Passing

Managing the Passing Game

Play Selection

Your first decision is picking a pass play. Understanding how and why pass plays work in certain areas on the field makes the rest of your decisions easier. The first thing I think about when selecting a pass play is where am I at on the field and which plays work best in that spot.

More specifically, I am talking about hash marks as it helps to understand that all pass plays work best either on the left hash, right hash, somewhere in the middle, or perhaps anywhere. This videos explains it well.

So if I am on the left hash mark, my mind automatically thinks about all the left hash plays I have in my playbook. How I determine this is by knowing where my Zone beating routes are located in the play. Let’s start with short Zone beaters.

Notice how the the play above is on the left hash. Now look at the five red routes, the Flat, Drag, Hitch, Swing, and the Out. These are just some of the more common short boundary side Zone beaters. Notice how they are all going to the left side of the field? Whenever I see routes like this with higher routes above them, I know that play at least works on the left hash.

But why do these shorter routes as shown work on the left hash? It is because of the way Cornerbacks (CBs) and other defenders close to line of scrimmage and near the sidelines work in NCAA Football 06. These defenders are programmed to defend the higher route like the Curl, Flag, and Go first. This leaves your shorter Zone beaters (the red routes) open.

I like having a boundary (sideline) side Zone beater as a safety valve since I know they will be open most of the time. You may not get many yards with these routes, but at least you know what to expect from them. More importantly, I like pass plays with Man and Zone beaters so I can attack the defense regardless of what they throw at me.

Below are more examples of short boundary side Zone beaters.

The left column shows left hash plays. Notice Flat route in Curl Flats, the Out route in HB Corner, and the Hitch route in HB Angle. They all have a higher route above them to help distract the nearest defender, usually a Cornerback. The right column shows right hash plays. Can you spot the boundary side Zone beaters?

I see two Swing routes by the halfback and a Flat route by a wide receiver. The middle column shows plays that work on both hashes, There are hi-lo route combos on both sides. You can also decide which hash a play works on by deep routes and combos too.

The ball is now on the right hash and again, focus on the red routes. The Post on the left by X works well against Zone. It’s one of the few Zone beaters that doesn’t need help from other routes to get open. The Post on the right works great against Zone but does need help from the Go route beside it which also happens to be good against Zone if you run a play action play, especially against Cover 2 (more on that later).

Above are examples of deeper routes and combos. The left column are left hash plays, the right column are right hash plays. Some plays like Ace Slot Deep Outs may not have s short boundary side Zone beater so looking at deeper routes like the Slot Post helps when figuring out where it will work best from.

What about the middle of the field? 90% of your plays will be on either hash but if you are closer to the middle, nothing changes. If you are between the middle and the right hash, call right hash plays and vice versa.

You can also flip plays as they will work on the other hash too but for now, I wanted you to focus on the plays as they are in the game by default. This info should help you look at any pass play in the game and tell where it works best on the field.

Identifying Man and Zone Coverage

So you’ve picked your pass play and you know where it probably works best on the field. The very next step after picking a play and breaking the huddle is figuring out if the defense is in Man or Zone. We will talk about this now since the game gives you a hint as soon as you break the huddle. Let’s tart with Man:

Notice the CB on the right? If he runs to his spot, the defense is in Man coverage.

If the CB turns to you and slides to his spot, then they are in Zone Coverage. You may see a combo like the right outside CB running to his spot (Man) and the inside CB beside him slides (looks like Zone). The outside CB always tells you what defense they are in but if the inside CB slides, then he is blitzing. It’s the same in reverse. If the outside CB slides then they are in Zone but if the CB beside him runs, then he is blitzing. I find that the right CB is the easiest to read since there isn’t one defensive play in the game where he blitzes.

You can probably read the left CB just as well, but the right CB has always been easier for me to read. It is even easier to tell if the defense is in Man or Zone if you have all of your wide receivers on one side of the field. If the right CB doesn’t move over to cover a WR and stays on his side of the field, then they are in Zone coverage. This info will make things so much easier for you in your decision making as it practically cuts your need to remember things by half.

Defensive Coverages

It is best to talk about defensive coverages now so pre-snap player movement will make more sense to you. There are a ton of defensive plays in the game but in the grand scheme of things, there are only six coverages to remember, three for Man and three for Zone. Let’s look at Man first:

Cover 0, 1, and 2 are the only Man coverages in the game. Notice the yellow circles in the examples above. No matter what all 11 defenders are doing, regardless of the formation they used, all that matters is what happens on the backline to determine was coverage they are in.

The same goes for Zone above. You have Cover 2, 3, and 4. A bunch of other defenders will be playing Zone too, but look at the backline. Notice how they are the same.

There are too many routes and scenarios to mention when attacking these coverages so I’ll simply this as best as I can:

• Man Cover 0 is best attacked with Go’s, Posts, and other deeper routes. Anything deep works here.
• Man Cover 1 is best attacked with Corner and Flag-routes that go deep and are pointing to the sidelines.
• Man Cover 2 is best attacked with a Slot Post.
• All short to medium Man-beating routes work against any Man coverage
• Zone Cover 2 is best attacked with Slot Posts, field-side Posts, and sideline Go’s from play action.
• Zone Cover 3 is best attacked with Slot Posts and field-side Posts.
• Cover 4 usually leaves the short field open
• All short boundary side Zone-beating routes like mentioned above work against any Zone coverage.

