Welcome long-suffering Dawgs!

My goal is to bring Cleveland Brown’s fans a detailed look at the schemes, plays, and techniques we see every Sunday from our beloved football team!

This blog is a work in progress.  I’ll update the appearance and layout as I have time, but my main focus is to educate (and also learn from) those who want to “get up on the chalkboard” and look at the X’s and O’s of the game!

Check back soon for film breakdowns and chalk talk!

First article!  Thanks for giving me a look!

We’re going to start by examining two plays from the 2014 season to differentiate between “progression” reads and “coverage” reads.

Before going any further you should read this outstanding article by Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com explaining the key differences, as well as strengths and weaknesses, of progression and coverage reads. He does a great job of explaining the concepts. Keep in mind that progression reads are often associated with “pro” style offenses and coverage reads are often generally associated with “college” offenses such as the Spread/Airraid.

If you don’t want to read the article (really you SHOULD read it; Chris does phenomenal film work) I’ll quickly rehash what is said.  Progression reads are sequential (1st option, 2nd option, 3rd option……) while coverage reads generally focus on the action of a single defender (the action of a Cover 2 squat corner determines where the ball goes when running the popular “Smash” concept).

Progression reads generally require more intensive verbiage and emphasis on the timing of the routes with the QB’s drop. In addition progression reads generally have MANY more site adjustments then coverage reads.

Progression reads do not often utilize “mirrored” route concepts, or two-man route concepts to both sides of the field (slant/flat for example). When you hear about “half-field reads”, the offense is generally running a mirrored concept to each side of the field. Pre-snap the QB will choose which side of the field to target based on a variety of factors including coverage shell, defender’s leverage and depth, spacing (field/boundary), personnel match-ups, etc.

Often times the coaches box will determine where the ball is going after scanning the defense at the LOS. This is one of the primary reasons many offenses “hurry” to the LOS. The offensive coaches want to scan the defense, looking for play opportunities based on coverage, alignment, depth, and match-ups.

A Progression Read….

Y-Cross

-This is the popular Y-Cross (Ironically an Airraid staple) that you will see every Sunday. Although the play we will look at has the cross coming from the X WR, the principles of the play concept (a flood) remain. Focus on the X, H, and Y receiver’s routes. Conceptually this play is very similar to another Airraid staple, the Y-Sail.

-First notice the QB’s progression. Next look at the built in hot routes and route options depending on man or zone coverage for the 3 receivers in the combo. Each WR has multiple options on the play depending on how the D attacks the O. Man vs zone coverage, MOFO vs. MOFC, and blitzes all lead to route adjustments. The QB and WR’s MUST be on the same page for the play to work correctly, as the routes could look very different play-to-play based on the D’s play call.

-It goes without saying that the QB MUST be on his P’s and Q’s to run an offense with site adjustments. A conceptual understanding of the play and film work will only take a QB so far; he must process a large amount of information rapidly to make consistently correct decisions.

-It’s vital for the WR’s and QB to make identical reads, otherwise bad things WILL happen. A WR making an incorrect read (looking at you Josh Gordan) can make the QB look very bad, when in reality the QB read the coverage shell correctly and made a throw based on what the WR SHOULD do against that particular coverage. In Gordan’s 3rd (guessing here) game back, he made an incorrect read in which he should have converted a 9 route to a post as the defense was playing split safeties, leaving the middle of the field open. Gordan doesn’t convert the route, Hoyer throws the ball where Gordan should be, and the OBR is up in arms about another Hoyer interception that wasn’t his fault (I’m not a Hoyer fan btw; he is what he is).

Let’s take a look at the play before breaking down the routes and reads:

The Routes….

-This is a basic PA flood that the Brown’s ran into the ground last year. Generally the flat route comes from a RB/FB/TE, but in this case the slot WR will run the 1st level of the flood.

-The X WR will run his crossing route fairly shallow as he must cross the field. He has the option of sitting the route down in the 1st hole he encounters against a zone defense.  Against man coverage, he will continue running and “open the gate” as he crosses the formation to turn the route slightly upfield.

-The slot WR runs a short out to the flat.

-The Z WR runs a clear out route to make room for the flat and intermediate crossing routes. This route is often referred to as a “peak” read. The QB will rarely throw this route, but he will give it a quick glance before working hi-to-lo (Intermediate cross to flat.

The Progression…

-I’ve numbered the reads. Notice that the reads create a triangle (triangle reads create vertical and horizontal stretches on the defense). Also notice that after peaking at the 1st read in the progression, the QB’s naturally eye movement to the 2nd read will allow him to “see cloth” (any defender who could impact the throw). Well-designed route progressions will take the QB’s eyes to WR’s running towards his vision, rather than away. So if the 1st read is along the right side of the field, the 2nd read in the progression should be to a WR running towards the QB’s eyes, rather than away (running the route from left-to-right).

-The QB will read 1. 9/Go/Fly 2. Intermediate cross 3. Flat (hi-to-lo). In this particular play, the Titans play man-hi so the Z WR runs a 9 route (could convert to a post against a 2-hi look), the X continues running across the field as the rule is to “run to grass” against man, and the slot WR pushes his route outside as he is manned-up as well. Although I didn’t screen shot the result of the play, the ball was completed to the Z WR, who ran a nice subtle out-and-up double move.

That’s a VERY simple example of a progression.

Let’s look at an example of a coverage read from our squad:

The Routes and “Read Man”…

-This is a simple route concept out of a stack look.  The outside WR will run a 6-yard out (this is probably a “stick” or option route that plays off the defender’s leverage), while the TE will run a flat route. This combo is great verse man as the stack look creates natural rubs, and good verse most zones as the route’s depths create a vertical (or hi-lo) stretch on the flat defender.

-The read man is circled. Typically defenses will counter a stack alignment by pressing the “point man” at the LOS to disrupt the route’s timing. Before getting to the “if, then” on the read man, we’ll look at the defense’s options for covering the combo.

-D’s typically play this alignment one of two ways: 1. Play straight man 2. Play a “levels” or a “banjo” concept. It’s similar to a switching off a screen in basketball. The point man defender on the LOS will take the 1st inside breaking route/cross/post. The the outside “leveled” defender will take the 1st outside breaking route/flat/corner. This is a very simple example of pattern-matching, as the defense is zone-based until the WR’s declare their intentions via their route stem, at which time it converts to man based on the above rules.

Here’s how the defenders would play “Levels” against the route combo.

And Man….

The Read….

-The point man defender’s reaction post-snap will key man coverage or “levels”:

1. If the defender takes the flat route, the defense is playing straight man

2. If the defender takes the out route that will initially stem vertically, the defense is playing levels and will banjo (switch) the WR’s if they cross each other.

How “Levels” Coverage Works with the Route Combo….

How Man Coverage Works with the Route Combo…

The Play….

-The point man defender widens with the flat route, telling the QB that the defense is in straight man. The read dictates that the QB target the out route, as the leveled CB now has to get over-top the WR.

Quick Read by the QB….

-Look at the open hole created by the defense playing man here. If the D has shown this coverage verse a stack on tape, you can bet that the O’s staff game planned and repped this route combo to take advantage of the CB’s depth and leverage.

Eazy $…

At this point we all know that the Raider’s offense ran a fairly WCO-ish scheme, with LOTS of ball going to the RB/FB out of the backfield.  We’ll look at some common short/intermediate route concepts the offense utilized last year, as well as their base running game (IZ/OZ, power, and the counter), but today I want to breakdown my favorite vertical concepts the switch combo.  I choose this particular play for two reasons: I’m a switch route fan boi and the play design is very clever as all 4 routes work together to achieve multiple goals against multiple defensive shells.  Not a single route is “wasted”.

First, read this article by the always excellent Chris Brown at SmartFootball.com

The gist of the article:

1. “The Switch” is a June Jones/Run-n-Shoot staple, although the play has permeated through the NFL, college, and high school ranks.  Notable NFL teams that run the switch combo include the Broncos, Packers, and Eagles.  Oregon runs several phenomenal versions of the switch out of both a 2X2 and 3X1 formations. Again, read this article by James Light.

2.  Switch routes are VERY flexible.  In the original Run-n-Shoot version they are tagged as option routes, meaning they can be used to beat any coverage shell. Man-hi, Cover 2, Cover 3, Quarters, whatever; the route options allow both WR’s to attack the holes in each coverage.  With that said, in order to run a “pure” version of the concept, LOTS of film room and practice reps are needed as both WR’s and the QB must make the same read.

3. Switch routes can be dressed up with a 3rd WR running a variety of short, intermediate, or vertical routes, although the two most common additions you will see are a flat route or a vertical.

4. Switch routes are VERY effective verse man as the switch action creates a natural rub between the trailing defenders.  It is difficult for a defense to check into a “banjo” (“if the WR’s cross, we switch responsibilities”) call as switch routes are run from normal splits between the #1 and #2 WR.  There is simply too much distance for the defenders to cover in order to pass off the WR’s effectively.

5. Switch routes can be converted to a variety of common 2-man route combos after the “switch” has occurred including smash, curl/pivot, all hitches, post/wheel, and “Pin” (post/dig).  It’s easy to “show” the switch concept, get both defenders on heels as they prepare to defend vertical routes, and then run something short/intermediate in the vacated ares.  In addition, the threat of converting the switch to a variety of route combos “protects” the base play by forcing a D to stay honest if they attempt to bail downfield early.

On to the play….

Presnap….

-The down/distance is 3rd and 7.  The Raiders are pinned fairly deep in their own territory.  It’s important to note that this is the first possesion of the game, which IMO influences the play call.  I think it’s a fair statement to say that most OC’s are less risk-averse early in a 0-0 ballgame.

-The offense is in a trey alignment (1 TE on the LOS and 2 WR’s to the strongside) with the RB splitting the weakside C and G.  This isn’t a “true” wing alignment, but I’m going to call it that anyways.

-From the D’s perspective, 3rd and medium/long is a great blitzing down.  Force a quick throw to the hot WR, rally to the ball to limit YAC, and make the tackle short of the sticks.  As you can see from the image, the D has 6 players in the box, with 2 inverts that can easily slide inside as well.  With only two defenders in a 3-point stance, the pressure can come from either side and any gap. The defense will do their best to disguise the blitz concept and coverage shell behind it until the ball is snapped.  .

-The offense knows that this is a blitzing down/distance.  They will also have tendency data to confirm what the defense likes to do in this spot based on the spot, down, distance, hash, and formation.  My guess is the offense knows that a blitz is coming, meaning the offense will need to play a 3-deep, 3-under zone or Cover 1 (man).  To continue the game of checkers, they probably know the defense expects them to dial up a quick-hitting play as both sides of the ball know a blitz is likely.

-The offense makes the final move of this game of checkers by dialing up a vertical route concept, betting that their protection can hold up.  Based on reasons I’ll get into later I’m surmising that the strongside #1 WR is the intended target from the get go.

-A few notes on the DB’s alignments:

The field CB is playing with a slight inside shade.  Because the WR’s split is so wide (2 yards above the #’s) the CB will use the sideline to “pin” the WR if he breaks outside.  If the WR breaks inside, he will be forced to cross the DB’s face, which will create an opportunity for a jam and require the DB to cover less distance to stay “in phase”.

The boundary CB is aligned with a slight outside shade.  Because the X WR’s split is fairly tight to the core of the formation, the CB cannot rely on the sidelines for help.  Instead he will force the WR inside towards his help, the MOF S.

The Routes…

-My drawing is awful, but you should get the gist of the switch routes.  The #2 WR should run a wheel route, breaking of the butt of the #1 WR at 4-5 yards.  Like mesh, the WR’s must cross as close as possible to maximize the rub action.  This preciseness takes time and reps to perfect.  Again, the goal is to rub the defenders as they cross each other, creating separation for one or both WR’s.

-The TE’s will run what looks like an innocent angled route through both seams. This is the type of creativity I love to see in pass concepts.  The TE must cross the FS’s line of sight in order to take his focus away from the real danger, the switch routes.  Clever use of a decoy to ensure that the DB’s deep help is taking out of the play.

