WHEN TEACHING ROUTE running to your players, there are a few key ideas that you must stress. These concepts set the foundation for teaching the routes and will always be there as a reference for both coaches and receivers.
To begin building a repertoire of moves that keeps defensive backs guessing, there are four moves that your players must learn — the single, the double, the rip and the bull-rush. These moves are all designed to keep the defender off balance, let your receiver stay on his designated route and to get open.
You also need to teach your receivers how to break a route. Breaking the route correctly and efficiently allows the receiver the best opportunity to make a play for the ball.
Once those fundamentals are ingrained into your receivers, you’ll need to teach the concepts of how and where to “place” the defender.
Offensive Mindset
When coaching offensive football, the first attribute you need to instill into your receivers is attitude. You want your players to believe that offensive players are the best players on the field. They need to have confidence that they know the play and can execute that play to perfection.
Stress the idea that the offensive player always has an advantage because the defense doesn’t know what play you’ll be running next. This is a real advantage because not only does your receiver know the play, but through scouting and lots of hard work during practice, he’ll know enough about the defense that he’ll recognize the coverage or any coverage adjustments made by the opponent.
This concept of attitude needs to be instilled into the receiver early in his playing career — that player must believe that “I’m better than the person in front of me.”
Placing The Defender
The receiver also needs to understand that he can work at placing his defender. Through alignment, stance and technique, the receiver should place his defender as far from him as possible, allowing himself the best chance to make a play for the ball. If the receiver goes to the line of scrimmage not knowing his assignment or how to execute it, he’s giving the defensive player a chance to make a play on the ball.
There are three key things that your receiver must know in order to place his defender.
1. The defensive coverage.
2. The soft spots in the defensive coverage.
3. The best way of getting to the soft spot.
Since your receiver knows where the ball is going, the defensive coverage, any adjustments the coverage might make, where he placed the defender on the last down and what move he used to successfully place him, he’ll know exactly what move he needs to use to place the defender on the next play.
Basic Receiver Moves
Once you’ve instilled the “I’m better than the person in front of me” attitude into your receiver, then you must begin teaching the moves that allow the player a chance to get open on routes.
- Single Move. The single move consists of making the defender believe that the route is taking the receiver one way, and then going the opposite way.
This is generally an easy concept to teach with the use of head fakes, head-and-shoulder fakes, slowing down and dropping the hands.
- Double Move. The second move is derived from the first and consists of creating one more move off the single move. Your receiver needs to set up his defender with a series of single moves and then use the double move. This keeps the defender off balance as to which move he’s going to use and at what time.
- Rip Move. If the defender is in a “press” or “bump” technique on the LOS, your receiver needs to come off the line as quickly as possible and continue with his route. If the route is a short route — less than 12 yards — he should use a rip move.
The rip move consists of punching the opposite hand across the body of the defender to get the fist under the armpit of the defender. This allows the receiver to disable the arm of the defender that would create the most resistance to continuing with the route. This must be done with bent knees so the defender can’t push the receiver out of his route.
- Bull-Rush Move. The last move you need to teach your receiver is the bull rush. This move is derived off of the rip and should be used when the defender is in a press technique and the receiver is asked to run a deep route of over 12 yards.
The bull rush consists of utilizing good blocking technique. Your receiver must place his hands on the “steering wheel” (breastplate) of the defender. With knees bent and with a good pad level, push and drive the defender back on his heels and push him backwards and let go. This consistently looks like a pancake block, but it allows your receiver to continue his route with the defender on the ground.
One common mistake that often occurs in teaching this move is to mistake the bull-rush move with the “push-pull” technique. The push-pull technique shouldn’t be used by receivers as they’re typically in open space on the field and the push-pull technique is easily recognized as holding by the line judges.
Receiver Breaks
Breaks should stop the receiver and change his direction as fast as possible, allowing your player the best chance (and the defender the least chance) to make a play on the ball.
When teaching breaks, instruct your players to use the hammer-step and plant-step progressions.
- Hammer Step. The hammer step portion of the progression is having your receiver stomp the foot that’s closest to the direction of the break. By utilizing the hammer step, the receiver takes only one step as opposed to stutter steps that are typically taught to receivers.
The hammer step allows the receiver less time to initiate his break. He’ll have his body weight in a crouched position over his base foot, which allows for better traction in slippery conditions.
- Plant Step. After using the hammer step, your receiver should use a plant step to start moving in a new direction. The plant foot should be placed 90 degrees to the direction of the break with the arch of the foot facing the direction of the break. This allows the most traction with the foot and easily starts the receiver in the new direction.
During the hammer and plant steps, the receivers’ arms must never stop pumping in a manner as to imitate running.
- Open Toward The Quarterback. After the hammer and plant, the receiver puts his chin on his inside shoulder and pulls the inside elbow close to the body and to the rear, forcing the head and shoulders to open toward the quarterback. This places the body facing the QB and in the best position to make a play.
Route Running Concepts
The concepts of route running are less definite than teaching moves. There are several key concepts to stress to your receivers.
- Separation. Separation is gaining distance between the receiver and the defender. There’s a common misconception that only the fastest receivers can create separation. While there’s no denying that having great speed gives a receiver an advantage, a receiver can still create separation through sound fundamentals and proper technique.
- Lead. This refers to placing the defender two or three steps behind the receiver and in a position where he has no way of making a play on a ball that your receiver can catch on the run or in stride.
- Trail Technique. This is used when your receiver is required to make a break to catch the ball at a standstill. Trailing places the defender right behind the receiver and to one side. When he breaks a route, the defender continues past the receiver, thus gaining separation.
Mold Better Receivers
There are many other variables that need to be taught to your receivers concerning blocking, catching and defensive coverages. But by instilling the proper attitude into your receivers and by teaching ideas, techniques and concepts of route running, it will go a long way toward creating better athletes who can make the necessary adjustments during the heat of battle.