Article About the Evolution of the Shanahan System and What Makes it Work (1 Viewer)

[St. Widge]

This is a great article about the evolution of the Shanahan system and what makes it work. It stresses that the offense is really about dictating how the defense plays you and being able to run lots of different plays out of the same look. It also talks about the importance of RBs who can line up at WR, FBs that can line up at TE, TEs that can line up at WR, and WRs that can line up at RB. We have all of that for KK to use other than maybe the WR that can lineup at RB, but maybe Taysom Hill works in that role?

Anyway, there is much more in here than I can explain or write about:

Kyle Shanahan Is No Longer Running the Shanahan Offense

Play-action passes. Pre-snap motion. Wide-zone runs. Think you know the core tenets of the offense that has defined the recent history of the NFL? The man who popularized it has evolved—here’s what he’s doing instead.

www.theringer.com

 

[St. Widge]

I thought this quote from the article was a good explanation of the general concept of the offensive system:

"Everything is on the table. Because the keystone of the 49ers offense isn’t any one thing. The keystone of the 49ers offense is that you think it’s one thing, and it turns out it’s something else. It’s putting a fullback on the field to make you think run, so that they can pass. It’s bringing wide receivers tight to the formation, so you think of out-breaking routes, so they can run in-breaking routes. It’s motioning to a formation that you don’t think is empty, but actually is. The keystone of the 49ers offense is your perpetual wrongness. Shanahan better. Skill issue."

 

[madsaint1967]

Our offense has been missing some deception for a long time. Even CSP was getting stale, when I saw certain personnell groups come in, you could call out the play before they ran it. Sounds like the change we need.

 

[Elvis]

We have all of that for KK to use other than maybe the WR that can lineup at RB, but maybe Taysom Hill works in that role?

Great article. I wonder if any of our experts in college/draft eligible players can provide some insights on who in the 2024 draft might fit that mold in the mid to late rounds.

 

[St. Widge]

Great article. I wonder if any of our experts in college/draft eligible players can provide some insights on who in the 2024 draft might fit that mold in the mid to late rounds.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see because it strikes me that guys with that position versatility often don't get used well in college and so don't get drafted high. I'm thinking of guys like AK who wasn't used properly in college and had Payton not seen him run routes, could have been drafted way past the 3rd round. Also, guys like Antoine Randle El. I'd think some of the running QBs that will get converted to WR could be among those that might work. But, I'm no expert on the draft or football in general.

 

[Elvis]

Yeah, it will be interesting to see because it strikes me that guys with that position versatility often don't get used well in college and so don't get drafted high. I'm thinking of guys like AK who wasn't used properly in college and had Payton not seen him run routes, could have been drafted way past the 3rd round. Also, guys like Antoine Randle El. I'd think some of the running QBs that will get converted to WR could be among those that might work. But, I'm no expert on the draft or football in general.

Exactly. And most teams are looking for receivers with top end speed and height that play the outside and slot guys are undervalued. If we had a stockier possession/slot receiver that could also line up in the backfield occasionally, that would be really ideal to play the Deebo role. I just don't know who those guys are or how to find them.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

I thought this quote from the article was a good explanation of the general concept of the offensive system:

"Everything is on the table. Because the keystone of the 49ers offense isn’t any one thing. The keystone of the 49ers offense is that you think it’s one thing, and it turns out it’s something else. It’s putting a fullback on the field to make you think run, so that they can pass. It’s bringing wide receivers tight to the formation, so you think of out-breaking routes, so they can run in-breaking routes. It’s motioning to a formation that you don’t think is empty, but actually is. The keystone of the 49ers offense is your perpetual wrongness. Shanahan better. Skill issue."

Again, things I was screaming for Pete to do.

Pass out of running formations on running downs, run out of passing formations on passing downs, then run PA off both and just keep defenses guessing. Once you start adding motion etc on top of all that it keeps defense on its heels.


I just found another important blurb and I'm so glad for it.

To run wide zone well, the quarterback needs to be under center

I absolutely detested the fact that we put Carr in the gun so god damned much. He doesn't process like that and isn't that type of point guard QB that can just pick teams apart from the Gun like Drew was. He's a better arm talent though and absolutely requires the help of a run game to be his most effective. Not saying the gun needs to disappear but we didn't run much PA from it either. When we did late in the season we had some success both in run and pass game.