-The X WR will run a shallow cross to the area vacated by the switch routes.  This route will act as the “hot route” should the blitz get home.  As the X WR does not know who will defend him at this point he must be prepared to work through a collision from a LB, as he will likely be “walled off” within 5 yards of the LOS.  In addition, the X WR must identify the coverage shell as man or zone ASAP.  He will sit in the first hole he finds against zone and continue running across the formation verse man.  Even if the switch routes are covered effectively, he will have ALOT of room to make a catch verse man if he can make it across the C’s face, as that entire area of the field will be vacated.

-The RB is part of the pass protection scheme.  As the offense expects a blitz with likely stunts, the OL looks to be in a zone protection: The LT is responsible for the BS (backside) C-gap, the LG is responsible for the BS B-gap, the RB/Wing is responsible for the BS A-gap, the C is responsible for the FS (frontside) A-gap, the RG is responsible for the FS B-gap, and the RT is responsible for the FS C-gap.  This zone pass protection will account for 6 rushers, or allow help if the D brings 5.

It’s important to note that the defense’s choice of personnel likely determined the protection call here.  Although it is difficult to see from the image, the defense is showing double A-gap pressure with 2 LB’s.  Teams do not like to protect the interior by design with RB’s against DLmen.  Instead, they will use a Big-on-Big, slide, or half-slide protection scheme to ensure that OLmen block DLmen, and RB/FB’s block LB’s and DB’s.

Safety Rotation….

-The deep MOF S is “creeping” towards the LOS.  This is an immediate heads up to the QB that the defense is playing games with their coverage shell to bring extra pressure.  If the deep S continues to creep, the only players that can replace him in the MOF are the invert on the right-side of the D’s formation or the CB.  If no one replaces, he is looking at Cover 0 with up to 6 defender coming.

Tipping the Coverage

-Two important things of note here.

First, the NB over the #2 WR has taking a step inside and is in position to attack the strongside C-gap.  The #2 WR immediately notices the shift and gestures towards the NB.  He is calling out an alert/check to the QB as well.

Second, the weakside S has opened his shoulders towards the middle of the field and is rotating deep.

This tells the QB two things:

1.) The defense is likely playing a MOFC (Middle of the field closed) look like Cover 1 or Cover 3

2.) The strongside S most likely has the #2 WR, indicating man coverage (There are a few more minor indicators that this isn’t a zone defense at this point, but t I don’t feel like typing them out).  So, MOFC and man=Man-hi.

The Snap…

-The D is indeed blitzing, bring 5 rushers.

-The weakside S continues to bail towards the MOF, indicating man-hi.  This *could* also be a Cover 0 variation (no deep help) with the S robbing the weakside seam/hook, but I would expect the D to bring a 6th rusher if that were the case.  If you do not get to the QB QUICKLY in Cover 0 very bad things will happen.  I’m not privy to the play, so I can’t say anything definitive.

-To the strongside I’ve used an “M” to mark man v. man match ups with WR #1, #2, and #3 (the TE).

-To be honest I am not quite sure what the boundary CB and MIKE are doing here.  The CB remains flat-footed through the X WR’s break, but I don’t think he is flat-foot reading through the 3-step route tree (read the QB to break on any 3 step drop routes like a slant, then pick up the WR if the QB continues to a 5-step drop).  There are a few option here; I’m can’t decide which one is most likely:

1. Initially MIKE has the RB and the CB has the X WR in straight man.  When the RB stays in to block, the weakside coverage converts to some form of inverted Cover 2 where the MIKE takes a curl/flat drop and the CB plays overtop

2. The CB was playing a flat-footed read technique, but released the X WR when he immediately stemmed inside on the shallow route.  The CB now has the weakside flat but maintains his depth as nothing is showing with the RB in to block.  In this case, the MIKE will take the weakside hook/seam, although he makes no attempt to “wall off” the crosser.

3. Busted coverage.  Who made the mistake?  No idea….

-The weakside S continues to rotate deep.  Notice that he keeps his eyes on the QB and attempts to keep his shoulders as square as possible to the LOS.  Not an easy task and frankly, I think he waited too long on the drop if this is Cover 1.  There is no way he is getting depth on anything vertical; his drop his simply too slow.

-With a S covering the #2 WR, the switch combo just got MUCH more attractive.  The D has put the S in a position in which he must use his feet and hips to transition with the #2 WR when he turns his wheel upfield.  In addition, he must navigate the rub coming his way.

Setting Up the Rub…

-Focus on the switch route at the bottom of the screen.  The #2 WR is preparing to cross the butt of #1 and wheel upfield.  Ideally the “switch” would happen a little bit closer, but I’m nitpicking.  You can see the CB headed straight at the S.  Also notice the large area of field that will be vacated for the crossing route as the WR’s continue their routes downfield.

-Next get eyes on the TE.  He is almost across the S’s face.  In fact, he has drawn the attention of his defender, the deep safety, AND the boundary CB.  I still don’t know what the D was trying to accomplish by their coverage shell to the backside.

-Rather than walling the shallow, the LB inexplicably has turned his head towards away from the WR, thereby allowing a free pass across the field.  He might have been expecting a seam/hook player to the field side to pick up the crosser, but again, i don’t know.

Rubs and Reads….

Note: I erroneously marked “Z shallow” instead of “X shallow” in the image.

-At the bottom of the pic, notice the defenders on a collision course.  This is EXACTLY what the switch concept is designed to create.

-For some reason the deep S has focused in on the shallow cross.  He has broken the cardinal rule of playing Man-hi: DO NOT LET THE “MOST VERTICAL” ROUTE GET OVER TOP OF YOU!  He likely sees the space vacated by the switch routes and the lack of a single pass defender in the area.  He then decides to break on the “open” WR because a completion will result in a 1st down.  Unfortunately this is “hero ball”.  It is not his play to make, and by abandoning his deep responsibilities he allows both switch routes to get behind him.  In his defense, most NFL S’s would not be able to get overtop of the vertical routes when dropping from the opposite side of the field.  It’s simply too much distance to cover.  If he was instructed to drop late in order to disguise the coverage I put this on the defensive coaches as they are asking him to cover that distance.  He needs some depth pre-snap to get there.  With all that said, if this is Cover 0 with a robber (I don’t think it is) then the S did nothing wrong.

Going Downfield….

-The defenders, specifically the CB, do a good job of avoiding the rub.  He is still on the WR’s upfield shoulder and hip, allowing him to make a play on the ball.

-The deep S is breaking hard on the shallow route, although his initial drop would have made it very difficult to get overtop the switches.  To repeat, I think he is looking at an uncovered underneath WR who will make a 1st down catch if the ball is thrown his way.  In addtion the QB is looking towards the strongside of the field.  The S may have read the QB as targeting the crossing route there, as both the switch combo and cross are in his line of site (another hallmark of clever route concept design).

-Ignore my note up top as I am still unsure about the boundary CB and LB’s coverage responsibilities.

Ball Out…

– The ball is out at this point.  I believe the original outside WR (#2 now as the switch has occurred) was the target on this play, with the shallow as a checkdown.  Why?

Notice the new #1 WR cut off his route at the sideline.  He had separation on his man and the throwing window to the deep out is fairly tight.  Why cut off the route and not continue pressing the route vertical?  Teh spacing between the #1 and #2 WR is excellent; neither defender will be able to come off his man and make a play on the ball.  In addition, although you can’t see it in the image, his body language after the stem indicated that he did not expect the ball (He immediately turned his head towards the downfield towards the second vertical route).

-The QB did not wait for #2 WR to stem his route upfield before releasing the ball.  He knows the S is out of the picture so he is anticipating at worst a 1 v 1 matchup if the CB stay in phase.  This is an easy read for an NFL QB when the deep S breaks on an underneath route, although I think Carr knew the S would not be able to influence the switch routes because the drop was so late.

-The targeted WR stems his route beautifully upfield, although the image does not capture it.  Very explosive, sudden cut that creates the separation you will see in the next image.

-Still no idea what the weak side LB is doing aside from covering the s##t out of some grass.

The Catch…

-Great throw by the QB and great job of catching with the hands by the WR.

The TD….

Mark Richt has run a highly successful shallow cross series since his days as Florida State’s offensive coordinator in the mid-late 90’s.  He brought the play to Georgia and continues to run it to this day.  I love the play concept; I REALLY hope Flip brings it with him.

Here’s a diagram of the play straight from FSU’s playbook:

Click here for a look at some All 22 film of the concept.  You’ll also see Richt’s Y-Corner, Y-Stick, and Sail concepts.

Mark Richt’s shallow cross series is VERY flexible in that it’s routes act as both man and zone beaters and the play can be run from almost any formation/personnel grouping.  It’s easy to teach and creates a “triangle read” for the QB (horizontal AND vertical stretch of the D).  The shallow cross acts as a built-in hot route and the “bench route” can be (and usually is) converted to a backside post that can be used to hold the deep safety.  Finally, the frontside choice route from the #2 WR can be tagged to create different looks.  One very common tag is Y corner, creating a “smash” concept between the corner and flat route.  Against single-hi looks the flat route is often converted to a wheel when the RB is manned up by a LB.

On to the play…

The Route Combos…

-I’m tagging this “Y shallow” as the slot WR is running the crossing route

-Notice that the backside “bench route” is run as a post

-The reads are marked.  I’ve also marked the read man.  We’ll see how his action influence the progression in a moment.  The QB’s reads will change based on the D’s coverage shell.

-The really creative part of the play is the weakside TE running a “Choice” route based on the middle of the field coverage.  If he see MOFC (Cover 1/Cover 3) he stays in the seam.  If he see MOFO (Cover 2/Cover 4) he will bend the route inside and settle in the deep hole.  If the TE’s runs a different route here, the read goes 1. Shallow cross 2. Curl 3. Flat

The Coverage Shell…

-Cover 4 or “Quarters”

-SAM and WILL have the flats.  If the WILL doesn’t see any threat to the flat he will “zone up” the weakside hook/seam.  The MIKE will play the strong hook.  He must wall off any crossers and also be prepared to open to the strongside and carry #3 if he goes vertical.

The Snap…

-Both CB’s appear to be using a “scootch step” technique, which is very similar to a flat foot read.  The idea is to delay backpedaling while reading the QB through the 3-step route tree.  If the ball comes out immediately (like a slant), the CB is in position to break on the ball as he doesn’t have to shuffle or T-step to stop his backwards momentum.

-For an unknown reason (bad read, the TE’s inside stem, the defense’s rules for reading #2 in quarters) the weakside S does not read the TE’s stem as vertical

-Notice the SAM widening as he sees the RB threaten the flat.

Reading the MIKE…

-After identifying split safety coverage (MOFO), the QB’s read becomes the MIKE with this route concept.  If the MIKE jumps the crosser as he should, the TE will sit down in the deep hole.  If the MIKE allows the Y a free release across the middle, the Y becomes the first read as the WILL should carry the TE as he is attacking his seam (remember the WILL’s coverage responsibility coverts to zone when no threat to his flat appears).

If the MIKE gets into position to break on the crossing route and the WILL carries the TE, the QB will dump to the RB who is matched up with the SAM in the flat.

-Terrible effort by the WILL to force the TE to stem his route around him.  He gives the runner a free pass.

The MIKE Breaks…

-This is a high school level read when the MIKE break on the crosser.  You can see the TE sitting down in the deep middle (Cover 4’s weak spots are the flats and deep middle of the field).

-I can’t state who was at fault for the breakdown here, the MIKE or the WILL.

1. As the WILL’s coverage has converted to zone it is conceivable that he is expected to carry the TE here, leaving the MIKE to jump the crosser.

2. On the other hand, many defenses use a “RAT” call when they see a shallow crossing route, alerting the backside LB to the play (the WILL in this case) that a crossing route is coming his way.  Because he has the best view of the route/QB and can break into the WR, he takes the shallow cross.  If the defeense made a RAT call when Y stemmed into his crossing route, the MIKE needs to pass off the crosser and get depth as the TE is attacking his hook zone.

Easy $

-Go back to the GIF at the beginning of the post.  You’ll notice that after the play is over, the WILL is gesturing and pointing at the MIKE.  The MIKE was probably responsible for the RAT call, meaning he should have passed the crosser to the WILL and sunk to protect his hook zone.

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Over the previous week I’ve spent several hours watching Raider’s film from the 2014 season to get a feel for some of the formations and concepts we (Dawgs fans) might see this Fall.  Although DeFilippo was not the Raider’s OC, he likely had major input into the overall scheme and week-to-week play call sheet.

