke, Samuel, Molden, Fulton, Bozeman, and Scott as “prominent names”. Any of these players can be re-signed if the team desires. For that matter, same with the first group.
I think Hortiz has set things up so the team can do whatever it wants to do with the roster next offseason. That is a good thing, not a bad thing.
And given how much Harbaugh and Hortiz prioritize the OL, I fully expect them to address IOL as part of next offseason. I agree with being disappointed it didn’t happen already, but it was a significant rebuild. It wasn’t possible to do everything in the first offseason.
Roman’s run scheme (to my eyes at least) targets off tackle just as much if not more than between the tackles
According to PFF, the team’s RBs have 97 rushing attempts, with 54 of those between the tackles and 43 outside the tackles. Not a huge difference, but definitely more inside runs.
That said in an ideal world they would have addressed a Center at the very least.
I agree. I had hoped they would trade down with MIN and draft Bowers / best OT at 1.11 and JPJ at 1.23. When that didn’t happen, I was surprised they went McConkey over JPJ in the 2nd.
I like Alt and McConkey and think they will be good to great players. But I think that trade down, if it was available, was a better choice.
I think the Telesco label is a bit harsh here, this FO have already made more moves this season than the previous one did in the whole of last season. I flagged that Jaimes was a problem that needed to be solved but maybe he’s been kept around because he is a multiple spot guy however with McFadden I just don’t understand why he wasn’t given the start.
The Telesco label is definitely misapplied here. As for Mustipher vs. McFadden last week, that is a coaching decision, not a front office decision.
This reeks of a Telesco lack of talent evaluation and planning.
I could not disagree more with this.
Even in only a partial first year with the Chargers, I can already tell Hortiz >>>>> Telesco. It’s not close.
No GM or front office is perfect. Hortiz may have missed on some of his decisions. But overall his performance to date has been outstanding. There was never any point in time during Telesco’s tenure that I would have said that about him.
Well it can’t get any worse, so we will see what develops. If Herbert having no time to throw because of interior pressure, it won’t matter if you have a 4.2 guy on the outside, so not sure how much of an impact Charlie might have.
Great insights as per usual, @ryanwatkins. Thanks for taking the time to put up quality content like this.
A few other comments on the specific plays on this drive from me:
I’ve heard football coaches say it’s hard to run Outside Zone from the Shotgun. You certainly don’t see the Shanahan tree disciples calling it that way very much. So perhaps there’s something about it that made it harder for Dobbins to read the available running lanes. G-Ro might want to tweak that.QJ’s route running on that completion is exactly what I want to see from him. In his drive phase, he has his head down low and he sells the outside fake before stepping hard inside on the slant and catching the ball cleanly. Credit to Sanjay Lal and to QJ for putting in the hard work. He looks like an NFL WR2 on that snap.On the 4th down, I see a scheme/personnel failure by allowing Chris Jones to be lined up 1-on-1 against Sam Mustipher. I feel like you need to have a better plan than that if you’re going to insist on running a simple dropback pass with your injured QB on 4th down.I agree with you that Roman’s passing game, on film, has not looked so bad. It’s something I’ve noticed myself and leads me to think there are some personnel issues that might not be solved until next offseason.
However, philosophically I think it’s open to take issue with the following:
G-Ro/Harbaugh appear to aim to get to 3rd & Short on early downs.G-Ro/Harbaugh will run on 1st&10 immediately following big completions, other first downs, or in the opposition’s half.G-Ro/Harbaugh will happily run on 2nd & Short or 3rd& Short to ‘get the first down and a new set of downs’.I think G-Ro & Harbaugh believe that you run your Offense to beat your opponent and win the game, rather than to maximise or run up the score. And I think that leads to an interesting debate about the best way to play football. As an OC, is your job to score the most points you possibly can? If so, the Chargers’ approach will never achieve that by running the football as much as they do. But if you think your job is to ‘win’, including by dominating time of possession and keeping your Defense fresh, then you might favour the G-Ro/Harbaugh approach.
The skill errors and pre-snap penalties will hurt your Offense more if you’re already not trying to maximise scoring through conservative playcalling. So, if G-Ro/Harbaugh are going to continue to take that approach? The execution must be better, or we’ll continue to score <20 points.
@alisterlloyd I agree with your take on the offense. As I have said, you can have a style of play you want to implement, but you must be able to adjust. You can’t be “run the ball at all costs, no matter what”, because when it’s taken away, what are you going to counter with? Pittsburgh has seen Roman’s offense for so long they knew exactly how to attack it. Stop the run, stop the team. In some aspects, it is better to be a pass first team because 2nd and 3rd and long don’t feel like impossibilities, and the rules are skewed to give a moderate amount of yards and first downs to the offense through pass related penalties. Being a run first team doesn’t mean you can’t be explosive in the passing game. Every knowledgeable football fan would agree that SF is a run based offense. However, they average 144 ypg rushing and 274 ypg passing. Detroit, another run based offense: 151 ypg rushing, 259 ypg passing. Washington, 178 ypg rushing, 226 passing. LA Chargers 127 ypg rushing, 150 passing, and we have the far better QB over every one of those teams. Currently those rank as 31st in passing and 9th in rushing, not exactly crushing it.
As far as a winning philosophy, I think you bring up an interesting point. The bottom line at the end of the day is to win the game, regardless of how you get there, but when you predicate that on a philosophy that is purely one dimensional and so vital to be played extremely clean for success, IMO, you are creating a smaller margin for victory. You can’t have your greatest strength also be your Achilles heel. The caveat to all of this is that it is week 4 of a new regime with a new staff and roster, but I am more concerned with the overall offensive style at this point. I do not feel that this approach can be successful long term in the league. I think that a solid, complimentary, not even spectacular rushing offense has been devoid on this team for so long, fans are becoming brainwashed that it must be the best and only way to success, and I disagree. I think the best offense can have a run first approach and still be explosive and creative in the passing game to put up a good amount of points and make it even easier to play defense. As evidenced by the #’s those offenses exist.
But if you think your job is to ‘win’, including by dominating time of possession and keeping your Defense fresh, then you might favour the G-Ro/Harbaugh approach.
This quote above Alister is much closer to what Harbaugh is trying to achieve. This approach IMO works best as the season wears on and the weather gets worse. Let’s see how they do as injuries pile up for all teams and these teams with fast effective defenses begin to wear down. It is a long season and I believe this approach will bear fruit as time goes on. I saw a stat that had Herbert averaging 39 passes a game in the past resulting in great stats and losing football. Figure out how to have an effective running game and the passing game will open up over time. That is what I expect as the season goes on. A healthy Herbert, a good running game and that defense will win games.
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