Vikings studs n duds

[milani]

Why were we throwing the ball inside of 3 minutes? Why would Matt put our players in harm’s way like that?

Even Belichick would do that with the Pats. If all you are doing is giving it to your back the other team is not going to shake his hand. They will load the box, get in the backfield, and slam him into the turf. An innocent throw in the flat gives him a break and loosens up the D. Sometimes a short high % pass is like the running game if you stay in bounds.

 

[gopkrs]

There has been a lot of back and forth talk on the aggressive /conservative issue.
My view is the agg/cons issue falls under the column of game management and is dependent on a multitude of factors that i wont attempt to list here.
After giving this much thought I can see my biggest beef is that MLF doesnt have the time to give this issue due consideration because his face is buried in his play chart trying to pick the next play and get it into love in a timely manner which leaves little time for him to think thru which way he should go. His so called assistants dont seem to be much help to him either. Thats where I see we fall down and are lacking the most as a team.

"Due consideration." In the moment I assume. Which may be the most important thing a head coach does. I like where we're at. Should be a great game.

 

[chemist]

"Due consideration." In the moment I assume. Which may be the most important thing a head coach does. I like where we're at. Should be a great game.

I like where we are at too.
Hafley knows Goff is not a big threat to scramble much so he can allocate resources elsewhere. Our D has been smothering opponents all year. Offense has pulled together two 20+ points games. We have a great Back up QB if Love has to leave. Not much else to say....we're ready

 

[Sanguine camper]

Your comment made me go back and read and I'll admit I did something I shouldn't have - used the word "guarantee".

What has Lloyd done? Countless runs in his career as a football player that illustrates cutting and explosiveness that even Jacobs doesn't have. The potential is unquestionably there.

Don't get that twisted with a declaration he will instantly be our RB1 and make Josh Jacobs trade fonder. Young guys have to illustrate it translates to the professional level - which to be fair, running backs transition to the pros "typically" much easier and the predictability of that is easier with that position.

Wilson is a surefire RB2 level guy in the NFL and to be honest every team needs a guy like him...can come in any game and offense doesn't lose much, and they can cover a few games if needed...but they're not as dynamic or lethal of a weapon as their RB1 counterpart. Lloyd has the set of skills to be a RB1 - will he be is entirely up to his health and his abilty to process the plays infront of him. If his body doens't let him down, I'm betting on he at WORST is a more lethal and dynamic RB2.

I can't say I watched much USC football, but from the highlight videos I've watched of Lloyd, he does have a reaaly good burst. What worried me when they drafted Lloyd is that he was prone to raise his body level as the play develops opening himself to some big hits. The question is: how often do guys who miss nearly all of their first two seasons work out? Lloyd is another example why GM's need something similar to the RAS score to evaluate durability.

 

[OldSchool101]

I can't say I watched much USC football, but from the highlight videos I've watched of Lloyd, he does have a reaaly good burst. What worried me when they drafted Lloyd is that he was prone to raise his body level as the play develops opening himself to some big hits. The question is: how often do guys who miss nearly all of their first two seasons work out? Lloyd is another example why GM's need something similar to the RAS score to evaluate durability.

It’s not like he’s going to have another appendicitis here. That’s what ended his 2024 season.

I think we have to walk delicately with players as if speaking to them like they are comic book characters. These are real people and for the same reason he’s missed time on numerous issues one could as easily argue it’s highly uncommon that it would continue indefinitely.

 

[tynimiller]

I can't say I watched much USC football, but from the highlight videos I've watched of Lloyd, he does have a reaaly good burst. What worried me when they drafted Lloyd is that he was prone to raise his body level as the play develops opening himself to some big hits. The question is: how often do guys who miss nearly all of their first two seasons work out? Lloyd is another example why GM's need something similar to the RAS score to evaluate durability.

Numerous stories of guys missing time for smaller or crazy atypical issues work out - appendicitis is atypical and not like ACL taking a guy out.

I get what your saying tho.

Lloyd’s biggest issue I saw was ball security which was part of the rising body level you described IMO

 

[Sanguine camper]

It’s not like he’s going to have another appendicitis here. That’s what ended his 2024 season.

I think we have to walk delicately with players as if speaking to them like they are comic book characters. These are real people and for the same reason he’s missed time on numerous issues one could as easily argue it’s highly uncommon that it would continue indefinitely.

