Morton vs Johnson Formation and Personnel EPA

The Den
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So a few glaring issues with Mortons play calling.

Based on Personnel first

11 Personnel (1RB 1TE 3WR)
Both just over 50% of the time. No issue.
But EPAPP? Johnson 0.22 Morton 0.09

13 Personnel (1RB 3TE 1 WR)
Johnson used it under 4% of the time
Morton however OVER 8% double!

So it has to be effective right? NOPE
Johnson 0.04
Morton -0.04!

Why? Why is he so less effective? Why is he running more 3 TE sets when its so much less effective.

2 TE sets however is a brighter spot.
Morton 36% called vs Johnson 32%
But Morton is at 0.16 and Johnson 0.13
So yes more used and efficient at 2 TE sets

Now heres the GLARING issue. When you look at formations.

2x2 is about the same (2 receivers split each side)
Both about 40% called.
Both around 0.15 EPAPP

Now when it comes to 3x1/1x3 (3 receivers to one side)
Morton is OVER 50%
Johnson was UNDER 40%

And Johnson was over 0.15 EPAPP
Morton UNDER 0.08! EPAPP

SO what did Johnson call that extra ~10%
2x3/3x2! Empty backfield!

Johnson nearly 6%
Morton under 1%!

Why?

Johnson over 0.25 EPAPP
Morton UNDER -0.45 EPAPP

So in traditional personnel and formations
Both are about the same. With good success.

However. Johnson mixed up more personnel and formations. Adjusting mid game. More presnap motion.

Morton has appeared to stick with the same formation and personnel. Even when its shown to be ineffective.

The BIGGEST indicator of that.
Presnap/During snap motion.

Lions have motion on HALF AS MANY plays under morton vs johnson. That was the bread and butter of the team!

Goff presnap motions + play action. He was DEADLY.

Just traditional drop backs ? Under morton. Well i think you see the results.

He better adjust FAST.

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2

Anybody remember Ben Johnson’s first season as OC?

1-7 start, and, he had a good offensive line.

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Great breakdown @DBend144 - awesome data to highlight it’s not just that we lost Frank and Zeitler on the O-Line. I’m confident if Johnson were still here, we might not be at last year’s level, but we wouldn’t be struggling near as bad in the protection and running game as we are now.

I love this Lions team, but I’m sticking to my belief that Morton is a big part of the problem. Shep has been a blessing and the defense is performing well. I have little faith in Morton being able to figure it out.

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Yes, I remember. Can we highlight the defensive performance - 25th in points per game? The offense ranked 5th in points scored per game. Seems to me that the defense might have been a big part of that record being what it was and not Johnson?

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