AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Hoop Dreams

Putting a bounce in the passing game
by: Kevin Burke
Head coach, Juniata College
© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

When I was named head coach at Juniata College in 1998, my staff and I needed to determine what type of offense best suited our personnel. We had a number of quality receivers, an inexperienced offensive line and a quarterback with a great deal of potential. We decided to develop a passing attack that would teach our quarterback a few basic principles and carry him through an entire season. We did not want to make many play changes from week to week, and it was imperative that our coaches and players had a clear understanding of what we want to accomplish with each play. In short, we decided to keep it simple.

Our entire passing game revolves around the same principles as fast-break basketball. Where are we going to find the one-on-none, two-on-one or three-on-two matchup? To do this, we train the quarterback to let the coverage dictate where the ball is thrown. It is important to note that we will never condense the field for the quarterback until he has determined the coverage. By doing this, all our receivers realize they could be thrown the ball at any time and, therefore, they run their routes harder. We emphasize to them that we have no backside.

When quarterbacks arrive on campus, we teach them to understand all of the coverage patterns they can expect before we teach them any plays. Our emphasis is on identifying underneath coverage defenders and determining who we will place in the greatest bind. This process takes much less time than you might expect. By using a series of questions, we are able to make the quarterbacks tell us how to design the plays that we will run during the course of the year.

For instance, we always begin with a three-deep coverage. We explain to the quarterbacks that there are two types of three-deep shells we will see. The first is a balanced three-deep scheme that a number of 4-4 teams might use (see Diagram 1).


Diagram 1

The second is an unbalanced three-deep scheme that a 4-3 defense might employ (See Diagram 2). In either case, we ask the quarterbacks to identify the responsibilities of the three secondary players. Eventually, they tell us that the two corners have the deep thirds and the safety has the middle third. We then explain to them that most teams stress to their corners that they can not get beat deep in this coverage. We then draw up the defense without the three secondary players. They do not count because they have no underneath responsibility. Our young quarterbacks always look at us like we're crazy, but we stress that the secondary in this coverage is of absolutely no consequence when determining where to throw the ball.

We then ask them to find the pre-snap holes in the coverage. We have one of the quarterbacks come up and circle where the holes are (see Diagram 3 and 4). We then discuss how to get the ball to one of our players in the hole. After playing around with it a little, they normally come up with running a hitch or an out-route by the widest receivers. This is an example of a one-on-none fast break.


Diagram 2


Diagram 3


Diagram 4

We ask them to describe their job. By this point, they have caught onto the question and answer game and usually perk right up with, "Deliver the ball as quickly as possible to beat the post-snap-drop of the flat defender." Our three-step package is born.

Now all we have left to do is tell them what we call that particular play. They already instinctively know where to go with the football. It has been our experience that the quarterbacks will retain a great deal more information if we let them construct the play to attack the defense.

An example of a two-on-one fast break, is our run-action pass game. After we have determinined where the pre-snap holes in the three-deep zone are, we then delve into the post-snap drops of the underneath defenders. We ask the quarterbacks to identify each of the player's responsibilities. We take each inside and outside linebacker and help the quarterbacks recognize a typical defensive drop. We then ask our quarterbacks to circle the holes in the post-snap underneath coverage (see Diagram 5) and tell them we want to run a hook route by the outside receiver.


Diagram 5

It is up to them to tell us who could take the throwing lane to the hook route away. Invariably, one of the freshmen will say the corner and we will have to start all over again, but eventually someone will say the outside linebacker. We ask the quarterbacks how we can control the outside linebacker and pretty quickly, someone comes up with the idea of running another receiver into the flat.

We then ask the quarterbacks who else can take away the hook route. Once again, it doesn't take long to determine that the only other player involved is the inside linebacker. They are then challenged to find a way to control that inside linebacker and remain in a two-back set. We help them by asking them to identify the inside linebacker's primary responsibility. Sooner or later, they will figure out that the best way to control him is to hold him inside the tackle box with the use of a run fake by our backfield. Our run-action passing game is now alive and we have a two-on-one fast break (see Diagram 6).