The question still is: do guys who miss their first two seasons work out? I don't know, but the horse may have already left the barn. He's missed his development years when good players make their jump in effectiveness.

While I don't think that Mike McCarthy is a great coach, I think he's spot on about player development. Most good players make that second year leap.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Yes premature but only natural. Let's look over some things though first.

After this season Josh Jacobs would save the Packers $8M by cutting as his cap hit goes up to $14.625M (this year is $11.325M) and just $6.25M of that is dead cap. Still a relatively solid number for a clear RB1. IF the team still thinks they're getting clear RB1 out of Jacobs it doesn't make sense to move on BUT if they feel the RB cliff is approach fast, then $8M saved is not chump change. Matter of fact Jacobs is a prime chance for a small push forward with a small void year push to free up even more money if Gute and company want to push chips in hard and finance future some.

To me you hold serve for sure one more year...reason is both Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks are RFAs so if we want to keep them we can for sure make it happen.

But in short, $8M to be able to spend is nothing to overlook either....

Yeah and your analysis takes the emotion out of the decision, which the team has to do. They were right when they released Aaron Jones for Jacobs, as much as most Packer fans disliked it, or more likely, were just sad to see a productive and classy guy move on.s

The shelf life of an NFL RB is short, even shorter with a take-no-prisoners guy like Jacobs, but he doesn't show significant signs of slowing down. I love the guy as a leader and he was the leader of the O last year. That is rightfully transitioning to Love.

But yeah, "hold serve" for another season with Jacobs. While Wilson's performance Sunday was outstanding, can he do it week in and week out? He is a smart, crafty runner with surprising explosion after a missed tackle, and he's always been a reliable back. He sure looked like a #1 RB Sunday. Maybe MLF starts using him and spells Jacobs. That messes with consistency a bit. But having two #1 RBs on the team needs to be put to good use. MLF finally went all in on the ground game and kept Love under center more often. Those are all good developments for the offense.

Could we se two-RB sets? Why not. Using RPO that could be a run to either back, with the other back chipping or sliding into the flat.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Numerous stories of guys missing time for smaller or crazy atypical issues work out - appendicitis is atypical and not like ACL taking a guy out.

I get what your saying tho.

Lloyd’s biggest issue I saw was ball security which was part of the rising body level you described IMO

I'd like to see more of Love, but with Jacobs back, and Wilson's star on the rise, how does he get snaps? I'd love to see him play.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The question still is: do guys who miss their first two seasons work out? I don't know, but the horse may have already left the barn. He's missed his development years when good players make their jump in effectiveness.

While I don't think that Mike McCarthy is a great coach, I think he's spot on about player development. Most good players make that second year leap.

Agreed OS. Not playing the first two years out of college really hurts a player.

Look at Musgrave. His early career injuries opened the door for Kraft, and Musgrave is not Kraft. He did look good Sunday, but he's a glorified WR. He doesn't block well IMO, he drops balls, and doesn't seem able to find ways to get open down the "seam" (whatever that is). His YAC seems limited, but that's just a gut reaction, I really can't confirm that.

 

[chemist]

Yeah and your analysis takes the emotion out of the decision, which the team has to do. They were right when they released Aaron Jones for Jacobs, as much as most Packer fans disliked it, or more likely, were just sad to see a productive and classy guy move on.s

The shelf life of an NFL RB is short, even shorter with a take-no-prisoners guy like Jacobs, but he doesn't show significant signs of slowing down. I love the guy as a leader and he was the leader of the O last year. That is rightfully transitioning to Love.

But yeah, "hold serve" for another season with Jacobs. While Wilson's performance Sunday was outstanding, can he do it week in and week out? He is a smart, crafty runner with surprising explosion after a missed tackle, and he's always been a reliable back. He sure looked like a #1 RB Sunday. Maybe MLF starts using him and spells Jacobs. That messes with consistency a bit. But having two #1 RBs on the team needs to be put to good use. MLF finally went all in on the ground game and kept Love under center more often. Those are all good developments for the offense.

Could we se two-RB sets? Why not. Using RPO that could be a run to either back, with the other back chipping or sliding into the flat.

