Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins had the best statistical output of his career to date in the loss to the Eagles on Sunday. He completed 19 of 28 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns and looked confident throughout.
Credit the play calling. Offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell called more passing plays on first down, which was a change from the run-heavy scheme Bill Callahan has favored since he took over as interim coach.
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O’Connell, a former quarterback, has a different philosophy from Callahan with regards to running an offense. While Callahan believes in running the ball to alleviate the pressure on the quarterback, O’Connell would prefer to run quick game concepts early to get the quarterback comfortable and into a rhythm, as he described to The Athletic’s Ben Standig earlier in the season.
“That’s a huge thing for me. Trying to get these quarterbacks comfortable early in the game,” O’Connell said. “Getting those guys in a rhythm is very important in this league even for a Hall of Fame quarterbacks. I’ve talked to guys that call plays for them and they say, ‘Rhythm and comfort, and trust that (A) We’ll protect him, (B) get him into a rhythm and (C) We’ll give him opportunities to make plays in the game without it all being on his plate.”
With that in mind, the Redskins offense that we saw on Sunday was closer to what a Kevin O’Connell offense might look like if he were to be hired as Washington’s coach. While Callahan’s influence was still clear to see, O’Connell appeared to have more freedom to call passing plays and get Haskins into a rhythm early on. That was evident even on the opening drive.
On the first play of the game, the Redskins ran one of their most basic quick game concepts, which they call “Lion Y Flat”. Lion is an all-slant concept with four receivers running slant patterns, while the “Y Flat” tag sends the tight end to the flat. This gives the quarterback a double slant concept to his left and a slant-flat concept to his right. As I understand it, the read for the quarterback would be to work to the double slant side against two deep safeties or the slant-flat side against a single deep safety. However, the Eagles show a single deep safety and Haskins works to the double slant side. He’s taught to read inside out, but as Steven Sims breaks inside from the slot, the Eagles have a linebacker sink back into the throwing lane. So, Haskins opts to hit Terry McLaurin behind him, throwing into a very tight window but completing the pass for nine yards. The Redskins came back to the same play in the third quarter after Haskins had gone a while without completing a pass. Haskins makes the same read against the same coverage and hits McLaurin again, this time for 11 yards, suggesting the Redskins perhaps teach the read the other way around.
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Each time the Redskins ran that play, Haskins was quick and efficient, getting to the top of his drop and quickly getting the ball out to his intended target with accuracy. Those types of plays get the quarterback into a rhythm, as O’Connell explained, and also are the foundation of what the west coast offense was built upon, a short passing game as an extension of the run game. O’Connell continued calling some of those west coast offense concepts early on.
Here, the Redskins run their Hank concept, which is fundamental for the west coast offense. The play is basic, with two curl-flat combinations either side of the formation and a receiver spotting up over the middle in between. The primary on Hank is always the spot up over the middle. However, the Eagles send a simulated pressure, rushing four but disguising which four they send. They end up sending extra rushers off both edges while dropping the defensive tackles. Haskins has the line slide to the left to pick up safety Malcolm Jenkins, which works, but that leaves an unblocked defender off the right side. Haskins is responsible for that defender after the protection change and he accounts for him well. He spots him coming and abandons the read, instead, working to his hot route, which is Adrian Peterson working out to the flat. He hits Peterson, who turns up the field and picks up 10 yards and a first down.
When the Redskins got into a two-minute drill at the end of the first half, we saw O’Connell begin the drive with another classic west coast offense staple.
This concept is widely known as “Omaha” among various versions of the west coast offenses. It’s another three-step drop that asks the quarterback to get the ball out quickly. The two receivers on the outside run speed outs while the inside receivers, in this case, tight ends, run stick routes. The quarterback can pick a side based on matchups and then work outside in. He looks to McLaurin’s side, but the corner is in position to undercut the throw, so Haskins quickly progresses inside to tight end Jeremy Sprinkle, who he hits for a six-yard gain.
The traditional west coast offense plays were effective in getting Haskins into a rhythm by giving him simple reads and getting the ball out efficiently. While that is part of what O’Connell wants to do on offense, he likely has more passing concepts he’d like to get to. As he told Standig: “We know we’re not going to get 80 plays in the game with the style that we’re playing. I know I’m not going to get half this call sheet called, so I have to be very calculated with when we take shots, when we throw the ball, when we try to move the pocket. I understand that I also need to get the quarterback in a rhythm while also being a predominantly run-based system right now.”
