Let’s talk for a second about Cheat motion, because…I dunno. It’s Wednesday?
I wrote about it a little this week over at Packer Report for a specific play, but I thought it was worth diving into a the Packers overall usage this week, because I made a cut-up.
First things first: “Cheat” is the name Kyle Shanahan revealed for this motion, so that’s what we’re using, because my only other name at the moment is “short-motion,” but that's pretty generic and not as cool.
Cheat is the same-side quick-motion look that the Dolphins have popularized this year. Shanahan calls it “cheat” because he said that it feels like cheating. There’s an air of CFL about it: a way to get a WR up to speed pre-snap without having him run directly at the line. It’s a fun idea for many reasons: not only does it allow your receiver to get a bit of a head start, but it can also mess with the defensive rules and checks. Defenses have gotten so good at making checks on jet motion across the formation, as there’s a decent amount of time between the time the motion starts and the time he gets to a point in the formation where the ball is snapped.
Make no mistake: jet motion can still be effective, but defenses have made adjustments to how they operate and they’re better able to deal with it. Cheat throws a wrench into that by making it a quick, same-side motion. It gives defenses less time to check into their adjustment.
The Packers have been using the Cheat motion all year, but I feel like they had dialed it back a bit after the bye. (This is my first week charting Cheat motion so I don’t have those numbers in front of me to confirm that. This feels like an offseason project.) It seems like they’re ramping it back up, starting this week.
They used Cheat motion 8 times against the Rams, averaging 9.5 YPA.
They ran the ball once, gaining 5 yards from a tough AJ Dillon run off an Inside, Split Zone look.
They dropped back to pass 7 times. Jordan Love was sacked once for a loss of 2, but those other 6 pass plays? Love was 5/6 for 85 yards (14.2 YPA).
A nice day, overall. Cheat motion can be tough for a team that is struggling with some of the finer points of the offense, as it requires precise timing. The Packers have not been the cleanest team from an execution standpoint this year, which is likely why they dialed back usage. If they’re able to clean up the operation and get these results on a consistent basis? The rest of this season could be fun.