Good points made on wilson. He has proven to be a solid, reliable RB. A great backup if MLF wants to keep jacobs as the #1 guy, but I 'm ok with either starting and the other filling in. Either way we dont miss a beat, not much different than our QB situation with love and willis. Either one can run the team efficiently.
How many teams can say that about their RB and QB situations. We are pretty lucky in those departments.

 

[Heyjoe4]

"Due consideration." In the moment I assume. Which may be the most important thing a head coach does. I like where we're at. Should be a great game.

MLF was very predictable in his game calling the first half of the season, IMO. One big change on Sunday was a massive commitment to the run. That's easy when Wilson would continuously reel of runs between 4 and 12 yards on multiple downs. The run works, and the QB stays under center, the offense has a lot of options to move the ball and keep a D off balance.

I still don't like MLF calling the offense. It can be done, Holmgren was good at it, MM not so much. Hard to do while keeping an eye on everything else that goes on, like clock management. When was the last time the Packers had all three TOs at the two minute warnings?

The Lions are a very beatable team this year, although I'm not sure why. Seems like Goff is not the completion machine he was last year.

A win is a long way from a sure thing, but the formula is straightforward - get a two score lead, 10-0 or 14-0, and get Love under center to use the RPO. Nothing fancy. The OL has to be good and consistent, as they were against the queens, so the talent is there. I like rookie Belton at RG and Morgan at LG. Rhyan is playing well at C, and Tom is an all-pro RT and Walker can hold his own.

I don't know where that leaves Banks. He has been underwhelming, so at this point, a backup.

 

[SudsMcBucky]

The Lions are a very beatable team this year, although I'm not sure why. Seems like Goff is not the completion machine he was last year.

I think it's because they're struggling at the OL position, too, particularly the interior OL.

 

[chemist]

MLF was very predictable in his game calling the first half of the season, IMO. One big change on Sunday was a massive commitment to the run. That's easy when Wilson would continuously reel of runs between 4 and 12 yards on multiple downs. The run works, and the QB stays under center, the offense has a lot of options to move the ball and keep a D off balance.

I still don't like MLF calling the offense. It can be done, Holmgren was good at it, MM not so much. Hard to do while keeping an eye on everything else that goes on, like clock management. When was the last time the Packers had all three TOs at the two minute warnings?

The Lions are a very beatable team this year, although I'm not sure why. Seems like Goff is not the completion machine he was last year.

A win is a long way from a sure thing, but the formula is straightforward - get a two score lead, 10-0 or 14-0, and get Love under center to use the RPO. Nothing fancy. The OL has to be good and consistent, as they were against the queens, so the talent is there. I like rookie Belton at RG and Morgan at LG. Rhyan is playing well at C, and Tom is an all-pro RT and Walker can hold his own.

I don't know where that leaves Banks. He has been underwhelming, so at this point, a backup.

I hope MLF is listening. You have laid out a very good plan for the offense. One that I favor and have advocated for. We do our best when Love is under center. I may be wrong but I dont think we have seen a positve play this year trying to run from the shotgun.

 

[tynimiller]

I hope MLF is listening. You have laid out a very good plan for the offense. One that I favor and have advocated for. We do our best when Love is under center. I may be wrong but I dont think we have seen a positve play this year trying to run from the shotgun.

It has occurred.

 

[Magooch]

Because I am a psycho, I went back and looked at the logs for every play we've ran this season.

Here are all of our runs out of shotgun (Note that I am not including jet sweeps as they are often classified as a passing play. Also not including Love scrambles from shotgun as it's not a designed run typically):

DETROIT:
Jacobs for no gain
Jacobs for no gain (direct snap)
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for -1 yard
Jacobs for 10 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 15 yards
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards

TOTAL: 10 shotgun rushes for 48 yards (4.8 ypc)

WASHINGTON:
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 9 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
S. Williams for 8 yards (end-around, this one WAS a handoff)
Jacobs for 8 yards
Jacobs for 9 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 4 yards
S. Williams for 16 yards (direct snap)
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 10 yards

Total: 16 shotgun rushes for 85 yards (5.3 ypc)

CLEVELAND:
Jacobs for no gain
S. Williams for 2 yards (direct snap)
Jacobs for 4 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
S. Williams for -3 yards (direct snap)
Wilson for 4 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for 9 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for no gain
Golden for 2 yards (end-around handoff)

Total: 13 shotgun rushes for 30 yards (2.3 ypc)

