To the dismay of some Bears supporters and the excitement of others, Bears coach Matt Eberflus traveled to Arizona
on Friday to interview Kliff Kingsbury, the former coach of the Cardinals, for the open offensive coordinator position.
Kingsbury is linked to the Air Raid offense, which some view as an open-minded, gimmicky style of play. Though a
lot of myths exist regarding the offensive style, what he ran in the NFL was not the same as the previous Air Raid.
It’s actually not that gimmicky, and because of the way Kingsbury altered it for the NFL, it occasionally resembles
any other contemporary spread offensive strategy in many aspects.
In fact, Kingsbury had changed it to be more pro-oriented during his time as Texas Tech’s coach, under QB Patrick
Mahomes. The offense aims to disperse the defense and force the quarterback into man-to-man coverage while
selecting advantageous matchups.
The shallow cross, when receivers run beneath zones or beat man coverage short by executing cross routes a few
yards past the line of scrimmage, is one of the most important tools in the passing game.
There are particular ways to attack this with the passing game as well if they’re facing zone. It is renowned for its
capacity to counter both man coverage and cover-2 zone. Here are several myths and facts regarding the Kingsbury
offense, which is an enhanced version of Air Raid.
Myth: This Offense Doesn’t Allow Teams to Run the Ball
Truth: There was a lot of ball running by the Cardinals.
With 396 running attempts, Arizona was 19th in the nation the first year Kingsbury employed the scheme. The year
before he came, they had placed 28th out of all tries. By Year 2, the 2020 season, he had strengthened personnel and
made adjustments to the offense to better suit the attack for the NFL. At 479, they were the sixth-most ball runners
in the league at the time. They ran it 496 times, which was the seventh-most in 2021.
Myth: Air raid squads could try, but they couldn’t run
In actuality, the 2020 Cardinals ranked seventh in yards rushing with 2,237, even though they were sixth in
attempts. In 2021, they ranked 10th in yards rushed while ranking ninth in attempts. Their hasty efforts relied more
on manpower to be successful. The Cardinals finished lowest in the NFL in terms of rushing the year before they
adopted Kingsbury’s scheme.
Myth: Justin Fields gets traded because Kingsbury is the coordinator
Reality: It’s assumed that they will draft Caleb Williams and trade Fields if they sign Kingsbury. Though it need not
be, that is most likely what would happen. Despite lacking Williams’ offensive expertise, Fields’ speed makes him a
potentially superior runner in this scenario when opponents are more widely spaced. Additionally, opponents’ backs
are turned to the running quarterback as they play more man-to-man coverage. He therefore frequently has a head
start. With Kyler Murray as one of their leading rushers each season, the Cardinals employed this offensive scheme.
Nevertheless, given that Williams has led this offense since before Kingsbury served as an advisor at USC last season,
it is quite likely that Williams will start at quarterback for the Bears. Lincoln Riley, the coach at USC and Oklahoma,
ran it for him.
Myth: There Is No Use for Air-Raid Running Backs
Reality: As a running back, you are really worthless in the Air Raid if you lack versatility. Compared to a traditional
approach, the back becomes a receiver or blocker even more frequently. They are able to run routes out of the
backfield or split out to a wide receiver spot.
Myth: During an air raid, tight ends are really useless.
It is assumed that they would always be using sets of four or five receivers. That may often be the case, but the tight
end might be one of those receivers. The Bears offense targeted tight ends 82 and 112 times in Luke Getsy’s two
seasons there. The Cardinals only thrown to tight ends 56 times in 2019 when Kingsbury took over. That was less
about the position and more about their staff. Charles Clay, Maxx Williams, Dan Arnold, and Darrell Daniels were
the tight ends. After acquiring Zach Ertz, they proceeded to throw to tight ends 115, 108, and 86 times over the
course of three seasons.
