Coaches on both sides of the ball are always trying to find an edge. That can take many different forms, from the offense putting someone in motion to the defense spinning safeties post-snap.
And sometimes - if we’re very lucky - it can take the form of a quarterback going in motion. Off the top of my head, I can only remember a couple instances: the Rams did it with Kurt Warner and the Chiefs recently did it with Patrick Mahomes. It’s what that does to the defense beyond the play itself that can leave a lasting impact.
Mahomes starts in shotgun, then walks slowly to the right, barking out orders. It looks like he’s changing the play, or at least letting everyone know what to expect.
Look at the two linebackers in the middle of the field. As Mahomes is making his checks at the lines, they’re making checks on defense. In addition to making the checks, they let their guard down. The NT relaxes and goes back on one knee. “We have a couple seconds to sit back, make our checks and relax before they reset and are ready to go.”
But instead of a slow reset to shotgun, Mahomes sprints back to his left and the ball is snapped. A small moment of tranquility for the defense is suddenly shattered by the sudden violence of the snap. The defense is reacting, and they’re reacting to the initial movement of the play: a QB keeper on a jet sweep around the left side.
The two linebackers - shocked out of their quiet moment - crash the jet sweep side, looking to take away the angles. Although, at this moment, they’re not really thinking about the angles: all they’re thinking about is the movement in front of them.
With the defense reacting to the jet sweep, Mahomes circles back the other way and whips a pass to Demarcus Robinson in the middle of the field. (By the way, Robinson does a good job of faking a block on the edge before releasing to the middle of the field.)
Not only did this take advantage of the defense on this play, but it gave the Panthers - and future teams - something to think about when Mahomes leaves his spot to make checks at the line. When the offense makes a check at the line, it allows the defense to do the same thing. After this? It doesn’t give the defense time to relax and make their own checks. It can force them to stay relatively static, knowing that a check on their part may be disrupted by the quarterback suddenly sprinting back to the middle to take the snap.
Mahomes isn’t going to motion every time he makes a check. In fact, it’s much more likely that he’ll go about his normal routine. But seeing something like this can give defenses just enough pause for the offense to gain a small edge, and sometimes that’s all it takes.