Which offenses will be "up-tempo?" (1 Viewer)

[Biabreakable]

How long has Jackson been old? LOL

I mean in RB years.

32 is usual cut off for a RB having much of a role in the offense. Even for some of the best RB of all time few have been productive past age 32.

Fred Jackson has been a quality RB for some time and beat the odds doing so again last season. He turned 33 years old Feb 20th so odds are slim that he gets significant carries again.

 

[jeaton6]

How long has Jackson been old? LOL

I mean in RB years.

32 is usual cut off for a RB having much of a role in the offense. Even for some of the best RB of all time few have been productive past age 32.

Fred Jackson has been a quality RB for some time and beat the odds doing so again last season. He turned 33 years old Feb 20th so odds are slim that he gets significant carries again.

He's a low mileage 33. While I don't expect another 200 carry, 250 touch season do you honestly believe he's not going to be in store for 10-15 touches per game (incl GL work)? Seems to me like they will want him to keep CJ fresh and he has proven year in and year out he can deliver.

 

[Biabreakable]

How long has Jackson been old? LOL

I mean in RB years.

32 is usual cut off for a RB having much of a role in the offense. Even for some of the best RB of all time few have been productive past age 32.

Fred Jackson has been a quality RB for some time and beat the odds doing so again last season. He turned 33 years old Feb 20th so odds are slim that he gets significant carries again.

He's a low mileage 33. While I don't expect another 200 carry, 250 touch season do you honestly believe he's not going to be in store for 10-15 touches per game (incl GL work)? Seems to me like they will want him to keep CJ fresh and he has proven year in and year out he can deliver.

Anything is possible. That just has not really happened before. If it has it is a pretty isolated event. I expected Jackson to be phased out last season due to being 32 years old. That did not happen, Jackson broke the rule, maybe he does so again?

I think a new RB will be in the mix either way. The Bills run the ball a ton. Jackson may still be in line for 100 carries at 33 but I would not project him for more than that. I expect Spiller to be the main RB in 2014.

 

[Ted Mullins]

I had Spiller and the one thing that really frustrated me - seemed like he ALWAYS got pulled down by the goalline, even for Tashard Choice a few times. He actually seemed to do fairly well considering he was obviously not 100% for 3/4 the season. It seemed like they ran enough plays and were run heavy enough that Spiller could still be a very good play even with 10 touches/game for Fred Jackson if he can get back to being very high efficiency and stay healthy.

 

[Biabreakable]

These are the teams that averaged over 30 rushing attempts/game in 2013-

1 Buffalo 34.1
2 Seattle 31.8
3 San Francisco 31.6
4 Philadelphia 31.2
5 NY Jets 30.8
6 San Diego 30.4
7 Carolina 30.2
8 Cincinnati 30.1

Most of these teams used some form of time share and/or had running QB adding to the totals quite a bit.

Spiller obviously in a great situation for opportunity if he can manage to stay healthy.

If the Jets settle on one RB (maybe a rookie from 2014?) that player could be very busy as well.

I would be more excited about SD and Carolina but they look committed to time shares still right now.

The Bengals sound like they will run the ball more and they managed to run quite a bit as it was. So I am excited about Bernard in this situation.

 

[Ted Mullins]

Good post. Ryan Mathews seemed to gain control of the backfield in SD as the season went on, so I am intrigued to see where he is being drafted next year. Obviously, the big question with Bernard is how big of a share he gets - I wonder if the committee approach was a Jay Gruden thing?

 

[Biabreakable]

• Bengals' offense 'very up-tempo' under Hue Jackson
• By Kevin Patra

Around the League writer
Published: May 21, 2014


http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000352527/article/bengals-offense-very-uptempo-under-hue-jackson

Hue Jackson continues to tweak the Cincinnati Bengals' offense.



The Bengals were in the top 10 in the NFL in yards per game and points per game in 2013, but the new offensive coordinator isn't planning to run back the same offense Jay Gruden used to earn those stats.

Jackson has already discussed utilizing a power run game more heavily in 2013 -- and drafting Jeremy Hill in the second roundshould help that cause.

It now appears Jackson also plans to deploy a quicker-paced offense, according to Bengals players.

"Very up-tempo," wide receiver Marvin Jones told the team's official website. "A lot of aggression. No matter what period it is, you're going to see all aggression."

The Bengals conducted 1,097 scrimmage plays in 2013, sixth-most in the NFL (59 fewer than the top-rated Broncos), but it's the type of speed involved in those plays that Jackson would like to utilize to his advantage.



Given the skill players at Jackson's disposal, wearing down a defense with tempo is a smart strategy. Keeping defenses vanilla for quarterback Andy Dalton won't hurt, either.

One of those skill players, Giovani Bernard, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he has already noticed a difference in theBengals' offense in terms of both tempo and physicality under Jackson.

The quicker pace and emphasis on the running game should both benefit Bernard this season.

While questions persist about Dalton's future, the best upgrade the Bengals might have made toward earning a fourth straight playoff appearance was promoting Jackson to coordinator.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So the Dolphins and Bengals now joining this madness. Any other teams working on this that were not already?

 

[Biabreakable]

Jeff Tedford’s Offense? “Up Tempo”

March 18th, 2014 http://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=109473

Joe calls it the “Jeff Tedford Mystery.” It’s whatever the Bucs offense will be.

Up until today, we could only guess. Tedford, who has yet to walk the sidelines of an NFL practice as an NFL coach, is Lovie Smith’s offensive coordinator and but for a few brief years in the CFL, has been a college guy.

One could look at his track record as “Cal” head coach and guess what his offense would be, but it would only be a guess. The NFL is not the PAC-12. Lovie talks about running the ball and his history would suggest a run-oriented offense, but general manager Jason Licht seems to be putting all of his chips in the middle of the table with guys (Anthony Collins, Evan Dietrich-Smith and Demar Dotson) who are better known for pass blocking than run blocking.

