1995-1996 Florida Offense - Steve Spurrier

The Florida offense under Head Coach Steve Spurrier was undoubtedly one of the most exciting offenses in recent history, putting up lots of points and throwing the ball around as few teams had done up to that point in time.  Coach Spurrier's Fun and Gun attack helped to end the run-first era and to usher in the Spread offense era of multiple WRs and the ability to throw the football to win.  The remarkable thing about Spurrier and his offenses was how easy they made it look to score points and how wide open his receivers always seemed to be.

There were plenty of highlights in the Spurrier era during the 1990s.  The 1995 game vs. Tennessee with Peyton Manning at QB saw the Gators down 30-14.  Then there was a torrential downpour that was only exceeded by what Danny Wuerffel and the Gator offense did to pour on 48 straight points in a 62-37 beat down (also fueled by one of the biggest hits of all-time).  I'm not sure I can ever remember a team being up by so much like Tennessee was that ended up getting avalanched and absolutely destroyed the way they did.  The Gators pulverized FSU 52-20 for their first national championship in 1996 to get revenge for a 24-21 regular season defeat.  The upset of a great FSU team in 1997 that was ranked #1 in the country is still the greatest game ever played at Florida Field (my favorite game of all-time along with the 1985 Miami Dolphins 38-24 win over the Chicago Bears in the most-watched game ever on Monday Night Football to keep the Bears from going undefeated). 

The other game that stood out for me for the raw fury of offensive explosion and opposing its will on a defense was Spurrier’s last game at Florida vs. Maryland in the 2002 Orange Bowl.  Rex Grossman did not start the game for missing curfew and Brock Berlin came and the Gators had a shaky 14-10 lead in the 2nd Qtr.  Spurrier, being a former Heisman winner, was ever the demanding perfectionist at coaching the QB position.  After Berlin threw his 2nd interception, Spurrier yanked him for Grossman, who came in and took over, obliterating Maryland’s 3 deep coverage for six straight TDs in a 56-23 rout.  If there was ever a clinic video made of how to destroy Cover 3 with the passing game, this game tape would have to be it.

I recently got a hold of some vintage cut-ups of all of the 1995-96 Florida TD passes.  The Gator offense under Heisman Trophy winning QB Danny Wuerffel, RB Fred Taylor, and WRs Reidel Anthony, Ike Hilliard, Jacquez Green, and Chris Doering led them to two appearances in the national championship game.  There were three concepts that the Gator offense was synonymous for that showed up repeatedly in the cut-ups that I want to show and talk about: the Fade route, the Corner route, and the Mills concept.

Fade

The Faderoute in the Florida offense was a devastating weapon.  DBs could be in almost perfect coverage but the route always allowed the Florida WRs plenty of grass to run to and the ability to see the ball and to jump and grab it before the DB could turn around and react quick enough.  I got coached up recently on the Fade route by former Gator great, Jacquez Green.  He explained it simply as a foot fire, hard stick inside, and run to the back corner of the end zone.  Green was only 5-9, but ran the route better than anyone else at Florida because his feet were so quick.  He was great at the foot fire and the deadly jab step inside to free him from tight man coverage.

Football is certainly a science with all of the X's and O's and fundamental techniques that we coaches can spend a lifetime studying and tweaking, but it is also an art form.  I believe that the Fade route, especially in slow-motion, is quite possibly the most beautiful play in all of football.  I tried to slow-motion the film in the cut-ups but the video is too old to do so.

Fade Route - 1995-1996 Florida Offense - Steve Spurrier from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Corner Route

Florida saw a lot of Cover 2 and they used the Corner route to score numerous TDs back in the day.  Spurrier liked to get to the opponent's 30-40 yard line and throw TDs from there rather than drive down deep in the red zone and let the field compress him and limit what he could do.  There were multiple concepts that utilized the Corner route in Spurrier's offense.  Corkers is basically the Smash concept mirrored to both sides.  Righty/Lefty was Smash to the playside with a Post from the backside.  Ralph/Lonnie was a concept made famous by Spurrier in which the #1 WR's rule was to run a Curl route and to adjust that route to an inside release Corner route vs. Cover 2.  Chris Brown at Smart Football and Grantland says Ralph/Lonnieallowed Spurrier’s offense and his QB to always be right: “You play him in Cover 2, he throws the corner, you play him in Cover 3, he throws the curl.   Finally, in the cut-ups they also hit the Corner route once out of the Snagconcept (#1 – Snag, #2 – Corner, #3 – Flat or Swing) that is quite popular today.

