Overall, I would say I’m “cautiously very optimistic” about the offense this year. The Shanahan/Kubiak scheme is the most efficient one, play for play, in the NFL. Stefanski generally does a great job scheming plays, especially when in tight games and/or having the lead.
I’ve been watching all of the Vikings games from 2019, though, and I do have one concern. He frequently struggles to adapt when his initial offensive strategy fails.
By no means do I think this is a sign of eventual failure. Hell, it may have just been that his offense talent and/or Zimmer did not allow for anything else. Regardless, when teams could stop the outside zone without extra help in the box, Stefanski really didn’t have answers.
Still, his scheme is *not* the same as Shanahan’s. It’s a similar concept: a lot of outside zone, each play can be run in about six or seven different formations, and runs and passes look identical when the play begins. But Stefanski used a little bit less pre-snap motion and was more creative on play-action plays. Frequently he would also use tight ends as screeners, which is something Shanahan only did irregularly. Conversely, Shanahan was a bit more creative with run schemes, incorporating a lot more duo and trap runs.
I do think Chubb may be the best runningback ever used in this scheme. His vision is unlike anything I’ve seen and makes him a perfect fit. If Stefanski is even average then the Browns should be a very good offensive unit.