Last week Joe did his best to try to pry details of the Bucs offense from starting quarterback Josh McCown. He danced around the question, which Joe somewhat expected, and the closest hint he gave was “Chip Kelly,” referring to the offensive-minded coach of the Eagles who tries to run so many plays his players can’t count.

That was a pretty good hint. Today, newly-acquired center Even Dietrich-Smith appeared on “Movin’ the Chains,” co-hosted by Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, and gave a little more detail on what to expect from Tedford.

​

Pat Kirwan:
You referenced Jeff Tedford’s offense. Do you have a sense as to what he is all about as it relates to, a) what you haven’t done in Green Bay; or maybe they did? I am sure your quarterback [Aaron Rodgers] knows it pretty good from his days at Cal. What do you know about the offense, for the Buccaneers fans? They are going to ask us the second you get off. What’s going on with this offense under Tedford? What’s your insight into that?

​

​

Evan Dietrich-Smith:
I was [understanding] it was an up tempo offense. You are going to see some standard stuff but that is also the trend of the league, you now, the no-huddle stuff. Making the defenses play long [drives] and multiple reps. Get the D-linemen worn out. That [lot of reps] definitely has an effect on the defensive guys. They actually have [to be on the field] longer than the offensive guys a lot of the times. It was sort of like our philosophy up in Green Bay. When I went down there [to Tampa] to talk about it, it’s going to be some of the same. There is going to be some carry-over. Even when you look around the league, a lot teams run the same stuff, they just call it different. The translation of the terms, you just have to learn it. It’s like a new language. The more knowledge you have as a football player it is pretty easy to translate it from coach to coach.
So now a clearer picture is coming into focus, the Chip Kelly, hurry-up offense with running plays. (Yes, Kelly loves to run, too) Joe has to tip his cap. This is a bit innovative and not so much the standard mentality of keep-away, ball control, but wear out the defense with multiple plays.

So McCown was pretty accurate when he invoked Kelly’s name. No wonder Lovie told Joe at the combine he wanted a strong stable of running backs to surround Doug Martin.

 

[Biabreakable]

So it sounds like the Panthers will be doing this as well - http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/5/31/4383244/carolina-panthers-offense-mike-shula-cam-newton

San Diego did this last season - http://espn.go.com/blog/san-diego-chargers/post/_/id/695/morning-links-up-tempo-offense-a-success

A version of SD offense will be installed by Whisenhunt in TN.

The Giants will run a version of this with McAdoo as OC - http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2014/05/will_giants_utilize_no-huddle_up-tempo_offense_more_this_year.html

NE - yes

Jets - yes

Buf - yes

Mia - yes

Bal - yes

Cin - yes

Pit - yes

Cle - no

Hou - yes

Jax - no

Ind - no

Ten - yes

Den - yes

KC - Andy Reid

SD - yes

Oak - ?

Dal - Linehan

NYG - yes

Phi - yes

Was - no

GB - yes

Det - Lombardi

Chi - Trestman

Min - Norv

Atl - yes

Car - no

NO - Payton

TB - ?

Ari - Arians

StL - no

SF - no

Sea - no

So I count 13 teams now looking to use this strategy.

 

[DawnBTVS]

Curious why you say No to Houston... O'Brien had familiarity with New England (ran 1,082 plays in 2011) and installed a NASCAR No Huddle package at Penn State (lifted from Chip Kelly). For comparison, Eagles ran 1,054 plays last year.

May not be as pure fast paced as say Philadelphia but I'd be surprised if his offense ranked near the bottom too. He's not Nick Saban methodical out there.

 

[Biabreakable]

Thanks for the comment on the Texans. I fixed it. So that makes 14 teams that may be using a version of the strategy.

The main thing I see using this for besides projections is I think it is a good idea to target RB from the up tempo teams.

I am wondering about the Jets also who were running a lot of plays early on last season but then that did not end as well for them.

I found a couple articles talking about the Jaguars using it or trying it last season also, so I am still wondering a bit about them. I just figured with a rookie QB they will likely lean pretty hard on the running game and may look to slow the game down rather than speed things up with the defense improved but maybe not.

 

[karmarooster]

I would actually push back on those texans... Fitzpatrick/Savage/Keenum + Foster (and not much RB depth now) + Old AJ + Hopkins just doesn't seem the like the personal package to significantly press the tempo on offense, especially with Watt and Clowney on defense.

I would also push back some on NYG, Baltimore, and Carolina w/r/t the passing game.

The problem has become differentiating between the coach speak "we want to play up-tempo" vs. the concerted effort to fast snap ala Eagles-Bills-Patriots-Broncos vs. throw a ton and stop the clock ala Lions-Cowboys.

I would revise as follows:

NE - yes, maybe more tilted toward the run

Jets - ?, doubt it

Buf - yes, run heavy

Mia - yes, I tend to think not entirely coach speak

Bal - yes --> will believe it when I see it here

Cin - yes, tilted more to the run now

Pit - no

Cle - no

Hou - yes --> I doubt the personnel

Jax - no

Ind - no

Ten - yes --> maybe coach speak, i doubt the personnel, will believe it when I see it

Den - yes

KC - Andy Reid

SD - yes

Oak - ?, doubt it

Dal - Linehan, pass heavy + o-line investments

NYG - yes --> will believe it when i see it

Phi - yes

Was - no --> but should favor the pass

GB - yes --> could be juicy

Det - Lombardi

Chi - Trestman

Min - Norv

Atl - no --> but tend to be pass-heavy

Car - yes --> personnel? with that defense?

NO - Payton

TB - yes --> will have to see this on a lovie smith team to believe it

Ari - Arians

StL - no

SF - no

Sea - no

 

[DawnBTVS]

I would actually push back on those texans... Fitzpatrick/Savage/Keenum + Foster (and not much RB depth now) + Old AJ + Hopkins just doesn't seem the like the personal package to significantly press the tempo on offense, especially with Watt and Clowney on defense.

