BYU Passing Game

Lavell Edwards Head Coach BYU

Introduction
Over the years, young coaches who want to get their teams to throw the football have written to me to ask about the best way to get started. My professional advice never includes my personal secret - knowing the single wing.In 1961 BYU appointed Hal Mitchel as the head football coach. Mitchell wanted to bring the single wing attack back into college football. I think Princeton was the only Division I school running it at the time. After Hal's first year a coach left the staff and Hal began looking for a replacement. Because I was the only Mormon in the country coaching the single wing I was offered the job! The single wing experiment didn't work out so well so Hal left after two years and BYU hired Tommy Hudspeth. Tommy came with a new approach and enthusiasm. Fortunately for me he kept me on his staff and in the second year we won the first conference championship in school history. We were only 6-4 but we won the right games primarily by throwing the football with some success with a guy named Virgil Carter. (Edit Note: In a historical semi-coincidence the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL drafted Virgil Carter of BYU. Cincinnati QB Coach and Offensive Coordinator Bill Walsh worked with him while developing his initial version of the West Coach Offense in the early 1970's). After Virgil graduated from BYU we got away from passing the ball again. After the 1971 season Tommy left the program and I was appointed head football coach. How or why I got the job is still one of the great mysteries of the profession. In 18 years of coaching (8 in high school and 10 at BYU) at the time I had been associated with only 4 winning seasons. In 47 years of football BYU had averaged a little over 3 victories per year and had won one conference championship, and had never been invited to a bowl game. In a situation like that you have to think outside of the box a little bit and be more creative than usual. My concern was not really if I would be fired but simply when. That had been the pattern for many years. I figured that because I probably wasn't going to make it anyway I might as well try something radically different. I decided to throw the football not just the normal 10-15 times per game as was the average back then but instead 35-40 times per game on any down from our end zone to the opponent's end zone. The only success we had ever had at BYU was when Virgil Carter was our quarterback. In addition Stanford had just won back to back Rose Bowls with Jim Plunkett and Don Bunce throwing the football. Ironically in that first season we had a running back Pete Van Valkenburg who led the nation in rushing. Picked to finish last in the conference we tied for second place. The second year we started our passing game with a quarterback named Gary Sheide and had our only losing season with this new attack. In light of the success we have had since then it would have been easy to abandon the pass and stay conventional. The third year for example we started out 0-3-1. We then won seven straight games and never looked back. That year we won the conference championship and played in the Fiesta Bowl the first bowl game in school history.

Philosophy
The BYU pass offense is based upon a timing system. We design the quarterback drops, route depths, and protection schemes so that the quarterback can throw the ball in a specific timed sequence. If the defense and coverage will not allow us to execute our rhythm or timing then we convert our attack with route adjustments. We want to throw the football up the field by attacking the vertical seams created by coverage and the

horizontal seams created by using our flare-flood control passing concepts. By doing these things we can still be a ball control offense and take advantage of what the defense is giving us. Big plays come from misalignments or mismatches that we are able to create with formations, personnel groups, and motions. Big plays also occur with the receiver's ability to run with the ball after the catch. We have five basic tenants in our passing game philosophy, First we must protect the quarterback. Second we want to play ball control football, primarily with the forward pass. Third it is important to incorporate an effective running game of some sort with the passing attack. Fourth we will take what the defense gives us. Fifth, we as coaches must constantly KISS the offense (Keep It Simple Stupid!) #1 Protect the QB The success of any offense primarily depends on effective performance by the offensive line. Each individual on the line has a single task to perform, and the collective performance of the players directly affects the success of the offense. The BYU passing attack starts with pass protection. The quarterback must have adequate time to read the defensive coverage, locate the appropriate receiver and deliver the ball. The receiver must have the time to run his pass route at the proper depth, make his proper break, and then receive the pass. To accomplish this the offensive line (and backs and tight ends when necessary) must provide sufficient pass protection. Many talk about cup protection meaning that you block defensive people on the line of scrimmage in a cup formation to give the QB enough room to throw. We talk in slightly different terms. For many years Roger French has taught our linemen what he calls mug protection. The word "mug" emphasizes staying square to the line of scrimmage. Our center and guards are responsible for locking up their blocks so that the QB has enough room to step up in the pocket if necessary. We ask our linemen to get three foot splits if lengthening the distance that an outside rusher has to run to get to the QB. Although we ask our tackles to be patient and let the defense come to them we still emphasize keeping the shoulders and hips square to the line of scrimmage. What you wind up with is a pocket shaped more like a mug than a cup. If our tackles get their hips and shoulders turned the pocket will close like a cup usually meaning that the QB has less time to throw the ball and less time to maneuver in the pocket. Without spending too much time on individual blocking technique we have four "nevers" that we teach offensive lineman. First we never go too far forward. If you go too far forward you are going to lose the battle in pass protection. We fire slightly forward on our three step game and play action passes but we never want to go forward on our five and seven step passes. Most of the time a lineman who lunges forward ends up in a footrace back to the QB. Second never cross your feet. This is a big one. It is impossible to stay square to the line of scrimmage with crossed feet. Third never drop your head. Once you drop your head people get behind you. Fourth never be beaten inside. By not giving up the inside we force the defender to take the long way to the QB. If we can use good splits and protect the inside we force the defender to take an even longer path to the quarterback. Ideally the simplest way to protect the quarterback is to make each offensive player responsible for a defensive player. Then you know exactly which player is responsible if a breakdown occurs. This approach is possible versus and odd front but against even fronts it is also necessary to zone block. If the defense rushes six defenders we will rush six. If the defense rushes seven defenders we will block seven. We devote a lot of time in practice to identifying blitz pick up assignments and individual pass protection techniques needed to carry out the blocks. Defenses might be better than we are athletically but we will always try to protect the quarterback schematically. If we decide to use a hot route we use a hot route that incorporates the unblocked defender. Whoever that unblocked defender is we simply include his name in the play call so that everyone knows off whom we are hot reading. #2 Control the Ball With The Forward Pass

