AFM Home | Back Issues | Dec 2004 | Air Raid Offense

Air Raid Offense
Running Back Routes in the Air Raid Offense

By Hal Mumme
Head Football Coach
& Mason Miller
Offensive Line Coach,
Southeastern Louisiana University

When you think of the “Air Raid” offense, the first thing that comes to mind is great quarterbacks and elusive receivers. Over the years this offense has generated a great deal of yardage through the air. A large portion of that comes from the involvement of our running backs. Our running backs play a vital part in our offense because they give us the opportunity to create mismatches with different defenders throughout a ballgame. Many times we get a fifth or sixth cover man matched on our backs, which is often one of our best athletes. Our philosophy is to get the ball to the person who can score as fast as possible. Throughout the years we have incorporated four routes that have been a crucial part of the running backs success in our offense. The Swing, Shoot, Angle, and Option are the four routes we will discuss as well as the drill work we use to teach these routes at Southeastern.

STANCE AND ALIGNMENT

Our running backs are in a two-point stance. Their feet are shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, shoulders over the balls of their feet with their hands resting on their knees. We place his heels at five yards, with his outside leg splitting the crotch of the offensive tackle. The running back’s first responsibility is to always check for the blitz before releasing into the pass route. When releasing on all of our routes we ball the toes of our inside or “plant foot” to prevent any false steps. When running all of these routes, if the back feels he has at least 10 yards in front of him, he will give a “ball” call which alerts the quarterback to throw him the ball immediately.

SWING AND SHOOT ROUTES

Diagram 1. Photo 1.

The first two routes we will discuss are the swing and the shoot. These routes are used to stretch a defense horizontally and create passing lanes. Many times the defense does not extend out to cover him. The swing route is a high percentage pass that turns out to be nothing more than a glorified sweep. Pushing off his inside foot, the back's first step or “open” step will be made at the 3 o'clock position, not giving ground and keeping his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage (Diagram 1). We want him to run five hard steps and settle on top of the numbers slightly drifting towards the line of scrimmage. There are a couple of coaching points we use when teaching this route. When running this route we never want to give ground or “arc” the route. Secondly, we want our backs to keep their shoulders square to the line of scrimmage at all times (as seen in photo 1). The backs are taught to keep the quarterback and the linebacker in sight in case we get a delayed blitz, which we would give a “ball” call. Finally, we want to stress the importance of getting to the numbers and settle. A good way to teach this is by placing the back on a line and then have him run the steps listed above. Then place a cone where the numbers would be to ensure that the back gets to the numbers.

Diagram 2. Photo 2.

Our shoot route is a great timing route that we use for a quick release into the flat. We want the back to run in a straight line to the numbers. When he reaches the numbers he must be at the depth of three yards. Keeping out inside foot planted, our first step is with our outside leg and we aim for the numbers. Our second step follows, and on our third step, which should be on our outside leg, we want our head turned back looking for the ball. By our fourth step we should have the ball and are ready to turn up field (Diagram 2). If we do not receive the ball we want to carry the route to the numbers and settle. As with the swing route we want to take the route all the way to the numbers. Key coaching points to this route are getting our head around looking back at the quarterback and maintaining a depth no greater than three yards. We never want to bend the route up field then out to the numbers. As a teaching tool we like to use two cones: one is placed at the backs feet and the second is on the numbers at the depth of three yards (as seen in photo 2). Have the coach stand at the numbers to make sure the back is not bending the route up field while also looking to see if the back is getting his head around the third step.

ANGLE AND OPTION ROUTES

Photo 3.

Diagram 3.

The next two routes are used when we feel the defender is over playing our back’s routes in or to the flats. We try to use the angle in contrast with our shoot route, when the defender is overplaying our backs to the flat. As on all our routes we push off our inside foot. We want our open step to be in between the shoot and swing route to give the defender the same look as the shoot route. This is followed by our second and third step. Our fourth and fifth are gather steps. The back must stick his toe outside his foot into the ground (fifth step) and return towards the middle of the field at a depth of three yards (as seen in photo 3). We want to make sure our fourth and fifth steps are at the original line of scrimmage (Diagram 3). A key point to this route is not drifting too far up field, which would give the defender a chance to recover. We also want to make sure that we sell the shoot route and get the defender to over run the play.

The option route is a great route because it is so versatile. We can use it against any coverage and it allows the back to get out into the open very quickly. There are three key reads to this route: being able to recognize man or zone, proper depth when running the route, and the timing between the quarterback and the running back. Both players have to be on the same page in order for this to work properly. On this route we want to line up directly behind the tackle with our heels at five yards. Pushing off on our inside foot we want to release outside the tackle and head straight up field to a depth of four yards past the line of scrimmage. If the back sees zone coverage, he will hook up, turn and face the quarterback. Now when the back knows he has man-to-man coverage he must recognize the leverage of the defender. If the defender is playing the back with inside leverage he will push off his inside foot and drive to the outside, running away from the defender (Diagram 4A). If the defender is playing the back with outside leverage he will plant his outside foot and break inside the defender (Diagram 4B).

Diagram 4A.

Diagram 4B.

Two key coaching points are to teach the back to not get any deeper than four yards past the line of scrimmage and make certain he must be ready to receive the ball out of his break. When drilling this route use the quarterback and running back that will be involved in the game so they can work on their timing. Place a cone at four yards to make the back gain the proper depth, and then give him a zone or man look. If you give him a man-to-man look, show him inside or outside leverage. It is good to do this route without the rest of the offense around so the quarterback and running back can focus on each other.

The key to the “Air Raid” offense, as well as to these routes, is repetition. The more a player runs these routes, the more familiar he becomes with the steps and timing. Many times the difference between a good route and a great route may only be one step. That is why we practice five good reps instead of ten mediocre ones. We hope that this article can better prepare you and your backs on receiving the ball out of the backfield.

About the authors

Hal Mumme
& Mason Miller

After an 18 year hiatus from football competition, Hal Mumme led Southeastern Louisiana through its first season of competition last fall with a 5-7 record. The school set 46 team and individual records including an SLU record of 4,681 yards of total offense. You can reach him at hmumme@selu.edu.

Mason Miller enters his second year of coaching at SLU, but shifts positions this fall to head up the offensive line. Last fall, Miller guided the Lions running backs. You can reach him at mmiller@selu.edu