George Kittle Gave A Perfect Example Of Why Kyle Shanahan Is An Evil Genius: He Ran Plays He Knew Wouldn't Work IN THE PLAYOFFS To "Unlock The Defense"
Host - If an alien came down and said show me the play that defines Kyle Shanahan for you...what would it be?
Kittle - We played Seattle in the playoffs this year....Kyle has this thing where if he wants to set up a play action or a bootleg type pass, he'll call a run play that he knows is not going to work. We're running a run play multiple times and it's averaging like two yards a carry, two yards a carry, two yards a carry, and then we throw a play action behind it and Deebo (Samuel) goes for 75 yards against Seattle.
He calls it unlocking the defense.
Setting up big hitters with run plays in a similar formation isn't anything new. Especially for one of the most dynamic offensive minds the league has to offer. It happens every week in some capacity. But one place where I know a lot coaches would never have the balls to do it is in the playoffs. Every play means so much it takes some serious stones to play cat and mouse and waste one down let alone a handful of them.
Think about how many times we see coaches either get way too conservative or completely piss down their leg calling plays in the postseason. And then there is Kyle, playing his opposition like a fiddle, lulling them to sleep, making them think they are shutting him down, and then BAM!
Deebo is trucking down the sideline for a 75 yard TD.
He went on to explain another play against the Vikings and about how he "unlocks" the defense and it's straight up Xs & Os football porn for all the pigskin sickos out there. I know Steven Cheah was probably sitting at his computer at HQ all like…
Shanahan is only 43 years old but if it feels like he's been around forever it's because he has. He first became an OC way back in 2008 and was way ahead of the youth head coaching movement we see all over the NFL now.
He's currently 10th among current NFL coaches with 58 wins and he's done that with Jimmy G, Brock Purdy, and a bunch of dudes that will make you go, "Oh yeah, I kinda remember that guy."
In a league where everyone if becoming more aggressive and trusting analytics Kyle is an OG. The guy has been using data and presentations to create success in the league for a long time.
The most impressive example of this was back in 2014 when he put together a 32-point Power Point presentation to show to the Cleveland Browns ownership why they should let him run for the hills instead of coaching in that mess of a franchise.
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That, my friends, is a man who does his research. A man who knows what will work and what won't. He saw the Browns as a failing two-yard run play to set up the big hitter, getting his ass out of town to Atlanta and then eventually San Francisco. That's a bright football mind.