Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The "jerk" route and "follow" concept from bunch

The NFL Network has a nice video on a play the Broncos used to beat the Chargers here. (Sorry no embed capability from the NFL site, apparently.) The focus there is on the so-called "jerk" route, where the shallow cross receiver fakes like he is going to settle in the zone hole but then continues. (I'm not so sure that this isn't a read for that receiver, but in any event you'll get the idea.)



Readers might however find interesting the extended discussion of the concept I previously wrote up here. It is known as the "angle" or "follow" concept. In other words, although the Broncos throw it for the touchdown and conversion to the same guy, the quarterback's secondary reads are to the corner route and the receiver who begins like he's running to the flat but then pivots and comes back inside. The Broncos also use a corner route to the other side as well, unlike the post route I have drawn up in the diagram, above.

10 comments:

  1. In Mike Sherman and Mike Holmgren's west coast offense, the angle route is a common concept and it's called the "Texas Route". Not sure why, though.

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  2. Forgot to add that they use it mainly when playing a Tampa Two team. The angle really allows the receiver to settle in under the Mike.

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  3. Holmgren called it that because if the mike decided to put on his centerfield cap he left an area the size of "Texas" open in the underneath/middle for the RB...it essentially became a simple high low read for the TE/Back.

    Always wondered if the concept could be used from the bunch.

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  4. http://www.scribd.com/doc/13564677/Texas-West-Coast-Offensepdf

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  5. The "Jerk" route is not the same as the "Texas" route. The "Jerk" is used against man coverage with the rest of the WR's clearing out. You are correct in the fact that the WR begins his route like a shallow cross, then he stops somewhere in between the guards and redirects himself either left, right or up. "Texas" is essentially a hi-lo on the MLB versus some form of cover 2.

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  6. Anonymous,

    We are not talking about the jerk route here. This is in reference to the Angle route which is the same as a "texas route" in Holmgren's WCO terminology.

    Thanks for the story, coryell15. I knew there was an amusing tidbit behind the name, but I could not quite remember what it was.

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  7. LOL this is the compliment to spacing and the main play to pair with it from trips for my playbook.

    I was going over this play yesterday, great to see you have it up and running(passing)!

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  8. Texas is the combo of routes, not just the angle? Find the middle open if you see people chased, if they settle into zones you settle open.

    I thought Texas was more like levels done on deep ins, one of those two outside routes finds a void off the middle/mike in two cover, under the safeties.

    The slot or two player runs a jag which is the opposite of his jerk/jag route that is the featured trail item.

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  9. Our trips mesh will jag the outside wr back fro where started after the inside clears the three, who is headed outside.

    The center wr might get tagged with a crease to divide more than a corner.

    You don't tier each level of the seconddary with routes on flood progressions?

    Crease the front side and post the backside? Instead you run two routes the same angle deep. Do the numbers for execution show INT troubles if you go the other way, and drive the clearout man, to high-low the MLB instead of a pure hi-low outside?

    We do this from five wide(two TE, helps keep free air rushing ends a step further out).
    Trips side the #1 runs the jag/jerk route inside and back out off the pivot.
    The two clears a corner or stays on the seam.
    The three cuts under everyone and has the quickest route outside.

    Jag settles seeing zone, if someone from inside gets to him he takes it back out, but he should get the ball right off the crossing action from the give or go read with number three.

    The interior routes I run a shallow from Z and if the JAG route sees Z chased he is free to follow where they vacated.

    To keep up with the language and tags used for our normal mesh consistent we'll probably change the call signals.

    The other combo does a 'follow,' outside man runs shallow. Two still runs corner or can get even get a mofo tag. Three starts out like he's going flat again but starts a better initial angle to 45 track and makes a 45 cut and comes back trailing the shallow in a good void position, a bit higher.

    Get Z on the ends' hands so they are down. This one the shallow is primary. If nobody lines up outside for the H/te to check we get him going an angle route to pin any LB right now. Plus getting into his route fast creates a great rub for the shallow.

    Cutting three right past shallow is a rub, running Z/h back to angle is a rub. Shallow should get it quick unless they go full zone and that man crossing the faces of defenders opens all kinds of stuff for the corner and post guys behind them to flatten and settle.

    That's where we may want more of a drive concept at work with one clear our and end up with kind of a hitch post tree on top of it using the other clear route.

    At our level it's one player doing one thing. For school level we'd pair mesh, the trips rubbing a mesh action, and players from trips working either the other interior player in name tags.

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  10. That's where we may want more of a drive concept at work with one clear **OUT** and end up with kind of a hitch post tree on top of it,** using the other clear route above the FS.

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