Package Plays in All Forms pt.2

Last week we took a look at how the Oklahoma State Cowboys used the stick-draw to move the ball and put defensive players in perplexing situations. The Cowboys are certainly not the only team using package plays, but they made it their own by combining the quick pass and delayed run. Today, we will take a look at the combination of the zone read and the complementary flat route.

ARIZONA WILDCATS - Zone Read + Flat 

When one thinks of the triple option, they often think of the traditional flexbone and wishbone.

This is still used by a couple of college teams here and there, including the handful of service academies. But they're not the only ones running the triple option; many teams use the concept, just not in a way that you might immediately recognize.

Rich Rodriguez has long been considered an offensive guru in modern football. Not only is he given credit for accidentally inventing the shotgun zone read in a small divII college in West Virginia, but he was one of the first to combine a zone running game and a complementary screen game. 

Stay classy, Richy

Rodriguez uses the flat route, either with a bubble or a flare, to enhance the effectiveness of the running game.

Let's take a look at what I mean by this: here, the play combines an inside zone read with two slot screens. Both of them are pre-snap reads, but the play-side bubble also acts as a post-snap option for the quarterback. Let's simplify it and go through all of the scenarios: if either of the inside corners (inside the dotted circle/circle+square) show blitz or play way off of their respective receivers, the quarterback will take the snap and throw to that respective receiver, who is running a bubble. If they're playing close, then the quarterback is finished with his pre-snap reads. After the ball is snapped, if the play-side defensive end (in the dotted square) stays put when the quarterback puts the ball in the halfback's belly, the qb hands the ball off and carries out his fake, hoping to influence either the linebacker or that defensive end towards him, leaving a hole for the halfback to run through. If the end crashes, the quarterback pulls the ball out. Then if the corner (highlighted in the dotted circle+square) covers the bubble by the slot receiver all the way to the sideline, the quarterback has an open lane to run through. If that corner crashes on the quarterback, he flares the ball out to the uncovered receiver, hoping that the outside receiver properly executed his block.

I know what you're asking: "Wow, how in God's green earth can such an intricate play be ran on a consistent basis?!"

Well, it is, and quarterbacks have to go through reads like this for every play, so hopefully this will make you appreciate your favorite team's quarterback a little bit more. Unless you're a Jets fan. In which case, I'm sorry. Not for what I said, but for you being a Jets fan.

Now the marriage with the inside run and the bubble has been used by many, many teams, but the wham flat and the Y flat is something specific to the Wildcats. 

The "wham" block is when an eligible receiver (not a lineman) blocks the back-side (in the shotgun, the play-side) defensive end, who is left unblocked by the offensive lineman. After a while, teams started using the same block on a zone read. Take a look at the diagram below.

If the end stays, the FB blocks him and the QB hands off; if he crashes, the FB climbs up and makes a seal block for the QB.

Take a look at it used by the Cincy Bearcats

notice how the fullback blows up that unblocked defensive end

here's a case where he pulls

end crashes, fullback moves up to block the first man in a blue jersey

Now Rodriguez altered the concept slightly, with a fullback or tight end running a flat route instead of a slot receiver.

Here, the fullback runs off of the butt of the tackle and releases into the flat. It's a new variation off of the triple option.

Here's where the flat is uncovered

'backer crashes, tight end left open

and here's where it is covered

DE crashes, linebacker covers TE, opening a running lane by the QB

Even after a 7-5 season, the Wildcats are a team to watch going into next season, for their schemes if nothing else. I also watch them for their unique uniforms, but that isn't usually a common reason to watch a football game.

Well, that wraps it up for this lesson, and hopefully you're not too bored out of your mind. Also, a message from captain hindsight - this post might have not been great for all of you visual learners with slow wi-fi, the gifs helped demonstrate what I was talking about. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post (we're up to 2000+ viewers!) and have a happy, happy holidays, whether it be Christmas, Quanza, Festivus, or otherwise. 

