Packers OC showed the value of scheme on offense

[Joelist]

While the Packers players played well and executed well, the scheme Green Bay used had a lot to do with them blasting a top ranked defense like they did. So what did they do?

1) Operated mostly under center

2) Passed and ran from the same formations

3) Used rollouts a lot

1 and 2 combined to disguise the play - they kept the Cowboys guessing as to what the play was. This makes the DL and superstars like Micah Parsons hesitate that little bit. 3 was also useful as it provided some play extension and again added guesswork - IF it is pass and IF they roll will it be right or left? This making the defense guess caused big plays including a touchdown so easy it was almost comical (Musgrave's in Q3).

So what does this mean for us?

We actually saw this to some extent against San Francisco, and the result was the Bengals blasted a top ranked defense. It also is evidence that what we need to fix is the scheme more than anything else. Our current "scheme" does not make the defense guess at all because our run-pass and shotgun-under center tendencies are so strong. Add in the route tree hasn't really changed since Burrow came aboard and defenses tee off on us. This sets up ANY offensive line to fail. In fact, it's surprising with these issues that they did as well as they did (they were averaging about 2.4 sacks per game before the injury and ended at 2.9 sacks per game - and a LOT of the ones post injury were on Browning).

Simply put if the overall scheme is not fixed it won't matter who plays OL or who the OL coach is - they will still struggle.