THE 20 SERIES: Z Fly Motion, QB Half-Spin

The basic mechanics of the 20 series are similar to the 10 series, but this time it is Z coming in Fly motion and QB doing the half-spin footwork. If your QB is not the Tim Tebow type, you don’t need to make him run the Counter play off-tackle to succeed with this series — but a good Counter Boot from time to time will keep backside defenders honest.

X and H have similar assignments, releasing deep to keep the secondary in doubt about whether the play is a run or pass, then stalk-blocking the first defender to cross their face. Y takes an Outside Vertical release and tries to take a defender or two with him. F passes in front of the QB at the snap and provides additional deception — is he carrying the ball on an inside Trap? He makes it harder for the defense to see the Fly exchange as well.

QB takes the snap while stepping forward with his Spread-side foot just over the midline, simultaneously pivoting on his back foot and turning his shoulders toward the approaching sweeper while keeping his eyes fixed on the Bunch Tackle’s butt. If any defender comes screaming off Bunch Tackle’s backside, we will ask the QB to slow him down, either by blocking him or by faking Counter Boot away from the sweep.

Z goes in Fly motion and will be behind Bunch Tackle’s outside leg, and just deeper than the QB, when the ball is snapped. He will Reach and Take the ball from the QB, then head for the hashmarks, numbers, and sideline. This is not a cutback play — he should not think about cutting back unless X completely whiffs on his block on the cornerback.

When double teams are used, they remain conditional in this sense — if a defender shoots hard for the gap inside the double team, the inside (post) blocker must protect that gap and block down on the stunting defender. If that happens, the outside (power) blocker will come down on the other defender by himself, and the blocking will adjust to Counter Gap on-the-fly.

Once again, both Z and F need to carry out their fakes with enthusiasm — if Z accelerates into his Fly Sweep fake, he can take three defenders out of the play without laying a finger on anyone. That’s the power of good faking.

This is a valuable addition to (or substitute for) the Counter play for your QB. It offers a play-action passing threat, and if he has any speed at all he can make some yards outside of containment (rather than off-tackle as with 24 Counter, where you may not want to risk your QB on a regular basis).

Spread Guard will pull and try to log the EMLOS defender to the Bunch side. QB will give a good Fly Sweep fake to Z, who must really accelerate out of the fake to give this play credibility. The F back fills for the pulling Guard.

Y releases as cleanly as possible, inside or outside a tight defender, then vertical to about 10 yards, and cuts to the Corner from there. H runs a Shallow Cross route, while X has a Post on the backside. QB looks for Y, then H, then runs for the first down marker. We will only look for X on this play by pre-determined decision. In that case, he can be given a Post-Corner route for a “transcontinental” throwback play.

The Passing Game

The Run & Shoot pass route packages made famous by Mouse Davis and more recently June Jones work very well from the shotgun, as Jones has proved in recent years at Hawaii. Motioning Z across the formation to create Run & Shoot Trips (3×1) causes problems for many defensive coverage systems which are designed to defend 2×2 receiver formations. The pass route packages and complementary plays included in this series (61 Short is an example of what can be done using Run & Shoot motion) are designed to exploit those problems.

VERSUS ZONE: QB takes a quick two- or three-step drop, reading the underneath defender over Z (in C3, the strong safety). If he hangs in place or squats on X’s Short route, drill the ball on your third step to Z as he breaks in. If the SS runs with Z, deliver a firm ball to X, allowing him to cut downfield after the catch (do not gun it — X is running toward you). H’s Seam keeps the next underneath defender inside from gaining too much width. As the C3 DBs drop, the Spread side should open up to give the QB a clear read.

VERSUS MAN: Techniques for defeating man coverage differ for some routes. First, X will work hard to gain separation at the LOS with a quick “shake and bake” — out-in-out steps in fast succession, followed by a hard cut inside once X’s defender turns his hips out. X will continue to fight for separation, right past Z’s position at the snap. Z and H run their patterns much the same as against zone, but they are looking for quick separation and a quick pass. QB should lead X with the ball if he decides to hit the Short route. This throw requires practice, but will pay big dividends.

Download the full playbook here.

As always, I’m happy to answer questions coaches may have about these concepts: seayee AT hotmail DOT com.

It’s the Spin That Wins!
Ted Seay
seayee at hotmail dot com

HSC-Fly Attack, Part 1

This article is dedicated to coaches who never stop looking for ways to do things better. Recently, I was able to combine two concepts together into something which I believe could be the most effective direct-snap running game from spread formations yet invented.

Until fairly recently I was not impressed with the run games that most spread shotgun offenses featured, as I have noted repeatedly in previous versions of my under-center Wild Bunch playbook. (The Wild Bunch combines the Fly Sweep series with Run and Shoot and Bunch Attack pass route packages, and can be found here)

That changed when I learned about Dr. John Ward’s creation, the Half-Spin Counter (HSC) series. His semi-spread Single Wing attack has benefited hugely from his combination of the old Washington Redskins Counter Gap play in one direction and a sweep play in the other direction, where the ball is hidden from the defense long enough to cause confusion about the path of the ball — is it heading off-tackle one way, or around end the other?