Will agree to disagree here, I guess. Fitzpatrick isn't flashy (or arguably good) but he's serviceable enough and definitely smart enough to handle an up tempo pace. Also Keenum has familiarity coming from the University of Houston and their Air Raid pace.

Foster's older but they do have some depth: Andre Brown's proven to be a valuable committee back and will likely find a pass catching back role for one of the other RBs.

The big thing is their drafting and the ability to keep personnel on the field without having to switch up between passing and running. AJ (if he stays) and Hopkins can easily serve as the outside WRs. They have several Slot WR options (Keshawn Martin, Mike Thomas, Travis Labhart out of Texas A&M) and the TEs can handle blocking in-line while splitting out wide. Graham and Fiedorowicz can even stay in and allow Houston to have a 2 TE set with one inline to block and the other split out in the slot.

What I think Houston will do is get to the line fast and let the QB make reads while ticking the clock down to 8-10 seconds before snapping, much like Brady and New England do. It won't be predicated on speed so much as keeping the opposing defense on the field without the ability to substitute out.

 

[Biabreakable]

I would actually push back on those texans... Fitzpatrick/Savage/Keenum + Foster (and not much RB depth now) + Old AJ + Hopkins just doesn't seem the like the personal package to significantly press the tempo on offense, especially with Watt and Clowney on defense.

I would also push back some on NYG, Baltimore, and Carolina w/r/t the passing game.

The problem has become differentiating between the coach speak "we want to play up-tempo" vs. the concerted effort to fast snap ala Eagles-Bills-Patriots-Broncos vs. throw a ton and stop the clock ala Lions-Cowboys.

I agree it is hard to tell if they are just talking about shortening some of the play calls or to the extent that they will be running no huddle almost exclusively. It is hard to know what the OC's level of commitment to that will be or how well it is executed.

Baltimore did not have a good season last year but from my understanding of it they began running this in 2012. So I think they still are doing that. They just did not do that very well last season, I think primarily because their Oline and RB failing.

Carolina sounds pretty serious about doing this and Cam did run a up tempo offense in College. Their skill players look very questionable right now, so I am not sure how much it will help but to me that sounded for real. Would love some input from others who might be more familiar with them than I am though.

The Giants I think are serious about this too, but it will more likely be a heavy passing attack like we have been seeing from GB. Which may or may not really fit into our definition of the strategy, as it is not as run heavy as what Philly and the Bills are doing.

I appreciate the feedback and I think if we put our heads together we can figure this out.

I may be wrong about the Panthers going up tempo. Their offense was not good last season. So I am looking around for stuff and came across this-

Ron Rivera's Panthers not keen on fast-paced offenses

• By Marc Sessler
• Around the League Writer
• Published: Sept. 13, 2013

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000243582/article/ron-riveras-panthers-not-keen-on-fastpaced-offenses

On Wednesday's "Around The League Podcast," we touched on the state of the Panthers' offense coming off a 12-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While up-tempo schemes are all the rage, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton led an attack that ran a league-low 50 plays in Week 1.


Panthers coach Ron Rivera knows the NFL is getting faster -- he watched Chip Kelly's Eagles rip up and down the field on Monday night -- but he isn't convinced a high-speed approach is the way to go.

"I'm not quite sure what the real, true benefit is other than having a few more plays," Rivera said Thursday, per The Charlotte Observer. "People say, 'Well, you get 75, 80 plays going faster.' You also can go 1-2-3 and out faster and put the other team back on the field faster. So which is it?"

The Panthers held a 7-3 halftime lead over Seattle and seemed determined to cling to it in the second half. Instead of attacking, offensive coordinator Mike Shula grew increasingly conservative. It doesn't seem fair: While the San Francisco 49ers talented passer, Colin Kaepernick, plays for an ultra-creative coordinator in Greg Roman, Cam is stuck in a ball-control approach that feels shot out of 1962.


Said Rivera: "There's some stretches if you go out there and you go too fast and make a mistake, and all of a sudden your defense is back out there. Now your defense is getting worn down. Is that a good thing, too?"

Here is an article about this from Caulton Tudor I found amusing.

Caveman offenses high-risk, low rewardI

mproving the offense will be a lot more complicated than implementing a no-thugs disciplinary mandate.

That offensive process has to start with General Manager Dave Gettleman, head Coach Ron Rivera and Offensive Coordinator Mike Shula.

Those three men need to revise their basic thinking at the very least, but more likely need to bring in at least two or three personnel weapons to boot.

The theory that top-line opponents can be defeated if the offense simply eats clock long enough to give the defense time to create easy scoring opportunities simply doesn’t work regularly.

Against the 49ers, quarterback Cam Newton obviously was Shula’s Plan A, B and C in short-yardage situations, and the 49ers learned as much immediately.

Newton’s legs allowed him to convert on a few third downs between the 20 yard lines. But in the scoring zone, the 49er defense knew what was coming and repeatedly stopped it, particularly inside the 5-yard-line.

It was a caveman offensive strategy that (A) didn’t work and (B) eventually will get Newton hurt to the extent that games will hinge on the play of a backup quarterback.

Read more at http://www.wralsportsfan.com/panthers-need-to-upgrade-offense/13294725/#rE05RhzK1R77gZBF.99

At least for now I guess they are not going to speed up the pacing of their offense. Mainly because of Rivera.

They did hire this guy guy to replace their quality control coach for the offense-

March 31, 2014 Panthers hire John Ramsdell as offensive assistant
The Panthers have hired longtime NFL assistant coach John Ramsdell to serve as a senior offensive assistant.

Ramsdell fills the vacancy created when former offensive quality control coach Lance Taylor left to take a position at Stanford.