Corner Route - 1995-1996 Florida Offense - Steve Spurrier from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Mills

Millswas a Play-Action concept named after former Florida WR, Ernie Mills, and was responsible for many big TD passes during the 1990s.  Spurrier’s first SEC victory in 1990 vs. Alabama was one of the biggest wins in school history according to Spurrier and was made possible by a 70 yard pass to Ernie Mills on this very play.  This play is great vs. Quarters coverage that is prevalent today.  The #2 WR runs a Dig route to get the Safety to jump him and the #1 WR runs a Post route over top of the Safety.  The QB will read the Safety to see if he will come up to play the Dig or stay back to play the Post.  The single side WR to the opposite side runs an inside release Corner to occupy the backside Safety.

Mills - 1995-1996 Florida Offense - Steve Spurrier from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Great Links

Coach Vint with The Little Things are the Biggest Things and Leverage, Numbers, and Green Grass.

Blitzology is back again with Torch: Lighting Up the Offense with the Read Twist and Equipment Review.

Coach CP at Strong Football with 3 Reasons to Use the TE at the H.S. Level, Cover 2 Trap Zone Blitz, the Smash Concept, and Beating Press Coverage with Bunch Formations and Motion.

Coach Mac with Practicing Your Tempo and Power.

DaCoachMo at Spread Football features Dub Maddox in Question: Want to Be a Great Coach? and he also shares Clinic Notes.

Compete In All Things with Shallow Cross: Why Is He Always Open?

Coach Holst with notes on the Nevada Spring Game.

Chris Brown at Smart Football and Grantland with What Drafting Matt Barkley Means for Chip Kelly's Plans for the Eagles.

Duece has some motivation material with Today's the Big Day and talks coverage with Split Field Coverage - The Underneath Players.

Dan Gonzalez with Assembling a Game Plan: Parts One, Two, and Three.

Coach Grabowski with lots of TE Resources.

2013 Virginia Tech Helmet Safety Study

Coach Burk with Stick-Draw Concept.

Brophy with Gunter Brewer video on Snag & Scat Revisited and Western Michigan Special Teams Circuit.

Coach B Dud with Installing R4 For the First Time, Using an H Back to Enhance Your Inside Zone Package, Game Planning, and R4 in Spring Ball.

Coach Fore with Three Essentials to Building a Booster Club - Part 2.

Bullets

The Bullets concept is the final primary passing concepts of the Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen Florida Spread Offense (the others being H Option, Follow, Follow Pivot, Houston).  Chris Brown of Smart Football / Grantland wrote a post on this same concept here that I would recommend reading as this article is quite brief.  Bullets is a Play-action Pass concept that was Florida's "home run" play during the Tim Tebow era.

The #1 WR runs a Post unless he sees Cover 2, then he will run a 12 yard Curl route.  The play doesn't need to be run with Jet Sweep action, although this action is very good for putting the Force player in a bind if he comes up for the run.

Bullets from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Tony DeMeo is on the Coaches Corner show here.  You can also check out his webpage at http://tonydemeo.com/

Also, Pistol guru James Vint has a new blog: http://coachvint.blogspot.com/
Strong Football with Offensive Game Plan: You Be You

Follow

The Follow concept is one of the primary passing concepts of the Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen Florida Spread Offense (the others being H Option, Follow Pivot, Houston, and Bullets).  It is primarily ran out of Empty and it is an easy play for the QB in the Spread Offense to execute.

Below are diagrams of the "Dig" concepts used by Meyer and Mullen at Florida:

Follow is a play designed to complement H Option.  Versus zone, the H WR will run at the first defender inside of him just as he does on H Option.  His job is to get the attention of that defender as the Follow (Dig) route and the Shallow route attack his zone from the backside.  The QB will look at H initially too, which helps the play to look like H Option.  The Shallow is the Hot route and the Follow route will break off at 8 yards vs. a "No Deep" look (no safeties deep).  The Z WR will also run a protection route right at the next defender inside to keep him off of the Shallow route if you watch the cut-ups closely.

The QB will take a 3 step drop from the Gun and his first progression is to look at H on the Vertical Access route, who is a viable option to split the safeties vs. any 2 Hi look.  The QB's eyes will then go to the Shallow to the Follow (Dig) route.  The QB's movement key is the first LB inside of H to the next LB over Y.  Versus man coverage, the QB will also have a lot of room to run to the Follow side if nobody is open.