DALLAS:
Jacobs for -3 yards
Wilson for 5 yards
Wilson for 1 yard
S. Williams for 1 yard (end-around handoff)
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 5 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for no gain
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 14 yards
Jacobs for -3 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 4 yards
Wilson for 9 yards
Wilson for 13 yards
Wilson for 7 yards

Total: 19 shotgun rushes for 72 yards (3.8 ypc)

CINCINNATI:
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 7 yards
Brooks for 1 yard
S. Williams for 3 yards (end-around handoff)
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for no gain
Jacobs for no gain
Jacobs for 3 yards, TD
Jacobs for 12 yards
Melton for 3 yards (end-around handoff)
Jacobs for 11 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards

Total: 15 shotgun rushes for 58 yards and 1 TD (3.9 ypc)

ARIZONA:
Wilson for -1 yard
Wilson for -1 yard
Jacobs for 10 yards
Jacobs for 7 yards, TD
Wilson for 1 yard
Wilson for 4 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 8 yards

Total: 10 shotgun rushes for 42 yards and 1 TD (4.2 ypc)

PITTSBURGH:
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
S. Williams for 1 yard
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 3 yards, TD

Total: 10 shotgun rushes for 29 yards and 1 TD (2.9 ypc)

CAROLINA:
Wilson for 7 yards
Jacobs for 8 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards (negated by holding. Going to calculate as just 0 yards rather than the actual yardage lost)
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 15 yards
Jacobs for 7 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Wilson for 5 yards
Wilson for 4 yards

Total: 11 shotgun rushes for 58 yards (5.3 ypc)

PHILADELPHIA:
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for -1 yard
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 11 yards
Jacobs for 8 yards
Jacobs for 6 yards, TD
Jacobs for -4 yards

Total: 11 shotgun rushes for 39 yards and 1 TD (3.5 ypc)

NYG
Jacobs for 7 yards
Jacobs for 15 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Melton for 17 yards (end-around handoff)
Brooks for 8 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for 15 yards (negated by penalty, again we'll call it 0)

Total: 9 shotgun rushes for 57 yards (6.3 ypc)

MINNESOTA
Wilson for no gain
Wilson for 4 yards
Wilson for 7 yards
Wilson for 4 yards
Wilson for 10 yards
Wilson for no gain
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for -1 yard
Brooks for -4 yards
Brooks for 5 yards
S. Williams for no gain
Wilson for -2 yards
Wilson for 12 yards
Wilson for 8 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Brooks for 4 yards
Wilson for -1 yard
Wilson for no gain
Wilson for 1 yard
Brooks for 10 yards

Total: 20 rushes for 63 yards (3.15 ypc)

Now admittedly I am just a humble guy wasting time at his desk job, I'm not here to offer any particularly advanced analysis at this point. As you can see, it is actually generally a "positive" play, albeit rarely an "explosive" one. That is not to say it is wholly useless, but a few interesting considerations that come to mind...I'm not gonna look all of these up at this time, but food for thought:

1. Overall, how does our success rate compare between running out of shotgun vs running from under center?
2. What is the average EPA for shotgun runs in a given game? How do they compare to an under-center run or a pass? Worth keeping in mind that a play can be a "plus" play in terms of yards while also not really contributing much to your overall success.
3. What does the overall "drive contribution" look like? Of course one play (or two, or whatever) does not define a drive, but I do think we find that certain plays or approaches are more likely to generate a scoring drive than others.

 

[Magooch]

BTW, overall that works out to 144 shotgun rushes for 581 yards (4.0 ypc) and 4 TD

 

[chemist]

BTW, overall that works out to 144 shotgun rushes for 581 yards (4.0 ypc) and 4 TD

I couldnt pass your post by with just a like after the amount of intensive scrutiny you did on this . At least now we have real data so everyone can draw their own conclusions. Nice job!!. Im guessing your an accountant or something in a related field.

 

[chemist]

I couldnt pass your post by with just a like after the amount of intensive scrutiny you did on this . At least now we have real data so everyone can draw their own conclusions. Nice job!!. Im guessing your an accountant or something in a related field.

