Utilizing the Quick Passing Game in a Spread Offense

At Kansas Wesleyan, one of the key components of our spread offense is being able to successfully utilize the quick passing game. Our offense is based out of a single back, 2 x 2 formation. One of our main objectives is keep things simple. This ranges from route concepts, protections, signals and words. As an offensive staff, we strive to get players to react instead of over-thinking. We encourage our players to be athletes and make plays based on reaction. In this article, we will discuss the basic principles within our quick passing game as well as take a look at the basic assignments and responsibilities of each position group. The two main principles that we feel are essential for our success include protecting the quarterback and route concepts. These two things are our main focus in game planning and practice throughout the week.

Protecting the QB

One bonus of utilizing the quick passing game is that it minimizes the chance of giving up a sack. However, while the chances are diminished, they are not eliminated. Protecting the QB is still the most important aspect of our quick passing game. In our quick game, we use both a gap protection and a man protection scheme.

Gap Protection

Against an aggressive defense, we feel that a gap scheme is the most beneficial. In our gap scheme, we have our offensive linemen cut block in order to get the opponent’s hands down. We teach a quick pass set, then an aggressive cut block to their gap on the right or left. We emphasize that, as offensive linemen, we cannot chase defenders and we are only responsible for our gap. This is important to prevent a run through or high-low block. If our five linemen are cutting to the gap on their right, we have a running back step up and cut the first threat opposite of the direction we are sliding.  The running back’s aiming point in the protection should be directly off the tackles butt and he should cut block the first threat looking inside to outside.

Man Protection

When we feel a defense is trying to defend our quick game by not rushing and getting their hands in the throwing lanes with their defensive line, we typically switch to a man protection scheme. This scheme is designed for our five down linemen to be aggressive on the snap and go attack the defenders. Against a four-man front, our five down linemen are responsible for the four defensive linemen and the middle linebacker. Against a 3-4 defense, our five down linemen are responsible for the three defensive linemen and the two inside backers. We give our QBs the flexibility to determine which side the RB will step up and protect. If they feel there is a threat of a blitz off the right edge, the QB will move the RB over that side for protection purposes. We do not want any cut blocks from our offensive linemen in the man protection scheme. We stress with our offensive linemen that we must be aggressive and attack the defenders. As coaches, our focus is to make sure we are assignment-sound and are playing aggressive football.

Route Combinations

In the quick passing game, there are only so many route combinations you can throw to efficiently and effectively. In our quick game we try to simplify the reads for our QB. We want him to feel comfortable and confident with his decision of where he is going to throw the football. Our QB must also be able to get rid of the football quickly. Our belief is that his thinking process cannot slow him down.
   

We teach our QBs to catch and flip their feet to their target. We try to eliminate any depth steps or false steps in their footwork. As we prepare for a game, we decide what route combinations to call vs. certain coverages. Because we are a no-huddle offense, we have the luxury to call plays based on what type of defensive front and coverage we are getting from our opponent. Our main key for determining what coverage we are seeing is the safety’s and corner’s alignment. We refer to that as the defensive shell. If we are getting a 2-shell look, our base plays are the double slants and vertical/outs. If we are seeing a lot of one-high safety looks, we tend to call more slant/out and hitch/fade routes.

Route Combos vs. a 2-High Look

Double Slants (See Diagram 1) - We feel that the double slant package should be used against a 2-shell look but it can be used against any coverage if run correctly. The biggest point of emphasis when running our slant route is that we must be on a flat angle after our break. We want our WRs to sell three steps vertical and then break it flat so we do not give the defensive back an angle to break on the football. Also, spacing with our WR alignment is vital. Our WRs must have good spacing on every play. If the outside WR is aligned on the bottom of the numbers, we would like our slot WR to be about a yard outside the hash. Our QB’s read in our double slant package is the outside linebacker or the defender over the #2 slot WR. If the defenders widen to the #1 WR on the snap, we then catch and throw to our inside slant. If the defender runs with #2 or jumps inside, we will throw to our outside slant.

Vertical/Out (See Diagram 2) - This route combination is great against cover 2. Against a true cover 2 or dual reading coverage team, this puts the safety and corner in a bind. The most important thing when running the outside vertical route is that we must try and get an outside release. This helps our QB with his read of the corner. If the corner turns his back to the QB when widening with the outside WR, then we can throw our speed out by the #2 WR.  When teaching our speed out, we emphasize a 3-step speed cut rounding the break at 3-5 yards and working to the sideline.

Route Combos vs. a 1 High Look

Slant/Arrow (See Diagram 3) - The slant/arrow concept is meant to put the cover 3 flat defender in a bind or create a “rub” route concept against any type of man coverage. Again, it is essential to run a great thee step slant and break it on a flat angle. The arrow route is a true one-step out route aiming for 2-3 yards towards the sideline. In the QB’s pre-snap read, we are trying to identify man or zone coverage. If the corner is playing off the outside WR, we can expect a zone concept and we will want to read the outside linebacker’s reaction post-snap. If the corner is playing head up with his eyes on the outside WR, we will expect man and look to throw the slant once we create the “rub”.

Hitch/Fade (See Diagram 4) - The hitch/fade concept is something we look for often. It is a very simple but efficient concept. Anytime we feel we can run a six-yard hitch route against an uncovered player or off coverage defender, we will run this route concept. The WR must sell the vertical route hard for 3 steps, break down, and then work back downhill towards the QB. On all of our hitch routes we have the option to convert the route into a fade or seam depending on how the defender reacts post-snap.

With our inside WRs we want to attack inside of the flat defender to help with our QB’s read.  If a corner is playing at five yards and bails, we will run the hitch. If he sits at five yards or is in press coverage, we want to run by him. Again, we try to keep this as simple as possible to eliminate any confusion. When running this concept it is important to have a good pre-snap read by the QB. We tell our QB to attack the off-corner or work the uncovered man (i.e., the best look side).
   

It is our belief that we must make the quick passing game simple. Our players must feel comfortable and confident in what we do and be able to react and be athletes. This is just one aspect of our offense but we believe it is essential to our success. With this simplicity, we feel we are able to create an up-tempo and fun offense with a high percentage of execution.