Ramsdell, 59, worked with Philip Rivers as San Diego's quarterbacks coach from 2006-2012 when Panthers coach Ron Rivera was a Chargers assistant.

Ramsdell spent 11 years in St. Louis in a variety of offensive roles from 1995-2005 -- a stretch that included the Ram's Super Bowl season of 1999 with an offense dubbed the 'Greatest Show on Turf.'

--Joseph Person

So he will bring some of the ideas from SD with him. But Rivera is still the HC.

 

[Faust]

Dolphins player: Lazor's offense evokes Chip Kelly's

 

[Biabreakable]

Three-receiver formations standard in today's NFL

By Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com

May 25, 2014 http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/fantasy-football-today/24572425/three-receiver-formations-standard-in-todays-nfl

The NFL becomes more of a passing league each year, making an increasing number of receivers Fantasy-relevant.

Average pass attempts have risen five straight years. They reached an all-time high of 35.4 per team last year, for nearly 71 passes per game.

Pass attempts per team since 2008:

2008: 32.3

2009: 33.3

2010: 33.7

2011: 34.0

2012: 34.7

2013: 35.4

For the first time, teams came out in three-receiver formations more than half the time. According to Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz, teams came out in "11" personnel -- one running back, one tight end, three wideouts -- 51.2 percent of the time and used three or more receivers on 58.8 percent of plays.

Teams used "11" personnel 45.7 percent of the time in 2012, 40.4 percent the year before.

"Right now, the most efficient way to play offense in the NFL is to put three wide receivers, one running back and one tight end on the field with your quarterback in the shotgun for a majority of snaps," Schatz wrote. "Not all of them, you have to switch it up of course, but most of them."

Seventy-nine players drew at least 80 targets last year, compared to 62 players in 2008. Here's a year-by-year look at how many players (WRs, TEs, RBs) cleared 80 targets.

2008: 62

2009: 72

2010: 68

2011: 73

2012: 75

2013: 79

Quarterbacks are getting more efficient too. Last year, QBs collectively set all-time highs in completion percentage (61.2) and passer rating (84.1). Philip Rivers completed 69.5 percent of his throws, with Drew Brees and Peyton Manning both above 68 percent.

Teams averaged an all-time high of 23.4 points, a number that's grown steadily since 2009 when they averaged 21.5.

Slot receivers and No. 3 wideouts are more Fantasy-relevant than ever before. Fifty-nine wideouts scored at least 75 Fantasy points in standard leagues last year, compared to 57 wideouts in 2012, 53 in 2011 and 49 in 2010.

These are all numbers to keep in mind when deciding between a committee running back and a team's No. 3 receiver.

 

[Faust]

Bills aim to run NFL's fastest offense

 

[Faust]

Rotoworld:

The Packers' goal is to run 75 offensive plays per game this season.

The Broncos led the league at 72.1 plays per game last season; the Pack were 11th at 66.8. Getting 75 offensive snaps off weekly isn't very realistic, but speaks to the tempo at which coach Mike McCarthy wants his team to play. The goal is to prevent defensive substitutions, keeping opponents in base formations. "We play pretty fast, but you always want to play faster," McCarthy said. More plays mean more box score production across the board, especially with Aaron Rodgers at the controls. Target Packers in 2014 fantasy football drafts.

Source: ESPN.com

Jul 14 - 10:30 AM

 

[Biabreakable]

Hurry Up No Huddle: Fantasy Impact

 

[karmarooster]

Hurry Up No Huddle: Fantasy Impact

Found this take away interesting:

The Giants and the Cowboys were both in the bottom six of teams in total offensive plays in 2013. The addition’s of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo from the Packers to the Giants and Scott Linehan from the Lions could mean a big turn around for these offenses in total plays in 2014

It's starting to look like a perfect storm for the Cowboys - new pass-first OC, terrible defense, and potentially a major increase in the number of total plays. Could be looking at a career year for any of Romo-Dez-Murray.

 

[Biabreakable]

I really dislike the Cowboys but their players seem poised for a good season in FF.

 

[12punch]

Hurry Up No Huddle: Fantasy Impact

Found this take away interesting:

The Giants and the Cowboys were both in the bottom six of teams in total offensive plays in 2013. The addition’s of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo from the Packers to the Giants and Scott Linehan from the Lions could mean a big turn around for these offenses in total plays in 2014

It's starting to look like a perfect storm for the Cowboys - new pass-first OC, terrible defense, and potentially a major increase in the number of total plays. Could be looking at a career year for any of Romo-Dez-Murray.

while I don't dispute your conclusion, one of the things holding philly back in total plays last year was their terrible defense --- at least early in the year.

you can't run plays if the other team has the ball

 

[Monsters of the Midway]

And piling on that, Dallas which threw a ton ran the fewest plays in the league last year, mostly because their D was so bad they couldn't get off the field (remember the NO game?).

one site that tracks plays per team, ranked

another one

 

[Biabreakable]

I agree that defense is still a problem for most of the NFC East. Which is another reason to target players from those teams.

I think part of the reason Philly did not manage to run as many plays as they may have wanted was because of their efficiency in terms of yards per catch and yards per carry. If they had fewer explosive plays that would have meant more overall plays.

The defense is certainly a key factor in the overall analysis.

On the flip side of this I was thinking about the Arizona Cardinals defense being a good target because of the teams in their division being run oriented and running fewer plays. But the Cardinals have issues at linebacker due to Washington's injury. So other teams may be able to run the ball on them better and keep the ball away. So I decided that was somewhat of a wash with their expected improvements on the offensive line. The NFC West plays the AFC West. So that is another reason to perhaps not favor those defensive teams.

 

[karmarooster]

Assuming their defense is equally as bad as last year, but they run plays more quickly due to the up tempo no huddle system with fewer second between snaps, they should in theory run more total plays as compared to last year. Unless of course the defense is actually worse.