Of course there are exceptions like to never throw into double coverage, defensive end spy plays do well against boundary side against Zone beaters, and blitzes can come from anywhere but in general, these points cover a lot of what you will see. We will talk about routes later on in this post.

Defensive Player Movement

Knowing if the defense is in Man or Zone coverage and understanding which specific coverages are in each, you have instantly cut your guesses in half since there are only three for each type. Pre-snap defensive player movement can make things even easier which is your next step.

Noticing where all 11 defenders end up before snapping the ball is important, but I would focus on the secondary and linebackers first as they are the ones defending your players against Man and defending areas against Zone when passing the ball. There are too many scenarios to cover, but there a few commons movements that automatically tell you a few things. Our first example is one from Man:

The strong safety is circled. Notice how he is running to cover someone on the outside. This will happen when they are in Man coverage. What does this movement tell you? To me it says the defense is in at least Cover 1 and possibly Cover 0. Remember, there are only three coverages in Man, and we just deduced that Cover 2 is not one of them. You may get lucky and see this:

It is nice to see both safeties come down to defend as this tells you they are in Cover 0. You will sometimes see linebackers move over to cover a slot receiver which can help if you have a good matchup.

There will be times where the defense will not move at all, even the defensive line shifting in some way. But every now and then, the defense will give you hints to help you deduce exactly which coverage they are in. When it comes to Zone, the defense will not move much at all. The safeties seem to always stay in the there spot. Sometimes a linebacker will move over to “cover” someone in the slot, but we know that they are either defending an area or will be blitzing.

You should also pay attention to what the defensive line is doing. Are they shifting out, in, left, right, or not at all? When it comes to pass plays, it helps to just be mindful of where they are, especially if you plan on rolling out and such. I think watching the secondary and linebackers is more important due most of them actually covering something or someone. Just be mindful of all 11 defenders, especially impact players.

Matchups

One nice feature in the game is using the matchup stick to see where you can possibly exploit a weakness in the defense. Moving the right joystick in different directions brings up various matchups like below:

Look at the circled matchups. Against Man, you can see an advantage for both of our slot receivers so you might want to think about throwing to them more if needed in this situation. I tend to focus on matchups when against Man more than anything else, but feel free to use this feature to make your decision making even easier.

Hot Routes

Hot routes are extra weapons at your quarterback’s disposal. The ability to change a route can exploit matchups, can make an average route into a good one, and can give you an extra Man or Zone beater. Below are all of your options:

Press Triangle/Y to bring up your hot route options, then select the player you want to change a route, and then press the D-pad buttons along with L2/LT & R2/RT to use a hot route.

• Up – Go
• Left or Right – Out/In
• Down – Curl
• L2/LT & R2/RT – Slants for wide receivers, Block for tight ends, halfbacks, and fullbacks
• Moving a halfback or fullback (which have the same route options) to the line of scrimmage and then using hot routes gives them all wide receiver hot-route options which is nice.

Some of my favorite hot routes are Go’s if I need a better Cover 0 beater, Outs for an easier Man beater in general, and Slants over the middle if there may be a hole above your center against Zone. Once you understand how all the routes operate by themselves and together (more on that later), you can come up with some nifty ways to use hot routes to your advantage.

One last thing. If you have Home Field Advantage turned on and are playing on the road, be mindful that some of your players may not be able to hear the hot route adjustment, depending on their composure. Older and more experienced players won’t have this problem.

Motion

Motion allows you to move your skill players around before the snap, and you can only move one player per play. Pressing Up or Down on the D-pad cycles through the eligible players and pressing Left or Right on the D-pad moves that player. When it comes to passing plays, I don’t use motion that much. Most of the plays in this game are designed well enough where motion isn’t needed.

Perhaps my favorite scenario is moving an In route to the other side which makes it a Out route. This turns into a slightly safer Man beater and can be a good boundary side Zone beater if you don’t have one. Once you nail down everything written in this post, I’m sure you can come up with other idea or two on how to use motion in your passing game. Motion is more useful in the running game which we will cover later.

Read the Safeties & the Pocket

Now you are ready to snap the ball. We have covered several things that give you plenty of pre-snap info that leads to only having to focus on a few things after the snap. The goal with all of this info is to narrow down to who you are going to throw to. If your pre-snap info leads you to believing you only have one player to throw to then the live action after the snap is much more manageable. The first step after snapping the ball is reading the safeties to see what coverage they are in.

By now you know that the defense is in Man or Zone and maybe with enough defensive player movement, you may have narrowed it down to one or two coverages.

Here I read the safeties and noticed only one high safety. I already knew they were in Man from our pre-snap knowledge above. Now the only thing on my mind is to throw to the one or two players that are my Cover 1 and shorter Man beaters. We have to do one more thing before throwing the ball:

Your next step is to read the pocket so you can avoid getting sacked. I already know who I am going to throw and he will run his route regardless if I look at him or not so I am better off watching the pocket so I know where the pressure is coming from. Then I just wait until the player I am throwing to finishes his last move/cut before throwing to him.

