Commanders Scheme Breakdown: The Drive Concept
Breaking down the Drive concept and how Eric Bieniemy could look to use it in Washington.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been breaking down some of the basics of the Washington Commanders’ defensive scheme. I’ve looked at their quarters and Tampa 2 coverage schemes and broken down some of their simulated pressures and fire zones. This week, I thought I’d move over to the offensive side of the ball and break down some of the core concepts you can expect to see under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
Bieniemy comes from the Andy Reid coaching tree, which bases their offense on the west coast system but with their own unique version of it. One of the core passing concepts of the west coast offense and really of just about any modern passing attack is the Drive concept. Drive, traditionally known as Flanker Drive, is a concept based around two receivers running crossing routes at different depths. The receiver tagged with the Drive concept runs a shallow cross while a second receiver, typically a tight end, runs a basic cross at a depth of 10-12 yards.
Here’s a basic example of the Drive concept from the 2021 Chiefs. In 2021, the Chiefs had Tyreek Hill, one of the fastest receivers in the NFL, so it made a lot of sense to have him as the primary option on the Drive concept. We can see on this play he starts aligned in a trips set to the right but motions across the formation to the left in order to join tight end Travis Kelce on that side. After the motion, the ball is snapped and Hill takes off on his shallow cross while Kelce works vertically before breaking across the middle on his basic cross.
The reason this concept is a staple of west coast offenses is because it has answers against multiple types of coverages. If the defense plays man coverage, then good luck to whatever cornerback has the horrific task of trying to run with Tyreek Hill on a shallow cross. If the defense drops into zone, then Hill and Kelce combine to give the quarterback a high-low read. Hill can become some significant bait to underneath zone defenders that are worried about his speed, so will step up to try and stick to his crossing route, opening space behind them for Kelce. Alternatively, they can sink back under Kelce’s route to try and take him away, but that leaves Hill open underneath for some potential big gains after the catch.
On this occasion, the Bills blew their coverage. The Mike linebacker attaches to the running back out of the backfield, leaving a big hole in the middle of the field, but no defender attaches to Hill, leaving him running wide open on his shallow cross. Patrick Mahomes gladly accepts the gift offered to him and Hill is off to the races after the catch.
For the Commanders, it’s easy to imagine any one of Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson or Curtis Samuel being similarly successful on that play, but it’s not just a play for wide receivers. In 2022, the Chiefs lost Tyreek Hill and relied more on multiple tight end sets. Even so, the Drive concept was still prevalent in the offense.
This time, the Chiefs are in a 13 personnel set, meaning they have one running back, three tight ends and just one wide receiver on the field. All three tight ends align in a bunch set tight to the left of the formation. With no Tyreek Hill to run the shallow cross, the Chiefs opt to use Kelce instead. He aligns on the outside of the bunch set and runs the shallow cross while fellow tight end Jody Fortson runs the basic cross.
The Chargers attempt to play man coverage with a hole player underneath. The hole player doesn’t do a great job of feeling Kelce’s route pass behind him, which leaves the cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. completely out-leveraged. Kelce runs away from Samuel and is an easy target for Mahomes. Once he makes the catch, Kelce then shows off his insane ability after the catch, turning a simple shallow cross into a 30-yard touchdown.
The Commanders like their tight end talent with the likes of Logan Thomas, Cole Turner and even Curtis Hodges all offering some athletic upside as receivers, so it’s not inconceivable to suggest we could see a very similar look with those three tight ends on the field this year, but don’t expect them to have the same ability after the catch that Kelce does.
While that shallow crossing route is the primary option on the Drive concept, it’s not always available. Certain coverages will take away that option and force the quarterback to look to the next read. The beauty of this concept is that most coverages that will match the shallow cross will also end up leaving the basic cross open behind it.
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