This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/practicalist on 2024-09-21 12:04:08+00:00.
While it is still early, here are some stats on the use of motion by NFL offenses. Some teams like Miami were early adopters of offenses that were primarily motion offense, but now the rest of the league is shifting as well.
Full article & team offense charts for pass/run motion/non-motion splits:
Team Offense Motion % 2023 vs 2024 by Team
Teams that have increased their motion % by 19% points or more in 2024:
- Saints 44% to 75%
- Eagles 35% to 65%
- Packers 66% to 88%
- Seahawks 53% to 73%
- Raiders 58% to 79%
- Bucs 49% to 69%
- Bills 60% to 79%
The Panthers are +18% points, the Cardinals are +17% points, and the Lions +16% points.
The list of teams that have decreased the amount of motion in 2024 is a short one(and quite frankly the decrease in the Colts, Broncos, & Browns could be situational so far):
- Bears 64% to 46%
- Colts 53% to 45%
- Broncos 43% to 37%
- Browns 48% to 44%
The average motion % across the NFL has increased from 57% in 2023 to 65% in 2024, a rise of 8% points
Team Offense EPA Overall, Motion, No Motion
Teams Benefitting From Motion
New Orleans is killing it in every offensive metric(Arizona is also humming along in both), but we can see teams that are having much more success with motion in the offense than without motion:
- Buffalo EPA 22.96 (motion) -4.42 (no motion)
- Tampa Bay EPA13.5 (motion) -4.85 (no motion)
- Philadelphia EPA 5.58 (motion) -1.32 (no motion)
Teams Benefitting From No Motion
- Seattle EPA -16.56 (motion) 10.26 (no motion)
- Baltimore EPA -13.08 (motion) 11.06 (no motion)
- San Francisco EPA -7.7 (motion) 9.07 (no motion)
- Detroit EPA -5.95 (motion) 8.83 (no motion)
- Houston EPA -3.72 (motion) 3.72 (no motion)
Note the Packers EPA/Rush with No Motion. It is an amazing 1.38/play! That is because the Packers have run 3 run plays without motion on which they gained 53 yards. Miami has run only 2 running plays without motion in 2024 so far.
Veteran QB vs Young QB
Let’s look at teams that have switched to a rookie, or use a 2nd year QB, and any that switched away from a young QB to a veteran. There seems to be at least some trend between the experience of the QB and the efficient use of a motion offense. Could it be that understanding and running an NFL motion offense requires experience at the NFL level as quarterback first?
Young QBs
- Chicago rookie C. Willams. Chicago decreased motion % by 18%, largest decrease of any team.
- Washington rookie J. Daniels. Washington is one of the few teams using less motion than 2023, but down only to 48% from 50%.
- Indianapolis A. Richardson(2nd year but only 6 games). The Colts have decreased motion 8% points.
- Denver rookie Bo Nix. The Broncos have decreased motion by 6% points.
- Tennessee 2nd year QB W. Levis saw an a significant increase in motion usage, up 11% points from 2023. Unfortunately he has not played well with the increased motion.
- Carolina B. Young faced a 17% point increase in motion usage and played his worst football.
- Stroud is using more motion this year(+11% points), but he didn’t look or play like a rookie last year so let’s just say he has the goods.
Veteran QBs
- The Jets moved to Rodgers from Wilson and motion usage increased 11% points.
- The Falcons picked up Cousins and motion usage is up 5% points.
- The Raiders turn to G. Minshew and motion usage is up 20% points from last year.
- Here is the list of QBs seeing the most increase in motion usage 2023 to 2024: Murray, Allen, Young, Love/Willis, Mahomes, Minshew, Carr, Hurts, G. Smith, Mayfield. Love/Willis let’s just throw out because of the injury. Young imploded with the increase in motion. Every other quarterback on this list is a veteran, not a young quarterback.
Oh To Be Young Again
One last nugget, the Carolina Panthers offense, when using motion, may be the one of the worst offenses in the history of the NFL(I might be able to remove the when in motion caveat).
- Using motion, the Panthers average -0.8 EPA per play. Second worse is Denver at -0.5. So Carolina is 60% worse than the next worse team. That’s a lot of worse(s) in one sentence, but hang on, it gets well…
- Using motion, the average EPA for a Panthers pass play is -1.04. Next worse, Denver -0.65. So Carolina is 60% worse than the next worse team again.
- Here is the saving grace. Using motion Carolina’s average EPA for a run play is -0.41, which isn’t the worst, it’s second worst. Las Vegas is at -0.68 EPA per run play. Denver sits right above the Panthers at -0.32 EPA per rush.
- Carolina’s EPA when not using motion is -0.10. The split is -0.18 per pass and, wait for it, +0.02 per rush. So a run play with no motion makes the Panthers an average offensive team. Otherwise…
Enjoy the games tomorrow!