A concept that caught my eye was the use of packaged “coverage beaters”.  Many “ahead of the curve” NFL coaches including Andy Reid, Mike McCarthy, and Bill Belichick utilize the concept. I expect the trend to continue as defenses continue to improve at hiding their coverage shells (Cover 1, 2, etc.) pre-snap, forcing QB’s to diagnosis the defense with “live bullets” coming their way.  Throw in the complexity of modern-day NFL defenses (man clues, 2 read, etc.) and you see why QB’s must have both the cognitive skills and work ethic in the film room to stand a chance.

Packaging “coverage beaters” into a single play is VERY simple. Place a “man” beater and a “zone” beater to each side of the formation and target the appropriate route combo. So why do this?

Route combinations are designed to work against the coverage rules of a specific coverage shell.  Good route combos “conflict” a defender by stressing their coverage rules.  For example, the common curl-flat combo attacks the curl/flat defender in Cover 3.

The curl/flat combo is probably the most common Cover 3 beater run at all levels of football, from the NFL down to high school.

The curl/flat defender’s technique is to open at 45 degrees towards the sideline, get to a depth of 10 yards, and drive on the flat if the ball takes him there.

The curl/flat combo will stress the defender’s rules and technique by creating a horizontal stretch (sideline-to-sideline) in which the defender will be wrong regardless of which route he chooses to attack.  If the c/f defender gets depth to step in front of the curl, the ball is going to the flat route.  If the c/f defender jumps the flat route, the curl route will sit down inside the defender with a clear throwing window for the QB.  It’s a lose/lose for the defender.

On the other hand, the curl/flat combo doesn’t work well against man coverage because the defender’s rules are not conflicted.  It’s man coverage; align with proper leverage pre-snap and use your technique to play the man.  In this case the route concept relies on the offensive player winning a 1v1 matchup.

Looking at another example, if the offense is running a man-beater like slant-flat and the defense rotates into a Tampa 2 (a zone-based coverage shell) post-snap, the defense will likely win that match-up as they will have defenders in position to play the route combo. Again, the offense is relying on individual matchups.  It’s great if your team has guys that can win consistently, but offensive schemes that heavily rely on matchups just don’t succeed.  NFL defenders are simply too good.

The idea behind packaging “coverage beaters” is to provide an effective route combination in each play, regardless of whether the defense is in a man or zone-based coverage shell.  The easiest way to do this is to run a “man beater” concept to one side of the formation and a “zone beater” concept to the other.

The QB will scan the defense pre-snap looking for clues that may tip him off to the coverage.  Where are the FS and SS?  How deep are they aligned?  How much depth are the CB’s giving the WR’s? Are they aligned with inside or outside leverage?  A good QB can put these clues together to identify the likely coverage shell pre-snap.  The QB will then target the appropriate route combo based on the pre-snap read.

So on to our example….

Here’s the QB’s first look at the D….

-The defense is showing a 2-Hi look via the alignment of the FS and SS, although NFL defenses are great at hiding their intentions and false keying the offense pre-snap.  NFL-caliber S’s are fast enough to drop down or rotate deep just before the snap, giving the QB little time to process the defensive coverage shell before live bullets are headed his way.

-The offense uses motion from the FB in an attempt to flush out the defense’s intentions.  A good rule of thumb is if a defender follows the motioned player across the formation, the D is in man.  If the defense shifts or “bumps” their alignment towards the motion, the D is in zone.

The “Beaters”…

-The play has packaged double slants, a very common man-beater to the left side of the formation.  To the right side the offense is running a Y-stick concept in which the outside WR will run a flat route and the TE will run a “stick” route away from the defender’s leverage.  The stick/flat combo is a great zone beater as it creates a horizontal stretch against the flat defender.

-The defense does not follow or “bump” when the FB motions, moving the strongside of the formation from left or right.  What does happen is some pointing and gesturing between the FS and SS.  This should immediately tip the QB to a responsibility change between the two, although this doesn’t necessarily tip the coverage.

-Just after the motioned-FB sets to create the “Stack” look, the safeties tip their hand….

Rotation….

-The defense has blinked first.  The SS drops down over the FB at a depth of 7-8 yards while the FS rotates to the middle of the field.  The QB now has several clues he can put together to correctly guess the coverage shell before the ball is snapped:

1. The Single-Hi safety indicates a MOFC coverage (Cover 1 or Cover 3).

2. The QB can probably safely eliminate Cover 3.  The DB’s  appear to be in man-alignment.  They are outside-shaded to force the WR back into their deep help and playing at press-depth (1-2 yards of the LOS).  In a zone defense, the outside DB’s would be aligned with at least part of their backs facing the sideline so they can side-shuffle for depth while keeping their eyes in the backfield on the QB and “man clue” the WR.

3. The defense has 5 men on the LOS.   In addition, the tight splits (“nasty” split) by the stacked WR’s allow for DB’s to get in on the fun as well.  Throw in the SS aggressively dropping and the offense is likely seeing a blitz here.  Because the defense cannot effectively cover twin WR’s to each side of the formation with a 3-under 3-deep zone, man is the likely look.

The QB has to process all this information, as well as team specific tendencies and keys within a second or two, again demonstrating why the ability to quickly process information and make accurate decisions is so vital for success as an NFL QB.

The Defensive Shell…

-The defense does indeed bring 5 men, attempting to stunt the left side of the O-line.  The DB’s hold their ground to press the WR’s hoping the blitz will get to the QB before the WR’s get into their route stems, forcing a sack.  This is a man coverage all the way.

-Notice the S’s depth.  He is 20 yards downfield acting as the last man standing in case a pass is completed.  There is no subtlety to his task; don’t get beat over the top.  Coaches call this “deepest of the deepest”.

-The QB’s head IMMEDIATELY turns to the man-beater route combo, indicating that he correctly identified the coverage as Man-Hi pre-snap.  He knows the double slants are his man beater with the RB as a checkdown.  This is the combo to target.  Their is no time to manipulate pass defenders here (like looking off a safety) as double slants are a 3-step drop.  The QB does not look towards the stick/flat combo as they are a zone beater and he has identified man coverage.

Ball Out…

-The ball is already out as the outside WR pushes off his outside foot to stem the slant route.  There is no LB to squeeze the throwing window (he blitzed) and a properly-run slant route is very difficult to cover in man, particular from outside leverage.  The QB knows all this and is anticipating separation.

-Notice the clear throwing lane created by the blitzing LB.  This is a 7 on 7 throw.  Easy money for an NFL QB and WR.

The Completion…

After devoting my previous three “Previewing Flip’s Offense” post to pass concepts I want to pivot and look at the run game. We’ll look at some IZ, OZ, power, and counter over the course of our run-game analysis, but I want to kick this off with a play that merges the “old school” Iso with the “new school” “wham” block.

Ohio State fans will immediately recognize the “wham” block as it became a go-to concept in the Buckeye’s running game during their national championship run.  Focus on the TE (#81 aligned on the inside leg of the right tackle) as he “whams” the RDE:

The “wham” block is an inside trap block in which an interior defensive linemen is left unblocked to be “whammed” by a TE/H-Back coming across the formation.  Trap plays have been around for decades (The Fullback trap is an OLD Wing-T staple) but many people associate “arc”, “slice”, and “wham” blocks with the “new school” inside zone schemes that read the backside DE (note that the “wham” block works great in power-blocking schemes as well; the “wham” was a big part of Jim Harbaugh’s run game in San Francisco).

I’m a BIG fan of integrating trap blocking into the run game for three reasons:

1. The “wham” block lets the center immediately climb to the 2nd level and stick on a LB.  “Clean” LB’s can flow and make tackles in the run game.  LB’s that must consistently shed blockers are rarely threats.

2. Well-designed “wham” blocks create great blocking angles on defenders.  I cannot overemphasize how important angles and leverage are to delivering consistent movement in the run game.

3. The “wham” block punishes interior linemen who shoot their run fits aggressively and get too far up field.  By bringing the block across the formation, the D linemen is put in a position to be “ear holed” by the whammer.  An ear holed D linemen will slow down, making the Oline’s base reach and power blocks more effective.

The play we’re about to look at caught my eye for two reasons.  First as mentioned above, I like the concept of marrying the ISO play with the wham block.  Next, the play was very clever from a personnel/match perspective as the concept allowed the offense to double-team JJ Watts while still putting a hat-on-a-hat at the POA.

The Iso…

This is the basic old school “Iso” (man-blocking)  out of 21 personnel (2 RB’s/1TE).  The blocking is relatively straightforward.  The OLine will base block, with the C/G generally double-teaming the shaded nose and climbing to the 2nd level to pick up a LB. The FB will lead through the hole and attack the MIKE (generally) as he fills.

The FB and RB will both make reads on the ISO.

The FB will first read the MIKE’s run fit into his gap.  If the MIKE attacks the gap using a “spill” technique (attack the inside of the gap to force the ball outside) teh FB will “wall off” the MIKE from the play by attacking his outside shoulder, allowing the RB to slide on behind him.  If the MIKE takes the gap head on get ready for a collision; the FB’s job is now to clack the MIKE in the hole.

The RB must read the first playside D-Linemen to determine what gap he will hit (we’ll call him the DT from here on out).  If the DT attacks the playside B gap or widens, hit the playside A gap.  If the DT squeezes inside hit the B-gap he just vacated.  As always, the RB must “press the hole” (looking at you Trent Richardson) by showing speed to AND through the hole.

From there the RB will read the FB’s butt as he fits on the MIKE to determine what path to take.

First the play from two views.,,,

The Formation….

-Notice the H-Back motions to the center and back, settling outside the tackle’s outside leg.  This motion and reset reduces the distance the H-Back must cover to get to his block.  If the distance is too great the NT will blow up the play before he can be trapped.

-Count the box numbers for the offense and defense.  Although the Raider’s running game was pretty bad, they SHOULD run the ball here as they face a “light box”.  If the offense can’t get it done with an 8 on 7 advantage in numbers it may be time for a visit to the CFL.

The Blocks…

-Here’s the creative play design that caught my eye.  Because the offense has a numbers advantage they can out-leverage the defense at the POA, allowing a double-team on JJ Watts.

The blocking assignments:

LT – Base block the “Jack” (stand up LB)

LG – Base block the 3-technique

C – Release the NT and climb to the WILL

RG/RT – Double-team Watts.  If Watts is secured, the O-Linemen in the best position to do so should climb to the second level and “look for work” (attack the first defender seen, reading inside-to-out).

TE – Base block the SAM

H-Back – Arc across the formation and “ear hole” the NT.  If done properly, the angle of the block will clear out the playside A-gap

FB – Read the MIKE

RB – Aim for the outside hip of the BSG; read the playside DT and FB

WR’s – Stalk block the safeties, make the CB’s tackle

The Center Releases…

-Notice the Center releasing through the backside A-gap to clear the “tilted” NT.  He will climb to the WILL and attempt to seal the backside of the play at the second level.

-You can see the H-Back coming parallel to the LOS with a full head of speed.  This will be a good collision.

-So far the RT is holding his own with Watts.  The RG is preparing to engage Watts as well, although if Watts is already sealed the double-team will be unnecessary.  Because it’s JJ Watts, assume you will need two blockers to control him if you are running at him.

-The timing of the play is very important.  First, the QB must get depth in his drop before handing the ball off to give the blocks time to get there.  Also, the H-Back must be able to clear over the FB to hit his wham block.

Whamming the NT….

-The H-Back does a great job of “ear holing” the NT.  If you go back and watch the play in real time you’ll see the violence of the block.  Great job by the H-Back not giving ground against the biggest guy on the field.

-The RT has sealed JJ Watts single-handed, a daunting task for any offensive lineman.  Because Watts is secure the RG (#77) climbs to the 2nd level “looking for work”.

-The H-Back and LT have created a huge lane for the RB.  He knows he is hitting the B-gap at this points.  His next task is to read the FB’s block on the MIKE.

-Because the MIKE fits to the inside of the running lane, the FB attacks his outside shoulder.

-As the NT and MIKE have been sealed inside with Watts sealed outside, the RB’s read is the playside B-gap.

-As Watts continues to push up field through the C-gap, the tackle “logs” him by rolling him around so the play can hit behind his back.

Finishing a Play Strong….

