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Our new offensive scheme under Mike LaFleur


jetjuice

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This is the offensive counterpart to my defensive scheme thread. So as we know by now Mike LaFleuer is going to be our OC, he was previously the passing game coordinator for the 49ers. He comes from the Shanahan coaching tree which is very exciting because that's an offense that has had success virtually everywhere in the NFL. Not only that but we are bringing the 49ers o-line coach to be our run game coordinator as well, so we can expect to see a LOT of similarities to the 49ers offense from previous years (they produced a top 3 offense in 2019).

Alex Rollins once again does an amazing job breaking down the 49ers offense and gives insight on what we can expect to see with the scheme here. I'll give my thoughts after on who I think we will be targeting based off the video.

The premise of this breakdown is that the offense gives a lot of similar looking looks that confuse the defense because they make a lot of different concepts look the same. Passing concepts are heavily based on scheme-beaters, which makes it easy on the QB, and RPO's. And of course, the play-action, which is what makes this offense go. The play-action draws linebackers and safeties into traps and feeds off the virtually identical looks that defenses will see for various play concepts. The run will set up the pass for us.

It definitely seems as if having athletic zone blocking lineman and versatile H-backs/tight ends that are a dual-threat are the type of players that this scheme calls for. There is a lot of movement in this offense so agile blockers will be needed. It makes sense when you consider how traditional Shanahan offenses are schemed (maybe why they chose Mike McGlinchey so early in 2018). I can't remember the last time that offense had a high drafted RB getting significant carries.

I would expect us to target Kyle Juszcyzk because he's a big part of this offense. His versatility in both the run and pass game would be huge. I also wonder what a mobile QB like Watson could do for us... it only widens the options from the run-pass option playbook.

Fortunately for us, there are also a lot of mobile o-lineman in this draft. Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jalen Mayfield, Christian Darrisaw, etc. etc. Good draft for our needs.

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Really excited to see Herndon in this offense.  His career has been a huge rollercoaster with some high highs and last year's low lows.  He fits the mold so perfectly of the do it all TE and if any offense can feature a TE it's this one.  I'm still super high on him despite a bad year and can't wait to see him in 2021.

I touched on the defense and what I would do in your other thread.  Offensively I think we bring in a FA WR.  There are tons of good ones and it makes sense to do that given you don't want to count on a guy at 23 or 34 immediately.  If we can trot out Mims, FA?, Crowder and have depth with a guy picked at say 34 we'd be in good shape.

I also think we look for a RB in round 3 this year.  Gainwell is the guy I want.  I hope that the teams willing to go RB early will let Gainwell slip to the top of round 3 for us.  His big play ability would be a welcome addition.  I think Adams could handle the short yardage stuff since Gainwell is a little small for an every down back.

On the OL I think Thuney is our guy.  JD went hard for him last year and I think will do so again.  If there is one big signing I would bet on Thuney being the guy.

The all important QB is next.  To me in an ideal world Watson gets traded here for a reasonable deal but realistically HOU is going to bend over backwards to keep him.  That leave us with taking a QB at 2 and that guy is Wilson.  Ideal QB for this offense with is elite accuracy on all three levels and his ability to throw on the run.  We need to secure this kid.

This would give us weapons and a solid OL for the young QB to develop and still be flexible moving forward.

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15 minutes ago, Rockice_8 said:

Really excited to see Herndon in this offense.  His career has been a huge rollercoaster with some high highs and last year's low lows.  He fits the mold so perfectly of the do it all TE and if any offense can feature a TE it's this one.  I'm still super high on him despite a bad year and can't wait to see him in 2021.

I touched on the defense and what I would do in your other thread.  Offensively I think we bring in a FA WR.  There are tons of good ones and it makes sense to do that given you don't want to count on a guy at 23 or 34 immediately.  If we can trot out Mims, FA?, Crowder and have depth with a guy picked at say 34 we'd be in good shape.

I also think we look for a RB in round 3 this year.  Gainwell is the guy I want.  I hope that the teams willing to go RB early will let Gainwell slip to the top of round 3 for us.  His big play ability would be a welcome addition.  I think Adams could handle the short yardage stuff since Gainwell is a little small for an every down back.