Much of our success over the years has come about because we ask out quarterbacks to complete simple throws. Even though we throw the ball often simple passes allow us to control the clock and be as aware of time of possession as anyone. #3 Incorporate The Run Game We always strive to have an effective running game. It is difficult to win if you can not run and throw effectively. We want to employ play action passes that look just like our run plays. Later in this chapter I will talk about the path that our halfback takes in our H option route which he should disguise to look exactly like the path he takes as he goes to block the whip in our draw trap play. #4 Take What The Defense Gives Us The idea to take what the defense allows seems to have become a cliche in football but it remains true none the less. A defense can rarely cover the entire field. But the sophistication of defenses today makes it difficult for us to determine exactly what blitzes or coverages they are running over the course of a game. What we try to do is take a portion of the football field the weak flat area for example and attack that area until we figure out what the defense is trying to do. Once we figure out the intentions of the defense we attack the coverage we see. #5 KISS The Offense Our coaches have always agreed that you have to KISS the offense. Keep It Simple Stupid. Although this may be another cliche it is essential to our success. We have only about 10 passing plays and five running plays which we run from multiple formations, personnel groups, and motions. The result is an attack we make look more complex than it actually is. One of the biggest mistakes we make as football coaches is trying to do too much. It is always interesting to see how much time we spend practicing new plays, how few times we use them, and how we come back to the basic plays that we have run for years.

Oblique Stretches
Everyone in football understands the concepts of horizontal stretch routes and vertical stretch routes. At BYU we have tried to develop oblique stretches or "triangles". This is a basic strong side pattern for us (Figure 1). The Z receiver or flanker executes a streak route and must release outside the cornerback to prevent him from being able to take away the tight end's route. The tight end runs a 15 yard sail route. We try to get the tight end in the imaginary spot behind the underneath coverage where the three deep zones meet. Versus man to man coverage the tight end will square out at 15 yards putting a good man to man move on the defender covering him. The X receiver or split end will run a post route on the back side trying to occupy the free safety. The play side back checks his protection responsibility and then runs an arrow route to the strong side flat area.

The quarterback's progression is deep to short. Versus Cover 3 we will peek at Z as #1 in terms of progression. The X on the backside post and the tight end on the sail side route are simultaneously #2, and the fullback in the flat is #3. All we have done is create triangles depending upon how the defense plays us. If the free safety comes down to take away the sail we might take a shot at the post. In a true Cover 3 case the post route should occupy the middle defender or free safety and we progress from the tight end to the flat. If the strong safety hangs to take away the sail we should have a high percentage throw to the flat. Versus man to man coverage the possibility of taking a shot at the Z on the streak increases. If not it becomes important that the tight end execute good man route. Another possibility versus man coverage using the same pattern is to call the fullback on an option route (Figure 2). The option route changes the halfback route to an arrow to create more room for the fullback to work. If the strong side linebacker rushes the fullback is hot and turns out right away. If the strong side linebacker rushes the fullback is hot and turns out right away. If the strong side linebacker plays the fullback man to man the fullback sets him up in one direction and gets open by breaking the opposite way.