-The RB does an outstanding job of finishing the play by laying out the CB.  Props to the CB for having the heart to fill, but he’s outmatched.  This is a great example of “running behind your pads”.  Get low, secure the ball, give the defenders nothing but shoulder pads, elbows, and knees to hit.  Complete the run by falling forward for extra yardage.  Go back and watch the hit on the CB again, the image doesn’t do it justice.

Like many I have awaiting some specific, up-to-date information about what we should expect to see from Flip’s offense this season.  We finally got a nugget from Terry’s Talkin’ this week:

1. They have been throwing a lot of swing passes to receivers in motion, which appears to be a significant part of DeFilippo’s offense. That also might help the backs catch more passes.

Using this quote I went back to the lab to look for pass concepts that integrated WR/RB motion at the snap of the ball. Before diving into the play I want to ensure that everyone is clear that we are looking at motion as the ball is snapped, not motion-and-reset.

Motion (both “slo-mo” and “jet”) as the ball is snapped is used for a variety of reasons.  It can create angles to run inside-breaking-routes like a shallow cross, it can reduce the distance a WR needs to cover if his route will take him across the field, it can help the WR release “clean” at the LOS by helping him avoid jams and collisions within the 5 yard “hands on” zone, it gives the WR a small “spring” as he works to full speed in his route, it creates great angle for “cracks” on LB’s, etc.

The play we are about to look at is  very similar conceptually to Shanahan’s PA “Flood” concepts we saw last year, so parts will look familiar.  The two components of the play that caught my eye was the creative use of WR motion to “flood” the field away from the play action and the use of a “swap” by bringing the underneath route from across the formation.

Let’s look at the play and break down some film…

-The offense is in 2nd and 10 so both run and pass are on the table.

-The offense is in a “trey” alignment, with twin WR’s and a TE to the “field” (wide-side) and a single WR to the “boundary” (short-side)–> Ignore my typo of “formation” in the pic!!!!!!

-The offense will run an OVS, or Outside Vertical Stretch (Just a fancy way of saying a “flood” concept).  The OVS concept is VERY flexible in that it can be run from almost any formation, and the routes can come from a variety of personnel (WR/TE/RB/FB/H-back).

-The OVS works particularly well off play action (PA).  The most popular variant of the OVS is probably the famous Airraid “Y-Sail”; if you’ve watched any Ohio State football over the previous three seasons you’ll recognize the play as Urban LOVES the concept.

The Routes…

-An OVS will generally contain the following three routes:

1. A clear-out or 9 route from the #1 receiver to the playside.  His job is to clear out the CB to create space for the intermediate and short route coming that way.

In this case the clear-out is ran as an “option route”, meaning the coverage shell, as well as the CB and S’s alignment/technique will determine the route.  If the defense runs a Cover 2/Cover 4 shell or the WR is “capped”(the defender is overtop him), he will covert the route to a deep comeback at 18ish yards.  If the defense shows a single safety shell (Cover 1/3) and the WR can clear the DB he will run a 9 or go route.

2. In this example the intermediate route will come from the TE, who will run an intermediate cross from the LOS across the formation.  His route should be run at a depth of 10-12 yards to create proper vertical spacing for the flat route that will come underneath him.  Route spacing is VITAL to most pass concepts as condensed route spacing will allow one defender to effectively guard two offensive players.

3. This is the creative part of the play.  Generally, the flat route in a standard flood will come from a TE/RB/FB/H-back that is aligned to the play side.  To say it another way the flat will come from a player who is ALREADY aligned to side of the field the play is run to (the right side in this case).

Because there is no TE/FB/H-Back to run the flat route, the offense elects to run the route with a WR from the opposite side of the formation the “swap”.  Based on his wide split the WR has no chance of getting across the formation from his present alignment above the numbers.

WR motion will shorten the distance he must cover to get the flat, give him a running start on the route, force the defense to rotate on the fly, and provide backfield “cross flow” in which the RB and O-Line move in one direction that may slow run/pass direction keys, with the WR moving opposite.  In addition it will be difficult for the playside flat defender/man responsible for the motioned WR to get “eyes on” him through the motion.

*Note* I use the term “swap boot” whenever I refer to a play that flips the flat route from the playside to the backside, although I’m sure others use it differently.

-Note the second “option” route at the bottom of the screen.  The WR will read the deep S’s here.  If the middle of the field is closed (MOFC) run across the deep S’s face to move his vision; if the middle of the field is open (Cover 2/4/6) run a post that splits the deep S’s in two.  This route is RARELY thrown but is important because it creates a perceived vertical threat the deep S’s must honor.

Reads and Triangles….

-I’ve marked the QB’s progression above.  Generally the clear out is read as a “peak” read, meaning that it will not be thrown unless something drastic like a CB slipping happens.

-Against zone the primary “read” on the play is a “hi-lo” of the flat defender.  If the defender sinks to cushion the cross, throw the flat; if he breaks on the flat, throw the cross.  Make him wrong whichever way he goes.

Against man you’re relying more on poor eye discipline from the defense caused by the PA, slowing them from getting to their man.  You can also create personnel match ups that favor the offense (in this play the motion forces a LB to defend a WR on a pass route).

-Notice that the progression create a triangle, indicating a potential hi-lo/horizontal stretch of the defense.

Eye Discipline….

-Eye discipline is the most important factor to making a correct run/pass read.  Every defender is giving a “key” that will indicate run/pass.  In this case the interior defenders are likely reading the Guard/Center/RB triangle to take them to the ball.  The Guard/Center/RB are all “telling” the defenders OZ left.

-Outside defenders like CB’s and S’s will read the EMLOS (End Man on Line of Scrimmage) using a “hi-hat, lo-hat” rule.  If the defender sees the EMLOS player’s helmet rise he is likely pass blocking.  If the defender sees the EMLOS player’s helmet lower he is likely run blocking.

-Notice in the gif that every “key” the defense is showing is designed to take the offense away from the ball except for the TE.  The SAM does a good job of recognizing the TE’s release and reading pass on the play.

-The FS does a good job of not letting the PA take him away from the play, even for a step, putting him in position to keep the play from busting for even bigger yardage (the FS is keying the EMLOS as well).  All it takes is a lean in the wrong direction to take a FS out of position to play the deep ball.

No Flat Defender…

-Image says it all…

-It’s impossible to say for sure who is responsible for the WR here as the assignment appears to be “bumped” once he releases under the O-line.  It’s either the MIKE or WILL, but without knowing the backside run fits and whether a defender had QB boot contain (at this point in the season Carr has already broken a few 20+ runs off the QB keep from IZ) there is no way to say for certain.

-Creative way of throwing to receivers in motion at the snap within the framework of an OVS concept.

With Flip coming in as the new OC, Brown’s fans have heard rumblings that the backs will be a big part of the passing game this year.

During last week’s minicamp we were treated to this Vine showing a beautiful wheel route from RB Shuan Draughn on LB Paul Kruger.

Although it’s tough to see the routes from the sideline angle, this looks like a horizontal stretch concept (think all hitches) with a tagged wheel route.  You can see how difficult it is for a starting NFL LB to stay with a RB who likely won’t see the 53 man roster. Imagine what happens when Duke Johnson runs it.

Wheel routes out of the backfield work well for 3 reasons:

1, They create two-man route combos to the weakside where you will find LOTS of room to work.  Slant/wheels and post/wheels create explosive plays because if you hit it, there’s ALOT of grass to run in with few defenders covering.

2. Wheel routes create mismatches between a skill player (particularly a fast RB) and a LB.  This is some oversimplification, but in most defenses a LB will be responsible for the flat/flat-runner.  Most LB’s simply don’t have the top end speed, short area burst, and fluid hips to turn and run with a RB.

3. Tagging a wheel route is a great way to protect flat routes from the RB/FB.  If the LB is “cheating” the flat route by aggressively breaking downhill as soon as he reads the RB/FB’s release, use that aggression against him by showing him what he wants to see and simply running by him with the wheel.  Beat him once with a wheel and his flat break will slow down, creating more room for YAC with the flat routes.  The routes are complimentary.

After viewing the Vine, I decided to put the running game on hold to go back and look at tape for some more examples of wheel routes out of the backfield.

I quickly found a great example of a backside wheel route from the week 17 Denver game that resulted in a 38 yard gain.
The Play…

The strongside route combo is a basic OVS (Outside Vertical Stretch) or “Flood” concept.  This play concept is essentially “Y-Sail” out of a twin WR/Wing look.  To the backside the offense runs a dig by the X and the wheel by the RB.

The Routes….

The strongside (count the skill players on each side of the field; the side with the higher number is the strongside) route combo is conceptually similar to the route concept we looked at in my previous post, the “Swap Boot”.

– The #1 WR (when numbering WR’s count outside-o-in) runs a “clear out” to run off the CB, creating room for the routes breaking underneath.

-The #2 WR runs a 14ish yard out route into the area previously occupied by the CB.

-The #3 WR runs a flat route.

The concept’s progression is generally:

1. “Peak” at the clear out route, meaning don’t throw it unless the WR gets clear and immediate separation at the LOS.  This route is rarely thrown.

2. The 2nd level route, in this case the out

3. The flat route.

The route concept creates a “vertical stretch” against the flat player in a zone defense.  This stretch is often referred to as a “Hi-Li” read.  If the flat defenders sinks to cushion the speed out, throw the flat.  If the flat defender break on the flat route, throw the speed out over his head.

Here’s how the concept plays out against Cover 3 “Buzz”:

Notice that the stronside curl/flat defender (The SAM in this case) has routes coming both underneath and overtop.  If read correctly the throw will make him wrong if he cushions the out OR breaks on the flat.  His curl/flat drop rules are conflicted here.

Against man this concept works best when paired with play action, as the offense’s false run keys should slow the interior defenders from getting to their man.

Let’s move up top next.  We see a deep slant (most slants should stem at 3 steps to align with the QB’s 3-step drop) and the wheel route.

A couple things going on here.

The slant is run to “clear out” the CB.  The sideline must be clear for the wheel route to be run properly. The ILB to the RB’s side will have him if he releases into a pass route.  This is the mismatch potential the offense is looking for.  Again the goal is the “show” the flat route, widening the LB and pulling him towards the LOS, then running right by him.

Without viewing more film of the concept I can’t say for certain if the wheel route is part of the backside route structure, if it was tagged for *this* particular play because the LB was getting nosy, or if the RB has the option of converting the flat to a wheel based on the coverage.

I want to emphasize that in this play concept the wheel route is a 4th/5th option, or dump off.  Against zone the ball is going to the “Flood” concept.  However, the reason these backside options are tagged becomes apparent by looking at the play again with a focus on the defensive coverage shell.

At first glance I’m not sure if the defense is in a Cover 1 robber look or a Cover 3 “push” to the trey side. Regardless of the coverage shell it is apparent very quickly that the OVS is covered at all three levels.  Time to move to the backside.

First look at the dig.  Notice how much space the wheel route has now that the CB is cleared from the sideline.  If the “down” safety didn’t have his eyes on the OVS the dig would have taken him away from the wheel as well.

Focus on the RB.  Notice how he sells the flat route by both his initial flat route stem to the sideline and getting his head around like he is looking for the ball before turning upfield.

I cut off the end of the play, but the LB eventually pushes the RB out of bounds near the 50 for an explosive gain of a backside 4th/5th option.

In my next post we’ll look at a 5-receiver pass concept in which the RB is the primary read.

This post by the always great Jim Light motivated me to go back and look at some defensive film from the 2014 season with the goal of finding some creative defensive schematics that led to turnovers.

The Jags game immediately came to mind as the defense picked off Blake Bortles three times, including two by Tashaun Gipson.  His second interception caught my eye as Jim O’Neil’s used a combination of offensive tendency via film study, a blitz bluff, and solid backend coverage to confuse Blake Bortles into his second interception of the afternoon.

The game situation is 6-0 Cleveland with 3:30 to go in the 2nd quarter, The down/distance is 3rd and 4 at the Jag’s 26 yard line.

Gun Empty Bunch Strong and Routes…

3rd and 4 is a tough down for the defense to play as both the pass and run are on the table.  The Jags tip their intention by coming out in an “empty” set with the strongside WR’s aligned in a “bunch”.

Based on the down/distance and presnap formation the offense is looking to convert something short using a dressed up horizontal spacing concept to the strongside of the formation.  The backside routes act as hots should the defense blitz.