Pocket Presence

Before we talk about throwing the football, now is a prefect time to talk about pocket presence. Having optimal pocket presence gives you a better chance of the quarterback making a good and clean throw. The two things you should remember more than anything else is to not backpedal too far from the pocket and to keep your feet set before throwing.

Here is another play where my pocket presence will lead to a good throw. I still have trouble at times where I may backpedal too far as this makes it harder for your offensive line to continue to block.

Since NCAA Football 06 forces you to control your QB movement when passing, here are a few more pointers:

• Throwing from under center allows you to drop back a little more
• Throwing from the shotgun makes is easy for you to backpedal too far, but try not to move back much at all unless you have to.
• The game will throw the ball for you if you let the game control the drop-back. Do not let the game do this, control the QB the entire time to avoid a throw you didn’t want to see!

Routes & Throwing the Football

Now is the time to actually throw the football. What we want to focus on are the types of throws you can make and which routes work best with them. When it comes to throw types, I am specifically talking about how hard you press the button to throw the football.

There are basically three types of button presses:

1. Tap the button – throwing the ball high in the air
2. Press the button – a solid throw with mid height
3. Hold the button – throwing the ball as hard as you can

Let’s cover which routes and situations work with which types of throws starting with tapping the button:

Routes that work when tapping the button are the easiest to remember. The Go and Post route against Man Cover 0 is the only time I will tap the button which lobs the ball high in the air. You want to give your players a jump ball situation against their defender. Also notice how the routes are in blue which are Man routes.

Here are some examples of when you need to press the button:

Pressing the button gives you a solid throw with some air under it. The ball will get to the player quicker than tapping the button. Above you will notice how we have several more routes that use this button press. Also notice how there are two different colored routes: blue for Man, red for Zone.

Any of the deeper routes above need a press of the button because you will often need to throw over a defender’s head.

• Corners, Posts, and Flag routes have one thing in common, they all end on an angle which is a nice visual to think about.
• Corners and Flags against Man Work great against Cover 0 and 1.
• A Post from the field side and a Post from the slot are great against Zone in general.
• The In and Slant routes are good against Zone when there is a hole above your Center.
• The Flare and Swing routes from a HB or FB are the most common routes from the backfield that work best when pressing the button.
• Pay attention to where the ball is above which is on the left hash. Both Post routes and the two HB routes are illustrated to show how they work best from that location. Some of these we’ve already discussed.

There may be another route or two I am forgetting that needs a press of the button, but the routes shown cover around 80% of them. Now let’s look at routes that require holding the button which as you can imagine are for most of the routes we haven’t mentioned yet.

Holding the button means you literally hold the button, even after a player catches the ball. Holding the button has the QB throwing as hard a possible. Notice above how all of the routes on the left and in the middle stop. Any stopping route typically works best if you hold the button.

In and Out routes work the same regardless of their depth. And don’t forget to pay attention to where routes are located above and what color they are. There are plenty of other routes in the game like the Goal Line Fade route below. There are too many to cover them all, but hopefully all of these images can help you figure out how to use some of the more popular options.

Attacking Coverages and Play Action Tips

Below are videos on how to use certain routes to attack Man and Zone coverages along with some play action tips.

Pass Play Example

Below is an example of all of the steps mentioned above and how that process works in order. Jump to the 24:47 mark if the video doesn’t do it for you.

---

Quick Two-Route Combos

Below is a list of common quick two-route combos that I have used over the years in NCAA Football 06. They all work in their own special way, but I like some combos more than others. To make things fun, I have decided to rank them in order, starting with my least favorite.

This will cover the eight most common combos I can think of. There are more in the game, but you will see combos below the most throughout the formations. Again, this just covers the quick stuff. Later on I may write a post on deeper combos. Until then, enjoy and use this info to your delight!

#8 – Smash (Short Side)

The Smash combo is my least favorite for several reasons. The first reason is the lack of a good Man beater. The Flag route can beat all Man coverages (Cover 0, 1 & 2), but the throw is so hard to make on a consistent basis. You have to throw a medium button press and even then, you never know if your QB will under throw it or throw it to far out of bounds. Either way, the defender covering this route does a good job in this situation.

You would also think that the Hitch route would work the same as a Curl route against Man but this isn’t so as the defender will cover him well, too well to throw it against Man. This combo does a littler better job against Zone. The Hitch route will be open most of the time (unless the defense calls a DE spy to that side) as the Flag route distracts the CB enough to get the Hitch open.

Unfortunately, this is a stop route. This means there is a possibility of the Hitch getting stuck in the mud so quickly getting up-field can be a challenge. Sometimes he’ll cut right up-field though. The Flag does his job by distracting the CB enough for the Hitch to get open.

Another downside is that the Flag route can’t get open against Zone unless you give him enough time to cut up the field against a soft Cover 2 and by then, you’ll probably get sacked. Even though basic Smash is my least favorite short two-route Combo, it is not a complete dud as having a simple Man beater somewhere else in the play gives you something to work with. A good example of this is Gun Normal – HB Angle. You have both a Go route from the TE as a great Cover 0 along with the Out route on the right to beat Man.