The first cut-up you will see the Troy Mike LB turn to Percy Harvin and look to play him on H Option and he ends up walling him off as he continues vertical.  This puts the Shallow and Follow route 2 on 1 vs. the Will LB lined up over Y.  The danger players that can interfere with this 2 on 1 are the CB and the FS to the boundary.  The X WR must win inside vs. Man coverage, and the Post cut at 8 yards before breaking off the Follow route at 10 yards will help him to beat the CB.  I am a a big "step" guy when it comes to coaching WRs and I have taught the Dig or Follow route as 5 steps vertical aiming at the CB's inside #, stick it hard, 2 steps at 45 degrees, and then stick it hard again coming straight across.  When ran correctly vs. loose Man, it is a very difficult route to cover.

The Post cut before breaking off the Follow route and the QB looking to H running between the safeties can help keep the Boundary FS deep, but the QB must be aware that the FS is in excellent position to rob any inside-breaking route by the X WR.  Versus teams that like to rob the X WR on any Curl or Dig route, running the Follow concept with H on the Shallow and Z on the Follow coming from the Field can be a better option.

Florida ran a different version of Folllow vs. LSU's 2007 National Championship team that featured a fierce pass rush led by All-American DT Glenn Dorsey.  Florida was worried about having enough time to throw vs. LSU, so they ran what was essentially the quick-game version of Follow where the Follow route became a deeper Shallow route.

Here's the film:

50 X Follow from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Andrew Coverdale is on the Coaches Corner show here again talking QB Training and the "Check With Me" system at the line of scrimmage.

Getting Old!

On a side note, if you have any lower back pain, you NEED to get one of these exercise balls to sit on.  It has made all the difference in the world for me.  They can be had for only $15 and they work by helping to strengthen the muscles that help to stabilize your spine.

H Option

The Florida Spread Offense that won two national championships under current Ohio State HC Urban Meyer and former OC, now Mississippi St. HC, Dan Mullen utilized five primary pass concepts: H Option, Follow, Follow Pivot, Houston, and Bullets.  My guest writer has already talked about Follow Pivot and Houston, and I will talk about the play that Meyer and Mullen made famous: H Option.

H Option is a play designed to get the ball into the hands of the offense's most dynamic playmaker.  First it was Paris Warren at Utah, and then at Florida it was Percy Harvin, after whom the position was commonly referred to as the "Percy Position."  It is the football equivalent to the basketball play where everybody spreads the court and gets out of the way to let your best player take his guy 1 on 1.

First, let's look at an Empty formation commonly employed by Utah and Florida.

This Empty formation causes some stress for defenses.  The RB (R) split out wide causes DCs to make an important choice: do they waste a CB covering him out wide, causing a mismatch with a LB covering the H WR, or do they put the LB out wide covering the RB (which is a mismatch in itself, as well as leaving the defense vulnerable to the run with the LB out of the box area)?  Meyer's last game at Utah was vs. Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and Paris Warren was isolated on LB Clint Session and they dialed up H Option repeatedly to take advantage of that mismatch.  Session is an athletic LB, but the mismatch was based not as much on speed as it was on quickness.

The beauty of Option route passes is that you can run them repeatedly without losing effectiveness (as illustrated by this game and the BYU vs. Michigan 1983 Holiday Bowl where Norm Chow ran 69 H Option like 17 times to take advantage of a RB-LB mismatch).  Warren ended the night with 15 catches for 198 yards and 2 TDs for the night, most of those on H Option.
  

The H position is a combination WR/RB player.  Percy Harvin, from 2006-2008, was the team's most explosive WR as well as the team's best rusher.  Florida liked to start in Empty and then motion Harvin back into the backfield.  This is pretty common practice now in the Spread-happy world that Meyer and Mullen helped to create, but it was very difficult for defenses to adjust to when they first starting doing it at Bowling Green and Utah.  Even though Harvin was the team's most effective runner, he was not someone you wanted carrying the ball 20+ times a game because of his size and his value in the offense, so they tried not to overwork him during the grind of the SEC regular season.  He left Florida averaging an incredible 9.55 yards per carry!

H Option depends on finding the right guy at the H position, someone who can play ball in the playground and simply get open.  Paris Warren and Percy Harvin were fast, but more importantly they were quick and could accelerate out of their cuts.  Meyer said Harvin had the best acceleration and quickest first step of any player he had ever seen.  There might not be another explosive and versatile athlete like Percy Harvin for quite some time, but it is not impossible to find someone quick enough to run H Option.  Someone like Wes Welker would run it great, although he wouldn't be much of a threat motioning into the backfield and running the ball.

