What's the scariest play an NFL defensive lineman could conjure? How about a 6-foot-5, 320-pound, nimble-footed All-Pro offensive lineman barreling towards him with a head of steam after going in motion?
Yeah, that might do it.
The San Francisco 49ers concocted such a scenario in last weekend's NFC Divisional Round win over the Green Bay Packers, putting Trent Williams in motion on a third-and-1 in the second quarter near midfield. The left tackle plowed the road.
"Have you ever been on the street when a car is driving at you? Yeah, it's scary," Niners offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said Thursday. "It's cool, just because it doesn't exist. I just haven't seen that and there's not a man that moves that fast with that much power. It's cool to watch how big he is and how fast he is…When we first practiced that play on whatever it was, Thursday night last week, the defense is watching the scout team defense go, the starting defense is, and we ran the play for the first time and there was probably a buzz for the next five plays. Like, wow. And that's a testament to our football team in general and how they love to play football, which is why we all get excited to play."
The Niners attempted a similar play later in the game. However, Elijah Mitchell was stuffed on fourth-and-1. But the usage of Williams in motion underscores the creativity of the Niners coaching staff and the behemoth left tackle's uncanny athleticism.
"It's the same play we've been doing for 10 years," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "What's one more piece we can add to it. It used to only be Kyle Juszczyk, and then we added the tight ends. Then we added running backs and then we added receivers. Trent mentioned it to me a long time ago halfway joking. And he was the only guy left and he's probably the best guy you could imagine ever doing it. I can't believe it's legal. It's scary for me to even watch. We did it once. We did it in walkthrough the night before we left here. It's not something Trent had to practice too much.
"He just had to time out the motion with the snap count and run full speed through the D gap and clean up whoever shows. And when they showed, they got out of there pretty fast. I thought that was one of the cooler plays I've seen just because of who was on it. Not because of the play we ran."
Oh, it's legal, Kyle. There are just few OTs that massive who can get to the right place at the right time -- and probably even fewer coaches that would trust a tackle in that spot.
For defensive players, the thought of Williams barreling downhill isn't a fun picture.
"That would be pretty scary," Niners' Nick Bosa said laughing, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "I think he's a beast, and you definitely want to find as many ways to gain an advantage as you can when you have a guy like that on your team."
Williams missed his second consecutive day of practice on Thursday while dealing with an ankle injury leading to questions about his status heading into the NFC Championship Game Sunday against the L.A. Rams.
If Williams plays, tight end George Kittle has another idea how the Niners could add a wrinkle with the big OT.
"Let's just hand him off the ball one of these times," the tight end quipped. "I don't know if anyone is going to try to tackle him. It's fun play, though."
