Accessing A Great Quick Passing Game

*Updated with video (at bottom of post)

Some passing offenses are designed to take shots down the field. Some teams rely heavily on play-action for their passing game. Some systems are based on concepts designed to attack the defense all over the field. Due to personnel, some teams are forced to design their passing game around the one true threat that they might have. I feel like I have done a little bit of everything in my time as a coach, but my studies have led me to one strong conviction: to have a great passing game you must be great in the quick game.

An efficient quick or 3 step passing game can be an extension of your run game. If you are the 2007-2009 New England Patriots, a good 3 step package can BE your running game. This past season we made great strides in our quick game, and as a coach I learned lessons that I will carry with me as long as I stroll the sidelines as a coach. These lessons took shape when we implemented simple rules and proven concepts that proved to be effective for both our JV and Varsity programs. These same concepts are the ones I see utilized time and time again by some of the most successful offenses in college and professional football.

Our journey started by teaching the Read Slant that I discussed in a previous post. As noted, I taught the route to our quarterbacks and relied on them to work the routes with the receivers. Our offensive staff made sure to utilize this route from the start of our spring install calendar. Using the same 3X1 (or offset I) formations that we use in our run heavy offense, we would call an “Access” route for the single receiver and match that route with a quick game concept on the 3 receiver side. One major advantage is that any of these plays can be run from multiple formations without changing the read for the QB.

The Read Slant

The slant route has been a staple in the passing game for decades. The route has remained popular because it can be a high percentage throw and has the potential to bust for big gains. Guys like Jerry Rice made their career off of running the slant. NFL teams still execute the slant flawlessly. There might not be a better slant team in the NFL than the Green Bay Packers. For some reason though, you have started to see less and less of the slant in high school and college football. I think a lot of this can be attributed to three things: 1) NFL defenses run a ton of cover 1 where good receiver’s can get loose on a 1 step slant, 2) defenses on the HS and college level have become more multiple, and 3) the threat of a spinning safety or dropping lineman in a zone dog/blitz scheme.

Many teams have adjusted their slant game to answer the evolving defenses. Last spring we incorporated the Read Slant to our offense and found it to be successful this season. We borrowed this idea from Rich Skrosky (formerly of Elon) and a video he shared with A Play A Day. Many coaches, particularly high school coaches, prefer to abide by the K.I.S.S. rule and stop reading at this point, but I assure you that this concept is simple and can be learned and employed by athletes most any level.

What is the Read Slant? A smart way to assist your quarterback and receiver’s and help create open space for a high percentage throw.

What exactly are we reading? The “Read” portion of this concept is based on the alignment of the defense and the rules are simple. First, is there a slant threat? Second, what kind of cushion am I going to get? From there the route develops.

Wisconsin's Power Run Game

Anybody that has coached with me knows that I love "power" football. More specifically, I love the magical offensive play that bares the same name. Some people simply call it Power. some call it Power O, others call it Power G. I call it the best offensive play in football. Whether we are talking pro sets, 2 tight ends, one back, or with no backs (see Auburn) I love this play and in my mind no one does it better than the Wisconsin Badgers. In fact, I love everything about their offense and their program in general. In my mind their transition from Barry Alvarez to Bret Bielema has been successful because they did one thing that I find crucial to succeeding as a football program:

They took an honest look at what they are and what resources they have round them and they built the program around those resources. And what did they see? A landscape filled with massive offensive linemen and the reputation for running the football that will allow them to recruit a quality running back (or three).

Another staple of the Wisconsin offense is their use of the Tightend. Guys like Owen Daniels (Texans), Garrett Graham (Texans), Travis Beckum (Giants), and most recently SR Lance Kendricks (below) have been instrumental in every phase of the Badger offense.

I am especially in love with how Wisconsin has incorporated their TE in to their power run game.

The Basics of Power...

"Power" is a downhill run play designed to give the offense at least one double team to the play side while gaining a play side blocker by pulling the backside guard. There are hundreds of coaching points that coaches to discuss. Power can be run from multiple formations and utilizing several different motions. I've set and listened to coaches debate for an hour over what type of pull technique to use (I prefer skip pull). Regardless of the makeup of your offense, there is a place for Power.

Here is a look at Power from a Pro set. For simplicity purposes I am going to use an Under front.Versus an Under front most teams will double team the 5 technique and work to the backside linebacker. The fullback, or H-back, will be responsible for kicking out the end man on the line of scrimmage. In the Under front that will usually be a stand up DE or Sam LB in a 9 technique. The play side guard will work down on the play side shade while the center "chokes" back to the 3 tech. The backside guard pulls for the play side LB, in this front that is the Mike LB. The backside tackle gap-hinges to protect the backside. Our tailbacks take a drop step with their backside leg and drive downhill at the inside hip of the guard. The back has to be patient and hit inside his pull in almost every case. Our primary coaching point to the running back is the Power is a downhill play that should not bounce.