Here's how the play is drawn up with the Hot route adjustments for H and Y drawn in bold:

The coaching points for H on the frontside Option route is to run at the nearest defender inside, push to 8 yards and attack his inside leverage.  Ideally, H would like to get inside of the defender and then beat him inside (shortest throw, easiest throw).  The first cut-up at the end of the article will show Harvin in the first cut-up get leverage on the defender, give a QUICK outside move, and win inside.  If the defender wants to keep inside leverage, H will push him inside and then break out.  If their are two defenders bracketing H, he will simply hook up between them.  The frontside Option route has freedom to work all the way to the backside OT.

Mullen said they were very precise with their Spread offense, but not with this play.  He says you don't want to over-coach the Option route.  Tell H that if the defender matches you, win inside.  If he stays inside, work out.

The backside Option route will be run by the inside WR to a depth of 10 yards.  He will run at the nearest defender inside and either hook up or break out.  He cannot work inside past the near OT or he will interfere with the frontside Option route.  His thinking is to win outside.

The other WRs are running Go routes to blow the top off the defense and make room for the Option routes. I have seen Florida do some other things on film to better occupy the Flat defender.  One is the have frontside #1 (R) run a 5 yard Hitch.  This is also a good outlet vs. a 3 Deep Fire Zone. The other thing I saw them do was to have frontside #2 run a 10 yard Out.

The QB will look at his movement key, which is the Mike LB and work opposite.  His progression is frontside Option route to backside Option route.  If there are no Free Safeties deep, they are expecting pressure and will make a "No Deep" call.  The frontside WR's "Hot" route will be a quick Slant ("Lookie") and the backside WR's "Hot" route will be a 5 yard Speed Out.  As a general rule, you want one in-breaking and one out-breaking "Hot" route.  The QB's footwork is a 3 step and Hitch from the Gun.

I have always liked H Option but have never had the chance to run it myself.  I have always wondered how good of a play it is without having a Percy Harvin running the Option route.  The reason I say that is that I don't see this play on film much from anybody else.  If you have any feedback and experience, feel free to comment.  I believe this play is worth having if you run a significant amount of Empty, and it nicely sets up the Follow concept that I will look at in my next post on the Meyer/Mullen Spread Offense.

Here's the film:

50 H Option from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

For more info on the Meyer/Mullen running game and philosophy of their Spread Offense go here to Creating DE Conflict.

Houston

My friend has contributed another article:

It is a pleasure to be back on the world famous Coach Hoover blog. Today, I’m going to share another concept I learned from the Urban Meyer/Dan Mullen offense. I am not 100% sure of where it came from, but I was once told a story about this awesome play that they called “Houston.” Rumor has it that it was taken from the Minnesota Vikings with the primary purpose of beating Quarters. Ok, well that’s pretty much it for my story. I have made a few adjustments to the original concept, and overall it has been good for me. I view it as a multi-purpose zone coverage beater. It is OK against man, but not my favorite call. In this article, I will explain the Houston concept as a drop-back pass, show you how it can be effective against different coverages, and then show a few different play-action variations.

Below is the basic play out of a 3 x 1 formation.

As stated before, this play is designed to beat Quarters coverage. The outside receiver to the field runs at 12-yard Curl. The number two receiver to the field runs what we call a “Bender.” He bursts up the hash (slight outside release) and reads the area in front of him. If there is no safety or he feels that he can run by the safety, he will do so. If the safety plays deep over the top of our guy, he will “bend” inside at 12 yards at a controlled speed. The number three receiver runs a Flat route and wants to expand quickly, throttle once he gets outside of the widest receiver, and finally sit out on the numbers if the ball is still in the QBs hand. The backside receiver can run an automatic route, or we can tag him. The default route we want on the backside is a 7-step Speed-Post. We think of a Speed-Post as a deep Slant, where we want to hit the receiver coming out of his break, before he gets to the hash, and at about 17 yards deep. We should only throw this route if the weak-side hash is clear. Ideally, this receiver can recognize a hash safety, and keep his route very skinny. Our Speed-Post will also convert to a Fade vs. a Clouded CB or inside-leverage man. The RB checks his protection responsibilities (basic 6-man half-slide with RB dual-reading frontside), and runs a Check-down route off the Mike, but breaks weak if covered.