Just throwing this out there if anyone is interested sifting thru the data it looks like the succes rate( where we gained positive yards is 84%,121/144)
42% of the time we gain 1,2,3 yds
29 % of the time we gain 4,5,6 yds
15% of the time we gain. 7,8,9 yds
14 % of the time we gain 10 + yds

 

[Magooch]

I’m not gonna go back and do it anytime soon (I didn’t document down and distance), but most of the analytics folks define a successful play as having gained 40% of required yards in 1st down, 60% of the required remaining yards on 2nd down, and 100% of the required remaining yards on 3rd and/or 4th down.

So, for instance, a rush on 1st and 10 needs to gain at least 4 yards. If that’s the case, then you need ~3.5 yards on 2nd and 6… and then pick up the remaining 2.5 on 3rd/4th. I’d be curious how many have been successes by that measure.

 

[chemist]

I’m not gonna go back and do it anytime soon (I didn’t document down and distance), but most of the analytics folks define a successful play as having gained 40% of required yards in 1st down, 60% of the required remaining yards on 2nd down, and 100% of the required remaining yards on 3rd and/or 4th down.

So, for instance, a rush on 1st and 10 needs to gain at least 4 yards. If that’s the case, then you need ~3.5 yards on 2nd and 6… and then pick up the remaining 2.5 on 3rd/4th. I’d be curious how many have been successes by that measure.

I agree with you. The data I presented is very general and doesnt really answer the question we are looking for. Having gained positve yards 84% of the time is nice but if we needed 5yds and only gained 3 yds I wouldnt count that as successful. A deeper dive would need to be done to determine the real success rate as it relates to football. Still it was a fun exercise and gave us some information.

 

[milani]

Because I am a psycho, I went back and looked at the logs for every play we've ran this season.

Here are all of our runs out of shotgun (Note that I am not including jet sweeps as they are often classified as a passing play. Also not including Love scrambles from shotgun as it's not a designed run typically):

DETROIT:
Jacobs for no gain
Jacobs for no gain (direct snap)
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for -1 yard
Jacobs for 10 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 15 yards
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards

TOTAL: 10 shotgun rushes for 48 yards (4.8 ypc)

WASHINGTON:
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 9 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
S. Williams for 8 yards (end-around, this one WAS a handoff)
Jacobs for 8 yards
Jacobs for 9 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 4 yards
S. Williams for 16 yards (direct snap)
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 10 yards

Total: 16 shotgun rushes for 85 yards (5.3 ypc)

CLEVELAND:
Jacobs for no gain
S. Williams for 2 yards (direct snap)
Jacobs for 4 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
S. Williams for -3 yards (direct snap)
Wilson for 4 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for 9 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for no gain
Golden for 2 yards (end-around handoff)

Total: 13 shotgun rushes for 30 yards (2.3 ypc)

DALLAS:
Jacobs for -3 yards
Wilson for 5 yards
Wilson for 1 yard
S. Williams for 1 yard (end-around handoff)
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 5 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for no gain
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 14 yards
Jacobs for -3 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 4 yards
Wilson for 9 yards
Wilson for 13 yards
Wilson for 7 yards

Total: 19 shotgun rushes for 72 yards (3.8 ypc)

CINCINNATI:
Wilson for 3 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 7 yards
Brooks for 1 yard
S. Williams for 3 yards (end-around handoff)
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for no gain
Jacobs for no gain
Jacobs for 3 yards, TD
Jacobs for 12 yards
Melton for 3 yards (end-around handoff)
Jacobs for 11 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards

Total: 15 shotgun rushes for 58 yards and 1 TD (3.9 ypc)

ARIZONA:
Wilson for -1 yard
Wilson for -1 yard
Jacobs for 10 yards
Jacobs for 7 yards, TD
Wilson for 1 yard
Wilson for 4 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 8 yards

Total: 10 shotgun rushes for 42 yards and 1 TD (4.2 ypc)

PITTSBURGH:
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
S. Williams for 1 yard
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 3 yards
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 3 yards, TD

Total: 10 shotgun rushes for 29 yards and 1 TD (2.9 ypc)

CAROLINA:
Wilson for 7 yards
Jacobs for 8 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 3 yards (negated by holding. Going to calculate as just 0 yards rather than the actual yardage lost)
Jacobs for 6 yards
Jacobs for 15 yards
Jacobs for 7 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Wilson for 5 yards
Wilson for 4 yards

Total: 11 shotgun rushes for 58 yards (5.3 ypc)