Setting up the Defense….

A couple things to note.  First, notice the MIKE and WILL threatening the A-gaps.  A-gap pressure is TOUGH on a QB as it hits quickly and does not allow them to step up into the pocket.

With the double A-gap threat and 4 “down” rushers (I’m including Sheard as a down linemen although he doesn’t use a three-point stance and slides in late) Bortles is looking at a possible 6-man rush with only 5 blockers.  This is EXACTLY what the defense wants him to see.

From VERY limited film study of the 2014 Jags offense I noticed that when blitzed in empty, the QB’s “hot” route was generally built into the weakside of the formation.  The hot routes are 3-step, inside-breaking routes like the slant and shallow cross.  The goal is to get the ball out of the QB’s hands quickly before the blitz can get home.

If I can see this, I promise you Pettine and company see it as well.  Here’s an example of a backside hot route out of the same formation from week 2:

So down to brass tacks….

The defense’s goal is to “bluff” the double A-gap pressure both presnap and at the snap and then drop the MIKE and WILL into coverage.  Notice that both take a hard pump fake forward at the snap to sell the blitz and “show” pressure before dropping out to their coverage responsibility.

The defense is playing a Cover 4 shell, or “Quad”, with a “box” check to the strongside (count which side has more WR’s/TE’s/RB’s; remember there are 5 total skill position players in a formation).

We’ll breakdown the coverage by looking at the strongside and weakside individually…

The “Box” Check…

Because the offense is aligned in a “bunch” the defense automatically checks to a “box” call.  I’ve focused on the Quarters box check in a previous post so I’m going to quickly review the box and move on.

The “box” check is a 4 over 3 coverage that plays out like a matchup zone in basketball.  It’s pattern matching on steroids.  Each defender will man up a WR based on the WR’s route stem after the snap.  After the patterns have distributed, each route will be covered with a free defender to bracket based on the route concept.

Slow-Stepping the Backside…

The defense is playing standard Quarters to the backside (they *could* be playing man based on their depth, but I would expect the DB’s to press with no deep safety help).

Both DB’s are playing with a slight inside shade (or inside leverage) to help prevent the defender from crossing their face (This is particularly useful for the CB as he can use the sideline for help when defending downfield routes).  The CB and Gipson align at a depth of 7 yards.

Depth or “cushion” is vital to their function within the play as they will “slow step” at the snap to read the QB’s eyes and WR’s through the 3-step route tree. (Note there are probably LOTS of different name for this technique; I know it as a slow step but different coaches will label the technique differently).

This technique is similar to the “flat foot read” many of the top CB’s in the game use.  Don’t backpedal at the snap, read through the 3-step routes, and break downhill to the ball on slants/hitches/shallows/quick outs.  If the WR doesn’t stem his route through the 3-step game, open the hips and stay on top of the WR past 10 yards.

The DB’s will “slow read” the routes here as they expect Bortels to look to his backside hot route based on the presnap “bluff”.  They are expecting the ball to come out quick as Bortle should think he has to beat 6 v 5 pressure.  So the DB’s will read the QB’s eyes and the WR’s route stems, with the WILL “buzzing” into the hook/curl zone to squeeze the throwing window and create visual confusion.

If the WR’s do not run quick game routes the DB’s will open and man turn at the 10ish yard line.  If this is a “true” Cover 4 shell, the DB’s will use a “zorro” technique to switch off the WR’s if they run a “switch” concept like post/wheel.

Eyes on the QB/WR…

At the snap the CB and Gipson “slow step”, reading the QB’s eyes/WR’s stem.  After a hard fake to sell the blitz the WILL opens at 45 degrees towards the sideline, looking to “buzz” underneath any inside-breaking routes.

Boxing the Bunch…

Outstanding coverage by the CB, SAM, MIKE, and SS.  Every WR is covered with the inside hitch bracketed by the MIKE and SS.

Breaking on the Ball…

Gipson breaks downhill before Bortles starts his throwing motion.  So how does he do this?

“Eyes on the WR” allow Gipson to pay downhill as soon as he sees the route stem into a slant.  It’s a calculated gamble that the bluffed blitz will cause Bortles to look hot to his inside-breaking route.  Gipson breaks so quickly that he beats the WR to the ball (the WR HAS to get his head around MUCH quicker; as soon as he sees a FS lined up over him with no deep help he should know something is up).

Gipson’s Technique…

Let’s take a look at Gipson’s technique.  First, feet shoulder width and knees bent in his stance for a “power base”. “Eyes/nose over toes” to lower the body’s center of gravity and keep the weight on the balls of the feet.  At the snap he leads with his butt and keeps his shoulders square through his break.

Pay close attention to his quick, short steps.  These quick steps allow Gipson to transition into his break with little wasted motion.  He drives to the WR’s upfield shoulder and undercuts the route to take the ball away before the WR has his head around.

Even if Gipson was slower in his break he would be in position to drive through the defender and break up the pass.

Great use of tendency via film study, blitz disguise/bluff, and coverage scheme/technique to bait a rookie QB into a turnover.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT PREVIOUS BLOGS INCLUDING “PACKAGING COVERAGE BEATERS”, “THE SHALLOW CROSS WITH A TWIST”,  AND “THE RUNNING BACK WHEEL”….Thanks for the read!

Many football junkies are familiar with Pete Carrol’s outstanding teaching video detailing the Seahawk’s use of “rugby” style tackling.  While watching a some film earlier today I noticed a great example of the Brown’s defense executing the video’s concept of “Compression Tackles” (the technique starts at 17:00).

“Compression Tackling” is nothing new or revolutionary to proper ball pursuit, but before we look at the concept let’s step back and look at team tackling as a whole.

We all know how the defense fared against the run last year.  BAD BAD BAD!  The main culprit IMO was the lack of execution in “run fits”

In coaching circles “run fit” has become the buzzword for describing how a defense tackles as a team.  It synthesizes the various responsibilities/techniques used to attack the ball and bring the ball carrier to the ground. Terms  like”gap control”, “setting the edge” etc. do not address how the various components of a defense work together holistically to swarm the ball.

The easiest way to visualize team tackling is to break up responsibilities into three categories (This explanation is VERY simplistic, but it works): Spill, force, and alley fill.  After a brief bread down of the three parts, we’ll look at how they work together.

Here’s the play (Yes I know I’m showing you a screen pass; the same principles apply and I think the clip makes visualization of the concept easier):

1. “Spill” Players 

“Spill” players are responsible for forcing the ball laterally down the LOS (east-west).  The general technique is to attack the inside shoulder of the blocker/ball carrier, forcing him to “spill” outside.

A defender can be in his correct gap (aka gap responsibility) and still lose control if he does not attack the inside of the gap, forcing the ball outside.

Spill players are generally interior DL-men and ILB’s.

2. “Force” players

Note the wide 9 (LDE) *could* have strongside force here, but I doubt it based on the offense’es alignment

“Force” players are responsible for attacking the outside shoulder of the block/ball carrier to turn the ball back inside towards the “spill players”.  The general technique is to keep the outside shoulder/arm free, or not get “reached” in coach-speak.

Each side of the field will have a single force player; it can be a DE, OLB, S, or CB depending on the defense’s alignment.

The force player will “set the edge” of the defense; the key is determining which player is responsible for force. If the force player executes his assignment correctly he will turn the ball back inside towards the spill players, who are flowing down the LOS.  The ball carrier will then be meet in the middle by both the force and spill defenders.

The force player must not position himself too wide of the formation’s core or allow himself to be pushed outside, as this will create a running lane between the spill and force player.  He should attack the WR’s block and squeeze him back towards the formation, shortening distance in the allye.

Sometimes you’ll see the force player chastised for not making a tackle when the ball carrier cuts inside of him. This IS NOT the force player’s job.  Making the tackle is icing on the cake, but his 1st responsibility is to not get reached and force the ball back inside.

3. “Alley Fill”

The alley fill will attempt to meet the ball heads-up between the spill and force players.  Defenses count on the alley fill to be unblocked, which should reflect in tackles near the LOS for the FS/SS.

He should “fit” under control in case the ball escapes the spill/force defenders.  He must also play force on the fly if the original force player is pinned inside ( “Crack replace” technique).

Fill players are generally safeties.

Putting it Together….

Here’s how the three responsibilities look together:

1. Spill players – Black box

2. Force players – Red box

3. Alley fill – Blue box

So spill players force the ball outside, force players force the ball inside, and the alley fill meets in the middle.  If executed correctly, all three should converge on the ball carrier from the front, right, and left.  That’s how you tackle for minimal gains.

Here’s the play again.  Try to pick out the spill, force, and alley fill players on the fly.  Look closely at how they attack the ball.

Let’s look at another good example of the 3 “run fit” responsibilities coming together to create a negative play….

The Titans are running Outside Zone to the weakside of the field (the blocking should look familiar).

Here are the responsibilities:

Spill Players

-The 4-man D-line (I’m including Kruger) and MIKE/WILL.  Again, spill the ball laterally.  Attack the inside of your gap.

Force Player

-Because the defense is in a quarter/quarter/half, or Cover 6, the weakside CB has force here.  He will use a “squat” technique as he is responsible for the flat in the passing game.  Because he is “squatting” on the flat, he will have force to his side.

His technique is to keep his outside arm/shoulder free (don’t get “reached”) and attempt to squeeze the blocker back inside to narrow the alley width.  His first priority is to force the ball back inside.

Alley Fill

-The WS (weak safety) will fill the alley on weakside runs.  He should meet “in the middle” with the force and spill players squeezing the ball from both sides.  He will meet the ball head on, under control.

Here’s the play from wide and tight angles:

Force Notes:

-The force defender, Joe Haden (#23), fights hard to free himself from the initial block.  He doesn’t dip inside and fights to maintain outside leverage to the ball.

When the ball carrier arrives, notice how he attacks the outside half of the ball carrier.  He does to ensure that even if he misses the tackle, the ball is forced back inside to the pursuit (provided by the spill players).

Spill Notes

-Although Kruger doesn’t make the tackle, he does force the ball east-west towards the sideline.  Again, notice how he attacks the inside of the C-gap to bounce the ball outside

-The Titans get great 2nd level blocks on the LB’s, but look at Armonty Bryant’s (#95) effort to chase the ball laterally.

Fill Notes

-Donte Whitner (#31) gets to the alley in time to help clean up, although the tackle has already been secured.

So you have a spill player (Kruger) forcing the ball to move laterally  the force player (Haden) hitting the ball carrier from the outside, another spill player (Bryant) hitting the ball carrier from the inside, and the alley fill (Whitner) meeting the ball carrier head up.

That’s how you attack the ball……

In my next post we’ll breakdown of the “compression tackle” technique we see in both plays….

Compression tackling 101….

If you haven’t already, go back to “Getting the Ball Carrier to the Ground: Team Tackling 101″ and get the basics of team tackling down.

Brief review…

-Spill players (generally LB’s/DL) force the ball outside, or east/west.

-Force players (LB’s/S’s/CB’s) squeeze the ball back inside

-Alley Fills meet the ball in the area between the force and spill players.

-Backside contain (usually the bs safety) don’t chase sideline-to-sideline, but midpoint in case the ball cuts back across the field.

If everyone executes their assignment correctly, the ball has no where to go.  The force player squeezes it inside, the spill players push it outside, and the alley fill meets in the middle.  The ball carrier is fitted from the left, right, and heads up.

The concept of compression tackling is used by any good-tackling defense, but the Seahawk’s video does a great job articulating the concept and demonstrating drills that can used during tackling circuit to reinforce the concept. The vid does a great job of breaking the concept down into discreet, bite-sized coaching points that can be taught and repped.

So what is compression tackling?

Pete Carroll defines it as a tackle that occurs with two or more defenders.  Compression tackles occur between players from any position on the field.  Sometimes it’s a DE/DT, sometimes a DE/LB, sometimes a S/LB, sometimes a CB/S, etc.

Here are some examples straight from Pete Carroll’s video…

CB and LB

S and LB

DT and DE

So what are the coaching points?

If your remember anything about compression tackling, remember the slogan “Own your leverage”.

Simply put, “Owning your leverage” means that any player attacking the ball carrier from the outside will attack outside-to-in, while players attacking the ball carrier from the inside will attack inside-to-out.  If you have outside leverage on the ball, the ball carrier CANNOT get outside of your body.  If you have inside leverage on the ball, the ball CANNOT get INSIDE your body.  As you can see from the video above, when both players “Own their leverage” they will meet the ball carrier in the middle (like a force and spill player).