Our QB is taught to look through the middle of the field to check for rotation. Houston is a strong-side concept for us, and we want to work strong-side unless we can’t. We will build in backside throws if the coverage rolls strong, otherwise, we will stay strong-side and the pattern will stretch the coverage and give us an open receiver. Based on the specific coverage looks, the QB can accelerate his decision-making process. I will now go through some situations and explain what we want to do.

Vs Cover 2, Sam wall

Against a 2-high look, we will work strong. QB will look through the middle and see if the Bender can win. Here, the Safety is bailing deep, but the Sam is walling off the route from underneath. This tells the QB to come down and go Flat to Curl. The CB is in a bind, and we should have an open guy. Coaching point for the Curl is to recognize the under-coverage and not run into danger (Curl player) if we are open outside. The only hope for the defense is for the Mike to fly out to the Curl, which leaves us with our Check-down. We want our RB to replace the Mike if he vacates the middle, or work to the weak-side if there is coverage on the back.

Vs Cover 2 Mike wall/Tampa 2

Against a 2-high look, we will work strong. QB will look through the middle and see if the Bender can win. Here, the Safety is bailing deep, but the Mike has dropped deep to take it away from underneath. From here, there are two options. The safest bet is to just go to the Check-down right away, knowing that the RB will replace the Mike, and work weak if the Will tries to match him up. The other option is to go Flat to Curl then back to the Check-down. The first option is simpler, but requires a RB that can win. The second option takes longer, but you may end up getting a nice chunk with the Curl.

Vs Quarters

Against Quarters, a couple of things could happen, depending on how the defense plays their safeties. Here, the FS stays on the weak hash. This tells the QB that we have the advantage to the field, so we will work strong. The Bender will either run by the Safety (if Safety stays low) or bend inside if the Safety bails. Either way, the Bender is our first look. I tell the QBs that we only want this if it is obviously there because we have other routes that could be available. After the Bender, we go Flat to Curl. This really puts the Sam in a bind, and we usually get the Curl open. If the Sam covers the Flat and the Mike gets out to the Curl, we go to the Check-down.  

Vs Strong-side Rotation (Cover 3, or Quarters with FS working to the Middle)

Against a strong-side rotation, our QB should hit the Speed-Post. If the Will gets underneath it, we then go Check-down to the RB. If the defense shows rotation early with possible pressure, we want to flip the protection.

Vs Weak-side Rotation

               

Against a weak-side rotation, we will work strong-side. QB will peek at the Bender (which will stay on the hash if it is open) and take it if it’s obviously there. After that we will go Flat to Curl off the Sam. If the Sam covers the Flat and the Mike gets out to the Curl, we go to the Check-down. 

Vs Man-Free

Against a Man-Free look, the QB should treat it as strong-side rotation and go weak. Our Speed-Post has to win. We could also hand-signal our single-side WR to run a different route (Comeback, Post-Corner, etc…) if we feel something would be better.

Vs Cover 0

Against a Cover 0 look, we will alert our receivers that something is up. Our Speed-Post will now break at 5-steps, and the Bender will now become a locked Seam. This allows our QB to know exactly where the receivers will be in what is likely a max-blitz, get-the-ball-out-fast situation. Our QB wants to pick our best match-up and get the ball out.

Vs Cover 2-Man

Against 2-man, we change our attack a little bit. Since we run this play out of 3 x 1 or motion to 3 x 1, it should be easy to identify the coverage. Our single-side WR will convert to a Fade, and should attract the FS with his outside-release. The Bender will have man coverage trailing him, but with wide safeties we can take a shot down the middle. If the Bender does not look good, we go to the RB who is 1-on-1 with the Mike.

Play-Action

Jet Motion Play-Action

Using Jet motion is a great way to get the defense looking into the backfield. We will sell the Jet-Sweep (after the fake our Slot will run a Flare), then take a quick 2-step drop off it and throw from the pocket. Our QB will still look through the middle to see if a) the Free Safety moves with the motion, giving us the backside Speed-Post, or b) the coverage stays 2-high and the Strong Safety is flat-footed, allowing the Bender to run by him. If the deep routes are taken away, we will go Curl to Flare. The Jet-action tends to pull the OLB up to the Flare, and we will get the Curl sometimes. Most of the time, however, we will hit the backside Speed-Post.  

