The second quarter of Week 4’s Bears vs. Packers game featured a wide open Alshon Jeffery receiving touchdown on a play where only 2 Bears ran routes. Jeffery is an excellent Wide Receiver, but got an assist from both fellow Wideout Brandon Marshall and Coach Marc Trestman on the score. Before the snap, Alshon Jeffery went in Ghost motion, which is to arc behind the line of scrimmage from the outside.

Here is the pre-snap look with how the Packer defensive assignments will match-up with the offense: Jeffery will run back to where he started toward the goal line. Brandon Marshall will run a skinny post from the slot. (Both in navy blue). On the defensive side, Sam Shields (#37) for Green Bay is playing Man-to-Man on Jeffery (in red). Brandon Marshall is being “bracket” covered, or double covered, which is highlighted in orange. The slot Cornerback will play outside leverage, and #33 will be responsible for any in-breaking route from Marshall. The play is accompanied by play-action to the right, with a “Max-Protection” of 8 blockers.

Shortly after the ball is snapped, Alshon Jeffery pivots from his motion and goes back in the direction he started on an “Arrow” route. Sam Shields (defender highlighted in red) sprints across the formation to chase Jeffery. Meanwhile, Brandon Marshall is being double covered via an Inside/Outside coverage (highlighted in orange).

However, Sam Shields is not quick enough to react to Jeffery’s change of direction and is lost in the middle of the formation. From here, he won’t be able to catch up to Jeffery before the end zone and will need help. The Safety, (highlighted in orange) is the only player in position to recognize the play, attack downhill, and save the Touchdown.

This is where Trestman’s offensive genius and Marshall’s value come in. Trestman used Marshall as a decoy perfectly: Trestman likely knew Marshall would draw a double team in the red zone, and used this against Green Bay. As seen below, Shields has overrun the play and is out of position, while the Safety is completely preoccupied with guarding against Marshall instead of diagnosing the play.

With the Safety (#33) only focused on Marshall and Shields out of position, the only thing that will stop a Touchdown is if Quarterback Jay Cutler doesn’t recognize the bracket coverage. But Cutler has a perfect line of vision to see exactly what is going on and make the perfect read. Once again, Shields is highlighted in Red while the Safety (33) is highlighted in orange.

See the play unfold below from two different angles, first in slow motion and then standard speed:

As you can see from this play, double teams often come at a price: pay extra attention to one player, and another may be left wide open. The play also highlights how elite Wide Receivers (such as Marshall) do not have to catch the ball to make a profound impact on the game. Finally, as Marc Trestman did, a great offensive coach will exploit the weakness in an over-aggressive defense using the Ghost Motion.

POST SEASON EDIT: Want to see the full Brandon Marshall affect in action? Found this during my post-season film review: Below, the Saints run the exact same Ghost Motion play from the exact same formation 4 weeks later. The Packers are once again in Man to Man coverage, and once again the Cornerback at the top of the screen is fooled with locked hips after the Ghost Motion and Swing Route. Except this time there is no bracket coverage or special treatment for an elite receiver. This allows Safety (#21) Ha Ha Clinton Dix to diagnose the play and slow it down before Sam Shields cleans up the play for a loss of 1 yard.

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See Also: (Where Trestman may have gotten the play from)

Brandon Marshall has been traded to the Jets— look for him to have this same impact on Eric Decker, Jace Amaro, and Geno Smith (or whoever the Jets QB may be).

2016 update: The Eagles use Ghost Motion to help QB Carson Wentz:

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