A look into the Jets new offensive system

With the Jets hiring former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, they are expected to bring in "The Shanahan offense".

Image Via CBS Sports // 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan

"The Shanahan offense" starts with the running game. They use a zone running scheme, which has 2 main plays, inside zone and outside zone. In this scheme, offensive linemen block an area, not necessarily just the person closest to them. Many offensive linemen thrive in this scheme that weren’t as good in other schemes. With that being said, running backs then have to run to a spot. If everyone does their job well the running back will be able to get to the spot, and then be able to cut upfield. Since the running back isn’t waiting and looking for a hole, vision isn’t as important in running backs, and speed is even more important. This allows for many running backs that weren’t as good in other systems to thrive in this system. A recent example of this is Raheem Mostert, who was cut by six different teams before eventually catching on with the 49ers practice squad in 2016. After not having much of a role for a while, he broke out in the 2019 season and had a remarkable playoff run. The main reason he was able to be so productive in this scheme was his speed, as he is one of if not the fastest running back in the league.

The 49ers try to stick with the running game until they are forced to throw the ball, and they set up the pass with the run. When I went back to watch their 2019 week 14 game versus the saints before I wrote this, I took note of a stat that was shown during the game which said they ran the ball on 64% of first downs, which was the highest in the NFL. This supports the fact that they will try to keep running unless forced to stop, and will also set up play action with the running game. They try to stick with having two tight ends, a full back, and a Running back until their run game is stopped. Their full back, Kyle Juszczyk, can also play tight end and is a key part of their offensive success. With that being said, they only have two receivers on the field for most of the game if all goes well. These receivers have to at least be decent at blocking because when they run outside these receivers being able to block the corners is very important.

In the passing game, they look to the run game to set up play action and take their shots deep at times. This receiver is usually good at contested catches and is ideally pretty fast to take shots deep as well. In the game I watched from 2019 this was Emmanuel Sanders, but it is Brandon Aiyuk for them now. Although the most important thing is that they are good at contested catches, they are also used in all parts of the passing game. This is seen by Brandon Aiyuk’s average depth of target being 9.3 in 2020, which is slightly below average. In comparison, the average depth of target for most receivers is about 10 yards. They also usually have a receiver used mainly near the line of scrimmage, which is Deebo Samuel for them. In 2020 Deebo Samuels's average depth of target was 2.2 yards, which is one of the lowest in the league.

Kyle Juszczyk was heavily involved for them, as he was used both in pass blocking and catching passes, mainly in the red zone. He was used as both a fullback and tight end, and was used in the run and pass game as well. He was key as a lead blocker, especially near the goal line. George Kittle was very important for them even in the run game, as he was a key blocker on outside runs. The FOX broadcast stated that in 2019 in the first 13 weeks of the season while he was on the field they averaged 5.1 yards per carry on outside runs and while off the field they only averaged 3.4 yards per carry on outside runs. Jimmy Garapollo was very important in this game. He wasn’t used too much in the deep passing game, and most of his passes were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. But, in this game when he was asked to throw deep he looked great. Because of this, basically the only drives they were stopped on was when they had offensive penalties. They ended up scoring 48 points, including a last second field goal for the win which was as a result of a short pass to George Kittle where he broke 2 tackles and took it about 40 yards to set up the field goal.

The play calls were very creative, as they used wildcat on the goal line, which didn’t end up working out. They also had George Kittle run the ball, and multiple end-arounds to Deebo Samuel. One great play call was an inside handoff to Juszczyk who then flipped it back to Raheem Mostert right before he got tackled. Possibly the main thing I noticed watching the game was pre-snap motion. They utilized pre-snap motion on over half the plays, and this allowed the offensive to recognize the type of coverage the defense was playing before the snap as well as just causing confusion for the defense at times. They utilized three running backs, with Mostert getting a little over half the carries, as well as Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman also being utilized. They moved Garopollo out of the pocket at times, with bootlegs being called a couple of times. He isn’t incredibly fast so they didn’t move him around too much, but if they were to have a mobile QB that could add a whole other layer to the offense. All in all, their offense played great this game, and with the run game not being stopped their offense, in general, was also not able to be stopped.

To sum it all up, the 49ers run an offense that heavily relies on their running game. They use a zone blocking scheme, so offensive linemen block a zone, and then running backs run to a spot. Because of this, the most important thing for a running back in this scheme is speed. They try to run the ball a lot, so they usually have 2 tight ends, a running back, and a full back who also lines up at tight end at times all on the field at once. This leaves only two receivers in the game at most times. In the passing game, they throw a lot of short passes, with one receiver who usually catches passes within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. For this receiver, it is most important that they are good after the catch. Their other receiver that is on the field at most times is used in all parts of the passing game, on short, intermediate, and deep passes. For this receiver, it is most important that they are good at making contested catches, and that they are also pretty good after the catch.