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AFM Magazine


Setting Up the Pass with the Run in the Veer Option

\'The option offense gives you an advantage right off the bat. You get as much speed on the field as you possibly can.\'
by: Mike Kuchar
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When you think of running the option, you think of dominant programs that have run that offense: Navy under Paul Johnson, the Air Force Academy under Fisher DeBerry, and Georgia Southern under three different offensive option gurus: Erk Russell, Johnson, and most recently, Mike Sewak. Having been mentored by both Russell and Johnson, Sewak was OC under Johnson and then head coach at GSU for four years.

Since leaving Georgia Southern in 2005, Sewak has served as an option consultant – authoring countless magazine articles and producing several coaching videos on the scheme. Sewak is first to tell you that the effectiveness of the option is not accounting for unblocked defenders at the point of attack, which is why defenses are forced to put as many numbers in the tackle box as possible. It opens up tremendous potential in the veer action pass game.

Developing the Veer Action Pass Game

Like any other offense, the veer play action series must look exactly like the run game – the QB must carry out the fake, the fullback must stay on the midline and the offensive line must keep low hat level to ‘sell’ the run. The difference in the veer scheme lies in repetition. Most offenses can try to imitate their run game by making token fakes to ball carriers, but eventually will have to substitute different personnel in order to get their best pass catchers on the field. When you’re an option team, the best athletes are already on the field, so rarely would you change personnel. The same veer action fake is repeated with the QB and fullback 90 percent of the time – save for a few reverse pivots on counter and toss schemes that most veer teams have in their package.

“At Georgia Southern I remember playing a team in our conference and one of their coaches kept holding up a ‘30 Personnel’ (three backs, no tight end) card. I figured his arms would get tired; we just ran three backs at him all game,” said Sewak. “The option offense gives you an advantage right off the bat. You get as much speed on the field as you possibly can. I like it for three reasons: one, you control the clock; two, you let your rabbits run by getting as much speed on the field as possible; and three, you keep their offense off the field. The most frustrating thing for offensive coaches is having an entire play sheet prepared and not using it.”

When to Throw

While Sewak admits that in option football, it’s essential that the run game set up the play action, he recommends never hesitating to throw the ball in run situations. “In my career, we’ve gone for a ton of fourth downs by throwing the football. When you run the veer option you force defenders to play gap-responsibility football. Defenses need to account for the QB player, the FB player and the pitch player. So people start to rely on secondary personnel like safeties to play the alley on pitch or the QB on force. Now you start to throw an out and up or a post route on him and the next thing you know he’s trailing. He’s so caught up in the run game.”

According to Sewak, the ideal situation to pull the trigger on the veer play action is when you’re getting double run support (corner and safety) coming up to make the play on the pitch. The speed of defenses today will often force the QB to make the pitch early by shortening the perimeter, then chasing down the ball carrier. “As soon as you see that, you run the option again. Then the next time, it could be the very next play, you run a vertical route and you’ll be able to throw the ball right by them.”

Combination Patterns

Depending on the coverage he sees, Sewak has two basic types of patterns he likes to run that complement the veer scheme. If he sees straight cover 3 with the middle of the field closed, a coverage most common against option teams because of an alley player, Sewak will try to get verticals down the field. If there are two safeties down the field pre-snap, denoting cover 4 or cover 2, Sewak will dial up a post wheel combination. The majority of the time, Sewak will use his A back (halfback) motion out of his spread set. It’s the exact same “arc” motion used in the veer run schemes, which makes it harder for the defense to decipher run or pass.

“The backside A back will always come in motion. But you want to time it up to make sure the A back is in the backside B gap by the time the ball is snapped,” said Sewak. “He needs to have a little momentum. His path on run is normally right off the butt of the FB in order to get in pitch relationship with the QB. But in play action he might be one and a half yards behind the fullback. Often times with four across teams, once they get that backfield motion they will convert to some form of cover 3 which makes it easier for the QB to read.”