#7 – Smash Dig (Both)

If you want to use Smash, I think you are better off running the Smash Dig. The only difference between Smash and Smash Dig is the Hitch will run a Dig after finishes his Hitch route. He will settle on the Hitch for barely a second before finishing off his route with a basic Dig route. The slight adjustment makes all the difference in the world. This now gives you a good enough Man beater and a Zone beater, all from the same route.

The only real downside is the time it takes for the route to develop as it is slow. Do you have enough time for the Dig to open up against Man before feeling too much pressure? Also, don’t expect your WR to get great separation from his defender when running the Dig.

The same Zone rules apply that is mentioned for basic Smash. Yes you can run this to the short side of the field, but the combo works just as well to the grass-side of the field although with slightly different rules. A good example of this is Gun Spread- HB Go.

You have your basic Smash combo on the left with the Smash Dig combo on the right. Played on the left hash, the Flag route can work against Man but with more field to play with. The Flag route works against Cover 2 because the Go route by the HB will distract the safeties. The Hitch/Dig works more as a Dig in the situation.

Against Zone, he can get open over the middle if there is a hole above your Center (Center beater) and works against Man as we mentioned earlier.

#6 – Skinny Post/Flat (Short Side)

This is the first of few combos that feature the Flat route. As we all know, the Flat route works well against Zone. The biggest downside to this route is the potential bog-down of the route itself. Sometimes the player will take forever to get up-field, sometimes he will release quickly up the field. You just never know what will happen. At least the route is pretty safe to throw to.

Another neat feature to this combo is the Skinny Post can get open over the hash marks against Zone. Depending on the coverage, you might see a hole between the CB and the LB beside him.

Also, this route can pull the CB to his direction for a split second which leaves the Flat route even more open than usual, but only for a second. All of this makes this Combo as good of a Zone Combo as any in the NCAA 06!

However, this also means that it doesn’t work well against Man at all. You would think the Skinny Post can get open against Man but I have repped it many times. The CB covering this route does a great job here and can sometimes get in front of the ball for interceptions. Throw it to the Skinny Post against Man at your own risk.

Because this combo is so weak against Man, it helps to have at least one Man beater somewhere else in the play. Thankfully there are quite a few plays that feature this. One example is Weak Twins – TE Corner. The HB on the Flare route along with the TE’s Flag route give you two decent Man beaters.

What is neat about this play is that all of your Zone beaters are on one side of the field with all the Man beaters on the other side, a nice visual and easy to remember if you ask me.

#5 – Curl/Flat (Short Side)

Ah, the classic Curl/Flat combo, a staple concept for many offenses, both past, present, and future. And guess what? It is  #5 on my list. This combo is probably the most popular of all the quick combos because of how simple it to remember what to do. The Curl beats Man, the Flat beats Zone, simple!

The reason why I only have it as my #5 favorite quick combo is due to the high risk/high reward that comes with it, especially the Curl route. You better hope your timing of the throw and the accuracy of your QB kicks in or the defense will pick this pass off. Throw it too early: interception. Throw it too late: interception. Throw it with bad accuracy: interception. I think you get the point, but if you throw it correctly, you’re guaranteed 10 yards and potentially more depending if the CB bites on the throw.

We’ve already discussed how good the Flat route is against Zone, but the Curl can get open against Zone but only if you have a Post route on the same side. Sometimes the Post will distract the CB on that side to where the Curl can get wide open. However, this doesn’t happen all the time. The timing is crucial as well so seek caution when trying to throwing to Curl in this situation. I may be cheating a bit with the Post addition as this makes the combo a three-route concept, but I didn’t want to leave it out.

Lastly, it also helps to have another Man beater somewhere else as since the Curl is always an outside WR, he might get double-teamed so having that extra Man beater always helps. Having said all of this, there are more Curl/Flat plays in NCAA 06 than any other quick combo so you have plenty to choose from.

A good example of all of the advantages to the Curl Flat is Ace Big TE WR- Curl Flat. This features the Post route I mentioned that can sometimes distract the CB to get the Curl open if you want another Zone beater. With the Out route on the left against Man and the Angle route from the HB against everything, you have quite a potent play. Below is a video I made regarding this concept.

#4 – Corner/Flat (Short Side)

 

The Corner/Flat combo has all the advantages of the Curl/Flat combo with with less weaknesses. The Corner route is simply a safer Man beater than the Curl as it can technically attack all three Man coverages. The only problem with this route is that it can be hard to make a good throw on a consistent basis. It is similar to the Flag route from Smash but at least the WR tends to shield himself from his defender and the ball better with the Corner. Plus, if the throw is good, you can gain more yards with it than the Curl due to how deep the route is.

The biggest downside to this combo is that for whatever reason, this combo only works on the left hash. For some reason, hitting the Corner route on the right hash can’t get open as well. I need to practice this more, but I have had far more success with the combo on the left hash than on the right.

This is another combo that is scattered all over the formations in 06, but one of my favorites is No Back – SE Corners. Like with most of these combos, it helps to have another Man beater somewhere in case your Corner is double-teamed or you don’t feel comfortable hitting that route. This play features a nice Crossing route that is great against Man. Otherwise, just use your Corner/Flat combo on the left to get the job done.

