What makes Chiefs coach Andy Reid the screen master? ‘His attention to detail is the best’

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Andy Reid often describes himself as more than a coach.

He considers himself a teacher.

The classroom for Reid the NFLs oldest head coach at 66 is a major reason he continues to arrive at the Chiefs training facility around 4 a.m.

I enjoy teaching, Reid said.

From his voluminous playbook, Reid loves instructing his players on his massive collection of screen passes.

The Chiefs have installed more than 100 screens this season, variations meant to surprise opponents and some they have yet to unveil.

Advertisement The Chiefs know whether its the first week of the offseason program, training camp or the first day of a game week Reid will go through several meticulously designed screens, plays that require his players to have proper synchronization.

Reid is known for many things his deep passing attack, his penchant for trick plays, his affection for cheeseburgers and Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts.

In 26 years as a head coach, Reid has become most known around the NFL as the screen master, his schematic innovations of the play being one of his core contributions to the sport.

Its important in the pass game that you have certain things that can offset it, Reid said.

Thats a complementary play to your dropback pass game.

It can be complementary to your play-action game and even that youre throwing off of it can be complementary.

Since Reid joined Kansas City in 2013, after 13 years in Philadelphia, the Chiefs have been one of the leagues best teams at executing screens.

Since quarterback Patrick Mahomes arrived in 2018, the Chiefs have been the leagues best team at screens.

During that time, in the regular season, the Chiefs have attempted and completed the most screens (433 of 483), have generated the most yards on screens (3,062) and have been the most effective team in the NFL on screens in terms of passer rating, expected points added per dropback and percentage of attempts going for a first down or a touchdown, according to TruMedia and Next Gen Stats.

The Chiefs have scored 19 touchdowns on screens since 2018 eight more than any other team.

WOOOOORTHY #ProBowlVote + @XavierWorthy #ProBowlVote + @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/lIDZTM1Z2L Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 15, 2024 Hes got a great feel for when to dial those up, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said of Reid.

We always talk about how no screen is the same every screen has its own story.

But for some reason, everywhere Andy Reid has been, that team has a good feel for it.

Big Red is the man.

There are so many layers to it.

Ive studied them every year.

Thats one of the things youre going to spend an offseason studying.

Advertisement Over the past year, The Athletic has asked many in the Chiefs organization a simple question: Why is Reid so good at screens? Almost every player and coach touched on the same sentiment: Reids success is in the details.

Hes really good at teaching the base screens, even more than I had ever been taught, Mahomes said of Reid.

Every day (in camp), we have a part of our install where we talk about screens, how were setting up this screen and what it goes off of and how we want to make it look like this different (play).

GO DEEPER Why Trey Smith's dream NFL career with the Chiefs almost never happened The screen pass was invented in 1906, more than 50 years before Reid was born.

Bob Zuppke, who became a coaching legend at Illinois, invented the screen while coaching at Hackley Manual Training School in Muskegon, Mich.

Zuppke drew up several screens, including one in which the punter, while in punt formation, passes the ball to a receiver on a crossing route with offensive linemen in front of him.

Notre Dame, under coach Knute Rockne, further advanced the play in the 1930s.

As a player in the 70s, Reid was a talented tackle before he suffered a knee injury that altered his college career.

In high school, we ran the Veer, Reid said, smiling.

There wasnt a lot of screens going on.

Reid was introduced to the intricacies of the screen when he arrived at BYU, learning why the play could be a strong option for any offense under coach LaVell Edwards, who in 1981 convinced him to become a coach.

Eleven years later, Reid entered the NFL as assistant offensive line and tight ends coach with the Green Bay Packers.

Coach Mike Holmgren paired Reid with Tom Lovat, the offensive line coach.

For much of the 90s, the Packers, with Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, were consistent at gaining chunk yards with screens.

They had more variations of screens than most teams.

Advertisement I was lucky to have real good coaches all the way up, Reid said.

We talked about sidewalks and creating sidewalks to run down on screens.

That was all Tom Lovat in Green Bay.

During a 1998 offensive line clinic, an annual event in Cincinnati led by Bob Wylie, who was an offensive line coach in the NFL for 15 years, Lovat gave a seminar on the Packers screens.

Lovat told his peers that they had to commit to running screens, teaching the quarterback, linemen and the running back their landmarks on the practice field without the defense.