If they stay with two deep safeties, running Spread 312 Switch (See Diagram 1) is the answer. After the A back comes in motion, the QB gets the snap and executes his veer footwork. He opens up, gives the dive read to the fullback, and takes three simultaneous steps to set his feet and throw. Ideally, the QB should set up directly behind the playside guard. The two key players in the scheme are the playside A back and the playside wide receiver. Naturally in the veer run game, the play side A back will drop step, crossover and work outside to block the frontside corner or run support player. The wide receiver will take two hard steps upfield to sell the takeoff, and come hard inside and crack the frontside safety in two deep or crack the drop down safety in cover 3. It looks like the same scheme in the pass initially, except the receiver fakes the crack and runs a post while the playside A back runs the wheel route.

Diagram 1

“What happens is the corner gets so worried about being cracked like he does on run. As soon as he sees that back coming at his outside thigh, in reality he doesn’t care what that wide receiver is doing. He’s looking to make sure he doesn’t get cut. You want the timing of the play to be such that the A back is coming around to arc the corner as the backside A back (pitch player) is coming almost at the same time – exactly as it would in the veer option,” says Sewak. “That corner is thinking ‘uh oh, here comes the option.’” The offensive linemen block man protection as the backside A back (motion man) blocks the first player outside the tackle. The QB’s read is the post to the wheel. “We’ll tell him to take the post immediately if it’s there and lead him deep because often times there is no one deep down the middle of the field if the safety bites on the run fake.”

If the defense rotates their coverage to cover 3 by dropping a safety down into the box with the arc motion, Sewak will audible to Spread 312 Vertical (See Diagram 2). This route is a complement of the load option scheme that Sewak will run as a change-up to the traditional veer blocking schemes. “It’s great against 4-2-5 teams or 6-5 teams that play a ton of cover 3 or man free schemes. Anytime you can get the frontside A back and the tackle to block the playside linebacker and the free safety in cover 3, it’s perfect. In the load run scheme, the playside A back goes straight up the field and logs the first linebacker inside. The playside tackle free releases in the alley and tries to work up to the free safety. When the free safety keeps seeing load option, he’ll start to get over the top of the A back and the tackle in order to work into the alley for pitch. This is a great key to go to the play action scheme. You want to draw him out of the tackle box as quickly as possible and when he does you hit the A back going straight down the middle of the field.”

Diagram 2

The line blocks man protection while the backside A back comes around and logs the first defender past the tackle, just like he would on 312 Switch. The difference is the receiver to the playside is working a stalk block for two steps; then he will convert his route to a vertical, trying to blow by the corner. If he can’t beat the corner, he’ll just sit down. “We tell the QB to always look frontside on this play. You want to be careful as to who the backside flat player is. Teams try to overshift on the arc motion and creep him to the middle of the field for an extra support player in case of option. The QB can’t throw across his body. He must keep the throw a straight line,” said Sewak.

Mesh Patterns

Aside from the traditional post/wheel and vertical combination routes, Sewak will take advantage of man coverage teams by running a typical mesh scheme, where a defensive player gets high/lowed by a receiver. Since there is generally no tight end in Sewak’s system, the X receiver is known as the split end to the left side of the formation. In 312 X Dig (See Diagram 3) the X receiver turns his normal cutoff safety blocks on the veer run game into a shallow dig. “He’ll push up the field for three to four steps to sell the vertical to the corner, and then square his route inside at fourteen yards.

Diagram 3

“You always try to sell the post which looks exactly like a cutoff safety block. If you release hard inside, that corner is going to squeeze you inside right away,” said Sewak. The backfield motion is the same, with the backside A back coming in an arc pattern behind the QB. “Once that backside inside linebacker sees the A motion, he usually starts to cheat over to become the extra player in the alley. So now what you do is have a quick dig with that receiver and you try to throw the ball right where the backside linebacker used to be.”

Of course there is an adjustment for everything. If that backside linebacker sits in the throwing window, Sewak will tag the play with 312 X Dig “Spartan” (See Diagram 4). The A back away from the X receiver will release vertical and cross under the linebackers at a depth of six yards to give the QB an option underneath. “Once you get a daily dose of this and teams start to pick it up, you just run the mesh route with it. The linebackers will either bite on the underneath route by the back or drop deep to cover the square in. Like anything else in offense football, you take what they give you. You put a high/low on the backside linebacker and there you are.”

Diagram 4






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