Film room: Breaking down Chip Kelly’s sleight of hand running game

The Raiders’ new offensive coordinator has a simple but deceptive rushing attack

From his early days at Oregon to this past season at Ohio State, new Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has been known for having a creative rushing attack.

That’s a big reason why the Buckeyes averaged 5.0 rushing yards per carry and 166.4 rushing yards per game as a team. Also, they had two running backs eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in Quinshon Judkins (1,060) and TreVeyon Henderson (1,016).

A big part of what makes Kelly’s rushing attack so effective is he’s deceptive, setting defenses up to attack their weaknesses in a variety of ways. So, let’s take a peek at what that looks like using a handful of examples from two games last season, against Penn State and Northwestern.

This became a staple of Ohio State’s playbook last season. Kelly used a 4×0 formation, meaning three wide receivers and one tight end are on one side of the offensive line and none are on the other side, to gain a numbers advantage on the weak side. Penn State has three defenders on the weak side which the center, right guard and right tackle can take care of by “getting a hat on a hat.”

Granted the play design here actually has the center working up to the strong-side linebacker while the center has a pre-snap leverage advantage on the backer. But Kelly maintains the numbers advantage by having the quarterback fake a read option which gets the standup outside linebacker to essentially block himself by crashing inside.

Additionally, the right guard invites the defensive tackle up the field while protecting the outside, which takes the defensive tackle out of the play. Then, all that has to be done is make sure the right tackle pins the weak-side linebacker inside. The tackle’s block is easier since the backer initially crashes downhill on the read option fake.

That creates a 20-yard gain where the running back doesn’t get touched until he’s forced out of bounds.

A running quarterback has typically been a big part of Kelly’s offenses in the past. It’s another way for the offense to gain a numbers advantage since the offense doesn’t lose a player in the blocking scheme. That forces defenses to play 11-on-11 instead of 11-on-10 since the quarterback isn’t just handing the ball off. Also, the running back can lead block.

Now, there’s nothing too fancy about a simple quarterback power run call. But Kelly throws in a wrinkle here by turning it into a pin-and-pull concept. That means the playside guard is the puller instead of the backside guard or tackle.

What that does is prevent the backside defensive tackle or end from working flat down the line of scrimmage and making the tackle. Instead, the playside defensive tackle is unblocked and shoots straight up the field so all the left tackle has to do here is get a piece of the defender to take the defender out of the play.

Finally, the tight end and pulling guard pin the standup outside linebacker and off-ball linebacker inside while the running back puts the safety who creeps down into the box on the ground. So, the quarterback goes almost untouched into the endzone.

Granted, close your eyes if you’re a Will Howard fan because the play doesn’t exactly get the results the offense was hoping for if the ball is fumbled out of the end zone…

Here we get another example of Kelly getting the defense to overcommit to the strong side mixed in with a little motion to create an even bigger advantage.

The Buckeyes come out in a reduced formation with two wide receivers and a tight end bunched together next to the left tackle. That initially gets the Nittany Lions to put six defenders at the boundary. Then, the outside receiver motions over to line up at tight end on the other side of the line to balance the formation.

While the defense counters by having a defender follow the receiver, the linebackers don’t move since the strength hasn’t changed. The offense will take that because it means a defensive back is in the box rather than a backer. In other words, the offense is forcing a defender who is in the game for his coverage skills to play the run.

All of that sets up favorable matchups for the offensive line as the right guard down blocks on the defensive tackle and the right tackle blocks the linebacker while the pullers have a two-on-one advantage against the standup outside linebacker. Also, the wide receiver gets to block the corner who clearly wants no part of being involved in the run fit.

So, a simple counter run out of a two-tight end set goes for another big gain where the running back doesn’t get touched until his several yards down the field.

This is a great example of how Kelly uses shifts and motion to get a defense out of position.

Ohio State comes out with 12 personnel but initially has the two tight ends split out wide which means the strong side of the formation is to the right or the wide side of the field. Then, the tight ends shift inside to become part of the offensive line, switching the strength to the left or the boundary.

So, Northwestern adjusts by shifting their defensive line to the strong side to be in the proper front for the offense’s formation. However, the Buckeyes motion one of the tight ends to the other side of the line which switches the strength back to the right. While the linebackers slide over, the defensive line doesn’t move this time.

Also, as a result of the initial shift, the defensive line slants into the boundary which plays right into what the offensive line wants them to do with the outside zone call into the wide side of the field. Meanwhile, the right tight end can pick up the blitzer and the running back goes untouched for over 10 yards for an easy first down.

This is more subtle. Something Kelly does well is making his inside run calls look similar to muddy the reads for linebackers to get them out of position. Deciphering between duo and inside zone can often be difficult and the play call above takes advantage of that.

One way to tell the difference is that on duo the center will work to the weak side of the formation while the running back runs to the strong side. On inside zone, the center and running back move in the same direction. However, in the play above, Ohio State’s center works to the weak side and the running back initially steps to the strong side before working to the strong A-gap.

Watch No. 41 after the ball is snapped. He reads his keys and thinks duo is coming, so he steps downhill and attacks the strong side C-gap, where duo typically hits. But the play call goes to the other side of the formation.

By simply adding a counter step by the running back, Kelly was able to get the linebacker out of position and essentially have the backer block himself.

Building on the play above, the Buckeyes are in the same formation with the tight end lined up in the backfield as a fullback and the running back directly behind the quarterback for a pistol formation. Post-snap, the backfield action is the same where the running back initially steps to the strong side while the tight end’s first two steps are forward to help sell a zone run.

However, the center works to the strong side of the formation while the right guard pulls and the tight end eventually follows the guard as Ohio State runs windback counter. This could be a simple read for the linebacker but the backfield action makes No. 6 hesitate to help set up the tight end’s block.

Again, there’s nothing too fancy about this play call but subtle tweaks can make linebackers play a little slower, especially if they’re keying the backfield.