If you’re remotely familiar with the National Football League these days, you know what people say about both modern offenses and the value of running backs within them. Over the past two decades, with the increase in having multiple receivers on the field, and the dwindling value of running backs in both the draft and free agency, it has now been largely written that the NFL is a passing game. is, and that those who run back do not turn back. Doesn’t really matter.
Related: ‘He just needs daylight’: How Saquon Barkley became the NFL’s most dangerous weapon
As is the case with any absolute, there’s more to the story, and that’s especially true in the 2024 season. Most people already know. Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles And Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens are rekindling the concept of running back value with their MVP-level seasons, but there’s an undercurrent of creative and efficient run games around the league in 2024 that’s showing up more and more in the metrics.
In 2023, there were 12 running backs who surpassed 1,000 yards from scrimmage during the season, compared to 28 receivers. This has been par for the course for a long time. The last season with more 1,000-yard running backs than receivers was 2005 (23 running backs, 19 receivers), and the NFL is on pace for another one of those years. Through Week 16, there are 11 running backs with 1,000-yard seasons, and 11 receivers.
But in 2023, there were six teams that averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry. In 2024, this number has doubled to 12. Last season, two teams had a rushing EPA over +10.0. This season the number has increased to seven. And in 2023, seven teams ran the ball on at least 45% of their offensive snaps. This number has increased to 13 in 2024.
Why is that? First, it’s an example of offensive play callers catching on to the fact that what we’ve long thought of as a base defense — three linebackers and four defensive backs on the field — is no longer a base defense. Now, there’s the nickel defense (two linebackers and five defensive backs). true The base defense for the majority of NFL teams, and the majority of defenses are more prone to playing a dime defense (one linebacker and six defensive backs) than the old school stuff. This naturally leads to less stacked boxes (seven or more defenders at the defensive line and linebacker level) than in previous eras, and you want to run the ball more and pass the ball less against lighter boxes. want It’s just basic math and common sense.
Within this build, is the fact that many of the NFL’s best schematic minds have come up with some new and innovative run concepts.
Beyond the typical single-back ideas — all kinds of iterations of man and zone blocking — there are ways in which NFL teams have contrived to make their run games much more interesting than in past eras. What you see now more than ever is the formation of the pistol as a root construction. Invented by Nevada head coach Chris Alt in 2005 — complete with a lightly recruited mobile quarterback named Colin Kaepernick — the Pistol has the quarterback about three yards behind center, and the quarterback. Running back about three yards. It was the early version that began taking the NFL by storm in the early 2010s. Now, teams have extended this to formations in which a second back parallels the quarterback in an offset pistol set, and that’s where all the power and misdirection elements come into play.
Another wrinkle you’re seeing more and more is the re-implementation of ponies personnel, with two rooms in the backfield regardless of formation. In the old days of football, the pro set, with two backs on either side of the quarterback aligned under center, was how most running plays were played. This began to decline in the 1990s, when teams wanted more receivers on the field. Now, pony officials can provide quick benefits in a variety of ways.
Pistol Pony Misdirection
“Pistol Pony Misdirection” might sound like a long-lost Eagles song, but Don Henley and Glenn Frey didn’t write it. Two of the most influential authors of this concept in the NFL are Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Both teams have the added benefit of mobile quarterbacks who can create additional defensive confusion. Washington’s Jaden Daniels is more of a pure runner than Green Bay’s Jordan Love, but here’s the thing: If you can put opposing linemen and linebackers in deep conflict with your ability to zag when others are you. If you expect to zag, this is a real problem. .
In Green Bay’s case, it’s mostly about leadback Josh Jacobs, and how well LaFleur is able to design counters and delay runs that Jacobs is able to carry to his end.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, under first-year offensive coordinator Liam Coen, are another team that will push the defense with their Pistol Pony offense, along with their highly gifted running backs, a fourth-round pick from Oregon. Led by rookie Bucky Irving.
Feeding large dogs
Other teams take the lead blocker concept, which has been around football for ages, to new heights. Both the Ravens and Chargers have big ringers to make defending their run concepts much more difficult. In Baltimore’s case, it’s the 6ft 3in, 305lb Patrick Record, who is classified as both a fullback and a tight end, but whose primary role is to pave the way for Henry and anyone else who might be the Ravens. Running the ball.
For the Chargers, who employ former Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, it’s 6ft 4in, 296lb Scott Matlock, who was actually selected as an interior defensive lineman in the sixth round of the 2023 draft out of Boise State.
You can also add the San Francisco 49ers (with fullback Kyle Juszczyk) and the Miami Dolphins (with fullback Alec Ingold) to that list. No surprise at the similarities there, as Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s run game coordinator from 2017 to 2020.
The Buffalo Bills, who have one of the NFL’s most efficient running games with James Cook and Ray Davis as the primary backs, add their own concept: they have the league’s highest rate of five instead of five. With six offensive linemen running the ball (95 attempts), Alec Anderson stands as the sixth man.
The New Orleans Saints run an interesting hybrid of a pistol offense under first-year offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak, and let the big dogs eat with halfback Alvin Kamara as the primary instigator, and the 6-foot, 245lb. Fullback Adam Prentiss as secret weapon. Either way you go, these are two ways you’ll see the NFL’s most efficient and effective teams do their thing.
However NFL teams arrive at their ideal version of the run game, there’s no question that the ground attack is more important to success in the 2024 season, and more and more coaches are bringing their own spice to the recipe. How long that lasts is largely based on the ability of defensive coaches to adopt a more physical, loaded series of schemes without hesitation against formidable quarterbacks.
For the moment? The old school has reclaimed the offensive mentality of the NFL, and fans of throwback football can rejoice.
