The Perfect Pass
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THE A merican Genius PERFECT And The PASS R einvention Of Football S. C. GWYNNE 1984 School Passes/Game Rushes/Game Yards Passing/Game Oklahoma 16 60 108 Nebraska 13 58 107 Alabama 25 47 143 Florida 19 49 154 Notre Dame 23 43 174 USC 24 51 154 LONESOME POLECAT FORMATION LE LT LG RG RT RE C LH FB RH QB The Lonesome Polecat formation, with its wild innovations, became the vehicle for Tiger Ellison’s “escape from reality.” 2. STANDARD PRO-SET FORMATION LE LT LG C RG RT TE QB FL LH FB This standard pro-set—i.e., a normal-looking offensive formation—shows how weird, by contrast, the Lonesome Polecat was. DEAD POLECAT PLAY LE LT LG RG RT RE C LH FB RH QB In the Dead Polecat play, receivers ran routes that forced the defense to cover every part of the field. 3. DEAD POLECAT WITH ROUTE OPTIONS LE LT LG RG RT RE C LH FB RH QB The most lethal thing about the Dead Polecat was that each receiver had as many as five options. RUN-AND-SHOOT FORMATION LE LT LG C RG RT RE QB SR SR FB Operating out of the run-and-shoot formation—two wide receivers, two slot receivers, and no tight ends—the Middletown High Knights destroyed their opposition. 4. TIGER ELLISON’S RIGHT TRIANGLES Hypotenuse Hypotenuse 90° 90° LE LT LG C RG RT RE SR QB SR FB Tiger Ellison saw the field in geometric terms, where the elemental laws of triangles gave his receivers an advantage. STUDENT BODY RIGHT LE LT LG RG RT TE QB FL FB TB pitchout Hal turned USC’s sweep right, also known as Student Body Right, into an innovative passing concept. 5. HAL’S QUICK SCREEN FS SS W M S C C E T T E X Y QB H Z F In Hal’s hands, the quick screen—which, distance-wise, was really a medium-long pass—became a devastating horizontal stretch of the field. MESH: THE BASIC PLAY FS SS W M S C C E T T E X Y QB Z H F The routes of five receivers. X and Z are wideouts on the left and right, Y is the tight end position, H is in the slot on the left, and F is in the backfield. 6. COVER 2 ZONE FS SS LB C LB LB C X Y H QB Z F The Cover 2 zone defense that Iowa Wesleyan usually faced. The rectangles represent pass coverage responsibilities of individual players. COVER 2 MAN FS SS C W M S C X Y QB H Z F Cover 2 man combines zone and man-to-man coverage. The figure eights represent pairings of receivers and defenders. Note that M (middle linebacker) covers F (the fullback) out of the backfield and that the two safeties, FS and SS, are free to play conventional zone defense. 7. MESH’S FIVE-READ PROGRESSION 3 3 1 X Y 4 QB Z H 2 F The quarterback’s first read is always downfield: Z on the right runs a corner route but can also run a post or break it off. The third read— simultaneously X and Y—is the key to the play. 1991 PASSING STATISTICS Type NCAA D-I Leaders Dewald Attempts David Klingler (Houston) – 497 665 Completions David Klingler – 278 400 Atts. per game David Klingler – 45 60 Percent complete Matt Rodgers (Iowa) – 65.4% 66.2% Touchdowns Troy Kopp (Pacific U.) – 37 45 Yards passing Ty Detmer (BYU) – 4,031 4,102 Player Team/Org Year Completion % Robbie Bosco BYU 1984 61.8 Dan Marino Miami Dolphins 1984 64.2 Willie Totten Miss. Valley St. 1985 60.4 Andre Ware Univ. of Houston 1989 63.1 Ty Detmer BYU 1990 64.2 8. Receiver Catches Calvin Walker 82 Steven Greer 70 Robert Williams 47 Sean Pender 32 Stanley Flanders 31 Dominique Ross 24 Y-CROSS (a) (b) (Post) (c) 1 2 4 X 3 Z Y H 5 QB F Former BYU head coach LaVell Edwards’s favorite play, which also could have come from Tiger Ellison’s playbook, in which four of five receivers are given the freedom to adjust their routes as they go. 9. 95 H OPTION (a) (b) (Post) (c) 2 1 3 4 X Z Y H 5 QB F In this variation on Y-Cross, H becomes the quarterback’s first read. H is also given great freedom to find open grass within a few yards of the line of scrimmage based on the behavior of the defensive backs. PRE-ERICKSON DEEP THROW X receiver angles toward sideline to create separation from the cornerback CB X QB This shows the way Hal’s receivers ran deep routes before his meeting with University of Miami head coach Dennis Erickson in the spring of 1991. Note that, as the receiver, X, tries to get separation from the cornerback, CB, he actually allows CB to achieve an angle on him and place himself in the line of the throw. 10. POST-ERICKSON DEEP THROW X receiver steps in front of the cornerback, thus “stacking” him CB X QB How “stacking” the receiver works. By stepping in front of the cornerback, CB, X opens a clear passing lane with his own clear angle to the quarterback. VSU 50 6 Fort Valley State VSU 63 6 Clark Atlanta VSU 63 0 Livingston* VSU 38 7 New Haven VSU 49 33 West Georgia VSU 24 7 Mississippi College VSU 57 10 Delta State 11. Name Catches Yards Touchdowns 1. Robert Williams 86 1,167 21 2. Steven Greer 81 829 7 3. Stanley Flanders 70 1,083 20 4. Dominique Ross 64 492 3 Pioneer Disciples Who Became Head Coaches Don Coryell Joe Gibbs (Redskins), Norv Turner (Redskins, Raiders, and Chargers), Mike Martz (Rams), and John Madden (Raiders) Bill Walsh George Seifert (49ers, Panthers), Mike Holmgren (Packers, Seahawks), Sam Wyche (Bengals, Buccaneers), Jim Fassel (Giants), and Dennis Green (Vikings, Cardinals, Stanford University) LaVell Edwards Mike Holmgren (Packers, Seahawks), Ted Tollner (USC), and Norm Chow (University of Hawaii, offensive coordinator at USC, Titans, and UCLA*) Dennis Erickson Mike Price (Washington State, Alabama, UTEP), Scott Linehan (Rams), and Joe Tiller (Wyoming, Purdue) 12..