The school where I coach uses a pro-style offense that believes in running the football to find success. Power has been one of our primary offensive plays. Due to our proclivity for running the football we began to see and eight man front. Most of the teams in our region base their defense out of 4-3 personnel. The Under front became the most popular answer against our offense. Those same teams liked to live in Cover 4 on the back end of their defense. The result was tightly aligned Cover 4 safeties ready to get downhill in a hurry. Even prior to my arrival they always used a good play action game to keep defenses honest, but the bottom line is: we have to run the ball to be successful.

When everybody did their job and blocked the play correctly they always had that Cover 4 safety that they could not account for. That is where Wisconsin came to the rescue...

Wisconsin Power...

When I changed programs prior to the 2008 season and made the move to my current school I began looking for resources that would enhance the pro-style offense referenced above. Item #1, taking care of that 8th defender or aggressive safety. Thanks to a great connection from a great friend and former coaching brother I was able to get a cut-up of the Wisconsin run game. One thing that I had noticed from watching the Badger's play during the previous season was that they had a play that looked like a hybrid of Power and Counter schemes. The result: an extra man at the point of attack. The cut-up of the Badger run game opened the door to the play that would change our offense. Although the play was initially installed to become a part of our short-yardage/goal-line package, it quickly became a primary force in our game plan each week.

Wisconsin used an extra TE or Wing to pull from the backside and account for the extra defender. The blocking scheme for the rest of the line didn't have to change, they still blocked power. The carry-over was important to our staff. The only thing that we had to tweak was our running backs steps. Now the TB would take a drop-step at a slight angle to the weak side before working back play side and downhill on his normal path. The slight counter step allows for the extra "puller" to get in front of the play. The coaching point for the TE/FB/W that you use as the extra guy is simple, follow the guard and take the first color that you see. Just like a tackle on counter, he takes the window created when the guard in front of him declares and takes on a defender. Schematically you are only weak in one area: the backside edge. If a defense brings edge pressure off of the weak side the player can work down the line and stop the play for a short loss. Watching Winconsin this season it appears that they counter that pressure by having the "puller" read the edge as they pull.

We began to run this play from several different formations and be utilizing several different motions. The result was a play that accounted in over 60% of our playcall's in 2008. That season we rushed for over 3,300 yards and averaged 285 yards rushing a game and 6.1 yards per carry. Our run game, relying heavily on this play, accounted for 37 rushing touchdowns. Changes in our roster have led to adjustments in our scheme over the past few seasons but this play has remained an integral part of what we do.

Watch a Wisconsin game and you will see them run this from several different sets and formations. Below is a slide show of some formations used by both the Badgers and our high school offense to run this play effectively.

Power plus formations

View more presentations from Pete DeWeese.

"You don't coach football because you love the game. You coach football because you can't live without it."

I remember the first time I heard that quote. I also remember thinking, "that's me." That was eight years go. What do I think when I hear that quote now? Simple, "that's definitely me."

Football is my life. It's that simple. I love everything about the game. I spend the season focused on winning and the off-season focused on getting me and my players better. I still study the game. I pick football subjects like they were college courses and throw myself into them. Do you have a good breakdown of a certain team/coach/concept? I want it. Honestly, I probably already have it. If not, gimme.

The only thing that tops studying the game is coaching the game. In my world football IS is life and life doesn't stop when the game ends. Neither does coaching. I love interacting with my players and building relationships and developing bonds with my athletes. Coaching is a 24/7 gig and want my players to know that. I want them to understand that what they do on the field means just as much as what they do off the field. I expect my players to crave winning and winning is an all the time thing. I live to win.

Chip Kelly and his national runner-up Oregon Ducks had a simple motto during the 2010 season: "Win The Day."

To be successful in this world that has to be your goal. You "Win The Day" by attacking everything with all that you have. For some people that means saving lives or winning court cases. For others it means earning minimum wage or doing your homework. Regardless of who you are and what cards you have been dealt, you can always give your best. You will never be truly successful if you do not give maximum effort in everything you do. Sure, you may cruise by in one facet of your life but you will never be a complete man. Success can only be found when you have exhausted all of your efforts. I leave you with this:

"Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming.." - Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach, John Wooden