#3 – Deep/Swing (Short Side)

Now we are getting into my favorite quick combos in the game. If you have been keeping up with my Washington State dynasty, you know I am running a classic West Coast Offense. You also know that I use the HB Swing pass a lot and for good reasons. I simply love the Swing route. I think it is one of the best low risk/high reward routes in the game.

The Swing itself works best against Zone (especially Cover 3!), but can be lethal. Having a somewhat deep route above it that can beat Man makes this combo deadly. Going back to the Swing route, you have to wait until the HB starts running up-field, but what makes this route better than our typical Zone beaters (Hitch & Flat) is due to better yards-after-catch (YAC) potential.

The Hitch and Flat are stop routes and may get bogged down. The Swing route does not have this problem as throwing to the HB up the sideline can yield big rewards. Plus, I think this is the safest Zone beater in the game.

Hitches and Flat routes can (though rare) can, for example, get picked off by the play-side DE if he tips the throw and catches it. The reason I said “Deep” and not a specific route is because the Swing route works well with any route above it.

The Swing can work well without a route directly above too! A good example of this is Weak Twins – Slot Wheel. You can see how there isn’t really a route on the short side to distract the CB for the Swing.

The TE route sort of does this, but this play shows you that you don’t really need another route to get him open. Thankfully, the TE’s “deep” route is another good Man beater to compliment the Swing.

#2 – Fade/Out (Both)

The last two combos are very similar to each other but with one slight difference. The Fade (or Go)/Out combo is near and dear to my heart for several reasons. The biggest reason I love this combo is the simple fact that the Out route works well against Man and Zone.

This opens up several possibilities. The main one I will mention here is that you can simply put your best playmaker in the Slot and you can pretty much guarantee that he will get the ball. On the combo itself, the read is the simplest of the bunch: Throw it to the Fade against Cover 0, otherwise, throw it to the Out. Simple, simple, simple!

You can also throw it to the Go route against Cover 2 Zone, but tread lightly on that throw as it can get picked off. Also, this combo is the best stretch concept because the Go distracts the CB and Safety better than any other high route. Another big plus is that the combo is the quickest in terms of getting the ball out. Some of the combos I have mentioned take a little time to get open. The Fade Out does not have this problem. Lastly, you can also use this combo on the grass-side of the field.

The only downside to this is that it is strictly a Man beater combo. I can go on and on about this combo. Thankfully there a quite a few plays that contain this combo. One good example is Pro Twins – RB Clearout. It is possible that your Out route can get double-teamed, but this play has other Man beaters. You can’t get any simpler than the Fade/Out.

#1 – Fade/Zig Out (Both)

The gold medal goes to the Fade/Zig Out combo. As if the regular Fade/Out can’t get any better, the Zig Out (or Whip) route is a much better route than your basic 5-yard Out route. The Zig Out does a better job of getting separation from his defender than any other route in the game! Also, the timing of the route gives the Go route a chance to distract the defense longer. Also, the Zig Out is a shorter route compared to the Out route so there is less chance of a CB causing problems.

Finally, just like the Fade/Out, this combo works on the grass-side as well, but only in a Man-beating situation. I don’t need to say much else about this combo as the previous combo mentioned is so similar but needless to say, you can see how great this combo is and why I love it so much. A great example of this is Gun 5-Wide – Zig Outs. You have this combo on both sides of the play so the options can appear endless.

Having the Post route over the middle makes this play the ultimate “stretch” concept.

Opposite-Side Combos and Other Variations

I want to briefly talk about another version of the combos mentioned above. You will notice how the routes are beside each other. We can call the combos Same-Side Combos.

However, you can also you these same combos via Opposite-Side Combos. These are combos that have the low route coming from the other side of the field. A good example of this is Ace Spread – Slot Crosses. In this play, you are simply replacing the Flat route with a Shallow route to create the Corner/Flat combo.

There are plenty of other variations you can play with but I wanted to make sure you didn’t forget all of the many Opposite-Side Combos in the game. Also, you will notice that most of the combos feature two WRs, but there are plenty of other personnel combinations you can use to run these combos. The WR/TE combo with Ace Big TE WR- Curl Flat shown in the Curl/Flat section is a good example of this.

---

PA Reads

When you watch college football these days, it seems that every team runs a spread offense in some form or fashion. Whether it be the Air Raid, the Pro Style Spread, or any of the spread option variants, head coaches and their offensive coordinators are following this path for good reason.

Spread offenses put defenses in multiple binds and making them uncomfortable my making them do things they don’t like to do like having to run all over the field to cover athletes. These coaches today are cooking up new ways to light up the scoreboards.

Perhaps the biggest trend and concept being used in these spread offenses is called the “Packaged Play”. A packaged play is simply two or more concepts within one play design. Technically this concept isn’t new since any option play is really multiple concepts rolled into one. The packaged play however introduces a combination of at least one run concept and one pass concept.

The purpose of this concept is the idea that a defense simply cannot cover everything at once. Just the idea of having multiple plays within a play makes an offense look complex to a defense while being terribly simple to the offense is what this concept is all about.

