Mike LaFleur has called for many offensive tricks this season, but with two minutes remaining in the first half last Sunday, the offensive coordinator has gone deeper into his bag than ever.
In the third and third inning, Zach Wilson fired a quick pass to Jamison Crowder, who was going down a five-yard crossing on the left hash. Instead of turning around to try and run down for the first time, with three Dolphins defenders starting to get close, Crowder ended up throwing a pass back to Braxton Berrios on the far sideline.
Berrios grabbed the side yard in front of the line of scrimmage, blasted out front and rushed 22 yards down first.
Driving resulted in a kick, which led to a breakdown in the second half, but LaFleur’s brilliant playing determination made a lasting impression.
Addressing the media for the first time since Sunday’s loss, LaFleur was asked about the play. The first year coordinator revealed that New York had this call in the playbook since they last faced New York and Miami in Week 11.
“The reason you call this kind of play is because you have a guy like Jamison Crowder and Braxton Perius that we trust a lot,” LaFleur told reporters. “So even if it wasn’t perfect, which there were a lot of looks that wouldn’t be perfect…just put the ball in Jamison Crowder’s hands, usually something good happens.
LaFleur also confirmed that New York’s first touchdown in the game – two yards from Piraeus – was also supposed to be a double pass. It looked as if Crowder was the intended receiver, but he fell as he retreated toward the sideline.
“There was a pass option,” he said. Like ‘Hi, Brax, if looks aren’t good, just go and play.’ “And he did, and these men outside were being executed.”
Designing one of those plays and presenting it to the technical staff at meetings is one thing, but the execution between the lines is a testament to this team’s performance. The deceptive ability to mingle in deceptive plays.
Heck, we saw a double pass from Piraeus to Wilson in the same quarter last Sunday. Wilson dodged some attackers before finding tight end Ryan Griffin wide open for huge gains.
It all goes back to Lafleur’s confidence in his veteran playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. Without that confidence, the odds are that LaFleur is keeping his stunt plays (which he initially created in his high school gym class) shut down.
“I think he did a good job of keeping defenses on his toes,” Wilson said this week. “He put us in really good positions and I feel he puts me in a good position as far as I can play fast and get used to his attack and this match. I really appreciate what he was doing, I think he did a really good job.”
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