Fire Away A Multiple Pass Game with \'Four Vertical\'

by: A.J. Pratt
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I have been fortunate enough to learn the pass game from several good offensive football coaches in the past ten years – both at the high school and collegiate level. Every offense I have coached has included some version of a “four vertical” passing game. Hopefully you can take something from this article that will be helpful within your system. The “four vertical” pass game has become multiple here at Kent State University, in which we teach “hybrid” versions that may include five or six man protections, hot throws, read-side routes and some run-and-shoot principles.

The most basic teaching point of a four vertical pass game is getting your perimeter players and quarterback to realize what you are attempting to accomplish – to stretch the defense horizontally. The initial throws and repetitions are always either too late or too deep. The basic principles are to be on, or really close to a landmark at a specific depth in routes, stress the rotation of the under-coverage with the running back/fifth receiver and throw the ball on time.

Obviously, in a six-man protection, the best-case scenario is to have your four vertical pass called against a three-deep/three-under zone pressure coverage or any three deep zone coverage. Logically, this is the easiest to attack and execute with the quarterback. The quarterback will determine at the snap if he is attacking a closed-field defense (single safety) or an open-field defense (two safeties). Regardless, versus zone coverage, our perimeter players will have specific landmarks. All landmarks referred to within this article are specific to college hash marks.

In a two-by-two offensive set (regardless if an inside receiver is attached or flexed) the outside receivers will be on (or very near) the base of the numbers on the field at ten to twelve yards in their routes. The inside receivers will attempt to take their easiest release (avoiding re-routes by under coverage curl/seam defenders) and will be two yards outside the hash marks at ten to twelve yards depth. The running back/fifth receiver will run an option route on a linebacker in the under coverage if there is no blitz pick-up responsibility.

In a six-man protection, versus a three-deep/four under coverage, our quarterback has read closed-field/single safety defense. The ball is going to be thrown down the middle to one of the two inside receivers off of the rotation of the free safety (See Diagram l).


The play is very specific to everyone – be on your landmark at the specific depth and the ball WILL be completed no less than sixteen yards and no more than twenty-two yards from the line of scrimmage (unless there is a bust in defensive coverage). The quarterback (from under the center) is a “five step hit and throw” to a maximum “five step-bounce-bounce-throw” rhythm, and the ball will be thrown one inch over the fingertips of the under coverage. If the ball is thrown less than sixteen or more than twenty-two yards without a bust in the coverage, there is a good chance for a turnover. The quarterback should become accustomed to moving the free safety with his eyes in his drop (or specifically told to read a boundary safety initially to first find the “roll” of the coverage).

In a six-man protection, versus an open-field/ two safety defense, there is more demand on the quarterback to execute the play. Most of our opponents are going to play three coverages versus us in a two-safety defense – two deep with rolled-up corners (See Diagram 2),




quarter coverage to the field with a half-field safety and a rolled-up corner to the boundary (See Diagram 3), or quarter coverage with both safeties and corners (See Diagram 4).


When facing all of these coverages mentioned, the landmarks for the four perimeter receivers remain the same. On the outside, the X and Z must force an outside release if possible, or get on top of a rolled corner immediately if not able to release outside.

The running back/fifth-receiver becomes key versus two-safety zone coverages. The middle-linebacker under coverage will rotate to the release of the fifth receiver/three man side of the route, which will become the release of the running back. The running back is responsible for attacking/beating the coverage of the middle linebacker’s rotation in the under coverage to get open off of his option route (becomes the “come down” throw for the quarterback).

The posture of the back end of the defense may give the quarterback a pre-snap read of the coverage and where the ball should be thrown. Two safeties fourteen yards deep and two rolled corners at the line of scrimmage with outside leverage should give him a pretty good clue he is getting two-deep coverage. Obviously, it is not that simple most of the time pre-snap. Versus two-deep coverage, the ball is going to be thrown to the boundary-side of the field and it is going to be thrown to the outside receiver in the hole of the coverage (behind the rolled corner and outside the half-field safety) or to the inside receiver climbing the hook defender at the same depth off of the rotation of the boundary safety. If both routes are dead, the quarterback now goes to the running back or fifth receiver running the option route off of the middle linebacker. Versus quarters to the field and cover two in the boundary, the quarterback has the identical execution, as the defense is still “cover two” to the boundary side.

A defense that does a good job of disguising coverage pre-snap leaves only one good key for the quarterback with a two-safety coverage and that is the boundary corner. The quarterback will use the boundary corner as a movement key to where the ball should be thrown. If he does not back up it is cover two to the boundary and from underneath center the quarterback will execute off of a “five step hit and throw” or up to a “five step bounce-bounce-throw” to the outside or inside receiver to the boundary. Again, the option route of the running back is the come down throw.

When the defense remains a two-safety defense, and the boundary corner backs up, it is probable the coverage is four-deep quarters. Logically, this is the best coverage versus four vertical routes. Now the quarterback has one quality throw and that is the match-up of the running back versus the rotation of the middle linebacker on his option route. The running back should be coached to attack the linebacker if there is not a definite hole in the under coverage. He should make it a point to get to five yards of depth in the route and give the quarterback your eyes immediately when open.

Versus a closed-field/single safety defense, with man coverage, the quarterback has the opportunity to attack the coverage with the two inside receivers off of the rotation of the free safety (much like three deep zone coverage). As well, if it is man-free coverage and you have press corners to the outside, this is an opportunity for a personnel match-up advantage to the outside receivers. The throw now becomes more of a fade throw to the quarterback when going outside, and still the receivers must hold the base of the numbers as a landmark.

Facing a blitz coverage, or no safeties/man defense, hot principles become relevant to the inside receivers. This is an instance when landmarks become irrelevant inside, but still hold the same relevancy to the outside receivers (See Diagram 5).


The quarterback now has the opportunity to throw hot to the inside receivers (may become a slant when the receiver sees blitz to his side) or still an opportunity for a one-on-one option to the outside receivers like a fade throw. This is also a time in which we may actually choose to use five-man protection so that our running back has the freedom to run a wide or flat route to the side of an outside blitz.

Our “four vertical” attack has become a small offense of its own, using read-side routes that may or may not stay vertical to a pre-determined side of the field. One minor adjustment we make may be as simple as running four vertical routes out of a three-by-one set (See Diagram 6).


The reads remain the same, as do the landmarks for our perimeter, but may enable us to get a single safety coverage. Another minor adjustment may be to simply “switch” our boundary side receivers to possibly enable us getting a middle seam vertical without getting re-routed by a seam player in a zone-pressure (See Diagram 7).


We have also taken advantage of run-and-shoot principles with read-side and pre-determined routes that may help us get rid of the ball faster with the quarterback versus multiple-coverage teams that are giving us a steady dose of single-safety zone and man coverages, two safety zone and man coverages, and blitz man coverages. The play may look totally different versus four different coverages when all four plays were called exactly the same four separate times in the huddle (See Diagrams 8, 9, and 10).






No matter what style of offense you are running, a four vertical passing game may have a place within it. The basic principle is to stretch the defense horizontally with vertical routes, maintain landmarks, and get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands with specifics in a short amount of time. When the quarterback and skill players master it, you are able to become flexible with formations, motions, five and six man protections and adjustments with receivers and backs according to coverages and opponent personnel. I hope the things I have shared within this article become helpful within your system.

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