The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.

We're back from another round of questions, although we are unfortunately coming off another loss for the Washington Commanders. After an exciting first half, the Kansas City Chiefs put up 21 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters, dropping the Commanders to 3-5 near the halfway point of the season.

But there's not much time to reflect on the loss with the Seattle Seahawks coming to Northwest Stadium for a matchup on Sunday Night Football. So, let's dive into what Commanders fans want to know this week.

-- @CityMayn23: Why does the offense run 100% of their plays exclusively out of shotgun? Makes zero sense.

I provided a shorter answer for this last week, but since fans are still perplexed by this, I'll go into a little more detail here.

I think the first thing we need to understand is that it's now common practice for quarterbacks to line up in the shotgun formation. Granted, the Commanders are on the far end of the spectrum -- Jayden Daniels rarely takes snaps under center -- but I believe you would find that teams line up with the quarterback in the shotgun formation more often than not.

It's also worth pointing out that the shotgun formation should not be confused with the pistol formation, which features the quarterback lining up closer to the center, although still not directly under center, with a running back behind him and occasionally to his left or right. The Commanders have utilized this formation often this season, and there's a reason for this that I'll explain in a bit.

There are several benefits to the shotgun formation. In theory, it provides the quarterback with more time to survey his options in the passing game as opposed to starting a play under center, which involves the quarterback going through three-, five- or seven-step drops. It also allows the quarterback to more easily execute RPOs -- a key part of the Commanders' offense -- and provides athletic quarterbacks, which Daniels and Marcus Mariota are, with more opportunities to escape the pocket.

Let's stay on the running game a bit, because the ground game is also an important part of the Commanders' offense. Having the quarterback line up in the backfield (I didn't say the shotgun formation here for a specific reason) allows for a more versatile and diverse run game. Not only do the Commanders have several options in terms of personnel, from Jacory Croskey-Merritt to Deebo Samuel and even Daniels himself, but they like to get those players the ball in different ways through draws, outside zone plays, jet sweeps and other methods.

All those options are available with the quarterback lined up in the backfield, although the shotgun formation does have a weakness on certain run plays. For example, running backs can't get as much of a running start on carries in the shotgun, which is obviously the case when the quarterback is under center. That can prevent running backs from effectively hitting lanes and could limit positive yardage.

And this is where the pistol formation comes into play. If run correctly, this formation has the benefits of a quarterback being under center and in the shotgun formation. The quarterback is deeper in the backfield, providing more time to avoid the pass rush, analyze defenses and create opportunities to escape pressure. The running backs also benefit from this, as they can get the downhill start that is common on plays with the quarterback under center.

It also increases the level of unpredictability from the offense as a whole; with the running back directly behind the quarterback, defenses can't guess the play's direction based on their alignment.

At this point, we need to ask what advantage the Commanders could get by lining up under center. The pistol and shotgun formations allow them to run basically their entire offense in a way that highlights every player while making it difficult to predict what they're running based on formation alone. So, in my opinion, there really isn't a point for them to put their quarterbacks under center outside of just doing it for its own sake, which they won't do.

We also need to remember arguably the most important factor in all this: Daniels, and probably Mariota, both feel most comfortable running the offense lined up in the backfield. It's what they did in college, and both went on to have historic seasons at LSU and Oregon. Good play callers don't just say they're going to put their players in positions that best highlight their skill sets -- they actually do it. I consider Kliff Kingsbury to be a good play caller, and I have confidence in his ability to get the most out of his players.

While it is more commonplace around the NFL to use the shotgun and pistol formations, there are some exceptions to this. You can probably guess the teams; Philadelphia and Buffalo are two of the obvious ones that line their quarterbacks up under center at times. But there are reasons why the Eagles and Bills are able to do this. Both Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen have bigger frames, which means they can take more of a physical toll if needed to run sneaks. For all Daniels is, the young quarterback is not a big player, so why would the Commanders risk injury? The Eagles also have a top three running back in the NFL, so they obviously benefit from letting Saquon Barkley get a running start on plays.

Now, maybe you've read all this and still believe the Commanders should line up under center more often, and that's your prerogative. However, I'm telling you why they believe it gives them the best chance to win to have their offense revolve around the shotgun and pistol formations. It comes down to diversity in their play-calling, which they would lose a bit on plays with Daniels under center, and the quarterback's comfort level.

And of course I think the offense needs to show improvement in the second half of the season, but that has little, if anything, to do with the formations they line up in.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.