Here is another idea based upon the same basic pass pattern. If the defense is rolling the coverage zone over to the strong side and taking away the sail route we call the same play from a one back doubles formation and end it with the word Wanda (Figure 3) which we use to designate the weak side linebacker as the defender we can not block. If Wanda rushes we become hot. The QB's progression then changes from deep to short. The hot route is #1, the tight end is #2, and the Z is #3. If Wanda does not rush we have created the same triangles as before but we now have our X receiver in the spot that the strong side linebacker vacates if he goes to take away the sail route.

Using Running Backs in the Passing Game

Running backs play two key roles in our passing game. One is pass protection. As I mentioned earlier we spend a lot of time making sure that our running backs are prepared to fill their hole in the protection scheme whether they are blocking blitzers or hot releases or executing a screen. We have to block the blitz or attack the blitz. The second rule running backs play in our passing attack is that of receiver. Running backs are critical in creating the stretches necessary to beat zone coverage whether it is a horizontal stretch route, vertical stretch route, or an oblique stretch route in which we are trying to stretch a zone at an angle. We also like to get our running backs involved versus man coverage because we can often match up a good athlete against a linebacker. Because most QB's like to throw deep or always think the deep guy is open we have added terms to our basic plays that help remind the QB to read from short to deep at times. This approach gets our backs and TE's more involved in the game. On the FB option route mentioned previously the QB's reads go in reverse. The fullback's option route is #1, the sail route by the TE is #2, and the Z on the streak is #3. If the blitz comes from the strong side the fullback turns out and the QB throws it hot immediately. We want the QB's focus to be on throwing a short high percentage pass in this situation. If our fullback can break a tackle or shake a tackler we have a chance to make a big play with a short high percentage throw. Using the same pass pattern we use the F angle to create another wrinkle (Figure 4). As the fullback executes his arrow route to the flat, he plants his foot in the ground and returns into the hole where the strong side linebacker was. This can be an effective play if the SLB is getting back to take away the intermediate throw to the tight end. The angle is also good against man coverage because is creates a difficult match up for a linebacker.

We also add terms that do not change the QB's progression but still emphasize in his mind that the running backs might offer an easy completion. For example we can put the fullback on a delay route (Figure 5). The QB still goes through his normal reads from deep to short. The term delay, however remind him that if the strong side linebacker drops to take away the sail route, he should dump the ball to the fullback running the delay route.

We also attack the weak side of the field using the same oblique stretch or triangle concept (Figure 6). This now puts X on the streak route with an outside release. The TE pushes upfield and executes a crossing route the ends up in the weakside sail hole. The TE must get over the middle linebacker as he crosses the field. The halfback executes an arrow route stretching the weak flat. The Z now executes the backside post to hold up the free safety from taking away the TE. The QB still reads deep to intermediate to short just as before.

Halfback Option
From the weak side stretch we add a halfback option (Figure 7). This play is one of the best ways for us to get the ball to a good receiver who can run after the catch. First it is important to evaluate personnel and pick a halfback who can execute the option route versus man to man coverage. He must be able to separate at the move point. Although coaching this route is essential we have found that some players have a feel for it and others do not. A guy who doesn't have a knack for it will have difficulty running it correctly. When we add the term HB option the QB's read changes from short to deep. The option route becomes #1, the intermediate route by the TE is #2, and the streak by X is #3.

The first element in teaching the HB option route is alignment. We can run this route only from split backs. Therefore, the halfback can line up no tighter than the inside leg of the tackle. The release should be an arc that gains a little bit of width. We train our halfbacks to make this look exactly like the path we take to block the weak outside linebacker in our draw trap. We want to make it look the exact same so that he can not recognize the difference. We also run a play action pass in which we fake the draw trap and run X on a 14 yard curl route. The halfback takes the same path that he would on an option route or draw trap and then executes an arrow route. If the linebacker blitzes as the halfback releases the halfback is hot and should execute a swing route. The proper technique is to plant the foot in the ground and push hard for width. We emphasize getting width for two reasons. First we want to get away from the zone blitz. If a defensive end peels or a defensive tackle drops out we want to push hard to the sideline and separate. Second we need to get rid of the ball quickly so that the free safety can not disguise a blitz by staying high. Precision is required for the quarterback to get the ball quickly to the halfback at the correct width. If we get the bailout to the halfback before the free safety or dropping lineman can get there we expect to make a tackle miss and possibly make a big play. We could also turn our protection against the blitz to avoid having the halfback become hot. But then we have to peek at the other side for new blitzers and hot people. If the halfback releases and reads zone coverage his route becomes almost like those of playground football. We teach out halfback to get to the hole in the zone with his feet. If the corner drops deep and the weak side linebacker drops wide the hole will be in between the weak side and middle linebackers. As we get to the proper hole, the halfback should plant his foot and get his shoulders and hips turned around immediately. The QB should throw the ball as the halfback plants his foot so that the defense is unable to squeeze us. If the defense does squeeze the option route we have the TE coming over the top and the QB will throw behind the defenders who are squeezing.