That's a pretty crazy thought when you consider

Dez 93-1200-13

Murray 1500 yards, 9 TDs in 13.5 games

Romo 3800 yards, 31 TDs in 15 games (and not healthy for part of the season)

...on a team with a bad defense and not running at a high tempo.

 

[Vector]

Rotoworld:

The Packers' goal is to run 75 offensive plays per game this season.

The Broncos led the league at 72.1 plays per game last season; the Pack were 11th at 66.8. Getting 75 offensive snaps off weekly isn't very realistic, but speaks to the tempo at which coach Mike McCarthy wants his team to play. The goal is to prevent defensive substitutions, keeping opponents in base formations. "We play pretty fast, but you always want to play faster," McCarthy said. More plays mean more box score production across the board, especially with Aaron Rodgers at the controls. Target Packers in 2014 fantasy football drafts.

Source: ESPN.com

Jul 14 - 10:30 AM

Targeting a set number of offensive plays is ignorant. You cannot control that due to either scoring efficiency or defensive inefficiency. What coaches should be targeting is snapping the ball with a set minimum amount of time left on the play clock, say 8 to 10 seconds. This is basically what they are trying to do when they say they want to run more offensive plays.

Even then you can't rely upon a umpire getting the ball ready for play as quickly as you would like, so even this target may be out of a team's control.

 

[Faust]

Giants' offense wants to go fast

 

[Biabreakable]

Up-tempo offense catching on as quick path to NFL success

 

[Ilov80s]

I love the potential in all the Packers if they do speed up the offense as they have mentioned.

 

[Biabreakable]

Week 1 of 2014

Total offensive plays

1 Baltimore 85
2 Philadelphia 82
3 New England 80
4 Tennessee 75
5 Jacksonville 71
6 Miami 71
7 New Orleans 70
8 Indianapolis 70
9 Atlanta 69
10 Chicago 69
11 Denver 69
12 Carolina 68
13 Pittsburgh 67
14 Seattle 66
15 Arizona 65
16 NY Jets 65
17 Cleveland 64
18 Cincinnati 64
19 Washington 63
20 St Louis 63
21 Detroit 63
22 Dallas 63
23 San Diego 60
24 Green Bay 57
25 NY Giants 57
26 Minnesota 56
27 Kansas City 56
28 Buffalo 56
29 Houston 56
30 Tampa Bay 55
31 San Francisco 54
32 Oakland 49

Last season 2 teams finished with over 70 plays per game. For week one eight teams had that many plays or more. To reach 1100 plays requires 68.75 plays per game. Week 1 eleven teams had 69 or more offensive plays. These plays do include sacks.

Only 9 teams had less than 62.5 offensive plays, which is the pace needed for the offense to run 1000 total plays. Many of those teams have known tendencies to run the hurry up no huddle offense, such as Green Bay, Buffalo, NY Giants..

2078 total offensive plays were run which over 16 weeks would be 33248 total plays. Last season the total was 33302.


Passing attempts

1 Baltimore 62
2 New England 56
3 Indianapolis 53
4 Chicago 49
5 Philadelphia 45
6 Jacksonville 43
7 Atlanta 43
8 New Orleans 42
9 Cincinnati 38
10 Dallas 37
11 Washington 37
12 Arizona 37
13 San Diego 36
14 Denver 36
15 St Louis 36
16 Pittsburgh 35
17 Tampa Bay 35
18 Kansas City 35
19 Carolina 34
20 NY Giants 33
21 Tennessee 33
22 Green Bay 33
23 Miami 32
24 Oakland 32
25 Detroit 32
26 Cleveland 31
27 NY Jets 29
28 Seattle 28
29 Minnesota 25
30 San Francisco 23
31 Buffalo 22
32 Houston 22

3 teams had over 50 passing attempts. 12 teams passed the ball enough that if that pace is kept will have 600 or more passing attempts. 8 teams had over 40 passing attempts. Last season 4 teams threw the ball 40 or more times over the course of the season.


Rushing attempts

1 Tennessee 38
2 Miami 38
3 Seattle 37
4 NY Jets 34
5 Houston 33
6 Carolina 33
7 Buffalo 33
8 Denver 32
9 Philadelphia 32
10 Detroit 30
11 Cleveland 30
12 San Francisco 30
13 Minnesota 30
14 New Orleans 28
15 Pittsburgh 28
16 Cincinnati 26
17 Arizona 26
18 Jacksonville 25
19 Atlanta 25
20 San Diego 24
21 Dallas 23
22 Washington 23
23 NY Giants 22
24 St Louis 22
25 Green Bay 21
26 Baltimore 20
27 New England 20
28 Chicago 18
29 Tampa Bay 17
30 Kansas City 17
31 Oakland 15.0 15
32 Indianapolis 14

13 teams ran the ball 30 or more times. Last season six teams ran the ball 30 or more times over the course of the season. I would say overall teams ran the ball more in week one.

What stands out to me is the rushing attempts for the Miami Dolphins. As expected Lazor bringing a run heavy up tempo offense there which got them a win against the Patriots. I am only through the 1st half of watching that game. But after all the turnovers I just saw the Dolphins make, I think it is a good sign for a strong commitment to the run from the Dolphins moving forward. The offensive line was doing a good job of clearing lanes for the RB from what I have watched so far.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

total plays isn't the best thing to look at from a 1 game sample because it's so sensitive to drive totals and turnovers.

maybe you want to look at plays/min or something like that

 

[Biabreakable]

total plays isn't the best thing to look at from a 1 game sample because it's so sensitive to drive totals and turnovers.

maybe you want to look at plays/min or something like that

Thank you captain obvious.