The coaching points are relatively simple:

-Outside leverage players aim for the ball carrier’s outside hip; inside leverage defenders aim for the ball carrier’s inside hip.

-As both players approach the ball carrier, they will squeeze together towards their respective aiming points.  They must not squeeze too tight or the ball carrier will have an opportunity to escape outside/inside.  Again, “own your leverage”

-When closing on the ball, defenders will “get athletic” in preparation for the tackle.  Their bodies should be in position to strike, with the inside foot up.  In the Seahawk’s system defenders will generally strike the ball carrier in the thigh area with the inside shoulder. and chest  The head should stay on the outside and the arms should wrap.  They are taught to “drive for 5″ by moving their feet after making contact and wrapping (Go back up to the example videos; you’ll see the drive).

-Defenders MUST focus on the ball carrier’s waist.  NFL WR’s and RB’s are quick as hell and shifty.  It’s easy to lose leverage if the defender focuses on the shoulders and head.  The hips don’t lie, always focus on them to see where the ball carrier is going.  It’s also important for the defenders not to lunge toward the ball carrier in the open field.  Eyes on the waist, keep moving your feet, and close on the ball.  While the defender is trying to shake you the other defender is closing in on him from the other side.  Let him dance.

Here’s a clip of the Seahawks running the compression drill as part of their tackling circuit.  Focus on how defenders stick to their aiming points and “own their leverage” regardless of the angle they take to the ball.  Also pay attention to the defender’s bodies when they ball carrier starts dancing.  They “get athletic” and move their feet to keep the ball from breaking outside/inside.

Also, pay close attention to how the defenders adjust their path to the ball carrier when the ball isn’t thrown directly down the middle.  You’ll see the play side defender angle his path to force the ball back towards his partner while establishing his leverage.

Here are a few examples of the Brown’s D executing the concept of compression tackling, although I don’t know if it is explicitly taught and repped as part of the tackling circuit.

-Inside-leveraged defenders attack the inside of the ball carrier; outside-leveraged defenders attack the outside of the ball carrier.  Meet in the middle and the ball has no where to go.

I was planning on posting a view examples of what happens when a defender loses his leverage, but I’m running out of steam at this point.  I’ll update in a few days.

OSU fans were introduced to the “Bear” front after Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster held the vaunted Buckeye offense to 327 total yards and 3 turnovers in an opening night 35-21 victory in Columbus last season.

After an offseason fueled by speculation into what Bud Foster had up his sleeve for Ohio State’s opening night rematch in Lynchburg, he pulled the ultimate rabbit out of the hat by utilizing the same defensive scheme that caused so much havoc last year, the same 4-6 “Bear” with jailbreak blitzes and a healthy dose of man coverage behind it.

The “Bear” front comes from the old Buddy Ryan 4-6 defense.  Its’ calling card is 3 defensive linemen “covering” the center and both guards (a 0-technique and two 3-techniques).  The defense works particularly well against OSU’s base split zone as the alignment prevents the Center and Guard from double-teaming the NG and climbing to a LB (4 hands, 4 eyes).

This creates a “free hitter” in the box, allowing the unblocked LB to fast flow to the ball.  Ohio State did not adjust well to the front in game as evidenced by the offenses’ 2.7 yards per carry in last year’s season opener.

The “Bear” front’s stacked box necessitates that the secondary play a vast majority of its shells in man coverage.  This places A LOT of stress on the secondary as they must hold up for 60 minutes with limited deep help.  In last year’s game OSU took several shots downfield, but was rarely able to capitalize on the Cover 1 (1 deep safety) and Cover 0 (no deep safety) looks that Virginia Tech gave.

Several of Ohio States’ 2014 opponents attempted to recreate Virginia Tech’s success with the “Bear” front with varying degrees of success, although the offensive coaching staff quickly countered the alignment with play calls that attacked weaknesses within the alignment and the coverage behind it.

 Attacking Man Coverage

A large part of the 4-6 defenses’ success is predicated on the secondary’s ability to play man coverage without giving up vertical chunk plays.

After hitting the classic “man beater” Double Slants for their 1^st completion of the night, Ohio State tested the Hokies secondary for the first of many times that night with a vertical concept off play action.

This is a simple matchup-based route concept.  Urban believes his slot receivers can beat VT’s nickel/safeties in a man matchup, and converted running back Curtis Samuel rewarded Urban’s faith with OSU’s first touchdown of the night.  Notice the #1 (Wide receivers are numbered outside-to-in) WR pull up at 4 yards.  The route is run this way to keep the CB near the LOS, creating room for the #2 WR to bend his route outside (notice the outside release) and create more room to make the catch.  The Hokies played Cover 0 behind a 7-man blitz, leaving no deep help for the slot DB.

Getting to the Edges

While a well-executed “Bear” front does a great job clogging the tackle box the defense has several stress points.  The first area many coaches choose to attack is the perimeter.  As a “Bear” front will often place 8-9 defenders in the tackle box, anything that reaches outside must be run down by interior defenders.  The OSU coaching staffs choose to attack the defense at this stress point early and often with the speed option and throws to the TBs in the flat, albeit with limited success.

Many coaches attack the perimeter of a “stacked” box using the speed option.  The speed option “reads” off the playside EMLOS (End Man Line of Scrimmage), rebalancing box numbers by creating an unblocked defender.  Running the speed option is relatively simple.  If the “read” defender attacks the QB, give the ball to the pitchman.  If the “read” defender slow plays the QB or widens with the pitchman, cut upfield and force the alley fill to make a tackle.

Another way to get the ball to the perimeter is through the short passing game to the flats.  Ohio State made a concerted effort to overload the defense with TB flat routes that were really well-designed pick plays.  Notice that #26 must navigate the traffic created by the bunch alignment to match Elliot’s motion.  Watch the “routes” the bunched wide receivers run.  This is a simple one read swing to Elliot with rubs from the 3 strongside receivers, another classic “man beater”.

The Dart

Ohio State’s second touchdown came off the “Dart” concept, a run-game adjustment made in response to the “Bear” front the offense saw as other teams attempted to replicate VT’s success early last season.

“Dart” is very similar to the “Dave” or “Power” play Ohio State has run for the last two decades.  The key difference when running “Dart” is the backside Tackle pulls, rather than the backside Guard in traditional “Power”.

“Dart” works well against the “Bear” front because it allows the playside Guard and Tackle to double team the playside 3-technique and climb to the MIKE.  Remember the “Bear’s” strength against Ohio States bread-and-butter split zone is its’ ability to eliminate double teams at the LOS.

Ezekiel Elliot made the most of his first run of the game, rumbling 80 yards for a touchdown off “Dart”.  Pay attention to the double team and climb to the MIKE by the Left Guards and Left Tackle.  Those blocks are key to making the play hit for chunk yardage.

Guess Who’s Back?

After a full season of inaction due to shoulder injuries, Braxton Miller announced his return to the college football world by breaking Twitter Monday night.

The converted QB’s 1^st touchdown came off an OSU staple, the 3-man “Snag” concept.

“Snag” is a flexible route concept that can be used to beat both man and zone coverage.  The #WR runs a “snag” route, looking to sit down inside the flat defender, the #2 WR runs a corner route, and the #3 WR runs a flat route.

Against zone the snag/flat route creates a horizontal stretch against the flat defender.  Against man the QB is “alerted” to read the corner route first, as it will often be run against a defender with heads up or inside leverage (Look at the defender over Braxton; he is aligned inside of Braxton away from the direction in which the route will stem).

After little success running Braxton from the QB position all night, he went and did this:

There is little to say here in terms of schematics.  Braxton simply beat the free hitters and hit the Xbox spin button.  Amazing move from an amazing athlete.

Back to Last Season

Cardale’s final touchdown of the night came off the Counter OF, a play OSU utilized heavily during the second half of the 2014 season.

The Counter OF is very similar to the Ohio State-staple the Counter Trey with one key difference.  Rather than pull the backside Guard and Tackle like the traditional Counter Trey, the Counter OF pulls the backside Guard and uses a TB/TE/FB to kick out/wrap.

The Counter is a great response to defenses that key “back flow” for hints to play direction.  Notice the hard jab step that Cardale takes away from the play after executing the fake on jet motion.

The jet motion serves two purposes here.  First it acts as backfield “flow” to slow down the defense’s run direction key, but more importantly it “clears out” the alley fill to the playside, reducing the defender’s numbers at the POA (Ohio State ran the counter off jet motion several times in the 2^nd half of the National Championship game.

 J.T Returns

Up 35-17 JT Barrett entered the ballgame and immediate made his presence known running the speed option.  This is the quick decision making, acceleration, and shiftiness we have come to expect from Barrett in the run game.

Barrett capped off the drive by hitting Michael Thomas on a beautiful stutter-go against projected 1^st round draft pick cornerback Kendall Fuller.

Fuller appeared to be using a “penny step” technique to read through the 3-step pass game (slant, hitch, etc.) before turning to bail if the ball didn’t come out after 5-7 yards.  You can see by his inside leverage that he is aligned to take away inside breaking routes, which leaves him to “react” to a 9 route.

However, to execute the technique properly Fuller needs to align with outside leverage so his eyes can move between the QB and wide receiver.  The double-move by Michael Thomas was a thing of beauty, selling Fuller on a 3-step route and forcing him to break on the double move.

So where does the offense go from here?  Although they put up 572 yards of total offense and scored 6 touchdowns, turnovers and poor 3^rd down conversion point to areas in which the team can improve.  From the mid-1^st quarter to halftime the offense struggled to move the ball with consistently.  If this is an “off night” for the offense, image what they can do when all cylinders are clicking.

With the announcement that head coach Hue Jackson will call his own plays, All-22 film provides a wealth of knowledge and insight into what to expect from the 2016 Cleveland Brown’s offense. Several base concepts that Jackson leans on in the pass and run game jump out of the game tape immediately. A popular run-game concept executed at all levels of football (and Hue Jackson favorite) that we can expect to see next season is the Counter OF/Counter Trey, popularized by Joe Gibbs’ Washington Redskins teams of the 1980s.

Before getting into the details of the play, let’s look at the Counter Trey. The concept falls under the ‘power’ run game umbrella, as it is gap-blocked, requiring offensive linemen to both down block and pull.

An element of misdirection is built into the concept as the running back will take a hard step away from the play’s direction, often causing hesitation and pulling linebackers away from the ball. Used in conjunction with zone-blocked plays such as inside zone, the concept is an outstanding constraint to defenses that key the running back and fast flow (overpursue) to the ball.

The game situation is late third quarter, with the Bengals leading 24-0. The offense is 9 plays into a 12-play drive that ultimately resulted in an Andy Dalton touchdown pass to A.J. Green. The entire playbook is open here as the down and distance is first and ten from Oakland’s 37-yard line. Jackson has called a mix of run and pass plays; the Raider’s defense is clearly on their heels. Many offensive coordinators will take a shot at the end zone due to field position and down/distance in this situation. The two-time head coach elects to dial up the Counter.

The Bengals come out in an I-left formation (left signifies to which side the tight end is aligned) utilizing ‘21’ personnel (the first number counts the running backs on the field; the second number counts the tight ends on the field).  The offense sets the strength of the formation to the ‘field’, or wide-side.

EDIT: IGNORE THE STRENGTH CALL IN THE IMAGE BELOW!

The blocking assignments for the Counter will vary based on the defense’s front. The Raiders are aligned in an odd front (Three down linemen with five players on the line of scrimmage), with eight box defenders to the Bengal’s seven blockers.  Based on the math, the defense should have an advantage on run plays as they outnumber the offense in the box, although as we will soon see Jackson alters the math at the POA (point of attack).

When scheming and diagramming running plays, coaches will often draw a line the middle of the page, splitting the center in two. The purpose is the count the number of defenders on each side of the center, looking to run at whichever side has fewer defenders to bring to the POA. They will also look for ‘run bubbles’, or areas on the line of scrimmage that are uncovered by defensive linemen. Offenses often run towards these holes are they are natural creases in the defense’s run fits (gap responsibility).

