In this pass-happy era of football, where most NFL general managers are feverishly searching for linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks who can cover the weapons used to get downfield in spread offenses, there’s a select group of teams going against the grain.
Teams like the San Francisco 49ers want to push around this generation’s linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks, thumping them into submission. Teams like the 49ers, Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, who thrive on the marriage between the run and pass, lean on an approach that tests the opposition’s toughness with a physical style of play fueled by the run game.
Every NFL team Mike McDaniel has worked for has featured an offense that has been fueled by the running game, an offensive line scheme that uses outside zone concepts and piggybacks that with a play-action passing attack.
