By now, I’m sure you’ve heard Matt LaFleur use the term “illusion of complexity” on a few occasions. Essentially what this means is that he wants different plays to start out looking similar and also to be able to run the same play but from a variety of personnel.
There are various ways to go about achieving this, but one important aspect of it is what takes place pre-snap.
With LaFleur at the helm, the Green Bay Packers have gone from one of the teams that utilizes pre-snap motion the least to now one of the most in football. This requires a versatile player who can line up all over the formation and be moved around. As well as someone with some speed and elusiveness to keep defenses on their toes.
By having someone motion from the backfield to the slot, or the slot to out wide, or any combination that you can think of, you’re trying to create mismatches but also confuse the defense. Moving players around as the play clock winds down could change defensive responsibilities and force the defense to make adjustments on the fly, which can oftentimes lead to mistakes.
When sending someone in motion along the line of scrimmage as the ball is about to be snapped, it forces the defense to pause for a split second or two. Who has the ball? The quarterback or the motion man? This can open up passing lanes for Aaron Rodgers or allow the offensive line to get into a better blocking position in the run game. Even if the motion man doesn't touch the ball, his presence on the field is felt with the attention that he draws.
In addition to what takes place pre-snap, having someone who can be effective on wide receiver screens as well as in space with the ball in their hands on quick passes is an important aspect of this offense as well.
All of this, among many other things, helps create that illusion of complexity that LaFleur is striving for. And because of that, it makes having that gadget receiver a key player within the offense. But at the moment, that is a player that the Green Bay Packers don't have on the roster.
At the end of the 2019 season, this role was filled by Tyler Ervin, who displayed a lot of promise in this role. In fact, so much so that Green Bay re-signed him for 2020. Unfortunately, he battled injuries for much of last season and was never able to truly get going or be used to his full effectiveness. As a result, the Packers brought in free agent Tavon Austin who was tasked with similar responsibilities, but as a new player joining a team late in the season, he was limited.
With LaFleur's flexibility as a play-caller, he has shown that in order to be successful on offense, he doesn't absolutely need this gadget-type player. In Ervin's absence, we saw Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, as well as Aaron Jones, all assume these responsibilities, and none of them falls into the gadget category.
With that said, having that skill-set in this offense certainly helps, and I imagine finding someone of that ilk is on LaFleur's offseason to-do list.
The draft rather than free agency is how I imagine that the Green Bay Packers will go about addressing this need, and fortunately for them, there are several prospects in this year's class that fit the build and are real threats in the passing game--some of which include Kadarius Toney from Florida, Rondale Moore from Purdue, Dyami Brown from UNC, and Demetric Felton from UCLA to name just a few.
That do-it-all type of receiver who can be moved around, make plays with the ball in their hands, and attract the attention of defenses with their elusiveness even before the ball is snapped is an element that this offense didn't really have last season--and think of how good they still were.
As I mentioned, having someone of this exact skill-set isn't a requirement for success, but as the Green Bay Packers' offense looks to take another step forward in 2021, this type of player will absolutely help as they are tailor-made for the LaFleur system and the illusion of complexity.
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April 09, 2021 at 06:02PM
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The Packers are Still Without their Gadget-type WR - Cheesehead TV
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