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Geno Smith had success over the season's final month operating out of the shotgun formation.

(Rhona Wise/EPA)

Watching the NFL playoffs this weekend, one noticeable element of each game was how well quarterbacks -- young guys and veterans -- commanded their offenses. If the Jets are able to leap into the playoffs next season, they will surely need more stable from their quarterback. If Geno Smith is to be the quarterback who starts for the Jets next season, surely last year's final four games will act as a foundation for his growth as well as a blueprint for how the Jets offense will look.

Much of the 2013 season for Smith and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg could be considered a learning process. Both guys were in their first seasons working with the Jets and each other (that Smith was also in his first season in the NFL compounded the learning curve). It seemed to take time for Mornhinweg to adjust his offensive system to suit Smith.

In addition to calling plays that hinged on Smith's ability to run the football and speeding up the tempo (frequently, the Jets didn't huddle), one noticeable adjustment over the season's concluding month was the Jets operated quite a lot out of the shotgun formation. Remember, in college Smith worked almost exclusively from the shotgun -- so much so that quarterbacks coach David Lee had to teach him the fundamentals of dropping to throw after taking a snap from under center once the Jets drafted the quarterback.

Clearly, Smith is very comfortable out of shotgun -- and he probably prefers it to crouching under center. The results demonstrated that the Jets offense found a system that worked. Against the Cleveland Browns in Week 16, the Jets offense had four scoring drives tracking at least 79 yards for the first time in 40 years.

Against the Miami Dolphins a week later, the trend that started in Week 14 against the Oakland Raiders continued. The Jets scored on drives of 80, 71 and 63 yards. Each of those drives lasted at least nine plays. A 14-play, 71-yard drive resulted in a missed field goal.

"We found what has worked for us and stayed the course with it," Chris Ivory said after the season-ending win.

Looking back at the 10 plays from each game that earned the greatest chunks of yardage, each came when Smith lined up in the shotgun. In Week 15 against the Carolina Panthers, nine of the Jets' 10 highest-gaining plays came from the shotgun. Certainly, there are plenty of examples to illustrate how Smith succeeded out of the gun at the end of the season. Let's look at one from the Week 17 against the Dolphins.

The situation: 2nd and 5 at the Dolphins' 48-yard line; 7:01 mark of second quarter

The result: Smith 24-yard pass to Santonio Holmes

The play: Let's preface this analysis by mentioning the obvious: Smith also benefited greatly from a healthy receiving corps. Toward the end of the season, you could see Smith operating in rhythm with his receivers (particularly David Nelson). That rhythm in games stems from reps on the practice field, and primarily due to injuries during the season, the Jets quarterback and his receivers couldn't always spend that time together. Look at the play counts for wide receivers this season and you'll see what Smith was up against. The Jets ran 1,051 offensive plays in 2013, and no wide receiver participated in more than 57 percent of those snaps.

With the receivers healthy, the Jets started using some complicated formations later in the season. Mornhinweg found success by clustering his receivers. We saw it against the Browns, and again in Miami.

On this play, Smith is in shotgun and alone in the backfield. Five receivers are splayed around the formation. Jeff Cumberland is the only receiver to Smith's left, split wide. To the right, Bilal Powell is lined up wide on the outside of the formation. There is a trio aligned inside of Powell. In the trips formation, Kellen Winslow is in the middle and lined up on the line of scrimmage. Holmes is between Winslow and right tackle Austin Howard. Nelson, like Holmes two yards off the line of scrimmage, is outside of Winslow. Together, the three receivers form what looks like a triangle prior to the snap.

The Dolphins counter with a nickel look -- four down linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs. The DBs are spread evenly, not overloading bodies to match the Jets' formation. That shows Smith that he will see zone coverage on this play.

The Dolphins, in fact, were in a Cover 3 -- a coverage designed to prevent big passing gains down the field by posting a safety deep over the middle of the field and sagging cornerbacks to cover the wide thirds. It's a call that seemed a reaction not just to the Jets' formation but the fact that many offenses tend to shoot the ball deep from just inside the 50-yard line.

Knowing the situation, Mornhinweg wanted to provoke this reaction from the Dolphins defense -- and then exploit the holes in the Cover 3 alignment between the second and third layers of the defense.

As was the case for much of the game, the Jets' offensive line handled Dolphins' pass rush. There was no pressure on Smith as he dropped to his 46-yard line.

Cumberland was a decoy on the play. His role was to sprint deep to occupy Brent Grimes, the cornerback on his side of the field, and clear out space. Powell ran four yards and turned around -- he is Smith's safety valve if the pocket breaks apart.

Winslow and Nelson both cross the field, which pulls the Dolphins' linebackers as well as safety Reshad Jones (who dropped low prior to the snap) to the left side of the field. Nelson runs a shallow drag route while Winslow gets behind the linebackers, angling across the field at the 38-yard line.

Winslow's sharp route-running is a key here because he is leading the way for Holmes. Winslow must get the attention of linebacker Dannell Ellerbee and distract nickel cornerback Jimmy Wilson just enough to allow Holmes to quickly get up the field. Winslow does the job, Ellerbee jumps to him then notices Nelson and releases to the wide receiver.

The alignment of the Jets' receivers and what they do shortly after snap really catches the Dolphins off guard. The movement of Winslow and Nelson sets up Holmes. He jabs with is right foot then jets down the seam, blowing past Wilson, who looks perplexed by his coverage responsibility -- the same predicament the Jets created a week earlier among Browns DBs.

By the time Wilson realizes he should be tailing Holmes, the receiver is past him by four yards. Wilson compounds his error by sneaking a glance at Smith, who at this point has cocked his arm to deliver a throw to Holmes in the hole between Wilson and the deep corner Nolan Carroll. The throw dips low and Holmes makes a nice grab at the Dolphins' 25-yard line.