I want to work with the data I have nothing more.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

lol somebody's sensitive

you got total plays, and you got ToP

ergo, a little math means you have plays/ToP

and btw --- since you posted up that list of rushing att I think it's worth noting that maybe half the teams in this so called 'passing league' actually might run the ball quite a bit

 

[karmarooster]

lol somebody's sensitive

you got total plays, and you got ToP

ergo, a little math means you have plays/ToP

and btw --- since you posted up that list of rushing att I think it's worth noting that maybe half the teams in this so called 'passing league' actually might run the ball quite a bit

The point isn't necessarily that it's a passing league or that it's a rushing league, it's a more total plays league. Both passing attempts and rushing attempts are up significantly as compared to last season (thru 1 week, small sample size yada yada), with many more teams passing and rushing at high volume. The total ToP for both teams in a game add up to oh about 60 minutes. Therefore, league wide, a higher plays/ToP.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

so, we aren't interested in the actual offenses that might run up tempo, just the league as a whole.

ok - maybe I misread the title

 

[Biabreakable]

FF is all about matching talent with opportunity.

Plays run = opportunity for players to get targets/rushing attempts.

More plays run = more opportunity for the players on those teams.

When evaluating your FF roster in week one, it makes sense to look at which teams are providing opportunity to the players you have on your roster or possible free agents who may get opportunity.

It would be nice to have a discussion about this and I posted the total numbers here so that anyone who has not looked at that yet could do so quickly as part of their roster evaluation, waiver wire considerations.

Patterns in play calling will become more clear and even out somewhat with each additional game.

I will continue to post the total plays in this thread over the 1st 4 weeks same as I did last season. With a few observations about that.

I do not appreciate being told that this is a waste of time. (This is fantasy football after all serious bidness ) Therefore KAL has been put on my ignore list. Because responding to his pestering posts IS a waste of time.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

 

[Biabreakable]

2014 average offensive plays/game after 2 weeks

1 Baltimore 75
2 Philadelphia 73.5
3 Miami 72.5
4 Washington 72
5 Indianapolis 71
6 New England 70
7 Dallas 69.5
8 New Orleans 69.5
9 Cleveland 68
10 NY Jets 68
11 San Diego 67.5
12 Atlanta 67
13 Cincinnati 66.5
14 Detroit 66.5
15 Kansas City 65.5
16 Carolina 65.5
17 Arizona 63.0
18 NY Giants 62.5
19 Green Bay 62
20 Tennessee 62
21 Pittsburgh 62
22 St Louis 61.5
23 Chicago 60.5
24 Houston 60
25 San Francisco 59.5
26 Jacksonville 59.5
27 Minnesota 59
28 Denver 57
29 Buffalo 57
30 Oakland 54
31 Tampa Bay 53
32 Seattle 53

Last season two teams averaged over 70 plays/game. After two weeks six teams have managed that. For a team to run 1100 plays requires 68.75 plays/game. Currently eight teams are on pace to achieve that. For a team to reach 1000 total plays is 62.5 plays/game. Currently 14 teams are below that mark.

4111 total offensive plays were run which over 16 weeks would be 32888 total plays. Last season the total was 33302.

2014 average passing attempts/game after 2 weeks

1 Baltimore 45.5
2 Atlanta 43.5
3 Indianapolis 43.5
4 Chicago 41.5
5 Philadelphia 41
6 New Orleans 41
7 Miami 40.5
8 Detroit 40
9 New England 39
10 Kansas City 38.5
11 Green Bay 37.5
12 Oakland 37
13 San Diego 36.5
14 Washington 36.5
15 Pittsburgh 36
16 Cleveland 36
17 NY Giants 36
18 Jacksonville 35.5
19 Carolina 34
20 Tennessee 33.5
21 Arizona 33
22 Dallas 33
23 St Louis 32.5
24 Cincinnati 31
25 Denver 31
26 NY Jets 30.5
27 Minnesota 30.5
28 San Francisco 28.5
29 Tampa Bay 28
30 Seattle 26.5
31 Buffalo 24.0
32 Houston 20.5

10 teams passed the ball enough that if that pace is kept will have 600 or more passing attempts. 8 teams had over 40 passing attempts/game. Last season 4 teams threw the ball 40 or more times over the course of the season. Only five teams have passed the ball less than 30 times/game.

2014 rushing attempts/game after 2 weeks

1 Houston 40
2 NY Jets 35.5
3 Cincinnati 35.5
4 Buffalo 33
5 Dallas 33
6 Washington 32.5
7 San Diego 30.5
8 Cleveland 30
9 Philadelphia 30
10 Miami 29.5
11 San Francisco 28.5
12 Carolina 28.5
13 New England 28.5
14 Baltimore 28
15 New Orleans 27.5
16 Arizona 27
17 Indianapolis 26
18 Denver 25.5
19 Tennessee 25.5
20 St Louis 25.5
21 Minnesota 25.5
22 Seattle 25
23 NY Giants 24.5
24 Kansas City 24
25 Detroit 24
26 Tampa Bay 23.5
27 Pittsburgh 23.5
28 Atlanta 22
29 Green Bay 21.5
30 Chicago 17.5
31 Jacksonville 17.5
32 Oakland 16

Nine teams have run the ball 30 times or more/game. Last season teams ran the ball a total of 6210 rushing attempts. Over two weeks the league is on pace for 6360 rushing attempts. So rushing attempts are up somewhat over two weeks.

Last season the Dallas Cowboys were the last team in the league in total plays/game with 59.8 they are currently running 69.5 so influence from Scott Linehan does seem to be having an effect here. They have run the ball 30 times/game thus far which was unexpected and I am not sure that pace won't decline significantly over the course of a few more weeks.

Miami is currently third overall in total plays run, so the effect of Bill Lazor looks like it is having an effect here as well. Miami has also had 29.5 rushing attempts.game, so they look to be a run heavy up tempo offense similar to the Bills and Eagles last season as expected/speculated during the preseason.

The Giants and Steelers are teams who are running more hurry up no huddle than last season but that change is not reflected in the total plays run yet so far.