The sidewalk, Lovat said, was made up of the numbers on the field.

Lovat learned that if the linemen and running back drifted too wide of the numbers, they were too close to the sideline, the 12th defender.

Staying on the numbers gave the ball carrier enough space to bounce the run to the outside or cut back toward the middle of the field.

One highlight in Lovats seminar was from the 1995 season.

He showed how the Packers offensive line slid its protection to the right, giving the Minnesota Vikings the appearance of a traditional, dropback pass.

Watch the center (Frank Winters) using the numbers as a reference point to clean up the (linebacker) and boom! Lovat shouted.

Its like a fullback.

(Running back Dorsey Levens) goes right down the (sidewalk).

Hes trusting what were telling him.

The Packers gained 20 yards, setting up an opening-drive touchdown in their victory.

When Lovat finished showing his clips, a coach asked him how many screens Holmgren has in a game plan.

Probably three, Lovat said.

Wed put a special one in for the red zone, something to take advantage of what theyre doing down there.

...

Who do we want (the defense) to put on the field for the play? Hopefully youll do that.

Reid enters most games with at least 10 screens.

When he coached the Eagles, he started putting screens on steroids.

No longer was it just two linemen, usually the center and a guard, going out on the perimeter.

Reid created landmarks and sidewalks all over the field, even within hashes.

Some screens involved a shift, a motion or play action.

Others had an element of a reverse or a rollout for the quarterback.

Advertisement If youre a running back for Coach Reid, its a lot of fun because you have to be a better receiver than a runner to play in his offense, general manager Brett Veach said.

Brian Westbrook was the pinnacle.

The details begin with the center.

Creed Humphrey is the leagues best center in large part because of his above-average athleticism for the position.

In November, Humphrey was the first lineman to leave his usual spot when the Chiefs ran a screen against the Carolina Panthers.

The next lineman out, either the guard or the tackle, was supposed to be 2 yards next to the center.

Next to Humphrey was right tackle Jawaan Taylor, the two creating the sidewalk for tight end Travis Kelce, who started the play blocking outside linebacker Charles Harris.

After the catch, Kelce ran between blocks from Humphrey and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and still had Taylor as a lead blocker, the play resulting in a 19-yard gain.

The guard has to pass set, extend their arms and release, offensive line coach Andy Heck said during his 2023 seminar at the clinic.

Initially, it looks like a normal pass set to a defender eyes are up, our hands are inside and our feet are underneath us.

You step up to get out.

If youre an uncovered (interior) lineman, youve got to be an actor.

Dont look guilty.

Give this (play) the look of youre in pass pro and lets try to get (linebackers) into pass drops (into coverage).

Heck found the simplest way to explain the timing of set, extend, release was the equivalent of a thousand one, a thousand go.

Heck learned it from Lovat in 2004 when he was the assistant line coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

GO DEEPER Why a simple 3 x 5 notecard with two words explains Andy Reid's leadership style Reid gets most involved when its time to address the entire unit.

He teaches the screen to the skill players from an O-linemans perspective, what were asking them to do out in space, Chiefs pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier said of Reid.

He tells (skill players) you can help them set up the blocks and get what you need to accomplish by following these guidelines.

Advertisement Reid has requirements for the running backs first three steps, which help set up the linemens blocks.

He wants the skill-position player to catch the ball on the shoulder that is leading him upfield.

The running back or tight end knows the center or the guard is supposed to release the defensive lineman with their inside shoulder, away from where the pass is going.

Its about the fundamentals, Mahomes said.

Coach Reid is the best that Ive ever met at that.

All the other stuff is fancy all the, as I would say, ketchup on the side to bring the meal to a different level.

At the same time, youve got to have that steak to make that screen work.

Give it to Jerick McKinnon on 3rd & 20.

: #KCvsSF on FOX : Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/USkaudAkBK pic.twitter.com/519UnO1KzK NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022 While the center and guards on other teams might continue drifting, Reid demands that his linemen reach a specific landmark and stop.

Every step for the O-line is calculated, guard Mike Caliendo said.

Blocks downfield is what makes those screens go for big plays.

We like being able to get out on those (smaller defenders).

Once the pass is completed, Reid tells the ball carrier and his blockers to get upfield together as soon as possible, which should put the scrambling defenders in the linemens path.