As you can see from the image above, although the defense maintains a numbers advantage in the box, they do not have enough defenders to create a free hitter on anything run to the left. The Bengals can use the tight end, left tackle, left guard, fullback, and pulling right guard to create a 5v4 situation. The extra blocker will be used to pick up any scrapping linebackers from the right side of the formation.

We’ll look at the blocks moving from right-to-left:

-The right tackle will ‘hinge’ block, or take a lateral playside step, then pivot to wall off any defender chasing the play from behind.

-The right guard will pull, aiming for the D-gap outside the tight end’s shoulder. As drawn up, the pulling guard will look to block the SAM (strongside linebacker). If the puller can’t get to the SAM he will block the first threat to his inside shoulder, or “First threat to cross your face”.

-The center and left guard will down block, or angle block the player to their inside, in this case the 1-technique (aligned over the center’s shoulder) and 3-technique (aligned over the outside shoulder of the left guard). The angles allow the blockers the create leverage and force on the linemen, sealing off the backside of the play.

-The fullback will kick out the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMLOS), the standup rusher. The fullback will attack his man inside-to-out, with his aiming point being the inside number of the defender. If the fullback executes this block correctly, the defender will be sealed outside the play.

-The left tackle and tight end will execute the most important block, a double team on the 6i defensive end. This block MUST be secured as the offense wants to win the D-gap by driving the defender off the line of scrimmage into the linebackers. Once the double-team on the defensive end is secured, one of the two blockers will climb the linebackers, aiming for the MIKE (middle linebacker).

-The running back will take a hard jab step away from the play to both false key linebackers reading his flow for play direction, and to give the pulling guard time to cross the center. After receiving the handoff the running back will press the D-gap, looking to hit the hole and get vertical QUICKLY. He must read the pulling guard’s block as he enters the hole. It is his responsibility to choose his path based on the guard’s block correctly.

If the offensive line executes the play as drawn up, it will hit for good yardage.

The tight end and left tackle have done an outstanding job double-teaming the defensive end. Notice how they block hip-to-hip, increasing the force and power applied to the defender. Both will block using a ‘four hand, four eye’ technique, meaning that they will maintain four hands on the defensive linemen while concurrently looking to the second level to see who will climb to the linebacker.  This responsibility can change based on the linebacker’s path to the ball.

Look at the numbers at the point of attack. The tight end and left tackle have clearly won the D-gap, driving the defensive end off the line of scrimmage and away from the play’s direction. The tight end has just moved off the double-team to block the MIKE, while the fullback prepares to kick-out the Jack and the pulling guard prepares to fit up the SAM. Every defender is accounted for with a blocker.

The running back has a wide hole to hit due to outstanding up-front blocking. Notice how decisive the cut to the hole is. This is known as ‘pressing’ the hole. Plant one foot in the ground, push, and GO. The running back does a good job squaring his pads in the hole and reading the guard and tight end’s blocks.

The play resulted in a 28-yard gain, something we haven’t seen much of the previous two seasons. The Browns have offensive minds in the building to scheme up explosive plays like the Counter. The question remains; Do they have the Jimmies and Joes on the line to block them?

Feel free to comment, critique, and add your own analysis!

With the announcement that newly-appointed Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson will call his own plays, a review of the 2014-2015 Cincinnati Bengals’ offense provides a potential template of what fans can expect next season. A review of the tape shows several tried-and-true run and pass-game concepts Jackson leans on to move the ball. Building off my previous post (Counter/Power), I want to continue looking at base run concepts the new play-caller ran last season.

Although Jackson is well-known for running a gap-based scheme (Iso, Counter, Power), a look at the game tape shows several zone-based concepts including tight zone, split zone, and outside zone. Today I want to break down a clever variant of outside zone that I’ve observed several times through six games, the Pin-and-Pull.

Pin-and-Pull marries the best of both major run blocking schemes (gap and zone), combining reach blocks (zone), down blocks (gap), and pullers (gap) to create blocking angles and numbers at the point of attack (POA). The concept is particularly effective against teams that run odd fronts, with three interior lineman and two standup linebackers on each side of the formation. We’ll examine exactly why below.

When running outside zone the running back usually reads the block on the EMLOS (End Man on Line of Scrimmage). This read should take the ball carrier to the proper gap, allowing him to hit the second level with a full head of steam. The offensive player responsible for the EMLOS will use a reach block, stepping laterally with the first two steps, aiming for the defenders outside number, and swinging the butt out into the alley to cut off the defender from the ball.

Unless the defender is aligned heads up or shaded over the offensive player, the angle and distance needed to make a reach block is very difficult to execute. If the offense were to run outside zone left in the image below, the play would likely be dead from the start as the left tackle simply has too much distance to cover in order to reach the ROLB. Enter the Pin-and-Pull.

In order to run outside zone successfully against the wide alignment by both edge defenders, offenses will tweak the front side (direction the play is going) blocks to create better angles and reduce the distance to the EMLOS. This adjustment is accomplished via alignment and pre-snap motion. Backside blocking principles will remain the same.

On this particular play, the Bengals are purposely breaking tendency by running outside zone out of shotgun towards the running back’s alignment, rather than away as most teams will do a majority of the time. The quick toss also gets the running back to his aiming point, just outside the motioned tight end’s shoulder.

The Bengals come out in Quad Gun Near, utilizing ‘11’ personnel (the first number counts the running backs on the field; the second number counts the tight ends on the field).  The offense sets the strength of the formation to the boundary, or short side of the field. This often indicates a play tendency as most offenses align the formation’s strength to the wide-side, or field, where there is more space in which to work. In this case, the defense’s alignment will leave them short a man to the boundary; the play direction is no accident.

The offense utilizes tight end motion to create a stacked look, out of which the pin block will be executed.

The blocking assignments for the Pin-and-Pull will vary based on the defense’s front (covered vs. uncovered for example). The Chargers are aligned in an odd front (Three down linemen with five players on the line of scrimmage), with seven box defenders after the defense adjusts to the tight end motion. We’ll look at the blocks moving from left-to-right:

-The left tackle will cut off the 4i DE, preventing him from chasing the play down from the backside. This isn’t a killer block; the goal is to impede the defenders progress enough to keep him away from any cutbacks by the running back.

-The left guard has a tough block here, as he is responsible for the 0-technique lined heads up over the center. He will use a bucket step to turn his body towards his aiming point and work to the tackles outside shoulder. Like the left tackle, this block does not need to be a killer. The goal is to get hands on the defender and move him laterally down the line of scrimmage.

-The center will check the play-side A-gap and climb to the MIKE if possible.

-The right guard will use lateral slide steps to reach the 3-technique. After making contact with the defender’s outside number, the blocker will wall off the pursuit by swinging his butt out towards the alley.

-The right tackle and motioned tight end will execute the pin-and-pull blocks. Again, visualize the right tackle attempting to reach block the LOLB. Not happening. The motioned tight end will down block the LOLB (although he ends up heads-up over the linebacker, making his block more difficult than it needed to be), while the right tackle pulls to lead the running back around the sealed edge. The puller will look to attack the first threat to his inside shoulder (generally a linebacker fast flowing to the ball).

-This play has the added dimension of a wide receiver (#82) crack block on the cornerback adjusting to the tight end motion. Ohio State fans are familiar with the concept, as Urban loves to crack linebackers with his wide receivers on outside zone and sweep reads. Break down, strike the chest plate inside the arms, and move the feet to sustain the block.

-The running back will first secure the pitch and press the corner of the formation, breaking just outside the tight end pin and wide receiver crack block. It is the ball carrier’s responsibility to read the pulling tackle’s block and make the appropriate cut inside/outside.

Notice the inside seal created by the tight end and wide receiver. This is EXACLTY what the play is designed to do. With a pulling lineman out front to pick up the first alley defender, the play should hit for good yardage.

The puller will look to pick up the flat defender or first threat to cross his face from the inside.

Next the play from a wide and tight angle:

The tight angle tells the story, as the blocking angles and numbers at the POA become visible. If the pulling tackle hadn’t been beating across his face, this play had a change to go all the way if the running back could cut back across the safety’s face.

After looking at a version of the Counter Trey in a previous post (the Counter OF), I want to breakdown another variant that we’ll see the Carolina Panthers run tonight. The film is pulled from the Bengal’s 34-21 week 6 victory over the Bills.

First, a quick review of the concept. The original Counter Trey was popularized by Joe Gibbs’ Washington Redskins teams of the 1980s. It falls under the ‘power’ run game umbrella, as it is gap-blocked, requiring offensive linemen to both down block and pull. The ubiquitous play is run at all levels of football in a variety of offensive systems.

An element of misdirection is built into the concept as the running back will take a hard step away from the play’s direction, often causing hesitation and pulling linebackers away from the ball (known as an ‘influence’ step). Used in conjunction with zone-blocked plays such as inside zone, the concept is an outstanding constraint (adjustment) to defenses that key the running back’s flow for play direction and over-pursue the ball.

I chose to breakdown this particular play as it constantly shows up on Panthers’ film (and is a Hue Jackson favorite), and will work well against Denver’s aggressive edge rushers (Miller and Ware). When game-planning for edge rushers that fly off the line of scrimmage, ‘trap’ blocks are a must-have. The idea behind a trap block is simple; give the defender a free release at the line, then bring a blocker across the formation to earhole him from the side. This eliminates the edge rusher’s ability to beat blocks by shooting gaps, creating havoc in the backfield before the blocks can develop.

The Panthers have taken the concept of the Counter Trey one step further by integrating a ‘read’ of the backside defender. Reading a defender eliminates the need to block him, rebalancing numbers for the offense at the line of scrimmage (create more blockers than defenders at the point of attack) creates the potential for explosive plays when the read man puts himself out of position. The Panthers’ offense will run a variety of read plays as quarterback Cam Newton consistently makes quick, accurate reads on the read man and can dish out and take open field punishment.

Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula often flip the roles of the running back/quarterback, with the quarterback running the counter trey and the running back taking an outside zone path. We’ll look an example of the Tail back running the Counter, then look at the Panthers’ version with the quarterback running the Counter.

-The left tackle will pull, acting as a wrapper through the hole. He will attack the first threat to his inside shoulder, generally a linebacker scrapping to the ball

-The left guard will pull, looking to kick out the End Man on Line of Scrimmage (EMLOS), in this case #91. Remember, the EMLOS is giving a free release.

-The center will down block the wide 3-technique. He has to cover some distance to make this block, but the alignments create a nice blocking angle.

-The right guard will down block the nose tackle. Again, the defensive line’s alignment creates a good blocking angle here.

-The right tackle will down block the 4i.

-The tight end will block the 6-technique (#53), but his block will be more difficult as the defender is aligned heads-up over him. If the tight end is quickly beaten inside, the defender can train wreck the pullers, killing the play before it starts. It looks like the play is designed to hit the D-gap (outside shoulder of the tight end), so he’ll need to push or log the defender past the play if he attacks the inside gap.

-The running back will take a hard jab step away from the play to false key linebackers reading his flow for play direction, to set up angles for the down blocks and pullers by freezing/false-stepping the linebackers, and to give the pullers time to cross the center. After receiving the handoff the running back will press the D-gap, looking to hit the hole and get vertical QUICKLY. He must read the pulling tackle’s block as he enters the hole. It is his responsibility to choose the correct path based on the guard’s block.

As you will see later, the running back’s hard outside jab-step holds the linebacker (#52) just long enough to slow his flow the ball, allowing the wrapper (the left tackle) to pick him up at the second level.

You can see Dalton clearly reading the backside (away from the play) EMLOS (#55). Dalton is a legitimate threat to pull the ball here as he is surprisingly fast and protects himself well in the open field. Notice the playside (where the ball is going) EMLOS (#91) has not been blocked. The pulling guard will trap him.

The read is simple: if the option defender holds his ground or widens away from the play, give to the runningback as he now has too much distance to cover in order to be in on a tackle. If he crashes inside attempting to run the play down from behind, the quarterback will have a clear running lane with no defenders in sight. In this spot a defensive back will likely have to make the tackle. Generally if a safety is making a tackle, the play has hit for good yardage.

Becasue the read man holds his ground, Dalton correctly gives to the running back.

The pulling guard has trapped the unblocked EMLOS (#91). The goal is to kick the edge defender out so the running back can press the hole inside the block. Also, notice how the tight end has pushed his man inside and swung his butt around to the hole, creating a nice seal.

