As an offense, we used to carry certain route packages for certain coverages. This led to a long menu of route concepts, which made it difficult in practice planning as well as play calling on game day. In searching for a better answer, we evolved to carrying five concepts that we could tag to be able to get more out of each concept’s structure. From a passing game perspective, this is similar to how we treated our run game.

In our system, we basically mirror routes from 2-by-2 and a separate structure of 3-by-1 concepts. The mirrored routes carry a mentality of telling the quarterback to pick a side presnap and work it. We have some routes that bring a receiver across on a shallow or drag, but most are the standard 2-by-2 routes such as curl and smash. We still carry curl and smash combinations within what we do, but they no longer exist as a separate concept. In making this change, we have streamlined our thought process for the quarterbacks and allowed ourselves to have more a focused game plan and practice repetitions. Using different tags within each concept, we allow our quarterbacks to make simple adjustments to routes to allow for a better combination against what the defense is showing.

To illustrate the idea of consolidating concepts, look at what we call our spacing package. Spacing allows for a five across horizontal stretch of the defense. This has obvious benefits against a defense that uses three-deep coverage with four underneath defenders and is especially effective against fire zones with a three-under, three-deep coverage. The route concept is good in both spread formations as well as compressed formations. Furthermore, our rules apply across 2-by-1, 2-by-2, 3-by-1 or 3-by-2 formations. We have even fit the concept into quads or 4-by-1. We no longer need to have separate packages for different formation structures.

 

 

You see the concept thrown to different receivers below.

 

 

 

 

As the defense gets used to covering the shorter route concepts and begins to react with shorter drops, we can tag the outside receiver to run a curl.  The defender who becomes the key read is now stressed differently, but the same spacing concept is utilized with only one route changing.

 

 

The route is not as good against a two-deep coverage that deploys five underneath defenders. However, a simple route adjustment to one route stretches the defense on the edge with a high-low read. We tag this COP (corner or post). The vertical stem of the corner serves to move a defender and create space to stress the defensive coverage.  

 

 

We have also experimented with changing the outside receiver to a stem corner against teams that use both cover 2 and cover 3 in their defenses. The outside receiver will run a stem corner, beginning inside like he would on his sneak route, climbing vertically and snapping his route into a corner. We tag this Spacing Burst.  

While we have ways to get into a high-low stretch of the defense on the outside third of the field like a smash concept allows, we accomplish the same thing with COP and Burst.

 

As stated before, we do not carry a standalone smash concept anymore, but we get into smash from our Drive package, creating a similar stretch of the defense as we can with spacing.

 

Finding a way to carry less in terms of concepts allows for a more efficient and effective passing attack. For a coach looking for answers and adjustments on game day, mentally working through three to five concepts is easier than trying to mentally structure  eight to 10 concepts. By no means did we become vanilla in our attack. However, our answers for how to attack the defensive adjustments were much simpler for the coaches and players. The ultimate goal isn’t to be sophisticating because you can do a multitude of things but rather to be effective because you execute well. This comes from sound teaching and coaching as well as players understanding how everything fits together.  

Keith Grabowski recently completed his 25th year in coaching, serving as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. He previously was a head coach at the high school level for eight years. Grabowski is a columnist for American Football Monthly and writes his own blog at coachgrabowski.wordpress.com. He's the author of "101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays," available on Apple's iBookstore and operates Coaches Edge Technologies. Follow him on twitter @CoachKGrabowski.