When O’Connell did dial up shots, the schemes have been effective and the influence of his time with the Patriots is clear.
On this play, the Redskins align in a trips left formation with McLaurin tight to the formation on the back side. To the left, they have Kelvin Harmon run a deep post while Sims runs a wheel route behind it. Running back Chris Thompson motions out behind the quarterback and swings out to the flat behind the post-wheel combination. This gives the quarterback a check-down option and occupies a flat defender’s attention, preventing him from sinking back with the wheel route. What makes this play resemble a Patriots scheme is how the progression for the quarterback is built. Haskins works the post-wheel concept first, which is a vertical concept. He takes his drop and allows the vertical routes to develop, with Harmon taking the corner inside and opening space for Sims on the wheel route. He delivers a nice throw and Sims makes a good catch to pick up 19 yards. However, had the throw to Sims not been available, the progression would have felt natural for the quarterback. McLaurin runs a shallow cross from the other side of the field, breaking underneath a hook from Sprinkle. This would allow Haskins to wait for the vertical concept to develop while the horizontal concept, McLaurin’s shallow cross, comes into his vision underneath. It would be very natural for Haskins’ eyes to work the post to the wheel to the shallow cross and then back to the hook.
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Even on plays where the Redskins aren’t necessarily looking to take shots down the field, there are examples of O’Connell calling a play with a background more from the Patriots than from Jay Gruden’s or Callahan’s system. O’Connell has stated how he is “systematically trying to attack coverages you know you’re going to see” on particular downs and distances. Something the Patriots often do is empty the backfield, aligning all five eligible receivers out wide and spreading out the defense. This allows the offense to manipulate matchups by formation and alignment.
This is a slight twist on one of the Patriots’ favorite concepts, Hoss Y Juke, a concept they ran three times in a row against the Rams in the Super Bowl last year. Hoss stands for hitches outside, slot seams. This variation has the slot seams turn into corner routes, making it more of a smash (corner-hitch) concept, which is a traditional cover-two beater. Whenever the offense empties the backfield, the player to watch is always the number three receiver, meaning the inside receiver to the trips side. He often gets matched up against a linebacker or a safety, which is hugely advantageous. In this case, the Redskins align Sims in that spot and he works against a safety. He initially sells a route over the middle before suddenly breaking up the field. That break causes the defender to fall over, leaving Sims open as he breaks back across the middle. Unfortunately, Haskins was unable to find him after feeling pressure, but the concept was fundamentally sound.
O’Connell isn’t just tied to the Patriots schemes or Gruden’s schemes. He’s studying what’s working around the league and adding a twist to it.
There are two trends around the NFL with running back routes over the past few years. The first is a four verticals concept, but instead of a receiver running up the seam, the slot receiver runs a jet sweep fake and is replaced with the running back up the seam. The second is the sail concept, which is a three-level flood where an outside receiver runs a deep post, a second receiver runs a corner and a third receiver works into the flat. Typically, it’s a tight end or slot receiver running the corner route. Still, recently, coaches like San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan have adapted the concept to have the running back leak out of the backfield and go unnoticed as he runs the sail route. O’Connell put his spin on this. Against the Panthers, he combined the two. He sent Sims on a jet sweep fake and had Chris Thompson run up the seam, selling the four verticals concept. But then, Thompson broke outside on a corner route, turning it into the sail concept, which Haskins hit for a big gain.
While Callahan’s run-heavy philosophy still dominates the Redskins offense, O’Connell has shown a few glimpses of what his offense might look like should he be given full control. For the rest of this season, he’ll likely be stuck calling Callahan’s version of Gruden’s system, with a few of his ideas thrown in here and there. But his philosophy is clear, using the quick game to get the quarterback settled before exploiting match-ups by formation and alignment. It’s a mix of the west coast offense and Gruden’s influence along with some of the influence from his time with Tom Brady and the Patriots. While O’Connell might lack experience, it’s a system that could suit Haskins and that could give O’Connell an advantage when the Redskins look to hire their next head coach.
(Photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
