I am fine with presnap motion. In fact I think it is a very good innovation to get a defense to tip its hand in the back end (man or zone) and also force the defense to communicate. It's a staple in the Shanahan style of offense that is, of course, run in San Fran but also the dolphins. If it causes NFL defenses problems it would of course cause issues to college defenses...and Billy is clearly a fan of the Shanahan style of offense but the more I watch the more I am convinced he doesn't actually understand the concepts.
Motion does two things- first and foremost it gives you a chance for the defense tipping their hand on zone/man. The other is putting pressure on the communication in the secondary. I can't say with any certainty that when a defense gives us the tell- man or zone- we are adjusting our routes to attack zone or man. Do we even have option routes? If it's too complicated then we shouldn't be running this type of system. Are we only running motion in the hopes of forcing a communication issue? Do we expect the secondary, upon seeing our motion, their eyes will glaze over and they will completely forget the coverage call? And if there is a communication issue how are we even going to know since our routes don't actually attack the secondary in any sensible way. We often have too many routes topping in the same area or crossing into the passing window of each other a communication issue on defense won't even matter cuz we make it so easy for them post snap.
Another issue I am noticing is that way too often the motion guy doesn't run a route. The motion guy, mostly ricky, just kind floats in the flat..not a route, not putting any pressure on the defense...and this is supposed to be our number 1 wr and we are taking him out of the play based on design?....what? The defender covering him typically sags off and gets into the pass window of another route. This is nonsense.
And then there is Billy love of the curl route. On 3rd and 5 to 10 you can almost bank on us either running slants or curls. 3 wide receivers...3 curls....4 wide receivers...4 curls....what the hell are we doing? One of the most important things of this offense whether it's dolphins, 49ers or rams (any Shanahan disciple) is creating and attacking space. Getting your athletes the ball in space on the move...curls, which has its use, is NOT that. A curl forces a wr to stop and then turn his back to the players behind him..he then has to start back up again if he isn't drilled in the back. This is not conducive to getting YAC.
I just keep coming back to the idea that Billy just doesn't understand the concept or point of this offense..from the motion to the route designs you are supposed to pair with your running game (and the motion)...it just feels like getting a ferrari deep red paint job on a kia. I get liking a ferrari..but you have to understand what makes a ferrari a ferrari and it's more than just the paint job.
Motion does two things- first and foremost it gives you a chance for the defense tipping their hand on zone/man. The other is putting pressure on the communication in the secondary. I can't say with any certainty that when a defense gives us the tell- man or zone- we are adjusting our routes to attack zone or man. Do we even have option routes? If it's too complicated then we shouldn't be running this type of system. Are we only running motion in the hopes of forcing a communication issue? Do we expect the secondary, upon seeing our motion, their eyes will glaze over and they will completely forget the coverage call? And if there is a communication issue how are we even going to know since our routes don't actually attack the secondary in any sensible way. We often have too many routes topping in the same area or crossing into the passing window of each other a communication issue on defense won't even matter cuz we make it so easy for them post snap.
Another issue I am noticing is that way too often the motion guy doesn't run a route. The motion guy, mostly ricky, just kind floats in the flat..not a route, not putting any pressure on the defense...and this is supposed to be our number 1 wr and we are taking him out of the play based on design?....what? The defender covering him typically sags off and gets into the pass window of another route. This is nonsense.
And then there is Billy love of the curl route. On 3rd and 5 to 10 you can almost bank on us either running slants or curls. 3 wide receivers...3 curls....4 wide receivers...4 curls....what the hell are we doing? One of the most important things of this offense whether it's dolphins, 49ers or rams (any Shanahan disciple) is creating and attacking space. Getting your athletes the ball in space on the move...curls, which has its use, is NOT that. A curl forces a wr to stop and then turn his back to the players behind him..he then has to start back up again if he isn't drilled in the back. This is not conducive to getting YAC.
I just keep coming back to the idea that Billy just doesn't understand the concept or point of this offense..from the motion to the route designs you are supposed to pair with your running game (and the motion)...it just feels like getting a ferrari deep red paint job on a kia. I get liking a ferrari..but you have to understand what makes a ferrari a ferrari and it's more than just the paint job.
