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Kliff Kingsbury Surprised Commanders With 1 Big Change

   

In a season full of surprises for the Washington Commanders, one of the biggest was how effective offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was in his return to the NFL. The former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals repaired a damaged reputation and is now considered to belong among the league’s best play-callers thanks to one big change.

Kingsbury earned praise from Pro Football Network’s Brandon Austin for how he ditched “years of predictable designs” and “adapted his up-tempo philosophy in Washington.” In the process, Kingsbury “tailored the system to maximize the electric talent of Offensive Rookie of the Year, quarterback Jayden Daniels.”

Finding ways to enjoy instant success with a rookie quarterback was a credit to Kingsbury’s pragmatic but imaginative coaching. It’s also a tribute to the 45-year-old’s “evolution as a play-caller.”

Kingsbury deserves the plaudits, but he faces a difficult balancing act producing a worthy follow-up to 2024’s success. Daniels’ progression will depend on Kingsbury simultaneously continuing to play to the strengths of his quarterback, while also taking the training wheels off and avoiding becoming predictable now defenses have a full year of film on Daniels.

This two-fold task is similar to what Kingsbury had to undertake the last time he was in charge of developing a gifted, young QB in the pros. Unfortunately for the Commanders, that didn’t go so well.

Kliff Kingsbury Changed Narrative for Himself, Commanders

There were more than a few doubters when the Commanders hired Kingsbury and tasked him with making 2024 NFL draft No. 2 pick Daniels pro-ready. Many saw how Kyler Murray chafed under Kingsbury’s guidance in Arizona.

 

The fiery relationship between coach and player, highlighted here in this shot from 2022, captioned by B/R Gridiron, was just one part of the problem.

Kingsbury was also often accused of calling a predictable, elementary game. Specifically, Fantasy Life’s Ian Hartitz identified several repeatable trends that made the Kingsbury attack easy to decipher.

Among them, was how go-to wide receiver Terry McLaurin “lined up as the Commanders’ left outside WR on 28 of his 29 preseason snaps.”

 

Hartitz recounted how a stationary No. 1 receiver was “commonplace” when Kingsbury deployed DeAndre Hopkins for the Cardinals. The same issue was playing out with McLaurin early last season, but Washington’s OC eventually found more ways to use his best wideout.

It was a notable example of Kingsbury adjusting to his talent, but he made other strategically beneficial concessions. Including reacting to the Commanders ranking “dead last in shift/motion rate (10.6%) and 31st in play-action rate (15.6%) – two metrics that (again) Kingsbury ranked lowly in (32nd and 16th) during his time leading the Cardinals,” during his first preseason with the call-sheet, per Hartitz.

It didn’t take long for motion and misdirection to become staples of the offense once the regular season got underway. Those things helped Daniels get rid of the ball quickly on easy throws underneath to receivers cleverly moved into space.

A fine example was this throwback screen against the New York Giants in Week 2, broken down by film analyst Mark Bullock.

Kingsbury can continue making Daniels’ job easier in Year 2, thanks to the arrival of some more versatile playmakers.

Commanders Can Avoid Kliff Kingsbury Slump

Murray struggled to maintain an upward surge on Kingsbury’s watch, but the Commanders needn’t worry about Daniels experiencing a similar slump. Not after general manager Adam Peters made a trade to equip the OC with All-Pro Deebo Samuel.

The dual-threat receiver and runner can turn short passes into long gains from anywhere on the field within Kingsbury’s system. So can this year’s fourth-round pick Jaylin Lane, an after-catch demon who is already being touted for a breakout debut campaign.

Lane, Samuel and a natural separator should all benefit from a concept Kingsbury has made a staple of the Daniels-led passing game. It’s the “mesh” design used in a crunch moment during the memorable playoff victory over the Detroit Lions on the road, per Coach Dan Casey.

As author Bobby Peters revealed, Kingsbury had “called Mesh 28 times in 2024.” More variations of the mesh, along with extra moving parts, will ensure Kingsbury and the Commanders are anything but “predictable” during Daniels’ second season.

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