Saturday, 6 Feb 2021. 08:30
TAMPA, Fla – Andy Reid comes from a West Coast gaming system, where quarterbacks practically act like guards in the NBA, that is, they shoot short passes to game makers that can turn them into big wins.
Bruce Arians’ offensive philosophy boils down to “who risks nothing, has nothing”, as he asks his quarterbacks to throw the ball into the deep zones even if sometimes costly turnovers can occur.
These approaches may be very different, but the two have been successful so far. Reid and Arians led prolific attacks that saw the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers end up in Super Bowl LV.
However, Reid and Arians were able to advance to the NFL Championship game because they also demonstrated extraordinary adaptability.
Reid has relied on directed attacks with a quarterback indented behind the line of scrimmage and more spaced out formations over the years, which has seen Patrick Mahomes become one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL.
Arians has tweaked his playbook slightly this season to make the most of Tom Brady’s strengths, adding more movement on the line of scrimmage and alternating between short and very deep passes to surprise the opponent.
“If you don’t grow every year then you are losing ground,” said Arians, who is 68. You can look at what is being done elsewhere. But if that doesn’t suit your squad, then better forget about it. “
The differences are easily seen between the two attacks, except that they can boil down to two key stats, according to SportRadar, to explain the success of their respective aerial game.
The Bucs have dominated the NFL this season with 42 passes from 20 yards or more completed, while the Chiefs have finished 14th in that regard with 26 successful passes.
“You can’t hit a home run unless you do a swing to get one,” Arians said. You won’t accomplish anything if you hesitate. “
The Chiefs led the league with 2,447 yards after the catch as Mahomes harnessed the offensive skills of players like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. The Bucs were in 17th place in the same register, 1874 yards after the catch.
Plus, Reid’s offense is confusing – his wide-spread ends have the league’s second-best yardage average between them and their roofers, according to stats from NFL NextGen, 3.8 yards per pass.
“Coach Reid does a good job of mixing the cards with his various formations, his movements on the line, and those in the backfield,” explained Kelce. It forces the opposing defense to play on the heels, to react rather than to take the initiative, if the strategy is well applied. “
The question now will be which of the systems will have the most success against the opposing defense. Very clever one who can elucidate the enigma.
