Let’s dig into the Eagles playbook and take a core Power Spread play.
Last week, I wrote about the offensive approach we may see out of the Packers this year. The short version is that I’m looking for more of a Power Spread approach, which calls for the dudes on the offensive line to move people, the wide receivers to spread out wide and run defenders off more than engage in intense blocking, and a QB who can run.
To be clear, this would mark a fairly significant shift from how the Packers have operated in the past but, given the pieces they have, it’s an approach that I think would make a lot of sense.
With that in mind, I’ve started looking around the league for offenses that run plays out of a similar structure. The idea is to find the plays out of those looks that I like, then see how they may work with the Packers personnel.
We’re starting off with a bang. If we’re talking spread, we might as well start with a full spread look, running a concept you’ll need to run if you want to maximize Power Spread. It’s a simple-yet-beautiful concept called GT Counter Bash.
The Eagles are running this out of 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) with an empty backfield. Kenneth Gainwell [14] is the RB, and he starts the play split wide on the right. He motions in pre-snap, dragging the defender with him to the left side of the formation.
At the snap, Jalen Hurts [1] fakes the handoff to Gainwell while his left guard (Landon Dickerson [69]) and left tackle (Fred Johnson [74]) pull to the right, away from the motion of Gainwell. (The Guard and Tackle pulling are what makes up the “GT” in “GT Counter Bash”).
Hurts fades slightly with the fake, takes a step back then run behinds Dickerson and Johnson.
The Eagles catch the Jaguars with a lot of men at the line, and all of those men playing the Gainwell motion. That leads to some advantageous blocking angles, and Hurts gallops (untouched) for a TD.
So how would this look with the 2025 Green Bay Packers? We’ll start with the line.
I know there are a couple of positions that haven’t been finalized yet so this may not be the starting line, but it’s what I’m going with with at the moment. We’ve got Rasheed Walker [63] at LT, Aaron Banks [65] at LG, Elgton Jenkins [74] at C, Anthony Belton [71] at RG and Zach Tom [50] at RT. Ideally, Jordan Morgan would win the LT job, but, for now, I’m going with Walker there.
At RB, I’m going with MarShawn Lloyd [32] for the same reason the Eagles went with Gainwell: he’s the most dynamic RB. We need an immediate reaction — a forced false step — up front, and putting a guy with the speed/explosiveness of Lloyd in that role is the best way to do that.
For the WRs, I’ve got Dontayvion Wicks [13], Matthew Golden [22] and Jayden Reed [11]. As you probably noticed in the clips, the receivers aren’t asked to do much besides run straight down the field and remove the defenders that way, so I want a couple dynamic receivers on the inside, and our best blocking WR on the perimeter, just to sell the fake.
At TE I’ve got Tucker Kraft [85]. If his only job is to run off the defender, you could put Luke Musgrave in that role and I would have no issue with it. But, since you’re running to that side and will likely be in need of downfield blocking, I’m putting Kraft there.
Running to the right with that line is one of the reasons I hope Morgan wins the LT job over Walker. Walker would be fine, but Morgan is a better mover than Walker, which would really help out here. If we really want to dream a bit, Belton winning LT and Morgan at RG would work nicely, because then you’ve got a good mover in Belton who could absolutely lay someone out in space.
Running to the left makes for a nicer look, just based on who we’d have as pullers.
With Belton penciled in at RG, that gives us a duo of Belton and Tom as pullers. Not a bad tandem to lead your QB around the edge and into space.
Albums listened to: Brother Bird – Another Year; Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math; Nilüfer Yanya – Dancing Shoes EP