06-13-2023, 02:46 PM
(06-13-2023, 02:06 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I don't know Goose if you're old enough to have watched Boomer and others back in the 80's? But there were plays (many of them) where Boomer and other QB's for that matter would run play action fakes and the entire stadium, the announcers, everybody watching on TV, hell often even the cameraman were following the RB knowing he had the ball!!
And there was the TE running 12 yards downfield as wide open as you can ever get in the NFL. But they were totally dedicated to that style of play.
My point is (not that I want them to do it now) I just wonder if they were a bit more dedicated to running it, if it wouldn't be more effective?
And I just wonder how good it really was back in the day? I mean for QB's that weren't as good as Boomer with running play action?
I just turned 30, so not old enough but I have found myself going back and watching a lot of 80's Bengals (I avoid the 90's like the plague LOL.)
Boomer had an incredible fake. It seemed revolutionary. He really would fake everyone out. As to dedicating to the run, I don't think it would really help in today's NFL. The game has evolved a lot and defenses have had to become more technical to keep up with not only evolving offenses, but rule changes to benefit offenses. I have some old NFL playbooks from the early 2000's, so I know concepts like run fits existed at that point, and I would assume they did in the 70's and 80's but I don't know how strict players were about following them.
My point with bringing that up is that the concept of run fits is exactly why play-action works, regardless of whether a team runs a lot/a little/bad/good. Take this play for example. It is my absolute favorite play for this discussion because it demonstrates it so clearly. This is the 2011 Lions. They were an okay running team, nothing great. In the video, watch Lance Briggs. As Stafford hands the ball off, Briggs fills his gap and then vacates it because he sees the TE head to the flat. He thinks it is a play-action pass. However, it isn't. Best cuts it back and runs right where Briggs vacated and scores an 88 yard TD.
That is the conflict these linebackers have and they always have to respect that threat if a RB is on the field. If they don't respect the run, any of these guys on the field can take it all the way if you aren't in your spot. There are numerous examples of this playing out, but you can look at the 2021 Bucs as a quick example. Brady posted the 4th best passer rating on play-action despite the fact the Bucs had the second least amount of rush attempts in the league, and they weren't particularly good when they did run (20th in YPC). Aaron Rodgers was second, despite the Packers having only the 18th most attempts and also tied for 20th in YPC. Hell, Taylor Heinicke was first and Washington didn't run the ball a lot or well, either.
