Play-caller
- Calls plays: David Blough (OC) — confirmed: promoted from assistant QB coach to OC 2026-01 (ESPN, fetched 2026-07-07); commanders.com June 2026 headline: "Blough wants to elevate personnel in first year as play caller"; NBC Sports/PFT: "Quinn expects more of Jayden Daniels under center with David Blough calling offensive plays" (both fetched 2026-07-07). Quinn (defense-side HC) does not call the offense.
- Tenure with team: 3rd year in the building (assistant QBs coach 2024–25), 1st as OC/play-caller · Prior relationship with QB1: Daniels' position-room coach both NFL seasons; ran the 2026 under-center install with Daniels through OTAs/minicamp (commanders.com minicamp notebook, June 2026, fetched 2026-07-07)
Last 3 play-calling stops (skip non-calling years): none — first-time play-caller at any level; the least-experienced coordinator in the NFL, two seasons as an NFL coach (A to Z Sports, fetched 2026-07-07). Per methodology §9, tree/mentor prior only — every tendency low-confidence:
| Stop (team, yrs) | PROE | Neutral pass% | Sec/play (neutral) | Motion% | PA% | 11 / 12 / 21% | Condensed% | RB tgt share | WR1 TS | Inside-10 pass% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — no prior play-calling stops — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tree prior: Ben Johnson (DET 2022–24, CHI 2025). Blough was in Johnson's DET building 2019–23 (QB/practice squad) and reporting says the install "stylistically looks similar to what Ben Johnson has run with the Lions and Bears": huddle, under center, run-married PA hitting the middle of the field, heavy motion (markbullock.substack / clutchpoints / heavy.com, fetched 2026-07-07) | low conf. (Johnson ~neutral-to-run PROE with elite eff.) | low conf. | slower than 2025 WAS | high (tree) | high (tree, ≥27% band) | 11-lean with real 12/13 (Hogs Haven 13-personnel analysis, fetched 2026-07-07) | UNVERIFIED | mid | high (Johnson fed St. Brown 25%+ TS in DET) | UNVERIFIED |
| Context — void, old caller (Kingsbury): WAS 2025 | UNVERIFIED (raw pass rate 59.6% — pbp_summary, pulled 2026-07-07) | UNVERIFIED (neutral-script split not in data/) | 60.9 plays/gm; NFL-high 50.2% no-huddle (#2 was NO at 18.7%), 70.1% gun/pistol (FTN+participation via nflverse, computed 2026-07-07) | 42.3% (FTN via nflverse, computed 2026-07-07) | 25.3% of pass plays (156 PA / 617 — FTN via nflverse, computed 2026-07-07) | 49.1 / 26.8 / 2.5% (participation via nflverse, computed 2026-07-07) | UNVERIFIED | 12.7% (55 of 432 team targets — receiving.csv, computed 2026-07-07) | 22.9% Deebo (99 tgt); McLaurin 13.9% in 10 injured gm | UNVERIFIED |
Read: Blough is a 30-ish first-time caller installing a Ben Johnson-branch offense — the exact inverse of Kingsbury's league-extreme no-huddle/shotgun operation (50.2% no-huddle was nearly 3× the #2 team). Expect huddle, under-center, run-married play-action and more designed structure for Daniels; Blough: under center "opens up some different schemes in the run game" (clutchpoints/commanders.com, fetched 2026-07-07). Every tendency is low-confidence until on tape — methodology §9 install drag applies in full, all Kingsbury-era designed roles (Deebo manufactured touches, tempo volume) are void, and the Johnson-tree WR1-feeding history plus 224 vacated targets point the passing game hard at McLaurin, with the RB/TE checkdown layer projected healthier than 2025's 12.7% RB target share.
Scheme family
- Run scheme: outside-zone base with gap/duo mix per the Ben Johnson-tree install reporting (markbullock.substack/Hogs Haven, fetched 2026-07-07) — RB fits: one-cut, downhill-with-burst profiles. Croskey-Merritt (one-cut slasher) fits; Kaytron Allen is the short-yardage/duo body (216 lbs, biggest back on roster — roundtable.io, fetched 2026-07-07); Rachaad White fits as the passing-down back, not the zone-runner.
- Pass-game family: Shanahan/McVay-adjacent (Ben Johnson branch) — huddle, under center, run-married PA targeting the middle of the field behind sucked-up LBs, motion/shift variety (markbullock.substack/clutchpoints, fetched 2026-07-07). Implications: mid aDOT with intermediate in-breakers and a real YAC layer; slot and TE roles gain vs the 2025 spread; the WR1 can carry 25%+ TS in this tree (St. Brown precedent); RB targets should climb from 2025's 12.7%. All low-confidence until the install is on tape (§9).