-TF

Package Plays in All Forms, pt1

I have long mentioned the concept of the  package(d) play; a strategy of using multiple concepts in one play. The objective is have the defense, either using in pre-snap or post-snap reads, decide where the ball goes. Football, believe it or not, is all about numbers. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona head coach and pioneer of the package play, preaches both the importance of putting the ball where the offense has a numerical advantage and getting players in open grass situations. Any given area of the field where the offense either outnumbers or has the same amount of players as the defense is considered a numerical advantage. This week, we will explore how specific teams use different schemes to achieve that goal - have the numerical advantage. Today, we will take a look at the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

OKLAHOMA STATE - STICK DRAW/SLIP

Dana Holgorsen is credited for being the offensive engineer of the Air-Raid offense. At Oklahoma State, starting in 2010, he was one of the first to introduce new schemes on a national scale. This includes the Pistol Full House formation, the jet shovel, and most notably the stick-draw. You have seen all three of these concepts at least once while watching recent college football. Both the NCAA and the NFL are copycat leagues - if something works, you can bet it will be picked up by a multitude of teams in the near future. This was no exception; the Pistol Full House, for example, features three backs in the backfield with two lone receivers split out wide. This formation has spread like wildfire around all forms of football - high school, college, and even the NFL. Unfortunately, Oklahoma State hasn't used these concepts as much as they used to, since their personnel drove them in a different direction offensively. Still, Holgorsen deserves to be appreciated. 

He used the majority of concepts when he was at Houston, but virtually no one on the national stage was paying any attention to Houston. Not to be blunt, but were any of you watching Cougar football in 2008? I didn't think so.

the concept here is for the quarterback to read the defender shaded over the inside slot receiver. This is a post-snap read. When I refer to either a pre/post-snap read, I mean that the quarterback looks at the position or movement of a specific defender, either before or after the ball is snapped. In all of my diagrams, a dotted circle indicates a pre-snap read (isolation route by the X receiver), and a dotted square indicates a post-snap read.

 *Note - in many of these concepts, if there is an isolated receiver on the back-side of the play (the X in the picture), he is almost always running an isolation route. This route can be a number of things, but the concept is that if the cornerback on that receiver is playing at least seven or eight yards off of the receiver, the quarterback can take the snap and immediately throw to that receiver. This is still considered a numerical advantage, and the receiver is expected to catch the ball and make a play in open space. 

Back to the play: the three receivers on the right are running what is called a "stick" route combination. The outside (Z) receiver is running a streak in attempt to push the safety upfield and prevent him from cluttering the quarterback's read. The outside slot (osl) receiver is running a quick out, and the inside slot is going a yard upfield and then "sticking" back to the quarterback, hence the name. Inside the tackles, the offensive line is running a draw play. The concept of a draw is to get the defense thinking that it's a pass and then surprising them by running the ball. Holgersen, the smart devil that he is, put them into one play. If that linebacker sits on the stick route, the quarterback hands the ball off to his back, who should have a hole to run through. If the defender blitzes towards the line, the quarterback ignores the handoff and throws to the stick route in the open void. Either way, the play takes advantage of numbers and open space.

*Note #2 - in all plays using a run-pass option, any offensive player who blocks on the second level (past the trenches), either a receiver or a lineman, is told to let the defender come to them instead of immediately attacking the defender to block. This is for two reasons - 1) if it turns out that the ball is going in the opposite direction, why block the defender? If he's paying attention, he will follow the ball, even though it would be virtually impossible for him to make a play since the ball is going in the other direction. So why waste energy trying to block someone that can only end out negatively with a holding penalty. 2) it is illegal for both lineman and receivers to block a certain number of yards past the line of scrimmage if the quarterback has the option to pass. For lineman, this is the ineligible man downfield rule. For receivers, this is considered offensive pass interference. 

The NFL has their own variation of the play, turning the draw into a back-side screen. In the NFL, defenders are much faster and stronger, so the stick-draw doesn't necessarily have the same effect as it does in lower levels of football. Similar concept, just something to ponder upon. 

Here's the stick-draw in action. This clip is of Arizona State using the concept under then offensive coordinator Noel Mizzone. Ironically, we will be talking about this offensive genius in the near future. He has been credited for his own creations in the college football world, but we'll get to that in due time. Take a look and see the play in action.

Well, that wraps up this analysis on the stick-draw. All of this junk for one play?! I can't believe it! Stay tuned for more of these one-play analyses. A new one might be up in 24 hours, if you're lucky.