IF YOU SURVEYED a group of head football coaches and asked them where they consider the start of the red zone to be — almost everyone will say the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Our team goes against the norm and goes into red-zone game planning when reaching the opponent’s 15-yard line. Our reasoning is that our wide receivers’ routes don’t change from the 20-yard line into the end zone. However, when we reach the 15-yard line, the receivers have to tighten up their routes, causing us to change our strategy.
It’s imperative that you achieve a run-pass balance within the red zone. If you don’t try to run the ball inside the 15-yard line, the defense can drop back and protect the end zone much easier.
We have a detailed checklist that prepares our squad for attacking the red zone.
Zone Or Man? Does the defense primarily go to a zone defense or a man-to-man defense when opponents enter the red zone? What is the opposing coach’s philosophy when his team is backed up? This is the first thing you should want to know. Everything else you do is based on the general type of defense your opponent favors.
Protection Checks. You’re still not worried about specific coverages at this point. Do you have any needs for protection checks against this opponent? This is much more important than the route that you want your receivers to run.
Everyone has routes, but the key is whether you need a specific protection package when you’re in the red zone. If you don’t have the proper protection call in the game, you’re never going to get your play off. By paying attention to the opposition’s tendencies, you’ll know what kind of protection you’ll need to install during practice.
Match-Ups. When paying attention to specific match-ups in the red zone, start with the player, the play and finish with the formation. It’s important in the short-field script that you have at least a few match-up calls.
If you have any advantage with one of your players against a specific defender — exploit it. If not, look at a play you have that picks apart the defense in the short field. Finally, if you can’t gain an advantage with a player or a play, find a hole in the defense’s formation.
Defensive Leverage. Pay attention to the leverage in the defensive front and defensive secondary in relation to how your opponent plays teams in the red zone. Start from the back of the defense first.
Ask questions such as: Are they an inside coverage team? Do the secondary defenders open with hips, do they backpedal or do they bail out? Knowing the leverage of the defenders influences the routes you’ll run in the red zone.
As you work to the front of the defense ask these questions: Does the defensive front widen out? Do the players loosen up? Do they pinch in?
Route Adjustments. In a short field, we change all of our comeback routes to post-corner routes. We change our curl routes to inside digs. Keep your routes moving. Don’t run any routes that gives the defender an opportunity to undercut the route. No receivers should be stopping unless you’re in a clear zone read where you want your back or tight end to sit in a specific spot.
Direct Snap Or Shotgun? This is based on timing. For example, if you’re throwing a slant, have your quarterback get a direct snap because his hand will already be on the laces.
If you have a player match-up you want to exploit at the 5-yard line, you want to be in a direct-snap formation because your player needs only one step to get the advantage. Using a shotgun formation takes too much time in this instance.
End-Zone Throws. Script where the ball will end up in the end zone. Your receivers have the advantage because they know where they’ll need to be to catch the ball — either in the front of the box or the back of the box (and whether it will be on the back end line, to the post or the pylon).
Game’s Best Runs. Keep track of which running plays work best for your team during the game. If it’s working within the 85 yards prior to reaching the red zone, there’s no reason to move away from those plays in the red zone. Don’t get too regimented by following a particular red-zone script. Just go with what works and you’ll score.
Player, Play And Formation. On all red-zone plays, first check to see which players have the advantage over their defenders, then check to see what play will work best and finally, pick apart the defense’s formation.
Do Something Different. Use any type of wrinkles you can in the red zone such as a trick play, using motion or lining up in an unbalanced set. It only takes one play to score, and if you throw something unexpected at a defense, you might catch the opposition off balance.
QB Runs And Options. Make sure your QB knows that if he doesn’t think he will have a clear run against the defensive formation, he can check off to a different play.
As for the options, use three different kinds in the red zone: speed, scoop and reverse. If there’s an alley to the outside, run the traditional speed option. If the defense puts a defender in the outer alley, run the scoop option off what the outer player does. Or, if you want to mix it up, you can still use the same blocking schemes but run a reverse option. In this instance, your QB starts in a shotgun formation, begins running to the outside, then shuffle passes to the RB who is running in the opposite direction in front of him.