Maybe this is what Gailey is thinking.

[Tipster19]

There has been a strategic shift in the NFL. In 2009 it is believed that for the first time in history, more passes were thrown from the shotgun (55.7%) than from under center. Last year the Eagles used the shotgun formation on 54% of their offensive plays. Eagles' OC Marty Mornhinweg states that the game has been trending this way for a long time.

 

Drew Brees, who set a league record in 2009 with a 70.6% completion rate, fell to the 2nd rd in the 2001 draft because he was viewed as a shotgun QB. Last year Sam Bradford was drafted #1 overall but he only ended up throwing just ONE pass from under center! Teams aren't passing more frequently, they are just throwing differently. From 2006 to 2009, the use of passes thrown from the shotgun formation has jumped a whopping 24%!

 

The typical shotgun setup reduces a pass drop by 2 steps. A 7 step drop becomes a 5 step drop. The formation is less about time and more about field vision, space and a QB's comfort. Allowing a QB to stand upright in the backfield for several presnap seconds gives a QB a better view to make increasingly harder reads. No matter how sophisticated defenses get they can't overcome the fact that a ball travels faster than man. By getting the ball snapped versus carrying it to the back of the pocket, a QB will have more time to get the ball out of his hands before an unblocked pass-rusher can get to him.

 

In the end it's not just having a mobile QB that will make a team better, or in some cases worse, it's the fact that throwing from the shotgun simplifies the game for the QB. Add in offensive line injuries and/or lack of ability and one can understand the change of philosophy for OCs. Present day you have to be really good in the passing game to win, with the way defenses attack more and the amount of points that are needed to win, it's going to lead to more and more shotgun formations.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Tipster19