 

[Rexman100]

Thats a great article, thanks for posting. Quick thoughts: We need a versatile FB ASAP. If you're KK he has to be stoked to get Taysom, he can be the straw that stirs the drink.

 

[St. Widge]

Thats a great article, thanks for posting. Quick thoughts: We need a versatile FB ASAP. If you're KK he has to be stoked to get Taysom, he can be the straw that turns the drink.

Agreed on all accounts. And, I'm not sure that Prentice is the guy at FB in this system. I guess the good news is that you can essentially always find FBs late in the draft or as UDFAs because they tend to be underutilized in the NFL. Which is odd given the rise of Shanahan system but maybe it's because college FBs tend to just be slightly faster OL that line up in the backfield. Then again, there are probably college TEs and RBs that could also be converted to this style of FB.

And, I think Taysom Hill could slide right into that FB role until we can find someone better and/or younger.

 

[SailorJerrysHorse]

Thats a great article, thanks for posting. Quick thoughts: We need a versatile FB ASAP. If you're KK he has to be stoked to get Taysom, he can be the straw that turns the drink.

Agreed. The idea of trading Taysom now, of all times, is crazy given how much of an asset he would be in this particular style offense.

Add a versatile FB + a good blocking WR and I think we have all the pieces (on paper) to be effective.

 

[Rouxble]

Great article. You don’t necessarily need certain pieces, the philosophy can adapt to the pieces that you have.

McVay runs almost exclusively 11 personnel. McDaniel uses 21 personnel but assembled a track team. Shanahan uses 12/21 in his own way as described in the article, and other coaches listed have their own offshoots, like Zac Taylor’s Bengals living in shotgun.

I posted an article during the season about evaluating OC’s, and that article mentioned that Shanahan had significantly reduced his use of play action because they stopped getting the right looks. I like that this article also laid out that it’s not about play action for the sake of play action or motion for the sake of motion, it’s more about taking advantage of how the defense adjusts to formation/personnel/shifts/etc. that was the basis of the wide zone/keeper pairing, and maybe they’ve reached the point where the look favors sticking to the run VS keeper as defenses adjust to not get burned by the PA keeper pass.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

So, another thing I noticed, is that they have run less PA but they've still put the type of personnell on the field that says run.


We need a FB upgrade in a major way.

 

[St. Widge]

Great article. You don’t necessarily need certain pieces, the philosophy can adapt to the pieces that you have.

McVay runs almost exclusively 11 personnel. McDaniel uses 21 personnel but assembled a track team. Shanahan uses 12/21 in his own way as described in the article, and other coaches listed have their own offshoots, like Zac Taylor’s Bengals living in shotgun.

I posted an article during the season about evaluating OC’s, and that article mentioned that Shanahan had significantly reduced his use of play action because they stopped getting the right looks. I like that this article also laid out that it’s not about play action for the sake of play action or motion for the sake of motion, it’s more about taking advantage of how the defense adjusts to formation/personnel/shifts/etc. that was the basis of the wide zone/keeper pairing, and maybe they’ve reached the point where the look favors sticking to the run VS keeper as defenses adjust to not get burned by the PA keeper pass.

That's an excellent point about the specific pieces/roles. It's probably the case that he found out Debo could run the ball so he made that part of the offense rather than looking for a guy to do that. But, I do think there is some emphasis on RBs that can run routes, TEs that can split out, and versatile Fullbacks. But, I think it's all about using the guys you have to disguise what you are going to do and having guys that can credibly line up in more than one position. That and using motion to reveal the coverage, confuse the coverage, and create angles and advantages for blocking.

 

[Beast]

Great article. I wonder if any of our experts in college/draft eligible players can provide some insights on who in the 2024 draft might fit that mold in the mid to late rounds.

Or even guys on the roster..

Kentucky's Bowden wins Hornung for versatility

Kentucky's Lynn Bowden Jr. won the Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in the FBS.

www.espn.com

 

[St. Widge]

Or even guys on the roster..

Kentucky's Bowden wins Hornung for versatility

Kentucky's Lynn Bowden Jr. won the Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in the FBS.

www.espn.com

Very cool. Did not know that about Bowden. And he's already a very good blocker so that could really help him get on the field next year.