On the OL I think Thuney is our guy.  JD went hard for him last year and I think will do so again.  If there is one big signing I would bet on Thuney being the guy.

The all important QB is next.  To me in an ideal world Watson gets traded here for a reasonable deal but realistically HOU is going to bend over backwards to keep him.  That leave us with taking a QB at 2 and that guy is Wilson.  Ideal QB for this offense with is elite accuracy on all three levels and his ability to throw on the run.  We need to secure this kid.

This would give us weapons and a solid OL for the young QB to develop and still be flexible moving forward.

You have to figure we will at least address the guard position rather aggressively. This offense requires strong o-line play so that the plug-and-play RB's can actually succeed. That's only going to happen if we can bring in athletic/agile lineman that fit the zone blocking scheme and can make everything look the same, run or pass. This is what will set up the play action and RPO's. I agree that Thuney is someone we will go after hard but it remains to be seen if he's someone we will be able to get, the Pats actually have cap space this year. If we can't get him then maybe someone like Brandon Scherff would make sense, otherwise we may have to opt for a Wyatt Davis or Trey Smith in the draft. I need to dig deeper into who specifically fits the ZBS best.

I love Gainwell too. I think he's a stud, he's been a big play dual threat ever since stepping on campus and even kept Antonio Gibson on the bench. That should tell you something right there. I think there's a solid chance he falls to us in round 3 because I see guys like Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, and a few others going before him. If we can't get him, Javonte Williams from UNC is my next man up. He's a physical grinder with good vision that'll keep the offense ahead of schedule and is good for a highlight reel broken tackle every game. 

I agree on Wilson too. He's definitely someone I can get behind building this team around, love what he brings to the offense. Good thing is if we want him, he's ours. Spelling out all our needs and projecting some of the possibilities this offseason could present just goes to show how badly we need the draft picks that JD has been able to stockpile. The Watson trade might be a luxury for us right now.

I do think we will need to make an aggressive upgrade at the TE and H-back position. Herndon just isn't cutting it and that's a rather important position for this offense. 100% expecting a Juszcyzk signing but we still need a true inline TE. The 9ers were spoiled with Kittle, but someone like Pat Freiermuth out of Penn State could imitate a lot of what Kittle does (I like the Penn State kids this year I guess lol). Hunter Henry is also a free agent.

Edited by jetjuice
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I have to hear LaFleur talk about his scheme before I assume what it will be. I’d assume it would be similar to what they ran in SF. But smart coaches coach to what they have personnel wise. We don’t have Kittle, so I don’t expect us to use TE like they did. We will have to rely more on our WRs and run game. LaFleur also wasn’t calling plays. So he might have something different in mind when it comes to his scheme and how he will call plays.

 

I choose not to guess too much when it comes to this stuff. Over time we will know generally what we will do. And odds are we won’t know that until after FA and the draft. Bc he will cater to our strengths.

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2 hours ago, Bobby816 said:

I have to hear LaFleur talk about his scheme before I assume what it will be. I’d assume it would be similar to what they ran in SF. But smart coaches coach to what they have personnel wise. We don’t have Kittle, so I don’t expect us to use TE like they did. We will have to rely more on our WRs and run game. LaFleur also wasn’t calling plays. So he might have something different in mind when it comes to his scheme and how he will call plays.

 

I choose not to guess too much when it comes to this stuff. Over time we will know generally what we will do. And odds are we won’t know that until after FA and the draft. Bc he will cater to our strengths.

We don't have Kittle but if Pat F is flying under the radar and going round 3-4 that's a can't miss.  Great route runner and underrated TE.

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20 hours ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

We don't have Kittle but if Pat F is flying under the radar and going round 3-4 that's a can't miss.  Great route runner and underrated TE.

Huge Pat F fan, think he’d be the perfect TE for this scheme

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4 hours ago, Bobby816 said:

Create the pipeline. Draft Waddle if there at 23 and he replaces Crowder after this year in the slot. And let him and Mims battle it out for the #2 WR spot initially. This is assuming we get a star WR in FA.

I like the idea but I think it is too soon to build a pipeline when we have so many holes to fill this year.  Maybe start that next year.

I like how Pitt can lose a top WR but they always had a replacement. Same on OL it seems. That is how you build a sustainable team. 

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