Finally, the pulling tackle picks up the first threat to his inside shoulder, the scrapping linebacker (#52). This is a WELL-DESIGNED play. From a schematic perspective, the offense has put a blocker on EVERY box defender. The coaches have put the offense in a position to succeed; it’s up to the Jimmie’s and Joe’s to execute.

NFL Rewind is glitchy this morning, so the GIFS are too choppy for my taste. Apologies.

And here’s what the QB Counter Trey Read looks like with Cam running the show. Notice that the Panthers’ reverse the roles of the quarterback and runningback. If the read defender pinches inside, the running back will get the ball; if the read defender holds his ground or widens, the quarterback will run the Counter Trey.

When watching the Super Bowl this evening, be on the lookout for the QB Counter Trey in the redzone and on 2nd/3rd and short. Mike Shula LOVES the play in those spots.

If you want to read more about the Carolina run game, Syed Schemes posts and excellent piece breaking down 6-7 core run plays. I highly recommend the article. Lots of good film clips and analysis.

Breaking Down the ‘Sweep Read’ RPO

The idea behind RRO’s (run-pass options) is surprisingly simple: merge a pass play and run play into a single concept. The offensive line will run block while the receivers and tight ends run pass routes. The quarterback will decide whether to hand-off to the running back or throw a pass to the receiver based on the action (or key) of a single ‘read’ defender. The goal is to put the read defender in pass-run conflict by forcing him to choose between a run fit or coverage responsibility, making him wrong no matter what.

RPOs work particularly well in a no-huddle, hurry-up offense as they allow the quarterback to make quick, simple decisions without the need to make complicated line calls and pre-snap coverage reads. The passing aspect of the play allows the offense to get the ball to playmakers in space, as the pass routes consist of quick-game slants, hitches, and seams that are a broken-tackle away from going for six. Most packaged plays do not utilize intermediate or vertical routes (although this is changing) as the offensive line cannot block further than five yards downfield (a controversial issue within the coaching community as this rule is rarely enforced).

Let’s examine the various moving parts of an RPO by breaking down Cam Newton’s signature moment of the 2015 playoffs, a 12-yard touchdown scamper during the third quarter of the Carolina Panthers’ 49-15 NFC Championship victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Panthers have the game well in hand, leading the Cardinals 27-7 late in the third quarter. The NFL champs have driven the ball into Arizona’s red zone using an effective combination of pass and run calls that have the defense off-balance. Facing 1^st and 10 from the 13-yard line, offensive coordinator Mike Shula dials up a beautiful RPO combining a quarterback ‘Sweep’ (popularized by Vince Lombardi with his classic halfback sweep) with a flare screen to the running back.

We’ll look at the run and the pass individually, and then put both together to see how they put the defender in run/pass conflict.

Let’s start with the running back flare. After aligning to the right of the quarterback, Panthers’ fullback Mike Tolbert motions pre-snap across the formation to the left flat. With three receivers to that side of the field, the offense has enough blockers to pick up the MIKE (middle linebacker), cornerback, and nickel. The strong safety is left unblocked; although he is aligned ten-yards deep making it unlikely he will make the tackle before a positive gain

The Quarterback Sweep is run to the right side of the field, opposite the running back flare. The concept is a variant of the famous Wing-T Buck Sweep (run by many coaches including Gus Malzahn, Urban Meyer, and Chip Kelly)

The backside (away from the play direction) tackle and guard will block the right defensive linemen and defensive tackle, with the center and frontside guard pulling to pick-up the cornerback and first defender that threatens to cross the face from the inside. The right tackle and tight end will down block the 3-technique (outside shoulder of guard) and defensive end, walling them off from the play. The only unblocked defender is the alley fill (responsible for the area of the field between the front seven and cornerback), although like the strong safety his depth will likely prevent him from making the tackle before a positive gain.

Putting the running back flare and Quarterback Sweep together gives us the RPO, or ‘packaged’ play. Because the play decision is made post-snap, the next question naturally leads to how the offense chooses which play to run.

The play decision hinges on a single pre-determined read man–in this case the MIKE (middle linebacker)–located behind the right defensive end. The read is very simple by design: If the MIKE widens with the running back’s motion, run the Quarterback Sweep as a run defender has now been eliminated from the box. If the MIKE stays flat-footed, throw the running back flare as the offense will now have blockers for the cornerback, nickel, and strong safety (the MIKE will not be able to make the play as he is out-leveraged by remaining inside the box).

Moving on to the play, we see how aggressively the MIKE widens with Tolbert’s pre-snap motion. Because Tolbert initially aligned to the right of the quarterback, his motion to the left changed his coverage responsibility from the WILL to the MIKE. You’ll see the WILL tear after him at the snap, taking another run defender out of the box. This is a great example of using pre-snap motion to confuse coverage assignments.

• The left tackle and left guard do a great job walling off the right-side of the defensive line. Notice how the left tackle ‘swings the back door shut’ on the defensive end, while the left guard reaches the play-side shoulder and turns the 2-i technique (inside shoulder of guard)
  
• The tight end and right tackle execute outstanding down blocks to seal the D-gap. Part of concept design’s beauty is the blocking angles created for the down blocks. It is much easier to execute the block on a defender aligned away from the play’s direction, as the angle allows the blocker a clean shot into the vee of the defender’s neck
  
• The right guard (#70) pulls around the tight end looking to block the first player he encounters in the alley, while the center (#67) looks for the first threat to cross his face from the inside (in this case the free safety, as the WILL ran himself out of the play with the blown coverage assignment).
  
• Cam Newton does the rest, reading his blocks and leaping over the final defender for six.

After several hours of film study it is very clear that New Cleveland Browns’ head coach HueJackson wants to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands. The former Bengals’ offensive coordinator does an outstanding job identifying and exploiting personnel mismatches using formation and alignment to isolate and deliver the ball to his skill-position players in space. As a long-time play caller, the well-respected coach has a variety of pass concepts in his toolbox to put his star receivers in position to make plays. A noteworthy play that shows up on tape is the  Air Raid-classic ‘Mesh’.

‘Mesh’ is a flexible concept that works well against both man and zone coverages. The play gets its name from two shallow routes that come from opposite sides of the formation, crossing in the middle of the field to screen (think a pick in basketball) chasing defenders. The crossers should pass close enough to slap hands in order to maximize the chance a defender is picked. To the outside coaches will run a variety of vertical routes with the including posts, seams, deep digs, or fades. The tailback generally runs a flat or wheel route to widen the linebackers, creating throwing windows for the shallow.

As you can see from the image above (taking from Bob Stoops’ 1999 Oklahoma playbook), the concept features a clear progression read with option routes to be converted against zone coverage. The quarterback will generally read the progression against man coverage by ‘peeking’ at the vertical route, then moving from the same-side shallow to the back-side-shallow. Good coaches will look for opportunities to specifically target, or ‘tag’, the wheel route if a linebacker takes the tailback in coverage.

The crossing routes require both the quarterback and receivers to read man or zone coverage. Against man the receivers will run across the field at full-speed, flaring upfield between the hash mark and numbers. Against zone coverage the receivers will throttle down in the first hole they see after executing the mesh. To execute the route combo against zone the quarterback and receivers must both read the coverage and anticipate the holes created within the distorted defense correctly.

Let’s look at an example of Jackson’s version of the Mesh from the 2015 season.

Because the quarterback Andy Dalton wants to target the routes to the left-side of the field, Green is brought from the opposite side of the formation. The Pro Bowler is aligned in a ‘nasty’ split (tight to the core formation) in order to cut down the distance he must cover on his crossing route.

It’s impossible to know the exact progression without seeing the playbook, but the concept is likely read:

1. Peek the wheel route,
2. Moves to the vertical route in the seam
3. Comes down to the shallow.

Focus on the mesh by the tight end and Green near the right hash at the 20-yard line. Although Green does not sit the route down facing zone coverage, the tailback wheel widens the underneath defender while the Z receiver (located on the left of the formation) clears out the seam/hook, creating a large void in which Green makes the catch and presses upfield for an extra 12 yards of YAC.

Although Jackson is associated with a ground-and-pound run game and its companion vertical pass-game, teams cannot sleep on his short and intermediate concepts.

A Hue-Jackson favorite that shows up over and over again on tape is the split-safety beating ‘Shakes’ concept, an old-school Air Raid classic.

The Shakes combo is a Cover 2-killer, putting the flat defender in a hi-lo bind while holding the safety on his hash too long to make a play on the ball.

In our example the concept is run with a flat route from the inside (#2) receiver in conjunction with a corner route (#1) from the outside receiver. The play is unique in that corner routes are rarely run by outside receivers, as the route is cut off by the sideline due to the compressed space along the edge of the field. In order to create room for the corner route, the wide receiver must use an inside release (release towards the middle of the field) while bending at 45 degrees, push vertical for 8-10 yards, and break back to the corner. This route must be precise, as there is little room for error due to the lack of space and timing with the quarterback’s throw.

Note: This image is pulled from an old Bob Stoops playbook. Be sure  to ignore the quarterback progression.  Several coaches much smarter than me in the passing game have told me they would read the play: 

1. Rhythm (Top of the drop) Seam route
2. Corner
3. Flat/Flare 

Pro Tip: Follow smart people on Twitter and listen to what they say!

In our example Bengal’s receiver A.J. Green is aligned in the X position, running the ‘Shakes’ route with the tailback running the flat route.

Focus on the cornerback at the snap. In a Cover 2 zone (2-deep, 5-under) the cornerback has flat coverage responsibility. To keep the half-field safety on his hash the defender wants to force an inside release from the wide receiver, jamming to disrupt the route and prevent a free release into a 9/Post. He will then pass off anything vertical to the safety while keeping his eyes on the flats to break on anything short.

The jam and inside release is vital to the structure of Cover 2 as the half-field deep safety will be forced to widen from the hash towards the sideline too early if the receiver releases along the sideline. As Cover 2’s biggest weakness is the middle-of-the-field hole, if the safety widens too early teams will relentlessly attack the bare grass with dig and post routes.

The cornerback is unable to effectively jam Green as he releases inside across his face. As the all-world receiver pulls even with the defender we can see him move his eyes to the tailback running the flat route, giving Green a free release as he pushes upfield.

Next, move your eyes to the weak safety. Notice that while he does widen from his hash by three lateral steps, Green’s inside release and subsequent cut to the front corner of the end zone create too much distance to make a play on the ball. The route and timing must be excellent to pull off this type of throw; the constricted space to the boundary (short side of the field) leaves little room for error.

Check back tomorrow as we continue to break down staples of the Hue Jackson passing game.

Another HueJackson-favorite that shows up on tape several times against split-safety coverage (Cover 2, Cover 4, and Cover 6) is the ‘Split-Dig’ concept.

Split-Dig is a popular three-man concept that can be run out of a variety of formations including 2 X 2, or ‘Quad’s, if the running back is used as the #3 receiver.

The concept uses a seam route by the #2 receiver as a ‘clear out’, running off the deep safety to open up the dig and flat.  Against split-safety coverages like the Tampa 2 and Cover 4, the dig-flat combination creates a vertical stretch, or hi-lo, on the flat defender.

Our example is run off play action against Cover 4, or ‘Quarters’ coverage (although this could be a Cover 2 with distorted zones due to the play action fake). In Cover 4 each deep defender (the two cornerbacks and two safeties) will cover a quarter of the deep field, with three underneath defenders.

Against Quarters the quarterback’s progression is ‘peak’ the seam at the top of his drop, then move to the dig/flat combination, reading the curl/flat defender for a hi-lo throw. If the defender gains depth in his drop to cushion the Dig, throw the Flat. If the defender jumps the Flat, throw the Dig.

Pay attention to the leverage by the left cornerback. Seattle plays an aggressive brand of pass defense in which the corners often press/bail, even in Cover 3 and Cover 4 in which they must protect a deep zone. Because the cornerback is playing outside leverage on Green (aligned outside the receiver’s outside foot) he is already at a disadvantage playing the dig route as it will break away from his position. The defensive back compounds this difficult assignment by getting caught moving forward at the snap, forcing him to reverse his momentum on the fly while peeking into the backfield before the ball is out.

The play action easily pulls the curl/flat defender to the line of scrimmage, creating a large throwing window for the Dig and leading to a 23-yard reception.