The PA Read is available in every shotgun formation except for 5-wide. While every play is a little different, the same options are given to you: hand it off to the RB, throw it to any of the receivers, or just keep it yourself. I want to show you some examples of how I use this concept in some of my favorite Gun formations.

Preface

Before we break down actual plays, let me give you some things to think about regarding shotgun formations in general. Perhaps the most important thing to understand about any play from the Shotgun is that all run plays are meant to ran horizontally and off tackle.

Yes you can cut back between the tackles, especially against Zone but more often than not you will be running most of your play off-tackle. This means that how the defensive line shifts is very important. If the line shifts to the side your RB is running to then chances are your play will get blown up. If they shift to the other side then you chances of making a big gain are high.

This is no different with any PA Read play. Since your first decision is to always give it to your RB, you need to be aware of how the defensive line shifts and what to do because of it.

Now that we have that taken care of, lets break down my reads for ever PA Read play.

1. Is the defense in Man or Zone (you knew that was coming)?
2. Give the ball to the RB depending on the line shift
3. Follow your pass reads if your QB keeps the ball. Refer back to my passing series

I know this sounds very generic in terms of rules but it will make much more sense after we look at some examples.

Shotgun Normal PA Read

We will start with the PA Read from the Gun Normal Formation. I like to call this play from the left hash due to my receivers’ routes. My favorite zone route is the grass-side post by #7. It attacks any zone coverage. Both the 10-yard In route and the crossing route are great man beaters so you can already tell the routes alone make this a great play.

On this play the defense is in Zone coverage so I know my Post route will be my first route to look for. BUT, what makes the PA Read so special is the ability to run from it as well. By looking at the defensive line, notice that they did not shift.

Running the ball against either Man or Zone coverage is effective in the PA Read. As long as the defensive line doesn’t shift to the run side, I will usually hand it off to the HB. You can also use the speed button more than usual, even against Zone, which I previously suggested not to.

In this case I decide to give the ball to my HB. Notice how my LT #70 has initially made a good block against an impact DE. WR #25 should distract the OLB, thus given me some grass to work with.

I’ve got the blocking I need and all I have to do is take on the CB. This should result in a good gain.

Here I decide to keep the ball. Since they are in Zone coverage, my first read is my grass-side post WR #7. Also, don’t forget about your HB on when passing the ball. Even if you don’t hand him the ball, he is still an eligible receiver as is the case here.

On this play the defensive line shifts to my left thus making me a little nervous to give it to my HB. That impact DE can bust my play up in a hurry.

That is exactly what happened. My LT could not contain him which led to no gain on the play.

Against Man coverage, you seem to have even more possibilities. All four routes are viable here, especially if the safeties come up, leaving your Post route as the perfect weapon to hit them over the top. On this play I decide to keep the ball. Notice how my HB has some separation from his defender.

My best WR should get separation on his 10-yard In route too. Even the crossing route can get open too if my WR has enough speed to separate. A lot of options here for sure.

On this play I decided to give it to my HB. Against Man, the give to your HB can be deadly since the CBs follow your WRs thus giving you much room to work with. As long as your line does their job, you can gain some serious yardage.

With the CBs following the WRs, my HB has a ton of grass to work with.

Gun Spread PA Read

Here is another favorite PA Read of mine but from the Gun Spread formation. I like to run this play from the right hash. I have my lovely grass-side post on the left with a 5-yard In route beside it. I have my Go route on the right in case the safeties decide to come up along with a small flag route that is useless but can be hot routed to something else if need be.

Finally, you can’t forget your HB who if you keep the ball, you can throw it to him for huge gains depending on his speed and if his defender is fast enough to keep up with him, against Man of course.

On this play the defense is in Zone and there was no shifting by the DL but I decide to keep the ball anyway to see what opens up in the passing game. Here you’ll see my post route, WR #11, should get open down the middle of the field.

You will also notice my Go route (WR #7) is wide open here. If you have a great QB who can really sling it along with a WR who can catch it well, then this route can work well against Cover 2 Zone.

I decide to throw it to my Post route for a great gain. Again, it helps to have a QB with great accuracy and power to squeeze it in these tight windows.

Here is another great example of why spread coaches love the Spread Offense so much. By spreading the defense out, you force the defense to show their hand. On this play the defense is in Man but the SS decides to double team WR #7 on the right. This means either the MLB or the FS will be defending my HB. As long as my OL do their job, then it is a no-brainer to hand it off to my HB and let him do his thing.

It turns out that the FS is responsible for my HB. The FS has no chance against my HB, especially since I fire up my speed button and will run for daylight.

As expected, my HB has a ton of grass ahead of him while my WRs take their CBs to the other side of the field which led to so much room to work with.

How to Recruit for the PA Read

If you ever plan on using a Gun Spread offense of any sort, there is no reason why you shouldn’t use the PA Read as your base play. There are plenty of college teams that run these packaged plays every single down in a drive so don’t feel hesitant to do the same. These aren’t cheese plays and can be blown up in a hurry if you make the wrong reads and go up against some great athletes on defense. But these plays can win you championships if you know what you’re doing and have the right personnel to do so.

