What's more exciting to see on 3rd and 11? A standard Quarterback to Wide Receiver 12-yard forward pass for a first down? Or the QB hands it off to the Running Back who flips it back to a Wide Receiver and then the WR passes it to another WR for 12 yards and a first down? If you said the standard pass, well, more power to you for finding more excitement in the ordinary. But most of the time, it will be that crazy WR reverse pass that goes on the highlight reel. Why? Because it's different, it's unusual, and it most likely made the defense's head spin for a few minutes. But here's the thing with those plays, the big exciting, and confusing ones can often be called out of desperation.

What is a gadget play? 

A gadget play, or trick play as it can often be called can be anything from a standard jet sweep to the "Philly Special" that we saw in Super Bowl 52 where the QB moved up behind the line and the center snapped to the RB who pitched to the tight end, who then passed the ball to the QB who walked into the endzone for a touchdown. It's essentially any play that uses deception to fool the opposition. A jet sweep has become a standard play call, but it still uses the deception of a receiver going into motion and taking a pitch or handoff out of the backfield.  Probably not as exciting but still a gadget play nonetheless. Plays like the Philly Special are a bit more complicated so tend to be used more sparingly.

When do teams run these plays? 

Your standard jet sweeps due to their less complicated nature can be used multiple times per game. They can be used sometimes just for the sole purpose of getting a speedy wide receiver more involved in the game and less as a type of trickery. The more complicated gadget plays though, tend to be used as an act of desperation.  You won't often see a team that's imposing its will on the opposing defense run any type of complicated trickery. Though it has happened, it's less likely. Usually, you see that desperate trickery when nothing else is working and the team needs a spark. Or a team is behind and needs to score quickly so they pull out that gadget play to catch a defense off guard. It's even common to see it from a team with a losing record that's trying to light a fire under its players right off the bat in a game. You won't often see big gadget plays from an offensive powerhouse. 

So, where do the Packers stand with gadget plays heading into 2024?

To trick, or not to trick

The Packers ran a fair amount of gadget plays in 2023. With speedy receivers in Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, there were definitely a fair amount of wide receiver jet sweeps. But like I said, those are pretty standard today. When it comes to big trickery though with gadget plays, the Packers did have a handful of attempts. There were some flea flickers ran, and a few failed attempts at long laterals turned-passes, but there was a successful wide receiver pass that was memorable. In week 7, Jordan Love seemingly threw a WR screen pass to Dontayvion Wicks who then threw the ball to connect with Aaron Jones for a 14-yard gain. That was definitely an exciting play despite it only going for 14 yards. But, will we see much more of that in 2024?

Vince Lombardi used to say that he didn't care if the defense knew what was coming, he would still beat them with it. I'll forever be an advocate of the idea that you don't need to trick or outsmart your opponent, you just need to beat them with what you have. If your offense is good enough, and you execute plays properly the way that they are drawn up on every down, you will be successful. 

When I look at the trickery that was run by the 2023 Packers offense, I mainly see it occur in the first half of the season.  During that stretch where the team went 3-6, the idea of scoring a touchdown in the first half was seemingly foreign. These plays were run by a team that was just trying to get some kind of spark going. Some kind of good luck to push them in the right direction to get their offense back on track. They were desperate and it showed with those playcalls. The second half of the season you didn't see those calls anymore, because the offense had gotten itself on track. 

It became common knowledge in the early 2010s that wide receiver Randall Cobb could throw the ball. He played quarterback in high school and some in college too, so he ended up being the Packers' emergency quarterback. Given how dynamic of a playmaker Cobb was, Mike McCarthy would occasionally field questions on whether or not the Packers would run some trick plays having Cobb at QB throwing the ball. These questions were often met with Mike McCarthy asking why reporters think he would want anyone else throwing the ball but Aaron Rodgers. At the time, I would often be disappointed by that answer because I thought it would be pretty cool to see Randall Cobb run plays out of the wild cat formation or something. But now I realize, that Coach McCarthy was right. If his passing game isn't struggling, why make changes to it unless he absolutely has to? It's that old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

In 2024, I expect to see the jet sweeps and reverses continue. Maybe even more than last year. You can't have speedy dynamic receivers like Jayden Reed and Christian Watson and not try to get the ball in their hands by any means possible. They're like the Swiss army knives of the Packers offense. They can do a lot, so we should take advantage of that. I think that may be though where it drops off. Jordan Love proved in the second half of the season that he can be that Franchise Quarterback. And though Love has a long way to go before he can be compared to Aaron Rodgers, you still don't take the ball out of the hands of your Franchise Quarterback. 

This year, I expect the Packers offense to win games more by executing and beating their opponent like Lombardi's teams did. Not by deception. There might be a few wrinkles here and there, but they will be done at the right moments, and not out of a desperate need for something positive. The 2024 Packers have a chance to become a powerhouse and win on their skill alone.