7. Other Routes and Flare Control

ROUTES OF THE  REMAINING BACKS

Coaches in professional football have accomplished a great deal in ex­ploiting the pass offense, partly because of the skillful integration of the pass routes of ends, flankers and remaining backs.

Diagram 32 illustrates several different pass routes which the remaining backs can run in various plays that the quarterback may call. These routes can be run to the strong side as well as to the weak side, as shown in the diagram.

The swing wide route is automatic when the 70-71 call is made in the huddle. The back stays in the flat as he swings wide, looking back at the quarterback for release of the ball.

Running a straight route on a 45-degree plane is executed by the back remaining in the flat. He will look back over his outside shoulder after clearing the line of scrimmage. This is a good route to the strong side in goal-line passing.

The flat, out, and flag routes consist of the back swinging just outside the defensive end and taking precautions not to be ' 'close-lined" by the end or linebacker. After running four to six steps downfield, the back will break directly for the sideline in running a flat pass route.

Diagram 32.    Pass routes for the backs. 57

An out route is the same as that for the flat, except that it is run eight to 12 yards deep instead of four to six yards.

The flag route is much deeper than the flat or out. As its name indi­cates it is run at an angle aimed for the flag in the corner of the field.

The swing quick route is a foot race between the back and the line­backer. The back swings just outside the defensive end and keeps on running up the field. He looks over his inside shoulder after hitting his sprinter's stride. If the ball doesn't come to him as he clears, he keeps on running downfield. Naturally the back must have sufficient speed to get to his downfield destination if the swing quick pass is to be successful.

The angle route is the opposite of the flat route, the big difference being that the back breaks inside instead of to the sideline.

In running the flare route, the back clears the defensive end and breaks down the middle of the field, gaining ground as he moves downfield.

The check, or delayed flare, occurs when the back delays by faking a block for three or four counts, then breaks downfield as the linebackers fall back or into the flat.

The screen is run in the same manner as the check flare, except that the back breaks in the flat, instead of downfield, after delaying three or four counts with a faked block.

The series of plays in Diagram 33 show several unit routes to the strong side to be used against the zone and man-to-man defenses. (The unit pat­terns, it will be recalled, involve the flanker, the tight end, the halfback, and sometimes the fullback, as potential receivers.) The quarterback should keep in mind that when throwing against the zone defense, he is trying to beat the more heavily manned defense and not the individual man.

When throwing passes against the man-to-man defense, the offense is trying to beat an isolated man. The receivers must really work on their individual routes when they are coping with the man-to-man defense.

The story in the huddle can be cut short and be very precise after the team gets experience by playing together. For example, if the quarterback calls 72-X Post, the left halfback knows that he is free to run a route. He knows by the quarterback's call that X, the spread end, is going to run the post route, and so he will run a complementary route such as a flat, out, or an angle, avoiding the post area.

If the quarterback calls upon the flanker to run a center route, the tight end, Y, knows he must clear this area by sprinting through the safety man. Conversely, if a sideline is called to Y, the flanker must clear the area by sprinting through the defensive halfback. This type of fast, automatic operation will come with coaching and constant practice.

77- DOUBLE H ITCH- OUT            50 - Y-S1DELINE AND UP

Diagram 33.    Pass routes used against the zone and  man-to-man defenses.

FLARE CONTROL

The series of assignments in Diagram 34 illustrate a method employed by National Football League quarterbacks to control the backs remaining in the backfield.   As you can see by comparing Diagram 34 with Diagrams 21-30, the protection for the passer and the control of the remaining backs are combined and expressed in a single call.

The quarterback calls range from 50-51 to 78-79. When he calls 50-51 flare control, the linemen and backs know that a three-man pass pattern is in the works and that seven men will stay in to protect the passer. Either of these two calls, 50-51, frees the two ends and the flanker for pass-catching duties.

When the quarterback calls 70, the back nearest to the even side of the line of scrimmage automatically will run a swing wide route. This results in a four-man pass pattern.

The call 71 is the opposite of 70. The back nearest the odd side, whether he be the halfback or fullback, will automatically swing wide and stay in the flat, looking back at the passer over his inside shoulder.

Generally, if the quarterback wants the back to swing quickly, he will call 72 or 73; the former number, 72, again being to the even or left side and the latter to the odd or right side. The back can also run several other routes from the 72 or 73 calls, such as a flare, fan, flat, out, angle, straight, or any other pass route the quarterback may choose to execute with the swinging back.

When the quarterback wishes to send both remaining backs to one side, he will call either 74 or 75. The signal caller will use this flare control to flood a zone defense or in anticipation of the defensive blitz. These calls create a three-man pattern to the spread-end side, or a four-man pattern to the strong side.

