When Kellen Moore left Boise State for the NFL, he was the winningest quarterback in college football history with 50 wins in four seasons as the Broncos signal caller. Moore was a great college quarterback and was a part of an offense that took advantage of the things that he did really well; reading the defense and throwing with accuracy and anticipation.
Jon Gruden when he was with ESPN brought quarterbacks in from each draft class for a film session and to work out on the field.
Since Kellen Moore was promoted to offensive coordinator from quarterbacks coach, we’ve been trying to decipher what his philosophy might be. Moore himself gave us some insight when he talked about wanting to be “multiple” on offense. Basically, Moore wants to present similar concepts throughout the game plan but use formations and personnel groupings to provide variation and to keep defenses off balance.
If you have the time, go watch Moore’s segment from Jon Gruden’s Quarterback camp. It is pretty enlightening.
Here are a few highlights from the segment.
Multiple
Multiple is a word we heard Kellen Moore use last week when asked to describe his offensive philosophy and he used it again in his interview with Jon Gruden.
The goal is to make the offense look as confusing as possible to the defense. Of their offense at Boise, Moore said, “it’s a lot of the same concepts, a lot of ways of doing the same thing.” Meaning they might run the same concepts out of 12 personnel that they run out of 11 or 21 personnel. The play concepts don’t get diverse or complicated, the formations and personnel groupings are what gets diverse and complicated. Regardless of the formation, the offense will look similar. All in the hopes of keeping the defense guessing.
“Anticipation is built Monday through Friday.”
Jon Gruden highlighted a play where Kellen Moore through a shallow post to a wide receiver that wasn’t yet on the screen yet. Moore saw from the defensive alignment that the player would be open and was able to get the ball to the spot where the wide receiver could run under it and get the ball.
If there’s one thing that’s been a bit of a knock against Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott is that he struggles with anticipation. More often than not, he has to see it open before he throws it. This is an area that Kellen Moore and even new Quarterbacks Coach Jon Kitna can help Dak.
If Dak can start seeing receivers open before their open and throwing it before they come open it would be a huge step in his development as a quarterback. Moore’s use of pre-snap motion and formation variation will help Dak to diagnose the defense and know where to go with the ball before the ball is snapped more often.
Use of Pre-snap Motion
During the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, it looked like the Rams were using presnap motion on just about every play. With Moore on board, it looks like the Cowboys are going to be taking a similar approach, and for Moore and for offenses that use a lot of pre-snap motion, there’s a purpose.
Moore described that each motion is designed for a specific purpose on each play. They used motion to try and gain an advantage. One way they could gain an advantage by using presnap motion is to force the defense to show a tell on the coverage they’re in. Using pre-snap motion also helps them find more favorable matchups.
One thing that I found interesting is that then Boise State Head Coach Chris Peterson put the team through a shift and motion period at the beginning of each practice so that everyone would know their motions and the purposes behind them.
Another purpose in using presnap motion was as Gruden noted, “when there’s communication, there’s miscommunication.” Sometimes players get the right checks when a player goes in motion, but sometimes the motion can leave a player wide open for a big play because of miscommunication.
Expect the Dallas Cowboys to use a lot of pre-snap motion with all of their personnel. The wide receivers and tight ends will be coming across the formation and you’ll see the running backs motioning in and out of the backfield.
All in the hopes of finding a favorable look.
In the Red Zone
Gruden asked Kellen Moore, “How come at Boise State you have so many gadget plays in the red zone?” Moore responded to be “creative, open to different ideas, concepts” and they “do a great job of game planning.”
If there’s an area where the Dallas Cowboys struggled consistently throughout the 2018 season it was in the red zone. They were one of the worst teams in the NFL at scoring points inside the 20-yard line.
Getting creative with their play calling in the red zone can help keep teams off balance and not just honing in on Ezekiel Elliott and the running game. Trick plays or gadget plays can help open things up in the middle of the field for the running game by forcing teams to think about the boundary and the passing game.
One thing I noted from watching some Kellen Moore highlights recently was how many touchdowns they scored using play action. It wasn’t every play, but it felt like it. With the run game that the Dallas Cowboys have, play action can be an incredible weapon if they were to open it up and use it more frequently.
In the red zone in particular, when teams are so concerned with Ezekiel Elliott, using play action to pass could lead to some easy scores.
If the Dallas Cowboys want to get back to the playoffs with hopes of making a run at the Super Bowl, they have to get much better in the red zone. You can’t settle for field goals as frequently as they did in 2018 and expect to win a lot of games.
Other Interesting Notes
Gruden highlights it on the show, and I found it fascinating that Boise State would flex out their left tackle into the slot and sometimes out wide beyond the hash mark.
When asked about it, Moore said, “his job is to occupy space.” What it does is create misdirection by getting the defense to think about what that left tackle is doing out there. On one play in particular, it led to an all-out blitz by the defense and Moore hit them for a touchdown on a vertical route.
I don’t imagine we’re going to be seeing Tyron Smith lined up in the slot, but it’s a sign of the potential creativity that comes with Kellen Moore. Even Gruden admitted he’d never seen that formation before.
One of the other notes that I found particularly interesting was the way they used silent counts. Often we see quarterbacks use their leg to signal to the center that they’re ready for the ball. Sometimes, it’s the center turning his head that indicates the snap is coming. At Boise State, they used leg kicks, one hand, two hands, and the center head bob to keep the defensive line from guessing the snap count.
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It remains to be seen if Kellen Moore is going to be a good offensive play caller in the NFL, but from what we know about him to this point, it’s going to be exciting and fun to find out. The goals of his offense appear to be to find mismatches, create confusion, use misdirection, and be able to anticipate where to go with the football.
Moore’s greatest strengths as a quarterback were his football I.Q., his preparation, his ability to communicate with the offensive coordinator and the rest of the offense, and their ability to make in-game adjustments. If he’s able to help Dak Prescott see the game better, anticipate where to go with the ball better, make quicker decisions, and help the offense be better in the red zone, the Dallas Cowboys could have an unstoppable offense in 2019.
We don’t know if they’ll be able to do those things, but after hearing Moore talk about offensive football, I’m ready for the Dallas Cowboys to line up in September so we can find out.