If you want to really make the PA Read your bread and butter offense, then you need the right weapons to maximize its potential. Here are my suggestions. I especially want to thank Art Briles at Baylor for this since they basically run this stuff 90% of the time and flourish with it.

QB: I believe a killer arm is a lot better than killer legs with this concept since half the play involves passing routes. Yes you can put a dual threat QB back there and just tuck it and run if no one is open, but I believe a QB with great Throw Power and Throw Accuracy should be your priority here. If you find a QB that has a great arm and is fast then congratulations, you’ve just found your future Heisman winner.

HB: Since all of your PA Reads are from the Gun formations, the running motion is geared toward you running off-tackle. I think it is best to prioritize speed here. Especially when going up against Man, you will be out running defenders more so than running through them. Against Zone, you can find holes between the tackles so don’t hesitate to tuck up in there and lay of your speed button when doing so. It is possible for big and strong HBs to work here too, just to break tackles (which is invaluable) so experiment here to see what you like best. It help if your HB can catch too since they can get open a lot with the PA Read.

FB: There are only two Gun formations that feature a FB that also have a PA Read play in them. Both feature the FB as a runner for those. If you plan on using two back sets, it is actually easier to just sub package to “Twin HB” and be done with it. Otherwise, you won’t be using these guys much at all.

Outside WR: It seems that all of your deep routes in all of the PA Read plays are on the outside so you can either put your speedsters on the outside or your huge WRs can go out there too. Speedsters can outrun some corners and big tall WRs can out jump any corner out there. I have had success with both so experiment with both to see what you like best. Great hands are a must too, for all receivers.

Inside WR: A lot of your routes from the PA Reads on the slots will be crossing and drag routes so it only makes sense to have speedsters who can catch here. You can also sub package in your great TE here too, especially in your 4-wide sets. Yes you can hot route your slots to Go routes but if you like to keep “Home Field Advantage” turned on then you want to limit your need for hot routes to begin with.

TE: There are some great routes here for TEs in these plays so it seems obvious to go after receiving TEs, especially if you sub package them in other sets.

OL: The great thing about the PA Read is that you can have a balanced offense without even trying. Because of this, I think it is best to just find the best offensive linemen possible. Both the bench press and squat are important, but I believe the X factor is their Awareness. This affects their pass blocking and such so you might as well have smart linemen to protect you.

Best Formations for the PA Read

Since I am always a believer in creating your own playbook, I want to give you, in my opinion, the best formations you can have in your playbook that feature great PA Read plays

1. Gun Ace
2. Gun Normal
3. Gun Y-Trips
4. Gun Trips Over
5. Gun Spread
6. Gun Trips
7. Gun Bunch
8. Gun Tight

Notice I only gave you eight formations. That is because some people like to leave one spot for a power formation or something else like I do since I am not a big fan of the Goal Line formation. Eight formations and Eight PA Reads are plenty enough to absolutely shred defenses with.

---

Unique “Screen” Concepts

This section covers how to use pass plays like screens to get the ball to your playmakers easily, the Andy Reid way…

The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans kicked off the 2020 NFL season last night and boy was it fun to learn a thing or two from watching it. I noticed a handful of concepts that caught my eye that can be helpful not only to those wanting to learn the game but for those who would like to use these concepts in their chosen video game.

Perhaps the biggest thing that stood out the most was Andy Reid’s creative use of screens. Reid will be the first one to tell you that he doesn’t mind using other coach’s ideas if it helps his team win so some of the concepts below are both old and new. What matters is they work and that Reid understands the idea of giving the ball to your best players however you can.

The first screen play is to tight end Travis Kelce. Reid set this play up earlier with a run using the same formation and motion from Mecole Hardman.

.@TKelce takes the screen pass inside Houston territory. #ChiefsKingdom

📺: #HOUvsKC on NBC
📱: Watch free on NFL App // Yahoo Sports App: https://t.co/JE1vatFZxv pic.twitter.com/ooIz7hbLZk

— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2020

The next play is a goal line screen for six. Good stuff.

The Chiefs motioning into Wide Bunch to run Goal Line Screen pic.twitter.com/yOSsDLbMEc

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) September 11, 2020

The Flat Screen and NCAA Football 06

I want to give special attention to the Flat Screen concept. As you see above, it is designed for the third innermost skill player to run a Flat route while the other two receivers run upfield to block for him. A backside Post-Flat combo helps if there are too many defenders on the other side.

In NCAA 06, you don’t need actual blockers for your flat route, you just need higher routes above it to distract defenders, especially against Zone coverage. Once the Flat route gets the ball, his teammates will block for him anyway.

 

The first example is Gun Trips Over – Trips Attack. From the right hash, the Flat route is a great Man and Zone beater. Against Zone, X and Z run deep routes to distract defenders leaving more room for S to do his thing. This is as close as we can get to the Flat Screen the Chiefs use but it works great.

The next example is also from the Gun Trips Over formation called Flood. The same ideas apply, S runs a Flat route while X and Z run deeper routes. This Flat route, although slightly slanted, is still great against Man and Zone.

The last example is Gun 5-Wide – Deep Outs. This time R runs a Shallow route to the left while X and S run deeper routes above. This too will give R enough space underneath to make a play against Man and Zone. You can use sub packages to get (most) your best players in this position to catch the ball and make a play.

