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Originally Posted by SwaggerCoach |
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GREAT post. Seriously. One of the better offensive strategy/play progression reads posts I've seen here. Thanks for posting this!
Quick question: let's look at the defense against the concept you suggested (TE seam, WR under route). How in the world would you go about stopping it? Or can you?
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If you have the personnel, yes it is stoppable. It is effective against zone, but as a route concept it is meaningless against man. The TE may still get open, but the underneath route will have no influence on him.
It is less effective against certain zone coverages though. It will eat up a cover 2 all day. It can also be completed vs a cover 3, as a matter of fact there is a option route that tells the TE to run the seam vs cover 3, but divide vs cover 2. BUT, the QB needs to throw it sooner and in my experience, the QB better hope the SS is covering the flat. If he has the middle hook zone it becomes a more risky pass. You can also bump the WR who is expected to run the underneath zone. What you would try to do is disrupt the timing of his route so that by the time he enters the LB's area of responsibility the LB is too far upfield with the TE. It does not completely stop it because the underneath will still be open, but it is better than the seam.
It is always helpful to remember what is meant by stopping a play. It is not always to force an incompletion. There is a reason NFL QBs have completion % where they are. If you forced him to take the underneath route then most of the time that counts as stopping the play. It is the bend but don't break defense. The offense will have to complete many more such passes before being able to score. Many gamers lack the patience for a 10+ play drive and will eventually force something. (of course a related topic would be whether or not aggressive catch is OP -- forcing things downfield may not be as risky as it should be)
For those that run the TE seam a common mistake I see is that they think it is a play designed for a deep shot down the field. This is wrong, you don't wait until the TE gets 20 yards downfield. It is actually a quick pass. You should look to gain 10-16 yards.
Finally if your opponent has an elite TE all I can say is good luck. Cover 1 robber will stop the seam consistently, but it leaves you wide open for the dreaded corner route. One of the hardest things to defend is a guy who has someone like Gronk or Graham and mixes seams, corners, and posts.