The best feeling is when it works, right guard Trey Smith said, laughing.

Any play that I put someone on their back, Ill take it.

Smith did just that in 2022 when the Chiefs ran a screen to running back Jerick McKinnon against the Denver Broncos.

Smith swat-released linebacker Josey Jewell, who blitzed, inside and away from Mahomes pass.

Then in the open field, Smith crushed safety Justin Simmons, leading McKinnon to leap into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.

Two quarters Two @JetMckinnon1 TDs : #KCvsDEN on CBS : Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/TzmdzbFm9o pic.twitter.com/AdFvjY41vw NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2022 Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy shared a detail that separates Reid from his peers: You cannot properly practice a screen in a walkthrough.

The Chiefs dedicate time in practice by simulating the screens at a tempo that is as close as they can get to game speed.

Reid does that to help the players stay in rhythm, which leads them to stay on time.

Advertisement Its a bit intellectual and a bit physical and its something different, former right tackle Mitchell Schwartz said.

Guys get excited for it because the coaches are pretty good about telling you what the possibilities are.

You also feel prepared.

Thats really just what you want in life.

Reids most famous game weaponizing screens occurred in 2013 against the Raiders, who then played in Oakland.

The Chiefs won 56-31, racking up 127 yards on six screens.

Running back Jamaal Charles scored five touchdowns and generated 215 all-purpose yards.

Three of his five touchdowns were the byproduct of a screen .

Those clips were still making the rounds when I was there, as teaching tape, Schwartz said, laughing.

Running back Kareem Hunt believes Reid loves screens because those plays are designed to make the linemen the leading stars.

He likes seeing those big guys get rolling and put people on their back, Hunt said, smiling.

Thats his favorite thing.

GO DEEPER Chiefs' defensive failure against the Bills last time will fuel them in the AFC title game Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, knows why his peers in the league have struggled to stop Reids screens.

Everybody gets their opportunity, Spagnuolo said.

That makes it challenging.

Sometimes you play a team, and this is the screen back or thats the screen receiver.

But with our guys, it could be anybody .

This season, the Chiefs have completed a screen pass to 10 players.

Andy lets those guys, the coaches and the players, be creative, Spagnuolo said.

He takes all that feedback.

Its the things they do before the ball is snapped that become as challenging as the screen itself.

Few coaches are more funky, clever and imaginative with their pre-snap eye candy than Reid.

In 2022, the Chiefs ran their most exotic play: Arctic Circle.

After a timeout, the Chiefs revealed a never-before-seen huddle to baffle the Raiders.

Mahomes and his teammates linked their arms and began shuffling their feet to the right, transforming their huddle into a counter-clockwise carousel.

It resembled school children dancing in a circle while singing Ring Around the Rosie on the playground at recess.

After the Chiefs antics, several Raiders defenders looked at one another.

Advertisement McKinnon received the snap in the pistol and went through a run-pass option action with receiver Kadarius Toney.

Next, McKinnon pitched the ball back to Mahomes, who threw a pass across the field from the numbers to the numbers to Toney, who went 9 yards into the end zone.

There was one problem, though.

The touchdown didnt count.

The score was nullified by a holding penalty on Humphrey.

The Chiefs, though, scored on the next play.

The screens are Andys baby , former Bears tackle Kyle Long said last year on the This is Football podcast.

If you watch the way that this offense has a feel for screens, it looks like a really good basketball offense.

...

They understand spacing better than anybody.

Coming out of a spinning huddle, the Chiefs aligned in a wildcat formation, setting up a screen pass to Kadarius Toney with a blocking advantage.

Toney found the end zone on the play, however, the TD was called back due to a holding call.

#KCvsLV | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/YmfAndpPZ6 Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 7, 2023 Early in Mahomes career, Reid called creative screens to be an elite changeup to the Chiefs deep passing attack.

One of the Chiefs slowest screens came against McVays Rams in a memorable 2018 game.

Inside the red zone, receiver Tyreek Hill sprinted in motion, confirming the Rams were in man-to-man coverage.

Mahomes executed three play-action fakes to Hill, Hunt and a fake end-around to receiver Demarcus Robinson.

Its just a lot of stuff for the defenses eyes, Hunt said.

