The Situation

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Scott Criner, Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, Bishop Kelly High School, Boise ID. AFM subscriber since 2001.

We are a no-huddle offense and we expect to get a large number of repetitions per game. In this situation we would want to be aware of field position and how well our defense is playing the opponent’s offense. The worst thing we can do is force the ball and allow the opponent to gain field position by giving them a turnover. After taking the above into consideration, we would insert twenty personnel and align in our base formation and shift to an empty set to see if the defense will adjust (See Diagram 1).

Diagram 1: Empty Set

Our cadence is what we refer to as ‘Ready Hut.’ This allows the QB and coaching staff to check the defense prior to the snap. The QB will go through the normal cadence. Once he determines the defense’s intention, he will bring the ‘A-Back’ back into the backfield for protection purposes. This allows us to run a six man half slide protection (See Diagram 2).

Diagram 2: Six Man Half Slide Protection

The route we will use is called ‘Hide’ (See Diagram 3). We will push the ‘Y’ to a depth of six yards and dig him in. The Z or slot receiver will run a 12 yard dig read meaning he will read the first inside defender from his alignment to determine if he will come out running or if he will sit down at the break point. The ‘B’ back will run an inside seam to challenge the drop of the playside inside linebacker and keep the half safety from sitting on Z’s route. The QB will read the hook-curl defender and high low his drop with the Y and Z routes. The X will run a three step slant which will adjust to an ‘under’ and push the corners outside alignment to a depth of five yards. It is key to tempo the route off the break. The QB can choose the X receiver if he sees the next defender from X’s alignment aligned inside the box when the ball is snapped.

Diagram 3: Hide

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Bob DeCarlo, Head Coach and staff, Guerin Prep High School, River Grove (IL). AFM subscriber since 2006.

Our offensive philosophy is using different formations, shifts and motion to put the defense in a front and the secondary that we want to see. Then, we will have a pass/run play call according to that defense and what the QB reads. We put the wingback in motion to see if the OLB will chase him. This will let us know if they are in man or zone coverage. If the OLB chased the wingback, the play is a slant pass (See Diagram 1) to the short side wide receiver. If the OLB stays, we run (See Diagram 2) QB option reading the last man on the line of scrimmage to the short side of the field.

Diagram 1: Slant Pass

Diagram 2: QB Option

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Doug Allison, Head Coach, Mathews High School (VA). AFM subscriber since 2004.

We start in a shotgun spread in a 2 X 2 set with the fullback set to the field. The “X” aligns boundary side outside the numbers. This forces the FS to respect the boundary side. Our TB will be in the slot 6 to 8 yards from the tackle (See Diagram), forcing the corner to check inside for combo routes. The LB must “walk” to cover the curl. Y aligns 8 yards from the tackle (up on the LOS) forcing the out on the curl defender. Z will line up 4 to 5 yards wider than Y. Z is off the ball allowing a clean release. The TB will come in full speed (appearance of motioning back to trips.) The ball is snapped as TB reaches BT and then meshes with the QB at full speed. The FB now becomes an extra blocker to help seal the edge. Y is in great position to seal his man and Z is able to occupy the corner and safety with his release. Once the corner reacts to the run, Z will block him but by then five yards will have been gained.

TB in the slot

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