PHILADELPHIA:
Jacobs for 4 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Jacobs for 1 yard
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for -1 yard
Wilson for 2 yards
Jacobs for 5 yards
Jacobs for 11 yards
Jacobs for 8 yards
Jacobs for 6 yards, TD
Jacobs for -4 yards

Total: 11 shotgun rushes for 39 yards and 1 TD (3.5 ypc)

NYG
Jacobs for 7 yards
Jacobs for 15 yards
Jacobs for 2 yards
Melton for 17 yards (end-around handoff)
Brooks for 8 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for 2 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for 15 yards (negated by penalty, again we'll call it 0)

Total: 9 shotgun rushes for 57 yards (6.3 ypc)

MINNESOTA
Wilson for no gain
Wilson for 4 yards
Wilson for 7 yards
Wilson for 4 yards
Wilson for 10 yards
Wilson for no gain
Wilson for 3 yards
Wilson for -1 yard
Brooks for -4 yards
Brooks for 5 yards
S. Williams for no gain
Wilson for -2 yards
Wilson for 12 yards
Wilson for 8 yards
Wilson for 3 yards
Brooks for 4 yards
Wilson for -1 yard
Wilson for no gain
Wilson for 1 yard
Brooks for 10 yards

Total: 20 rushes for 63 yards (3.15 ypc)

Now admittedly I am just a humble guy wasting time at his desk job, I'm not here to offer any particularly advanced analysis at this point. As you can see, it is actually generally a "positive" play, albeit rarely an "explosive" one. That is not to say it is wholly useless, but a few interesting considerations that come to mind...I'm not gonna look all of these up at this time, but food for thought:

1. Overall, how does our success rate compare between running out of shotgun vs running from under center?
2. What is the average EPA for shotgun runs in a given game? How do they compare to an under-center run or a pass? Worth keeping in mind that a play can be a "plus" play in terms of yards while also not really contributing much to your overall success.
3. What does the overall "drive contribution" look like? Of course one play (or two, or whatever) does not define a drive, but I do think we find that certain plays or approaches are more likely to generate a scoring drive than others.

The shotgun is not bad if you are a team that occasionally uses their QB as a designed runner. Like when Frisco did it with Kaepernick years ago. The better offenses will mix it up by going under center and putting a second player in the backfield to block or decoy.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I hope MLF is listening. You have laid out a very good plan for the offense. One that I favor and have advocated for. We do our best when Love is under center. I may be wrong but I dont think we have seen a positve play this year trying to run from the shotgun.

Thanks chemist. It does seem like MLF has realized the offense runs better when Love is under center. They do it a lot more now. And yeah, it has always puzzled me why teams run from the shotgun. There are times when it can fool a defense and be very effective, similar to a screen pass w/o the pass. The runner starts out slowly, ideally letting a blitz go right by him.

Even so, playing from under center is critical for the RPO to work, and the Packers have two v good RBs.

 

[gopkrs]

And to me at least, it is just smoother handing off from under center (faster), and the defense has less time to figure out where the RB is going. Also, play action works better aimho. That does not mean there isn't a time for shotgun. Just not most of the time.

 

[GreenBaySlacker]

A lot of people trying to down play that win. That was big. The vikes wanted to win that game bad. Their season on the line, we beat them.

The two ints late made it look like it may have been easier than or actually was imo. Justin jefferson didn't look very happy. He'll have to go home and count his gigantic pile of money to help him feel better

Parson/Gary are terrorizing Olines.

Watson was available in both my leagues after the waiver wire. I assumed he was already rostered up, I didn't even try. Got him in both leagues this morning. Dudes a stud from here to feb. Bet.

Wicks too.... He looked like he would consistently be torching nickels and dimes the way he is playing now. The entire WR corps 6 deep is enough firepower to spread any defense thin.... I'd like to see MLF follow up the 3 yds and a cloud of dust technique from the last few weeks,,, to 5 receivers, hurry up offense. And put up 50+ on the Lions this time. Lol. Come out blazing, and finish blazing....

Oh and wilson looked like he may not like the beating of being a every down back. Lol. But he sure handled the job when he was needed.

Duds?
McManus, just because I don't want him getting comfortable. Lol.

Wyatt, for hurting Nixon. I'm still pissed.

Really overall I'm pleased. We won a potentially detrimental trap game.