Zone Triple Play-Action

Another play-action variation is off of the zone-read with a pitch back. We bring the backside Slot in motion and it appears he is going into pitch-phase, but then continues on a Flare. The QB fakes to the RB, then takes a quick 2-step drop after the fake. The read progression is exactly the same as with the Jet-action version mentioned above.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. My goal in this article was to show one of my favorite pass concepts, how it can be effective against different looks, and show a few play-action variations. Hopefully you have a solid understanding of the play, and can use your own creativity to adapt it to what you do in your offense if you feel it can help you. Best of luck to you next season!

60 Y Curl from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Links

New blog, Football Know How, talking about backside tags in the passing game here.

Follow Pivot

A good friend of mine wanted to anonymously contribute this article:

As a big fan of football coaching blogs, I am honored to be able to contribute some of my thoughts that will hopefully help some people out there. I have learned a ton by reading articles like this, and I wanted to return the favor.

Today I’m going to talk about one of my favorite plays that is popular in College Football today. It may be popular in the NFL too, but who has time to watch that on Sundays? I first learned this play while studying the Meyer/Mullen Florida Gator Offense. I remember sitting at their first Spring Clinic, listening to Dan Mullen talk. Mullen explained that their offense mainly used five passing concepts: All-Go, Smash, Houston (maybe another article in the future), H-Option, and Follow-Pivot. After studying the Follow-Pivot concept, I realized that it was very similar to the NCAA pass (Post-Dig-Drag). However, because of the distribution of routes, this concept is better suited to beat Quarters coverage.    

When I got the chance to install my own offense, I knew that this was a concept I wanted to have in. I have made a couple tweaks to the concept, and it was been good to me. I like it against Quarters, Cover 2, and away from rotation against Cover 3. Since most teams rotate their coverage toward the formation strength, I usually get a good look to run Follow-Pivot to the weak-wide (Post is weak, Follow route is working that way). Against Man-Free, this play can still be good, as long as the guy running the Follow route can get open. While I wouldn’t call this play against Cover 0, you can survive by throwing hot. Against 2-man, the Follow route must win. Overall, this play is very versatile, and I don’t call it enough.

We have already established that the name of the play is Follow-Pivot. There are a ton of ways to call it, but most systems I have seen call it based on tagging the player who runs the “Follow” route. The Follow concept is a variation of “Drive.” With Drive, the tagged outside receiver (i.e. X-Drive, Z-Drive, etc…) runs a Shallow Cross, with the inside receiver pushing vertical to 12 yards, then breaking inside. On the Follow play, the assignments are switched, where the inside receiver will run a Shallow Cross, and the tagged outside receiver (i.e. X-Follow, Y-Follow, Z-Follow, etc..) will “follow” the inside guy by stemming inside, then climbing vertical to 12, and then finally breaking inside. With Follow-Pivot, we get the initial Follow concept, but the inside-most receivers on the left and right side will run Pivot routes. While the name suggests that this concept works off of Follow, it actually is set up by running Stick and Option routes by the inside receivers, which serve to attract the LBs and let the Follow route come open behind them. While Follow-Pivot is usually run out of an Empty look, it can also be run out of 3x1, 2x2, and even a 2-back set.

Conceptually, the play creates a High-Low on the Free Safety, as well as Middle-Triangle working off the two weak-side Linebackers (or weak-side and middle LBs). I always put the Post to the boundary, and have the Follow route coming from the field. I do this because teams will almost always rotate their coverage to the field (which would disrupt my Triangle) or because we see a lot of Quarters with the Strong Safety inside my #2 receiver to the field (which makes it difficult for that receiver to run the Post). I must create a situation where I can isolate the Free Safety for my High-Low read, and my Post and Follow routes can win.

The two receivers closest to the ball will run Pivot routes if displaced or Check-down/Breakout routes from the backfield. Their purpose is to attract the two LBs closest to the Post, or replace those LBs if they disappear in coverage or become pass rushers. Those two LBs are also the players that we are trying to occupy get the Follow route open. A coaching point that we teach to the Pivot & Check-down routes is to have them sit and replace the LB they are aiming for if he rushes the QB or drops into coverage. They will only work outside if they are covered, as this will open up a huge throwing lane over the middle for the Follow route. Finally, the outside receiver to the field runs a Curl, and is there should the QB have to scramble that way.

Will LB is unaccounted for in 5 man protection.