When Mahomes completed his pass to Hunt, nine Rams defenders were either on the left side of the field, away from the screen, or behind the line of scrimmage.

Hunt scored on an easy 21-yard touchdown.

Typically, man coverage is when you want to dial it up, Kelce said of Reids screens.

His attention to detail is the best.

He does so much work behind the scenes of understanding how defensive coordinators are calling (their plays) and being in the flow of the game feeling the edge rushers, the pressures and when you can catch a team in a specific zone coverage.

One way Reid has accentuated the talent of his skill-position players while keeping his design simple is by using quick scenes.

Last season, the Chiefs noticed that the Miami Dolphins did a Cover 0 blitz in the red zone early in the season when the Eagles went to an empty formation.

The Dolphins tactic prevented Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts from scoring on a designed run on a third-and-goal snap.

When the Chiefs faced the Dolphins, they showed an empty formation in the red zone.

Anticipating the Dolphins Cover 0 blitz, the Chiefs countered with a quick screen to Rashee Rice, who scored an 11-yard touchdown thanks to blocks by receiver Justin Watson and left tackle Donovan Smith.

His screen game is tricky, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Reid.

Theres a timing component to it that it seems that theyve really ironed out.

It speaks to their continuity and how well they coach it.

Theyre the standard right now.

In addition to his designs, Reid has two undeniable ingredients that give his screens maximum potency: He has the perfect quarterback (Mahomes) and pass-catching tight end (Kelce).

In 2016, Reid started experimenting with screens for Kelce.

That season, Reid had Kelce line up on the perimeter against the Broncos.

Two seconds after the snap, Kelce caught a pass from quarterback Alex Smith while Schwartz and tight end Demetrius Harris blocked a cornerback and linebacker.

No defender touched Kelce.

He ran 80 yards for a touchdown.

Advertisement That was probably the coolest screen ever ran, Kelce said.

You dont always see a tight end outside the numbers getting a jailbreak screen.

Since 2018, Kelce has led all tight ends in screen targets (72) and receptions (63), according to TruMedia and Next Gen Stats.

Mahomes, meanwhile, leads all quarterbacks in screen attempts (457) and completions (413).

During that time, Mahomes has thrown only one interception on a screen.

Hes the best at what we call dealing cards, Bleymaier said of Mahomes.

The ball handling that hes able to get away with, hes one of a few that can, from any vantage point even a no-look get the ball out and around (defenders) to where it needs to be for the (pass catcher).

Mahomes favorite screen from last season came in the Chiefs biggest drive on the NFLs biggest stage: overtime of Super Bowl LVIII.

Before overtime, the Chiefs scored only one touchdown in five red zone trips.

Needing a touchdown to win the game, Reid called two screens.

The first was a traditional screen to running back Isiah Pacheco, who gained 5 yards.

Once the Chiefs entered the red zone, Reid looked down at his large, laminated play sheet.

Its a way of getting the ball in your good players hands at a low risk, Reid said of his screen for Kelce.

We had done some blocking things with our tight end, so keeping Kelce in there to help out (against 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa) made sense.

Hes deadly with the ball in his hands.

Can the @Chiefs recreate this game-winning drive from SBLVIII during the rematch against the @49ers in Week 7? pic.twitter.com/AJ90M9SvFy NFL (@NFL) May 20, 2024 Kelce initially blocked Bosa while Humphrey and Taylor set up blocks for him.

After his catch, Kelce ran through three defenders for a 7-yard gain, setting up the Chiefs for a first-and-goal snap from the 3-yard line.

It was using a great players strengths against them, Mahomes said.

We wanted Bosa to think he had the advantage and he was going to try to make a big play happen.

I gave my eyes to Pacheco on the rail route out in the flat and it got (Bosa) to jump just a little and you get the ball to Travis.

Advertisement One play later, Kelce lifted his arms, signaling the game-winning touchdown just as Mahomes completed an easy 3-yard, walk-off touchdown to receiver Mecole Hardman, who was wide open in the corner of the end zone.

When theyre run at the right time, theyre the best thing possible, Kelce said of Reids screens.

You get the (defense) off guard with a whole bunch of big guys out in front of you.

Thats the best part.

Jourdan Rodrigue contributed to this report.

(Top illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic ; photos: Erick W.

Rasco / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images, Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images, Justin K.

Aller / Getty Images).

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