Last season the Bengals ran 69.2 total plays/game. Currently they are at 66.5. over two games they have run the ball 35.5 times/game (3rd overall) which is up from the 29.8 rushing attempts/game of last season. This tells me that they are continuing with the high pace despite more rushing attempts.

The Cleveland Browns are running the ball 30 times/game which is significantly more than the 21.8 rushing attempts/game last season.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

https://twitter.com/Pat_Thorman/status/514105767566528513

Pat Thorman ‏@Pat_Thorman No-huddle % through Week 3:

PHI (64.8), DEN (43.8), NYG (42.3), NYJ (33.8), PIT (31.9)

ARZ (0.0), SEA (1.7), NO (1.9), KC (2.0), DET (2.4)

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

apparently, I'm the only one who reads this thread...........oh, the irony!

On the season, the Patriots have run 19 of their 211 plays out of no-huddle (9 percent) and 67 snaps in shotgun (32 percent). By way of comparison, over the course of the 2013 regular season, the Patriots were in shotgun for 42 percent of their offensive snaps and they ran no-huddle on 11 percent of their snaps

http://itiswhatitis.weei.com/sports/newengland/football/patriots/2014/09/23/in-focus-charting-offensive-opportunities-for-patriots-skill-position-players-36/

 

[Biabreakable]

I want to talk about wide receiver runs in the NFL this season because rushing attempts by wide receivers does seem to be up.

This may partially account for an slight increase in total rushing attempts by teams so far this season. Right now after 3 weeks all teams have 2620 rushing attempts which over 16 weeks would be 13973 rushing attempts, closer to the 14000 mark which has not happened since 2009.

Now a WR run is something you do not see very often because generally this is considered a constraint or trick play. The main purpose of these plays is to hopefully get a big play out of it. The second purpose of these plays is to make the defense respect the possibility of a WR run and account for that in their defense. Doing so makes the defense play more of the field and possibly cause them to not load the box as much against normal rushing plays the team wants to run. It makes the opposing defense play more honest and defend more of the field.

In 2013 this is the Wide Receiver rushing attempts:

21 WR 1 rushing attempt

23 WR 2 rushing attempts

12 WR 3 rushing attempts

5 WR 4 rushing attempts

2 WR 5 rushing attempts

1 WR 7 rushing attempts

2 WR 8 rushing attempts

1 WR 9 rushing attempts

1 WR 12 rushing attempts

1 WR 13 rushing attempts

1 WR 16 rushing attempts

1 WR 19 rushing attempts

225 total WR rushing attempts

In 2014 after 2 weeks:

1. Dexter McCluster 13
2. Percy Harvin 6
3. Tavon Austin 5
4. Brandin Cooks 3
5. Julian Edelman 3
6. Cordarrelle Patterson 3
7. Denard Robinson 3
8. Antonio Brown 2
9. Randall Cobb 2
10. Eddie Royal 2
11. Emmanuel Sanders 2
12. Markus Wheaton 2
13. Travis Benjamin 2
14. Kenny Britt 1
15. John Brown 1
16. Chris Givens 1
17. Marquise Goodwin 1
18. A.J. Green 1
19. Dwayne Harris 1
20. DeSean Jackson 1
21. Jerrel Jernigan 1
22. Jacoby Jones 1
23. Ricardo Lockette 1
24. Brown Philly 1
25. Andre Roberts 1
26. Mohamed Sanu 1
27. Golden Tate 1
28. Jarius Wright 1

1 WR 13 rushing attempts

1 WR 6 rushing attempts

1 WR 5 rushing attempts

4 WR 3 rushing attempts

5 WR 2 rushing attempts

16 WR 1 rushing attempt

62 WR rushing attempts over 2 weeks is 31/game which would = 496 WR rushing attempts over 16 games

So this is at double the pace of WR runs last season..

Now after week 3

1. Dexter McCluster 14
2. Denard Robinson 11
3. Percy Harvin 6
4. Tavon Austin 5
5. Trey Watts 5
6. Julian Edelman 4
7. Cordarrelle Patterson 4
8. Brandin Cooks 3
9. Travis Benjamin 2
10. Kenny Britt 2
11. Antonio Brown 2
12. Randall Cobb 2
13. Taylor Gabriel 2
14. Alshon Jeffery 2
15. Eddie Royal 2
16. Emmanuel Sanders 2
17. Markus Wheaton 2
18. John Brown 1
19. Philly Brown 1
20. Michael Crabtree 1
21. Bruce Ellington 1
22. Ted Ginn Jr. 1
23. Chris Givens 1
24. Marquise Goodwin 1
25. A.J. Green 1
26. Dwayne Harris 1
27. Devin Hester 1
28. DeSean Jackson 1
29. A.J. Jenkins 1
30. Jerrel Jernigan 1
31. Damaris Johnson 1
32. Jacoby Jones 1
33. Ricardo Lockette 1
34. Donte Moncrief 1
35. Andre Roberts 1
36. Jeremy Ross 1
37. Mohamed Sanu 1
38. Brandon Tate 1
39. Golden Tate 1
40. Mike Wallace 1
41. Jarius Wright 1

1 14 rushing attempts

1 11 rushing attempts

1 6 rushing attempts

1 5 rushing attempts

2 4 rushing attempts

1 3 rushing attempts

9 2 rushing attempts

24 1 rushing attempt

89 WR rushing attempts over 3 weeks is 29.6 /game which would = 477 WR rushing attempts over 16 weeks. So the pace of WR runs continues to be twice as much as 2013 but not as many WR runs in week 3 as there were over the first two weeks.

I am wondering who is Trey Watts? Why did he have 5 rushing attempts in week 3? Isn't this supposed to be Travon Austins job?

Anyhow I find it interesting that wide receiver runs are up so far in the 2014 season.