In the Empty formation seen above, we are in a five-man protection, and must be ready to throw hot. The protection scheme we use is Big-on-Big to the front-side, and slide weak (go to the bottom of this article for more info). We will slide the protection away from our Post route to allow our QB to look there first and see any front-side pressure.  The OL will account for up to five down linemen, and however many backside LBs they can handle for a total of five defenders. Against a four-down look, the OL can pick-up one LB. We say that if the backside LB is outside of the #3 receiver, he is in coverage. However, if there is any doubt about whether a backside LB is a threat, we want to send the OL to him and both Pivots will be hot off of the LBs they are working to. In the diagram above, the OL will block the Mike, and the Will LB is the guy we can’t account for in protection. If he rushes, we will throw hot to the Pivot to his side. That Pivot route will see the open grass vacated by the Will, and sit there for an easy completion. Last season in a playoff game, we ran this play on 3^rd and 10. The Will came and the QB threw hot as he was coached to do. Our receiver caught the ball and turned up-field before the safety could get there, and it turned into a 25 yard play.

In addition to identifying who we are hot off of, we must also identify the two Linebackers that we need to affect in order to get the Follow route open. Again, these will be the two LBs closest to the Post. We expect our Follow route to beat any LB attempting to wall him off. By inside releasing on the Sam, he will usually let us go since we are not a vertical threat. Should he attempt to stay low and collision us, we would then climb quickly over the top and work to our landmark. We want the Follow route to be at 12 yards when he gets over the Center. Some coaches teach this route almost like an inside-stemmed Dig that is looking for a soft spot to settle in. We run ours more like a crossing route that stays on the run. Both methods can be effective, but I think the way that we do it helps slower receivers get to where they need to be while keeping the QB in rhythm.

We only run this play out of the gun, and will use a 3-step drop. The QB will key the Free Safety on his drop to determine if the Post is there, while also peripherally seeing his hot read. We run our Post at 7-steps, which is about 12 yards. We want him to close the cushion of the Cornerback, and beat him inside and deep, taking an angle to get inside the CB and behind the Safety. In the past, we have only run this as a deep post, but have thought about teaching the Post guy to aim on top of a hash safety expecting the ball deep, or if there is no hash safety, he will expect the ball coming out of his break. This sounds good in theory, but I’m not sure about the practical application.

Going back to our QBs reads, while our QB is looking at the Free Safety, he must also see front-side pressure, and will throw hot to the front-side Pivot if need be. If there is no pressure, we want to hit the Post if it is there. If the Free Safety gets depth, the QB will now work a Middle Triangle off of the two ID LBs. Our thinking is that we want to hit the Follow route, but if it is taken away, replace the LB in coverage with the appropriate Pivot route.

We also run this play out of a 3 x 1 look (above). The concept is almost the same, but now we will be in a 6-man protection, and we don’t have to throw hot off the Will. We will normally run it with a play-fake, which should hopefully freeze the LBs for a step, and give the Follow route a chance to get behind them. The QB will catch the snap, execute a play fake to the RB, then take a quick two-step drop. Our thoughts are still High-Low on the Free Safety, then Follow route, then Pivot/Checkdown.

               

Here is another 3 x 1 look with the defense rolled to Cover 3 (above). The Sam is in a position to rush the QB, so our protection must account for him. The RB will dual-read Mike to Will, and if neither LB rushes the QB, he will Check-down off the Will. Since the protection accounts for the Sam, our backside Pivot must work all the way across to the Mike. The Follow route must be ready for the ball as soon as he gets in front of the OL. While it is possible for the defense to send 7 rushers, it is highly unlikely since there is a deep safety. One possible adjustment would be to have the Post route sight-adjust to a Slant if both the Will and Mike rushed. Another alternative would be to have the OL work for the Mike, RB blocks Will, and the Pivot is hot off the Sam, but is aiming for the Mike.

There are a couple of ways to run this play out of a 2 x 2 formation. One way is to have the RB dual-read Mike to Sam, and have the OL slide for the Will. We need to affect the Mike and Will for our Middle-Triangle. The downside of this is that there is no built-in hot if Mike and Sam both rush. Alternative A would be to have the Follow route sight-adjust to a Slant if Mike and Sam both rush. Alternative B would be for the OL to pick-up the Mike, the RB checks the Sam but runs his Checkdown route off the Mike, and the Pivot is hot off the Will.

This concept can also be run out of a 2-back set. The drawing above shows a drop-back look with the OL picking up the Mike. The RB on the left checks the Will, and runs a Check-down route off of him. The RB on the right checks the Sam, then runs a Check-down route off of the Mike. QB executes his basic read, going Post to Follow to Check-downs.