I’ve blended the HSC backfield action, with its simple step-and-twist by the player receiving the direct snap, and the Fly Sweep series I have been using for years from under center in the Wild Bunch, into something I think is simple, powerful, and a much better basis for a shotgun spread ground game than the normal Option, Dart, Draw & Zone (ODDZ) attack that so many spread teams rely on these days.

The HSC-Fly attack is simpler to teach, involves no reads by any of your backs, and is far more deceptive than the ODDZ system. In particular, it adds much better deception to the shotgun Fly series than is possible from a spread offense where the Fly hand-off takes place forward, in full view of the defense.

First, a diagram showing how I name the various positions:

There is no substitute for total effort in faking, especially in the Fly Sweep series. Coach Mark Speckman of Willamette College in Oregon could not be clearer on this point — ANYONE can be a great faker, all it takes is hard work, repetition, and commitment. If anyone questions the reason for working so hard on good faking, just tell them that a perfect fake is worth AT LEAST two perfect blocks. Isn’t it easier to get defenders to take themselves out of the play from time to time than to have to physically drive them out of the play, down after down?

Marrying the Fly series to Half-Spin Counter action means the backfield provides no clues to the defense about the eventual destination of the ball. It also means, however, that all the plays in the series must be repped to perfection. Not only the 11 Green Light Sweep by H, but the 16 Counter play by the F back require exact timing and execution. The play-action passes by the QB (10 Y Stick is an example of what is possible) are less exacting in their timing, but H and F should always carry out their Fly fakes on every 10 series play where they are not carrying the ball themselves. In addition, H should make a point of accelerating into every fake he carries out in this series, since defenders are hard-wired to respond to acceleration.

Y and Z are responsible for two of the widest defenders — in the case above, for numbers 2 and 3 counting in from the sideline, while the Bunch Guard handles #1. Because the closest defender to his outside - #4 - is on the LOS, the Bunch Tackle must Reach that man just long enough for the sweeper to get outside — roughly one second.

The F back takes the snap while stepping forward with his Bunch-side foot just over the midline, simultaneously pivoting on his back foot and turning his shoulders toward the approaching sweeper while keeping his eyes fixed on the Spread Tackle’s butt. (If any defender comes screaming off the Spread Tackle’s backside, we will attack him with the F back after the hand-off.) The F back holds the ball out so H can Reach and Take it cleanly.

H goes in Fly motion and will be behind Spread Tackle’s outside leg, and just deeper than the QB, when the ball is snapped. He will Reach and Take the ball from the F back, then head for the hashmarks, numbers, and sideline. This is not a cutback play — he should not think about cutting back unless the designated blocker (Bunch Guard, in the case above) completely whiffs on his block on the cornerback. F back follows through with his fake of 16 Counter.

Line blocking will vary depending on the front we’re facing, but there are four different ways to block it. “Counter Gap” means everyone from Spread Tackle to the Center is blocking down at a “severe angle”; that is, at 30 degrees to the line of scrimmage. Bunch Guard pulls and kicks out the first wrong color that shows outside of Spread Tackle, while Bunch Tackle “runs the funnel,” looking for the first wrong color inside or deeper than Spread Tackle.

“Counter Trey” calls for a double team by the TE and Tackle; but since there is no TE on the Spread side of the formation, this call can only be used with 24 Counter (below).

“Counter Deuce,” illustrated above, involves a double team by the Spread Tackle and Spread Guard; finally, “Counter Ace” involves a double team by the Spread Guard and Center. If “Counter Ace” is called, the Spread Tackle will severe-angle block for the first wrong color that shows over the top of the double team. Y and Z help seal off the backside of the play; if you call this at the right time, the defenders closest to them will be out wide chasing H’s Fly Sweep fake anyway.

Y Stick attacks the void in underneath coverage in the Hook/Curl zone. H turns his Fly fake into a Swing route, looking for the ball as soon as he breaks outside; Y runs a Stick, breaking outside at +6, while Z runs a landmark Fade (actually more like a 45 degree Slant Out route) that puts him about 16 yards wide of Bunch Tackle and at about +10-12 when the ball is thrown. From a quick 3-step drop, QB’s read is the first underneath defender inside the playside Cornerback.

QB is thinking Stick — the Swing pattern becomes a reaction if the defender takes the Stick away. Alternately, experienced QB’s can look the “read” defender into the Swing route and come back to the Stick.

VERSUS ZONE: The Bunch-side flat defender is QB’s read. If he hangs and takes away Y’s Stick, throw the Swing immediately to give H space to run to. If he jumps the Swing, Y will have lots of space to make the catch. Hit his downfield number with the ball to let him spin and head straight downfield in the same motion.

VERSUS MAN: H’s play fake complicates his man’s job enormously — there are too many bodies to run through to cover the Swing with any reliability. Switching won’t work, either — notice all three patterns are breaking outside, leaving an inside switcher with nothing but air to cover. Bumping coverage is probably the best solution, but we probably have a speed mismatch somewhere, most likely Z’s Fade — if QB can hold the ball and wait, we can hit a big play.

Next time we’ll look at the 20 SERIES: Z Fly Motion, QB Half-Spin and the passing game. As always, I’m happy to answer questions coaches may have about these concepts: seayee AT hotmail DOT com.

It’s the Spin That Wins!
Ted Seay
seayee at hotmail dot com