Here’s how Chiefs’ Reid, Saints’ Payton keep their offenses at the top of the NFL
Consistency matters in the NFL and Sunday’s matchup between the Chiefs (12-1) and New Orleans Saints (10-3) provides a showcase of two head coaches prowling opposite sidelines fitting the bill.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and Saints head coach Sean Payton are widely regarded as two of the league’s top offensive minds over the past 15-20 years.
The two are certainly no one-hit wonders and have consistently produced some of the NFL’s elite offenses over that span. It’s not easy for offenses to stay on top in a league where parity sometimes rules, but Reid and Payton have managed to do it consistently.
And they accomplish it by challenging themselves every year to find even more creative ways to run an offense.
“I’ve got good coaches that love the challenge of finding new things and experiment with them,” Reid said Wednesday. “And I’ve got players that thrive on that stuff.
“I mean, they want you to find something that’s out of the ordinary and make it the ordinary and practice it, so I appreciate all of that.”
For his team, Payton points out the importance of studying not just an opponent, but the entire league to identify unique tendencies and developments.
“We try to stay up to date, the trends,” Payton said. “I think there’s an assumption that you’re always looking at opponent tape each week, which you are, but you’re also combing through different offenses, maybe defenses that you follow, there might be certain games that you want to see. So, you look at the touchdown reel every week to see where those came from.”
Under Reid, the Chiefs currently boast the NFL’s top offense and are second in scoring, averaging 31 points per game, entering Sunday’s game against the Saints. Reid also led the Chiefs to rank first in both categories during the 2018 season and his offense was ranked in the top six in 2019 and 2017, respectively.
Kansas City has scored touchdowns in 2020 on plays called “Smoked Sausage” for fullback Anthony Sherman and “Catch and Release” for left tackle Eric Fisher in the same game.
Since Payton arrived in the Big Easy in 2006, the Saints have ranked at or near the top in the league in total offense and scoring. The rankings include the No. 1 overall spot in total yards six times (2006, 2008-09, 2011, 2014, 2016) and twice in total points (2009-09).
Under Payton, the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV on arguably the greatest special teams play in NFL history, an onside kick named “Ambush” coming out of halftime against the Indianapolis Colts.
“You could see how all the stuff he’s done for years and years had success, and then when you watch them on film, you can see all the different game plan plays that they have is as long as their base plays,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday. “They do a great job of executing and really getting the ball to their playmakers and I think it’s very similar to what we do here and it’s pretty cool to be able to go against another great coach like that.”
It helps when both teams are filled with All-Pro and Pro Bowl superstars on offense, of course.
For Reid, there’s Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire and wide receiver Sammy Watkins, among others.
In New Orleans, Payton has Brees, running back Alvin Kamara, wide receiver Michael Thomas and tight end Jared Cook.
And having the right pieces in place for both teams ultimately helps draw up creative ways to deploy weapons.
“I think more than anything else, you’re constantly trying to challenge: Is there another way of presenting a play that we currently run that we might run two or three different ways but then here’s a fourth way,” Payton said. “And just as importantly, does it fit us? I think that’s just part of studying the game and your own personnel.”
New Orleans’ offense currently ranks 13th in total yards and seventh in scoring while quarterback Drew Brees is out with a rib injury. Payton’s creativity, however, carries over to Taysom Hill, who has filled in during Brees’ absence.
Hill, arguably one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the league, contributed on special teams as a returner and has lined up as a running back, wide receiver and tight end in Payton’s scheme in recent years.
Payton’s ability to adapt and remain creative despite not having his starting signal-caller has Reid’s admiration.
“Sean does a heck of a job,” Reid said. “He’s a real good football coach, time-tested, which means something. He’s been there a long time and done very well.”
The respect between the two offensive-minded gurus is mutual.
And for Payton, who spent time in the NFC East on the Giants and Cowboys staffs while Reid coached the Eagles, Reid’s evolution over the years has been remarkable.
“Well, I would say it would be like the suits we wore back then to maybe a suit we wear now,” Payton said with a chuckle. “I mean, a lot changes. Your personnel have changed, the way you might run the football relative to under center, shotgun and I think it’s obviously a great strength of Andy’s that it starts and begins with the people you have.
“And he’s done — they’ve done — a great job with that. So, a lot of it has to do with the people you begin to acquire, and then try to give them things they do well.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