If the quarterback wants both backs to swing wide in opposite direc­tions, he will call 76. This flare control is used to make the linebackers move to both sides to cover these backs in the flat area so that they cannot offer help to the defensive halfbacks in the deep hooking areas. This is a good third-down call when the quarterback wishes to throw a hook pass to the ends and flankers to sustain a drive.

The 77 flare control is used primarily to get the remaining backs down-field as fast as possible. Both backs run a swing-quick route to their re­spective sides. This call forces the linebackers to pull off the ends and cover the backs quickly. It is also good to use against the zone defense because it gets a fast, five-man pass pattern into action.

A 78 or 79 call is similar to a 74 or 75. The difference is that in 78 and 79, the second back out delays before going down field. The quarterback can call the second back on a delayed flare, or a screen, after the first back clears the linebacker out. As in the 74 and 75 calls, the 78 and 79 involve five men in the pattern. In summary, the 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 and 79 calls offer the minimum protection for the passer, but do force the defense to cover the maximum of receivers.

Diagram 34.     Flare control.

In regard to pass offense the thinking of a quarterback resolves itself quite simply into the consideration of two alternatives. (1) Keep the maximum protection in hope that one of the receivers can eventually beat a defensive man. Or (2) send the maximum number of receivers down-field, thus retaining the minimum protection, with the hope that one or more may run free, or that a defensive man will commit a mental error. Generally, the team that wins is the one that makes the fewest mental errors.

At this point, it is apropos to consider a situation that, from the stands, appears to be a mental error on the part of the quarterback. I refer to the official's call of "too much time in the huddle" and the resulting penalty of five yards against the offensive team.

Violating the time limit of 30 seconds in which to put a play in motion often is the quarterback's mental error, but not because the clock in his head ceases to tick.

If he is a young quarterback, or a signal caller who does not have the respect of his teammates, he may let other players, particularly veterans, argue against his call in the huddle. This consumes time and should not be tolerated. Unless he is taking orders from the sidelines, a quarterback should live or die by his own commitments. After all, it is his choice of plays that comes in for critical analysis.

The quarterback, however, can hardly be faulted if he takes too much time getting the play under way when he confronts a sudden defensive shift after he has called the signal in the huddle. Such a shift means he has to go to an "automatic" call when the team has lined up. Even the best of us are sometimes confused as to just what call to make when we are faced with a sudden, unorthodox situation. At times, it is even the best strategy to take a five-yard penalty and reconsider new strategy in the huddle.

Getting back to the flare control, the plays in Diagram 35 illustrate many patterns attacking the weak side and using various types of maneuvers against the zone and man-to-man defenses.

Football, unlike nuclear physics, is an inexact, offtimes emotional sci­ence, and therefore not bound by hard and fast rules of procedure. But, in connection with the patterns shown in Diagrams 33 and 35, I have de­veloped a set of prejudices over the years as to when, and when not, to use this or that play.

The series of plays in Diagram 33 shows that when confronted with a zone, a quarterback just has to flood that area with receivers. If you are throwing strong side, or weak side, you must put at least three or four men into that area to free one man for catching duties. Flooding, which includes sending out the halfback and even the fullback, is feasible because the defense usually restricts itself to a four-man rush while using the zone.

In connection with Diagram 35, the quarterback should start peppering the weak side of the zone because it normally has single coverage. This same diagram also shows passes to the spread side against a man-to-man defense, which generally, is harder to throw against than the zone. These patterns against a man-to-man situation, I feel, will either free the spread end or one of the swinging backs.

Diagram  35.    Further passing plays.

So, you ask, how is the weak side peppered most effectively? The most effective weapons I have found are the hitch and the hitch-out, the slant, slant-and-up, the side line, the hook-in, and the center pattern which has numerous variations. In correlation with this, a quarterback must keep the outside linebacker busy, calling plays 70 and 72 flare control.

To pierce the strong side, the quarterback, by calling 73 or 75 flare con­trol, can get four- or five-man patterns in that sector, thus accomplishing the flooding process.

The objective, of course, is to keep the pass defense off-balance, giving the opponents so much to think and worry about, that they sometimes find themselves on the edge of bewilderment. When the quarterback finds he has attained this goal, the esthetic satisfaction cannot be matched by a view of the sun sinking into the sea or a pretty girl being whipped by the wind. And, what's more important, he has mounted an irresistible force moving against a pliant object, and at the same time is giving the spectators an aerial show that will bomb them right out of their seats.

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