Why is Dez never in motion?

[Irving Cowboy]

The most common reason to put a WR in motion is to create mismatches. A QB usually has a pretty good idea about whether a defense is in man or zone by the time he comes to the line, so creating motion for the sole purpose of detecting the defensive stance is secondary. Sometimes a QB like Manning or Brees can see that putting his WR in motion will cause him to be covered by a LB or a SS, which of course will make his eyes light up. (How many times did you see Jerry Rice end up being covered by a safety? More than a few. His torching of Bill Bates in 1995 after going in motion stands out to me). So anyone who thinks that WR motion is some sort of super-secret decoder ring for the defense they are facing doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

 

[Hostile]

The most common reason to put a WR in motion is to create mismatches. A QB usually has a pretty good idea about whether a defense is in man or zone by the time he comes to the line, so creating motion for the sole purpose of detecting the defensive stance is secondary. Sometimes a QB like Manning or Brees can see that putting his WR in motion will cause him to be covered by a LB or a SS, which of course will make his eyes light up. (How many times did you see Jerry Rice end up being covered by a safety? More than a few. His torching of Bill Bates in 1995 after going in motion stands out to me). So anyone who thinks that WR motion is some sort of super-secret decoder ring for the defense they are facing doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

I don't normally reply to you, but since you actually posted something semi intelligent in response to a topic I am involved in mixed in with your usual veiled insults, I am going to. Rice in motion, Bates ends up covering. What is your immediate analysis of the Defense we were in?

If you said Zone, you win a cookie.

If we had been in Man Coverage what is your immediate analysis of what would have happened? If you said the CB assigned to cover Rice man to man would have followed him in motion, two cookies.

The idea that the motion does not light up the QBs eyes is ridiculous. Would I like to see Dez on a LB or a S? Sure. In that sense there is an advantage for the Receiver to go in motion. But said advantage is absolutely predicated upon what I already described of the Defense being in Zone and not Man Coverage. Having Deion Sanders go with Rice would have negated his advantage of S or LB on him. We were therefore not in Man Coverage.

Now, to everyone else who is wondering about this presumed advantage, ask yourselves this. If a man in motion is an advantage to the Offense, why isn't there a man in motion on every single play, for every single team? Do you really think teams would not want this advantage every single time? That's kind of silly isn't it?

In the CFL or Arena Leagues where a man can be moving forward, there is a huge advantage, and you probably do see it on every single play. Not in the NFL. And there is nothing in the way of statistics produced when I asked for them that suggests the man in motion becomes a more lethal target for the QB. Why wouldn't there be something suggesting this if it so obviously is?

I suppose technically there is an advantage to the man in motion even if the coverage is Man. Otherwise the NFL would not limit motion to only one man. Sending someone in Motion is designed to mix things up, give the QB a read, and if the other team is in Zone it possibly can be attacked. This of course presumes the Zone does not provide a double coverage doesn't it? Of course it does. Two men covering someone is still less likely a target than man coverage even if the 2 men are a LB and a S.

Last thing, when in doubt Google it. Ask Google why teams send someone in motion. Just for kicks, this is what Wikipedia has, and yes I know how reliable they are or aren't in people's minds.

***
In all forms of football, only players in the backfield and not on the line of scrimmage may be in motion at the time of the snap. Prior to starting the motion, all players on the offensive side must be in a set formation for a minimum of one second.

In most versions of American football, only one player may be in motion at one time, and the player must not move toward the line of scrimmage in his motion (in other words, he can only move laterally or backward). In no situation may the moving player begin on the line of scrimmage when he moves (in other words, offensive linemen are prohibited from motion prior to the snap). Any player who shifts from a lineman position to a back position must set in position at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage before going into motion.

***

First the obvious error is that a player on the LOS can go in motion once he backs up, and someone else covers the Tackle. Always 7 on the LOS. But it is correct in saying he can not leave the LOS and go in motion and the Tackle gets covered while he is in motion. Why not? Because then that is 2 men in motion and that is illegal procedure.

Nowhere did it say teams send a man in motion to create a mismatch advantage.

 

[btcutter]

This has been both educational and entertaining for myself. What started as a question became a discussion about offensive schemes.
It does appears to me that we actually all agree that putting Dez in motion some of the time does give both him and the offense a different look and can potentially exploit mismatches (zone, picks, D confusion). Like every scheme and play, overuse of it loses it's effectiveness. Furthermore, some route combinations do not function well with motion.

IMHO, there's no downside for putting Dez in motion occasionally.

I did a few google search about motion:

"CREATING SPACE
To beat press coverage, you have to create space between your receiver and the defender. Space gives your receivers an opportunity to make a move and put additional space between themselves and the defender before the press contact can be made.
You do this by alignment, making sure your primary threat receivers are off the line of scrimmage by putting him in a flanker, slot or wing position.
The most effective way to put space between your receivers and press coverage is to then put your biggest threat receiver in motion. The motion creates additional space and if you motion under another receiver or even across the formation, the defenders often have to switch man assignments, creating havoc and creating space for your other receivers as the defense realigns."

"Any offensive player lined up off the line of scrimmage can be put in motion. This can help offense create better matchups. The reason to use motion can include:

• Helping identify pass coverage prior to the snap. If no one runs with motion, usually it is zone coverage. If someone runs with motion, usually it is man-to-man pass coverage. (I agree with Hos here completely)
• Positioning best receivers on the same side of the formation by bringing the flanker over to a slot position prior to the snap.
• Changing the strength of the formation by moving the tight end from one side of the ball to the other for blocking on running play.
• Creating blocking angles by positioning a wide receiver adjacent to the offensive tackle or tight end.
• Creating coverage problems by moving a good receiving running back outside of the formation prior to the snap.
• Positioning a fullback in better position to block an outside linebacker or safety.

- See more at: http://usafootball.com/news/coaches/let%E2%80%99s-talk-football-use-motion-can-help-offenses-create-better-situations#sthash.joAE6Min.dpuf"

 

[junk]

Although motion can help identify coverages, it can also help create more favorable match ups and can help beat press coverage. Sometimes motion can cause just enough split second confusion on the defense to give an advantage. You could use it to flood zone coverage. You could use it to create different looks/disguise tendencies. You could use it to force defenses into different coverages.

Here's a couple of good links:
http://strongfootballcoach.com/offe...ss-coverage-football-bunch-formations-motion/

http://smartfootball.com/passing/attacking-coverages-in-the-passing-game

Back to the original post, why doesn't Dallas do it more? No idea. Teams usually try to move good receivers around to get good matchups (see the link below on how the Lions do it with Calvin). I think posters in this thread may have hit on one reason (limiting what Dez has to think about). However, in general, I'd say Garrett and Callahan aren't very creative. They don't seem to do a good job of designing special plays/packages that adapt to the strengths of the players.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...detroit-lions-keep-opposing-defenses-guessing