A variation out of 2-back involves a play-fake, and the backs working to opposite sides. I call this a “Bopper” tag (backs opposite). The back on the left will slip through the line, and work off the Mike. If the Sam is wide, the OL can account for the Mike. If the Sam is a threat, the OL should account for him and the left RB can pick-up Mike if he rushes. The back on the right will execute a play fake, check the Will, then run his Check-down route off the Will. QB will execute a play-fake and then take a quick two-step drop looking Post to Follow to Check-downs. 

Hopefully this article was beneficial to you. Best of luck to you guys next season.

Follow Pivot from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Links:

Chris at Smart Football always does a super job talking about the Shallow Cross concept used by Bobby Petrino at Arkansas here and one of my all-time favorite articles, the Mike Martz Shallow Cross concept here.

Brophy with cut-ups of Saban's Rip/Liz Cover 3 variation here.  For the excellent article explaining it, go here.

Deuce talking about the basics of TCU's 2 Read/Blue coverage here and 2 Read/Blue coverage vs. Trips here.

Lou Judd has a lot of good articles here on coaching and transforming lives: http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/

Hey, email me at gunrun73@gmail.com if you have 2010 Georgia Southern offense vs Furman defense cut-ups. Any of the old games from the 80's and 90's with the Ga Southern Flexbone vs. Furman would be good too.

Creating DE Conflict

Dubber just had a great post here on this subject that you need to read if you haven't already. He says, "In football terms, keeping a defense 'off rhythm' is the name of the game."  He is correct.  This post will focus solely on the Defensive End position and how to put the DE in conflict in order to keep him off-rhythm. 

Urban Meyer talked about how much of what they did with their Spread offense at Florida was designed to control the DEs, because they are such tremendous athletes that they can take over a game by themselves.  These freaks of nature can really wreak havoc on an offense if allowed to get into a rhythm.  DEs that are strong and can run as fast as most RBs are a nightmare for an OT to try to block.  An Offensive Coordinator must  have plays designed to confuse and slow down the DE in order for the offense to have a chance and for his QB to survive.

Brophy said it well in this Manny Diaz Fire Zone post:  "Throughout the 90s by the way of Miami, defenses transitioned to the mantra of speed, with the defensive ends becoming the most disruptive players on the field. The more offenses game planned and tried to deal with these athletes, the more they realized they just couldn’t block those guys. This is what has brought us to the current flavor of offense, where they don’t even block the defensive ends (read game)."

Florida co-Defensive Coordinators Charlie Strong and Greg Mattison unleashed the speed and athleticism of DEs Jarvis Moss and Derrick Harvey, who completely took over the 2006 National Championship game vs. Ohio State; holding Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith to 35 yards passing and 82 yards total offense.

The pics and video below are from a clinic done by current Florida RB Coach Brian White.  They show all of the ways to use the running game in the Spread offense to create conflict and slow the DE down.  The last slide also shows how Jet Sweep action (Bash or Flash tag) affects the LBs as well. 

Creating DE conflict is not limited to the Spread offense.  Other offenses can put the DE in conflict with draw plays, outside runs that utilize a WR crack block on the DE, having the OT arc release outside the DE, Orbit sweep motion off the Inside Zone play, and Reverses.  These are all tools that offenses must use to break the rhythm of the DE and slow him down.

It is important to use the passing game to slow down the DE in the same way.  Dubber talked about using Quick Screens to keep a defense off-rhythm.  Air Raid guys like to use this play to fatigue and wear the defense down.  The cut block by the OT on the Quick Screen is a great way to frustrate and slow down the DE's aggressiveness.  

The launch point of the QB must be also be varied.  This is done by using quick 3-step drops, waggles, bootlegs, and sprint-out to go along with the 5-step drop-back and play-action passing game that sets up deep in the pocket.  If all the DE sees is 5-step and play-action, he will kill the QB, plain and simple.  Protecting the QB must be the top priority in designing a passing offense.  If the QB is allowed to get hit too many times, his fundamentals will deteriorate and the passing game will suffer tremendously.

Using all of these tools will not guarantee success, but they will provide the offense its best chance for success by slowing down the DEs and keeping them from wrecking the offense and taking over the game by themselves.

Creating DE Conflict with the Spread Offense - Brian White - Florida from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Links:
Coach Allam with Oklahoma St. Practice Observations and Coaching Clinic Do's and Don'ts (the cliches are pretty funny).

Good article on what really makes QBs successful (from Football Coach Academy):  here.

My buddy, Coach Chastain, is looking for cut-ups/info on the Oregon passing game and cut-ups on the Diamond Formation below. Contact him at coachchastain@gmailcom.