To Spy or Not to Spy a Mobile QB?
The 2022 NFL postseason will be filled with quarterbacks who can make defenses pay with their legs (Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson (Maybe), Daniel Jones, Patrick Mahomes). Even quarterbacks like Geno Smith, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Dak Prescott can avoid pressure and scramble for first downs in critical moments to keep drives alive. The question every defense will have to ask itself is, “Does using a spy make sense?”
The Case Against Using a Spy
The argument against using a spy is simple. You’re either removing a defender from the pass rush without the benefit of adding him to the coverage, or vice versa. If the quarterback ends up staying in the pocket, he has the advantage of playing against a 10-man defense, for all intents and purposes. This might be an okay trade-off in certain cases, especially if a defenses is looking to keep the quarterback from scrambling at all costs. But most (if not all) of the names mentioned above can succeed consistently from the pocket.
Other problems that arise with using a spy have to do with the athletic mismatch between the spy and the quarterback. Too often, teams will use a linebacker or another defender who can’t actually hang with the quarterback, which negates the purpose of even having a spy in the first place.
Just look at this play from the 2019 AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Titans. Here, Tennessee used linebacker Rashaan Evans (#54) to spy Patrick Mahomes and ended up rushing just 3:
It didn’t work out as the Titans hoped. Mahomes eventually fled the pocket, toyed with Evans as he worked to the sideline, and then made a game-altering run to the end zone:
Perhaps the question isn’t about spying or not spying. Perhaps the better question is, “What is the most effective way to spy?” There are various disguises and schemes that defenses can use to give themselves a better chance against these dangerous running quarterbacks than on the play you saw above.
Cutting the Field in Half
One approach is to flush the quarterback from the pocket and force him to move into an awaiting spy. You can see an example of this below.
On this play from the 2021 season, the Cowboys used their most athletic pass rusher, Micah Parsons, to spy quarterback Taysom Hill. But notice that Parsons wasn’t just hanging out in the middle of the field like on the previous play shown. Instead, he was hovering between the right guard and tackle pre-snap, threatening to blitz:
Parsons would drop out and act as the spy to one side of the field. But what if Hill broke the pocket and scrambled in the opposite direction? Well, the Cowboys ensured that wouldn’t happen with their pass rush.