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Go High, Go Low - Attacking Coverages with High-Low Route Concepts

by: Steve Heck, Wide Receivers Coach and Matthew Pirolli
Assistant Wide Receivers Coach, Kutztown University
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Offensive team “tempo” has pushed its way into the vocabularies of coaches at all levels of football. The emphasis on playing fast, wearing down the defense and running a high volume of plays has become a key aspect in today’s spread offenses. One primary characteristic of high tempo offenses is their reliance on a core set of simple, yet effective, pass game concepts.

The “high – low” concept is a staple of many spread offenses. Our version of the “high-low” features a pivot, with a deep dig over the top of it. We have also discovered that using some auxiliary route structures related to the basic pivot/dig combo has yielded two positive results. First, it has provided effective counters to the pivot-dig concept, thus keeping defenses off balance. The auxiliary route structures also creates horizontal stretch versus both man and zone coverages in the red zone area.


Diagram 1: Play 164

Our base high-low scheme originates out of a 3 x 1 formation or a 3 x 2 empty set. In the 3 x 1 set we use four receivers and one back (Diagram 1). With the empty formation, we deploy five true receivers. The core of the high-low combination is a 6-yard pivot by the front-side number 3 receiver and a 12-yard dig by the frontside number 2 receiver. It is important to constantly coach the route depths of the pivot-dig combination. The pivot route must push hard inside, selling an initial 4-5 step shallow burst. The receiver should plant his upfield foot in the turf at 6 yards, before whipping back out.

We generally put the receiver running the dig route on the ball to help achieve the proper spacing between the two routes.  The front-side number 2 must get a vertical take off and push hard for 12 yards. If anything, deeper is better. We usually do not want the dig route to sit down right away at the top end. At the top of his route, the receiver will make a 90-degree cut and work inside reading the coverage. He may have to employ a “throw by” hand technique vs. man coverage and he certainly will have to avoid an inside re-route from an expanding linebacker. We use several drills to find the “dig window” while maneuvering around defenders.

If the pivot route consumes several defenders, the dig generally opens up somewhere between the hashes at 12 yards. If defenders are sinking initially, or the pivot route is leveraging the inside linebacker, we want to get the ball out immediately to the pivot. An important coaching point for the quarterback is to see in front of the receiver and read the leverage of the defenders, both behind and in front, of the pivot route.

Common mistakes on the pivot route are not pushing hard inside on a shallow path and also gaining too much depth whipping out. Common errors with the dig route are simply not pushing deep enough and also getting jammed too far inside initially. It is critical to achieve the 12-yard and 6-yard spacing between these routes. The dig-pivot combo is a between-the-hashes version of the hook/corner smash concept.

The 3 x 1 version of the “high-low” features an isolation route by the X or backside number 1 receiver. We have done a variety of things into the boundary, but our base route is an intermediate post corner. Since we count steps with our outside receivers, we use a 6-step vertical takeoff, and 3-step skinny post break, which allows the receiver to exit into the corner cut less abruptly. Versus pressman coverage, we use a 12-yard landmark instead of counting steps. Versus any type of “hard” cover 2 type corner, the receiver will be taught to inside stem, push vertical toward the safety and stick the corner cut at 10-yards.

The post corner is a pre-snap option for the quarterback vs. certain coverages or match-ups. The running back checks his first exposed gap before releasing into the flat. The progression is: pre-snap post corner by X, to the pivot by V, to the dig by W to the flat.

Frontside number 1, or the Z receiver, runs an 8-to 9-yard route. Faced with a hard corner, the Z will execute a P.O.R. [positive outside release] and run vertical, trying to influence the high half field safety to evacuate the hash mark. If the Z encounters a corner that is bailing at the snap, he will run the 8 cut. The 8 cut is an 8-step post route, trying to occupy the free safety. Although the 8 to 9 is not a glamorous aspect of the scheme, it plays a critical part in removing leverage from both the pivot and the dig.


Diagram 2: Play 154

In the empty version of the high-low concept, we have essentially the same reception areas, albeit with a few minor changes to the backside structure (Diagram 2). The X receiver in empty, now runs the P.O.R. 9 yards and the V receiver runs another pivot. We have two pivots in the standard empty high-low concept. Also, the quarterback’s progression changes slightly. He works the boundary routes, seeing them as a  tandem, and then moves through a full field progression: X vertical, V pivot, W dig, and A pivot.

As we began to rely on the high low concept as part of our weekly game plan, teams began to deploy different tactics to neutralize the pivot-dig combo. They overplayed the pivot route and began to quickly diagnose the concept based on the receiver’s initial movements. To counter these tactics, we introduced the “jerk” route and a shallow-cross scheme against teams that wanted to overplay the pivot and react fast to our initial movements.

The jerk route is the equivalent of a back door cut in basketball. It uses the defender’s aggressive instincts and momentum against him. The receiver pushes hard inside, using the same shallow burst path. As the defender begins to expand horizontally with the pivot route, the receiver sticks his sideline foot into the ground and violently “jerks” his head and shoulders back inside.

The key coaching points for the jerk route are to sell the pivot route hard, do not rush through the footwork and to keep shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage. Parallel shoulders builds a bigger target area for the quarterback and more importantly, allows the receiver to fluidly react in both directions to path of the ball. We simply add a “jerk” tag to the play call to change that one route (Diagram 3).


Diagram 3: 154 Jerk

The second counter we developed to enhance the high-low concept was the addition on a shallow-cross component to the route structure (Diagram 4). The X WR runs a shallow route, building to 6 yards as he exits the tackle box. The A receiver runs a drag, climbing to 8-10 yards as he exits the tackle box. The W and Z have the same assignments. However, the V receiver runs a 14 yard corner as the backside 2 receiver.


Diagram 4: 154 Axis

With the addition of the two crossing routes, we have created a high low stretch to the field, as well as into the boundary. Again, we do not want the dig route to sit down too early, because he will not create the proper horizontal stretch with the shallow route. The 8-10 drag route by the A works toward the boundary underneath the deep corner by V. Both the drag and the shallow routes are coached to not look for the ball in the tackle box. They are taught to avoid defenders and then look to settle, or run as they exit the tackle box. We communicate the shallow-drag concept with an “Axis” tag in the play call.

The progression in the “Axis” play puts the quarterback’s eyes in the same reception areas as the standard 3 x 1 pivot-dig concept. In 154 Axis, the quarterback’s progression is: the shallow route by X, dig by W, drag by A, and corner by V. The 8- to 9-yard route by Z serves as an “alert” game plan adjustment throw vs. certain match-ups or coverages.

While the high-low concept featuring the pivot-dig route combination has proven to be an enduring staple of our passing game, the inclusion of the “jerk” route and the “Axis” component has enhanced the overall scheme. By adding simple counter routes and combinations to our existing structures, we have expanded our ability to attack coverages in all field zones.
About the Authors:

Steve Heck is in his eighth year as the wide receivers coach at Kutztown University. A coaching veteran of 19 years, Heck has also coached at Albright College and was a high school offensive coordinator for ten years. Heck graduated from Lebanon Valley College in 1996 with a degree in English.

Matthew Pirolli just completed his first season as an assistant coach at Kutztown University. In 2011, Pirolli was a receiver on Kutztown’s PSAC conference championship team. Pirolli played three years for the Golden Bears and graduated in 2012.

More articles like this:

Two-Minute Crunch Time: ‘Go-To’ Plays – October, 2013
Play-Action to Complement Your Spread Option Offense – March, 2007
Maximizing the Shotgun Formation – October, 2006






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