 

[ImTheScientist]

Denard Robinson isn't a WR bro.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

I am wondering who is Trey Watts? Why did he have 5 rushing attempts in week 3? Isn't this supposed to be Travon Austins job?

Anyhow I find it interesting that wide receiver runs are up so far in the 2014 season.

ummmmm tey watts is a rb and travon austin didn't play?

 

[Biabreakable]

2014 average offensive plays/game after 3 weeks

1 Washington 73.3
2 Indianapolis 72
3 Philadelphia 71.7
4 Baltimore 71.3
5 Miami 70.7
6 New England 70
7 NY Jets 69.3 69.3
8 Detroit 69.0 69
9 New Orleans 69
10 Kansas City 67.3
11 Atlanta 66.3 66.3
12 San Diego 66
13 NY Giants 65.3
14 St Louis 65
15 Dallas 63.7
16 Cleveland 63.7
17 Cincinnati 63.3
18 Pittsburgh 63
19 Tennessee 62.7
20 Arizona 62.3
21 Denver 61.7
22 Carolina 61.7
23 Chicago 61.3
24 Houston 61.0
25 San Francisco 60.3
26 Seattle 60.3
27 Buffalo 60
28 Green Bay 58.7
29 Jacksonville 58
30 Minnesota 57.3
31 Oakland 54.7 54.7
32 Tampa Bay 54.7

6 teams have over 70 offensive plays/game. Nine team have over 69 plays/game which is the pace needed for a team to have 1100 total offensive plays. 19 teams have 62.5 or more plays/game which is the pace needed for 1000 total plays.

13 teams are below the pace needed for 1000 total plays. The biggest surprise of teams in that category are the Denver Bronco's.

6161 total offensive plays were run which over 16 weeks would be 32858 total plays. Last season the total was 33302.

2014 average passing attempts/game after 3 weeks

1 Indianapolis 43.3
2 Philadelphia 41.3
3 Miami 41.3
4 Baltimore 40.7
5 Chicago 40.3
6 Washington 40.3
7 New Orleans 39
8 Atlanta 38.3
9 New England 38
10 Detroit 38
11 Denver 37
12 Carolina 36.3
13 Oakland 36
14 St Louis 35.7
15 NY Jets 34.7
16 Pittsburgh 34
17 Jacksonville 34
18 Kansas City 34
19 Green Bay 34
20 Tennessee 33.7
21 NY Giants 33.3
22 Arizona 33.3
23 San Diego 32.7
24 Cleveland 32.3
25 San Francisco 31.3
26 Tampa Bay 30.7
27 Minnesota 30.3
28 Dallas 29.7
29 Seattle 29.3
30 Cincinnati 29.3
31 Buffalo 29.3
32 Houston 25.3

10 teams have thrown the ball 37.5 or more times/game which is the pace needed to reach 600 passing attempts. Eight teams are below the 32 passing attempts needed for 500 total passing attempts. Most of these teams are having success running the ball.



2014 average rushing attempts/game after 3 weeks

1 Houston 35
2 Cincinnati 34
3 San Diego 32.7
4 NY Jets 32.3
5 Dallas 31.7
6 Washington 31
7 NY Giants 30.3
8 Baltimore 29.7
9 New England 29.7
10 Kansas City 29.7
11 Cleveland 29.7
12 Buffalo 29.3
13 Seattle 29
14 New Orleans 29
15 Philadelphia 28.7
16 Detroit 28.7
17 Arizona 27
18 Pittsburgh 27
19 San Francisco 27
20 Indianapolis 27
21 St Louis 27
22 Atlanta 26.7
23 Tennessee 26.3
24 Miami 26.3
25 Minnesota 24.3
26 Denver 23.7
27 Carolina 22.3
28 Green Bay 21.7
29 Tampa Bay 21.7
30 Chicago 18.7
31 Jacksonville 18.3
32 Oakland 18.0

16 teams are currently running the ball at a pace for 450 rushing attempts by the end of the season. So half of the league.

2620 total rushing attempts over 3 weeks is 873 ra/week which would be 13973 total rushing attempts. Last season rushing attempts were 13871. So the trend of more rushing attempts is still up but not as much as it was over the first couple weeks.

The Dolphins have fallen back in rushing attempts since week 1.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

The Eagles are last in TOP at 24:22.

Pretty surprised by that.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

philly has never been about clock control, but they're about 10th in total plays.

although, from all the hype people were probably still expecting more than that.

ps here's a note from a fan on buffalorumblings about the bills in week 4

Doug Marrone and Nathaniel Hackett brought an offense with them from Syracuse that once had unique traits; those have completely disappeared in 20 games. They don't even bother pushing the tempo anymore; the no-huddle is dead, and they're not even busting it out occasionally to change things up. More importantly, the team has utterly abandoned the run in each of the past two weeks; they averaged 34 rushes per game in 2013 and 33 per game in Weeks 1-2, but that has dropped to 22.5 in the last two weeks.

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2014/9/29/6862833/texans-23-bills-17-ej-manuel-sammy-watkins-robert-woods

 

[Faust]

Buccaneers to use up-tempo offense under new OC

 

[Faust]

Rotoworld:

Anquan Boldin says the 49ers plan to run a faster-tempo offense under new OC Geep Chryst.

The 49ers played "slow" under outgoing OC Greg Roman, annually ranking among the NFL's bottom teams in offensive plays. "It’s definitely a fast tempo," said Boldin of Chryst's offense. "We’re trying to get a lot faster than last year as far as getting to the line." Boldin said the "system" has not changed, but the 49ers want to run more plays. This would be good news for the fantasy values of all San Francisco skill players. Boldin, in particular, is a great value at his current mid-11th-round ADP. He's been a top-30 fantasy receiver in each of the last three seasons.

Source: 49ers.com
Jun 25 - 1:11 AM

 

[Faust]

Offensive tempo "unbelievable" against New England, Cobb says:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/322087831.html?ipad=y