Ok back for another pat on the back for the players executing a play to near perfection.  My last entry about the double move showed one way how speed and execution with that speed can kill.  This one is more of the same about speed and space that Coach Gattis has been trying to implement in the passing game.  This is play is straight out of the book "How to beat blitz man coverage" or "How OSU Schooled Don Brown for 5 years.

 

This play is a simple crossing pattern/rub route play.  It can work against man and zone coverage equally as well.  However in this session I will only talk about how to execute vs man coverage.

Everybody saw it, and loved it but why was it successful?  Several reasons for this play not just being a pitch and catch and possible first down on a second and ten, late in a game.  First reason is PSU is in single high - man coverage as you can see pre snap at the top of the screen where there are 3'sDB's lined up right on top of the 3 Michigan receivers.  From top to bottom it is Johnson, Wilson, Sainristil.  Erick All is lined up tight to the short side of the field next to Ryan Hayes.

Also if you look you see a 5 PSU defenders lined up over Hayes and All on the short side.  This is one of the tells for some sort of extra pass rusher coming.

So here is what I saw as the play Coach Gattis called vs the defensive play that PSU called. PSU is sending 5 and has a spy on Haskins in case he slides out to the flat.



Here is what happens post snap The DB who is lined up and expected to cover All was 6 yards off the LOS and so Erick gets a free release and starts across under the normal LB position which is empty due to the blitz and the spy.  At the same time all 3 WR on the top of the formation start some sort  inside leverage and a crossing route, and if you look closely Wilson is in a trail position of  Sainristil while Johnson is pushing farther up field before starting across.

Here is the real time look

So from there watch what happens to the first layer of DB's all of whom are trailing their man.

First Sainristil and All's men fail to communicate and take each other out of the play.   This leaves Cade with 2 easy completion opportunities.  However the defense takes one of them away by where they are blitzing from, yet at the same time it opens up a passing lane that a 13 yr old could have made a good pass from.  Cade has clear vision, Erick is just clearing past the linemen to the open space and all db's are either bouncing off of each other or moving in the opposite direction of the primary receiver.

 

At this point Erick has to catch the ball which he has been doing much better this year than previously, and turn up field and head for the endzone.

So it becomes a foot race between All and the single safety and he won it.  Even if he had not scored it would have been first and goal inside the one and PSU on the ropes even more.  

 

Here is the whole play https://youtu.be/RV-evt0qi0s, and you can see where our defense and response will be 100% different this year against OSU.   

 

Enjoy.