Josh McDaniels has been unpredictable play caller
Josh McDaniels has long been known as one of the better NFL offensive play callers — and just over a month, we will get to see his bag of tricks as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
One thing to expect is unpredictability when it comes to the Raiders’ offense. Of course, for many teams in the NFL, the fundamental play call on second down (in non unusual circumstances) is to run the ball. But don’t expect the Raiders to stand down from a pass play on second.
This recent below tweet by NFL analyst Warren Sharp shows the run rate on second down (in the first half of games) after an incomplete pass in 2021. McDaniels’ New England offense ran just a quarter of the time in those instances, which was tied for sixth fewest times.
2nd down run rate after an incompletion*
1. NYG – 70%
2. DET – 66%
3. TEN – 65%
4. WAS, MIN, CHI – 64%
7. DEN – 50%
8. DAL – 47%
9. PIT – 46%
10. ATL – 45%
—
27. GB, LAR, NE – 25%
28. SF – 24%
29. ARI – 22%
30. KC – 21%
31. CIN – 18%
32. TB – 11%*first half of games
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 13, 2022
It’s worth noting that Green Bay was also at 25 percent. Of course, new Raiders’ top wide receiver Davante Adams was part of that offense. So, these are two more reasons to expect the Raiders’ offense to be varied and unpredictable this year.
In other Raiders’ links:
- The Champ: The Athletic has a feature on new Raiders’ assistant general manager Champ Kelly.
- Remembering Cliff: The Athletic looks at the great Cliff Branch, who is entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
- Players to watch: USA Today has a list of players to play close attention to tonight when the Raiders play the Jaguars in the Hall of Fame game.