Football coaches often view themselves as students of military history. The overwrought clichés that draw comparisons between football and war should be left in an era of another time, but in terms of tactics, there are aspects of military history that do translate to the football field: Getting a numbers advantage and then pressing that position; Finding a weakness and then exploiting it; and most applicable here, outflanking your enemy when you can.
Perhaps Andy Reid is a student of military history.
If Monday night is any indication, he certainly is. The Kansas City Chiefs have a number of weapons on the offensive side of the football, chief among them quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But Reid seemed a master at outflanking the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, and it was evident on the ways he attacked their defense in the screen game.
By my charting, the Chiefs ran four technical screen plays against the Ravens, two of which targeted rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the passing game. The second of those two was a smoke screen in the fourth quarter, when Kansas City motioned him outside and into an empty formation, and Mahomes took advantage of a soft Cover 3 scheme to simply get him the football:
Mahomes first sees the defensive response to the motion, which is to say there is none. The cornerback simply bumps outside a bit to cover the running back. The quarterback also sees the soft coverage, so he simply throws Edwards-Helaire the ball on a smoke route for an easy gain.
Not the best example of outflanking, but we’re just warming up.
I want to focus on some of the other designs Reid dialed up in this game. This first example goes for a 20 yard gain to Edwards-Helaire, and it is a vicious design that stresses the Ravens defense at every level of the field:
This is a three-element design that has more flanking maneuvers than Epaminondas used against the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra. On the right side of the formation the Chiefs implement a go/out combination, with the outside receiver running the vertical and the slot receiver executing a deep out. Then with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce – aligned in a two-man stack – Kansas City sets up a shallow cross concept with the tight end sitting in the middle of the field.
All of that? Potentially just eye candy, as this distracts from the running back screen with a three-lineman convoy in front of the rookie:
The eye candy works to give the Chiefs a numbers advantage downfield, and the rookie running back rips off a 20-yard gain.
But that play is nothing compared to what Reid dialed up a little later. While not technically a screen, this play works because of the dual screen elements, which are now the eye candy. On this play the Chiefs align with 11 offensive personnel, but put Hill in the backfield along with Mahomes and Edwards-Helaire. They show the Ravens a swing screen to each side of the field, Hill on the right and Edwards-Helaire on the left. To really sell the screen element in front of Hill, Reid has both the right guard and the right tackle release in front of him:
Reid is setting up another flanking maneuver that would make what Hannibal did at the Battle of Cannae look like child’s play. Because this time the screens – even the one with the lightning-quick Hill and two offensive linemen in front of him – is just a ruse. A ruse designed to influence a rookie linebacker playing in his first NFL primetime game. The true target on this play? Kelce:
The tight end blocks for a moment, but then releases downfield on a simple pop pass. He is wide open:
That rookie linebacker is Patrick Queen. If you put yourself in his shoes for a moment, you more than understand his reaction to this play. After all, you see Hill in the backfield swing to the outside, and you see both the guard and the tackle race out to pave the road for him. I mean, what would you do?
It looks like you are getting outflanked, right? Two linemen in front of a dangerous speedster, so you have to race to the edge and shore up the defense. Well, in the process of doing that, you get outflanked, just not in the way you expected.
Believe it or not, the best example of Reid designing a screen to outflank the defense on Monday night resulted in an incompletion. Near the end of the first quarter Kansas City faced a 1st and 10 on the Baltimore 24-yard line. This is the design that Reid dials up:
Yes, there is a lot going on here. Let’s break it down. Mecole Hardman comes in motion before the snap from right to left, and then releases on a vertical route. Sammy Watkins is the single receiver on the left, and he runs a deep post. After the snap, Hill shows the Ravens an end-around.
All of it? Eye candy. Reid is setting up a screen to running back Darwin Thompson along the right side. Furthermore, Kelce and basically the entire offensive line set up in front of the running back.
Only the fingertip of Calais Campbell prevent this from being a touchdown:
Just look at how this sets up when Mahomes attempts the throw. You have Ravens defenders chasing the movement to one side of the field, and a convoy in front of Thompson to the other side with the numbers advantage. If the defensive lineman does not get his hands on this, it is likely six points:
Outflanked.
Defensive coordinators have enough to keep them up at night when facing the Chiefs. Their weapons alone are cause for many a sleepless night. But worrying about getting outflanked in the screen game is yet one more reason to reach for the Pepto.
In the week ahead, we’ll see if another student of history, Bill Belichick, is ready for these maneuvers.