How Kyle Shanahan Formulates his Playbook

Kyle Shanahan gave an insightful look into how he creates plays for the 49ers' offense.

Kyle Shanahan is one of the greatest offensive minds in the NFL.

Watching how he has structured and schemed the offense of the 49ers is a thing of beauty. It isn't always pretty, but the 49ers are in a great place offensively with Shanahan. The guy gets labeled an "offensive genius," which can make it extremely interesting how he formulates his playbook.

Shanahan actually revealed what goes into formulating his plays at his press conference on Tuesday.

“What I see in the defense." said Shanahan. "There are not these secret plays that we carry, I always say, around in that notebook in Water Boy, that someone's going to steal someday and then we're screwed. We all run the same plays. It's how you tie them together, how you design them, how you put certain guys in certain positions, they have answers versus not the perfect look, but all the looks. And that's really what it comes down to -- timing and preparation and understanding what works against defenses and what your players can do versus those defenses.” 

Insightful answer here from Shanahan for those with the untrained eye. It may seem like Shanahan has hundreds and hundreds of plays at his disposal, but the reality is there is significantly less than that, especially the plays he carries into games. Shanahan's answer is exactly why he is incredible at what he does. He is playing chess, not checkers. Running the same plays over and over again, all while having the same success or effectiveness is a testament to his skill. 

There is a reason he trots out different formations and utilizations of motions with his players. It keeps the defense guessing along with getting the defense into the optimal look for the most effective play. Even watching film and keying in on certain tells from the 49ers' offense doesn't help too much because Shanahan can easily change up a motion or a formation to run the same play. In a way, Shanahan is playing with his opponents. When he is in his bag, Shanahan is unstoppable. 

But there are times where he outhinks himself and gets too cute. Execution plays a large part, but sometimes Shanahan can be over the top. Regardless, what he has been doing the last few seasons has been working and the 49ers should feel lucky to have him.