Also, regarding the Flat route, this concept works best with a shorter Flat route. A 3-yard Flat works better than a 5-yard Flat. The biggest thing to remember is that a Flat or Shallow route needs a couple of deeper routes above it to give it room to attack. Notice how these three examples did not have actual blocking receivers, but they are not needed, at least initially. Like I said earlier, the deeper routes will attempt to block one the Flat or Shallow get the ball.

There are several more plays like this in NCAA 06 so what I jsut wrote barely scratches the surface.

---

Videos

Below are more videos covering various aspects of passing, from plays to concepts. Some of these are covered above.

---

Running

Managing the Running Game

Many of the things we have discussed with the passing game apply to the running game. Some aren’t even needed.

• Play selection and hash location doesn’t really matter with run plays.
• Identifying Man and Zone coverage is just as important.
• Knowing specific coverages isn’t as important when running.
• Matchups aren’t really necessary when running either.

However, there are some things that I need to point out that can make or break your running game. The best thing is there just isn’t as much to think about to run successfully. And from a quarterback standpoint, his job is to get things lined up correctly before the ball is snapped.

Player Movement

The biggest thing we want to focus on here is how defensive lines and linebackers will shift when running. We also want to pay attention to where their best defensive players are located, especially impact players.

Notice the impact player above. The fact that the defensive line didn’t shift in any way tells me it is probably in my best interest to run to the left.

Notice above how the defensive line shifted to the left. It is really hard to run into that shift so it’s probably in my best interest to run to the right, even if their impact player is on the right.

There are a bunch of shift combos in the game, but here are some general rules I follow when running the ball:

• I always run away from left & right defensive line shifts.
• I try to run away from impact players.
• Many run plays in the game allow you to flip the direction of the run which is a hot route which you will need to use a lot.
  • Press Triangle/Y to bring up the hot-route option, then press left or right on the D-pad to run left or right.
• You don’t have to use it, but motion can be quite useful.
  • Motion a player away from the side you will run to against Man as he will bring his defender with him allowing more field to work with, one less defender to worry about.
  • Motion a player towards the run side against Zone to have an extra blocker.
• Don’t abuse the speed button. In fact, try not to use it unless there are no defenders in front of you. Your runner has better movement and agility too when not using the speed button.

There really isn’t much else about the running game that involves the QB at this point. Yes, QB’s are important in option plays, but that is play and concept specific.

Using Numbers and Leverage

Here is a video that covers how to use number and leverage to your advantage which is so important when running the ball.

Run Play Example

Below is a good example of the various things we’ve discussed, from recognizing Man or Zone all the way to using motion to our advantage. Jump to the 13:57 mark if the video doesn’t do it for you.

In-Game Tutorials

Below are tutorial videos made by EA Sports that are in the game that covers basic offensive and option controls, both vital in the running game.

---

Bad Run Concepts

While I firmly believe that NCAA Football 06 is the best of the entire series, the game is no different than any other football game in the fact that you will find broken plays. All video games are flawed in one way or another and when dealing with football simulation, broken plays are usually the easiest so called “glitches” to spot. And believe it or not, there are a handful of concepts in 06 that simply do not work.

But that’s ok though. Thankfully there are more than enough run concepts in this game that you forget about the bad ones pretty easily. Over time, I will break down particular run concepts that I love in greater detail.

I want to bring your attention the run plays that for almost 10 years, no matter how hard I try, I can’t use successfully for one reason or another. After reading this, you will be able to shuffle through your formations pretty quickly and pass over the ones on this list that will be of little use to you.

Shotgun HB Draws

None of the draw plays from the shotgun sets work well enough for you to fool with. It takes too long for your HB to get the ball from your QB and by the time he gets the ball, all of the defensive linemen and the LBs are ready to pounce on you like shown above. Another issue with the draw okay is that while your QB has the ball, all of your passing icons are shown, including the HB icon. His icon gets in the way of seeing possibly which hole to go through.

Toss Plays

Simply put, your OLine’s blocking assignments are terrible on all toss concepts. The biggest reason for this is that linemen are too slow and they never go up field to block anybody. Thankfully, in a future post, I will explain my version of the HB Toss and how effective and realistic it is to use.

Counter Plays

Again, your OLine doesn’t block correctly. In a normal counter play, one of your guards pulls and block for you. There is a problem with this though. Notice on this counter play my QB has already turned towards the HB, but look at my left guard. He is still in a 3-point stance. He should have already been running past the center by now “pulling” for my HB.

I will say this about the counter: you can have some (I said some) success with the Counter play if you have a fullback in the game. There are no guarantees with it though. You are still at the mercy of your linemen doing their job correctly.

HB Reads

Don’t confuse this with the PA Read from the Gun. This is an under-center play. Look at how your OLine is blocking on an angle, almost like zone blocking. Stay away from these plays as your line will let most, if not all, defenders pass through like shown above.

---

Videos

Below are more videos covering various aspects of running from plays to concepts. Some of these are covered above.

---

Recruiting

Strategies

Below are videos from my dynasty guide where I break down various recruiting strategies on offense.