Diagram 6

In 1998, we were ranked 22nd in the country in passing yards per game, and in 1999, we finished the season No. 8 in the same category. Because we have averaged more than 300 yards a game passing, many people assume we are in a one-back set all the time. Although we certainly employ a number of one-back sets, we base everything we do from a two-back concept.

Having a legitimate running threat is very important for us to maintain a consistent passing attack. Our three-step and run-action pass games complement our running game. We emphasize to the quarterbacks that all linebackers are in an automatic bind on first and second down. By throwing the ball in those situations, we put them at a very large disadvantage because they must remain "tight" and "run conscious." This may only hold them a fraction of a second longer, but it gives a decisive quarterback all the time he needs to exploit a defense. On third down, however, the thought process must change. Although the majority of defensive coaches tell their players to still play run first, the tendency for most linebackers is to get into their drop quickly. Because of this, we employ a triangular read system for our quarterbacks that will create a three-on-two emphasis.

When we used our run-action passing game as an example, we spoke about controlling the inside linebacker with a run fake. By doing this, we created a two-on-one fast break situation with our two outside routes. Once we employ a five-step drop in an obvious passing situation, a run fake does not usually prove to be as effective as it does on first and second down. The key term here is "obvious passing situation." It is no longer in our best interest to remain in a two-back offense unless we want to maximize protection. We now want to use the defense's tendency to drop its underneath coverage more quickly to our advantage. To do this, it certainly helps to have a number of speed threats on the field.

Let's use the same hook-flat example that we did in the run-action pass game earlier. We now ask our quarterbacks to control the inside linebacker using a run fake. We give them a look that has three receivers to one side and ask them to devise a route for the third receiver. Within a matter of seconds they will normally run him on a drag route. Since we do not like to drag him too far across the field, we explain to the quarterbacks that we prefer to sit him down right where the inside linebacker initially lined up. We call this a replace route. We now ask the quarterbacks to tell us where to throw the football if the inside linebacker takes away the hook route. They instinctively tell us the replace route. By reading the throwing lane to the hook route, our quarterbacks will know instantly whether to work outside to the flat route or inside to the replace route (see Diagrams 7 and 8).


Diagram 7


Diagram 8

Earlier it was mentioned that our quarterbacks do not condense the field until they have determined the coverage. This is important to note in our five-step game. Everything we do in our drop-back package has a full-field read that is determined by the coverage key. Our quarterback reads the underneath coverage in Diagrams 7 and 8 as only having two players to cover our triangle of receivers. He will therefore read the throwing lane in that direction. When the defense brings a third underneath defender to that side, we must devise a way to exploit the defense the other way (see Diagram 9).


Diagram 9

As you will see in the diagram, the defense has rolled its coverage to the strong side of our formation. We now ask the quarterbacks to count the underneath defenders in both directions. We tell them to expect the corners to have underneath responsibility with any two-safety coverage. We ask the quarterbacks to devise a route combination to the single-receiver side that might be able to exploit the defensive alignment. We guide the quarterbacks to running the outside receiver on an in route and the running back on a flat route. We have now created a two-on-two situation with the underneath defenders to that side. We then explain to the quarterback that if he throws the football to the replace route but makes the receiver drift to the other side of the center with his throw, we have created a three-on-two triangular read to the single-receiver side (see Diagram 10).


Diagram 10

In our five-step drop package, we try to throw the football in 2.5 seconds or less. We believe that by teaching our quarterbacks to design each play they retain more and react quicker on the field, which results in more completed passes and less sacks. In addition, by teaching quarterbacks where the weakness in a particular coverage exists, they are more likely to react in a positive manner to a surprise defense. By recognizing where we have the number game advantage, the quarterback will know where to throw the football.

Obviously, we throw more than just hitches and hooks in our offense, but whatever we do, we utilize the same teaching method. We emphasize to our quarterbacks that we will always be on the attack and someone is always open. It is very important that they understand to never hang on to any one route for too long. We used the hook-flat example throughout this entire article. Although we would love to throw the hook route every time, our quarterbacks understand it is their primary job to distribute the ball to whoever the defense leaves free. In the five-step package in particular, footwork is very important. We work very hard to move our feet in relationship to the way we are moving our eyes in the pocket. Our feet and eyes move together as a unit.






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved