A Creative Personnel Usage Could Save the 49ers’ Season
Kyle Shanahan's offensive innovation tends to give the 49ers an advantage.
A signature of Kyle Shanahan’s offensive philosophy has always been the use of creative offensive personnel groupings to dictate defensive personnel, which he can then exploit. The legacy-defining win vs the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5 featured a unique personnel grouping that could be just what the Niners need to fix their struggling offense.
The Niners were 2nd and goal-to-go from the one-yard line in the 2nd quarter. They came out in a 23-personnel grouping, which means there were two running backs in the backfield (Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk) and three tight ends all tight to the line (Luke Ferrell, Jake Tonges, Brayden Willis). After the initial set, Mac Jones motioned to shotgun with CMC and Tonges out to the left, Willis out right, and Juice in the backfield. The resulting play was an easy touchdown pass to CMC on the left side.
The use of heavy personnel by Shanahan forced the Rams to respond with their heavy defensive personnel to stop a potential run, meaning there were no lighter, faster defenders on the field. Motioning out of the initial look gets CMC matched up with a bigger, slower linebacker in man coverage, which is a win for CMC every time. It’s a classic example of Kyle Shanahan using his scheme and player versatility to make his offense nearly impossible to stop.
Per SumerSports, the 49ers ran 23-personnel five times this season, and are just one of 10 teams to utilize it at all. When it comes to utilizing two TEs, San Francisco ranks just 27th in 12-personnel, but 4th in in 22-personnel. However, they and Miami (with Kyle Shanahan protege Mike McDaniel) rank 1st and 2nd in 21-personnel by a longshot. The semantics of Kyle Juszczyk technically being a running back causes the shift, but in reality he still has the same role as a second TE.
Going forward, the Niners should utilize heavy personnel much more often to help this struggling offense. The return of future hall-of-famer George Kittle and the emergence of Jake Tonges as a pass-catcher should alleviate some of the strain. Pairing that with dual-threat backs Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk means this grouping boasts legitimate running and passing threats.
A personnel group is considered “heavy” if it features more tight ends and running backs than wide receivers . In the Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Shanahan used heavy personnel 12 times. The 49ers were able to use this to impose their will on the Falcons and create big running lanes as the game went on. In the second half alone Shanahan went heavy for about 25% of all offensive snaps.
If defenses continue to try to counter with heavy, run-stopping personnel, Shanahan can continue to use motion to utilize the versatility of his offensive players and exploit favorable passing matchups. If defenses try to counter by bringing in smaller, faster defenders to stop the motions and passes, Shanahan can simply stay in the initial look and run all over them. It truly puts the opposing defenses in a “pick your poison” situation where they’re likely to choose wrong.
Creative use of heavy personnel could help keep the Niners’ season and playoff aspirations alive. It’s worth noting that Shanahan did also frequently employ heavy personnel to great effect in the week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Playing a more physical brand of football and controlling the clock would be complimentary to a banged-up defense. That kind of team identity can make a big difference late in the season and, hopefully, the postseason.
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