Comments on: Houston and the “stick” passing concept

By: Mr.Murder

Mr.Murder — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:58:00 +0000

*seam route(/usage)

By: Mr.Murder

Mr.Murder — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:55:18 +0000

Have seen Y stick listed in two ways, the first where you settle after stemming a slant route release. It gives you a better view of coverage rotation and allows you stay distant from inside/out coverage.

The other is a quick out to five or six yards depth, where you “stick your foot in the ground, plant it to drive off” the route. It is basically reading a quick out, to settle or take it upfield along the seams vs. aggressive rotation or a safety playing the line hard on run situations. You have to settle on what you see before making the first cut, or drive upfield seeing people drive on your route.

Preference is to use the slant/settle look from outside in, since that target can always run away from the corner. That compliments being a rub on the route for a back on a swing route to the flat.

The Gruden variety stick route is designed to attack a linebacker or underneath player that jumps initial moves quickly. It should work well on blitz rotations or impatient zone defenders, in addition to defensive backs that come down hard in run support mentioned. Diagnosing you stick route is a bit harder on a straight stem, the extra step in six yards probably helps that.

Zone under with really loose safeties, likely to help on outside speed, the stick might work that seem greatly. It seems to one of Gruden’s main routes to use in the red zone and against “pattern reading defenses”(cover 8 or 9, those being the most prevalent in football when he was coaching, using two safeties and zone or man under by five underneath).

There was another reference made in that playbook that matched what I thought as well, it was tagging certain protection calls against certain popular tactics by adding extra spacing to double read blocker duties. The next time you discuss the zone blitz we’ll detail it closely.

By: Coach Tuna

Coach Tuna — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:36:25 +0000

Oregon ran this play tonight out of trips right. The number 1 receiver ran the stick route as QB roles out to right.

By: Co-ach

Co-ach — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:41:10 +0000

I mean I know the quick corner is different than an out, but the pattern is essentially the same. #1 is on the vertical, #2 is in the deep flats, and the FB in the flats.

By: Co-ach

Co-ach — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:36:43 +0000

Isn’t the corner route adjustment basically just “sail”?

By: ko49

ko49 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:24:21 +0000

WK,

Speaking of waiting on the throw, our QB often waited too long on that corner route I mentioned. The result was the slot would end up 15-18 yds downfield and get covered up by the safety or the corner peeling off of the #1 receiver’s vert route. He got lit up pretty good once and let our QB know how he felt about it. We hit him at 12 yds every time after that.

Thanks for the heads-up on the angle route. We’re predominantly a spread team but we do use a heavy group with 2 TE’s in short yardage. Sounds like something we might want to try with that personnel.

By: WK

WK — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:25:44 +0000

I like that Corner tag KO49. We’ll have to take a look at it next year. We’ve used an Angle tag occasionally when we run to a trips TE/Tight wing alignment. The wing who usually runs to the Flat will take four steps to the flat and then work back underneath to replace the MLB if he is overplaying the TE. I had a QB who didn’t like waiting on the throw but most love it.

By: Snibb

Snibb — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:38:09 +0000

ko49…great tag to this route..nice idea

By: Shaz

Shaz — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:47:35 +0000

Love this play. Nothing better than taking what the defense gives you. The trick is staying patient enough to keep taking it even when you want more.

By: ko49

ko49 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:47:14 +0000

I love the route as well. Like WK, we run it from a variety of two and three-man looks. Once we’ve run it a few times we’ll call “Stick-Corner” and send the slot receiver on a corner route while the outside receiver runs his vertical and #3 runs the swing/flat. This is a nice variation because the deep defender runs off with #1 and the OLB/alley player sits inside anticipating the slot running the Stick. At 6 yds, rather than hooking up, he plants and runs to the corner. The QB releases the ball just as the slot comes out of his break and hits him at about 12 yds. He usually has room to run after the catch, so if you have an athletic kid in the slot it’s a nice way to get some YAC.