The most common mistake made on this route is that the halfback sometimes wants to fishhook or bend as he turns to receive the ball. He must stick a plant foot in the ground, snap his head around, and turn directly back to the QB as the ball arrives. If the halfback sees Cover 2 or a roll weak look with the weak corner in the flat and the linebacker dropping straight back, he should attack the hole where the linebacker vacated. It not becomes even more important not to fishhook. We also teach our halfbacks to crouch and become small after the catch so that they are harder to tackle. Finally if the halfback sees man coverage he pushes upfield six yards makes a move and works inside or outside to get open. The most difficult part for young players to learn is patience. Most young players hurry too much. We teach our option runners to get to the move point, shake, put on a definite move, and push to separate out of the break. We practice this route every day with our QB's in a drill that helps them recognize what the back is going to do before he makes his break. The right halfback executing this route properly can be a real equalizer. The players gain a lot of confidence when they fet a feel for it. Our halfbacks love the chance to be one one one versus a linebacker and have some grass to work with.

Mesh Pattern
Another example of a basic pattern that can easily be adapted with formations and motion into numerous variations is our mesh play. Some people refer to the mesh as the pick or cross routes (Figure 8).

This play is good for several reasons. First the pattern works against almost any coverage. The quarterback should be able to find a high percentage completion. Second this is an excellent red zone pattern because it is low risk and excellent against man coverages which the defense is likely to use inside the 20 yard line. Third, we can run this pattern effectively from multiple formations and motions using variations on the route of the receiver not involved in the mesh play (Figure 9)

One more variation with two receivers left.

The most important coaching point of this type of play is the mesh itself. The tight end is responsible for obtaining a depth of six to seven yards and the X or split end is responsible for the mesh. If the TE gets knocked around a bit and crosses at only five yards, the X should be rubbing shoulders with him at seven. Essential to the mesh is that both players move horizontally at the mesh point. The TE should push upfield put his foot in the ground and come flat at six to seven yards deep. The X should cut down his split and locate the TE at the snap. The X can and probably will release at an angle aiming for the mesh point. Once he locates the TE, X should stair climb his defender and break flat so that he can move horizontally through the mesh point. Versus man coverage the X must mesh tightly with the TE forcing his defender to climb over the top to catch up. The quarterback's progression is from deep to short. It starts with a pre-snap look at how the safeties are playing. If the single safety or safety nearest the Z is cheating up the QB can take a shot at the post route. This possibility is particularly common in the red zone as safeties crowd up. The receiver should run the post route on the defender's toes, and the post may look like a slant route inside the 10 yard line. We might also call the Z on a corner route inside the red zone. If the post does not look good the QB's eyes should come right to the mesh. The X is most likely to come open because the TE is setting the pick. Against zone coverages both receivers involved in the mesh should sit in the hole past the mesh point. The QB throws the arrow route in the flat. The backs check their protection responsibilities but get moving once they know they can release. The horizontal stretch by the backs is what creates space for the mesh to be effective.

Conclusion
This chapter represents some of the ideas that have worked for us here at BYU for the past 29 years. I believe that it is important to base your philosophy on your personality. Woody Hayes for example once said that it is all right to try to emulate traits and concepts of others, but it does not work to try to imitate them. To pass the

ball successfully, you should develop a philosophy and stick with it. Perhaps the most important characteristic you can have as a coach is to be consistent. Consistency develops honesty which in turn develops trust. Without these things execution will be inconsistent at best. In the BYU passing offense we can not win with an inconsistent performer regardless of how well he throws the ball. But we can win with a player who has an average throwing arm if he is consistent and runs the offense. Lavell Edwards Head Coach Bringham Young University