QB Reads vs. Progressions: What’s the Difference?

First article!  Thanks for giving me a look!

We’re going to start by examining two plays from the 2014 season to differentiate between “progression” reads and “coverage” reads.

Before going any further you should read this outstanding article by Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com explaining the key differences, as well as strengths and weaknesses, of progression and coverage reads. He does a great job of explaining the concepts. Keep in mind that progression reads are often associated with “pro” style offenses and coverage reads are often generally associated with “college” offenses such as the Spread/Airraid.

If you don’t want to read the article (really you SHOULD read it; Chris does phenomenal film work) I’ll quickly rehash what is said.  Progression reads are sequential (1st option, 2nd option, 3rd option……) while coverage reads generally focus on the action of a single defender (the action of a Cover 2 squat corner determines where the ball goes when running the popular “Smash” concept).

Progression reads generally require more intensive verbiage and emphasis on the timing of the routes with the QB’s drop. In addition progression reads generally have MANY more site adjustments then coverage reads.

Progression reads do not often utilize “mirrored” route concepts, or two-man route concepts to both sides of the field (slant/flat for example). When you hear about “half-field reads”, the offense is generally running a mirrored concept to each side of the field. Pre-snap the QB will choose which side of the field to target based on a variety of factors including coverage shell, defender’s leverage and depth, spacing (field/boundary), personnel match-ups, etc.

Often times the coaches box will determine where the ball is going after scanning the defense at the LOS. This is one of the primary reasons many offenses “hurry” to the LOS. The offensive coaches want to scan the defense, looking for play opportunities based on coverage, alignment, depth, and match-ups.

A Progression Read….

Y-Cross

-This is the popular Y-Cross (Ironically an Airraid staple) that you will see every Sunday. Although the play we will look at has the cross coming from the X WR, the principles of the play concept (a flood) remain. Focus on the X, H, and Y receiver’s routes. Conceptually this play is very similar to another Airraid staple, the Y-Sail.

-First notice the QB’s progression. Next look at the built in hot routes and route options depending on man or zone coverage for the 3 receivers in the combo. Each WR has multiple options on the play depending on how the D attacks the O. Man vs zone coverage, MOFO vs. MOFC, and blitzes all lead to route adjustments. The QB and WR’s MUST be on the same page for the play to work correctly, as the routes could look very different play-to-play based on the D’s play call.

-It goes without saying that the QB MUST be on his P’s and Q’s to run an offense with site adjustments. A conceptual understanding of the play and film work will only take a QB so far; he must process a large amount of information rapidly to make consistently correct decisions.

-It’s vital for the WR’s and QB to make identical reads, otherwise bad things WILL happen. A WR making an incorrect read (looking at you Josh Gordan) can make the QB look very bad, when in reality the QB read the coverage shell correctly and made a throw based on what the WR SHOULD do against that particular coverage. In Gordan’s 3rd (guessing here) game back, he made an incorrect read in which he should have converted a 9 route to a post as the defense was playing split safeties, leaving the middle of the field open. Gordan doesn’t convert the route, Hoyer throws the ball where Gordan should be, and the OBR is up in arms about another Hoyer interception that wasn’t his fault (I’m not a Hoyer fan btw; he is what he is).

Let’s take a look at the play before breaking down the routes and reads:

The Routes….

-This is a basic PA flood that the Brown’s ran into the ground last year. Generally the flat route comes from a RB/FB/TE, but in this case the slot WR will run the 1st level of the flood.

-The X WR will run his crossing route fairly shallow as he must cross the field. He has the option of sitting the route down in the 1st hole he encounters against a zone defense.  Against man coverage, he will continue running and “open the gate” as he crosses the formation to turn the route slightly upfield.

-The slot WR runs a short out to the flat.

-The Z WR runs a clear out route to make room for the flat and intermediate crossing routes. This route is often referred to as a “peak” read. The QB will rarely throw this route, but he will give it a quick glance before working hi-to-lo (Intermediate cross to flat.

The Progression…

-I’ve numbered the reads. Notice that the reads create a triangle (triangle reads create vertical and horizontal stretches on the defense). Also notice that after peaking at the 1st read in the progression, the QB’s naturally eye movement to the 2nd read will allow him to “see cloth” (any defender who could impact the throw). Well-designed route progressions will take the QB’s eyes to WR’s running towards his vision, rather than away. So if the 1st read is along the right side of the field, the 2nd read in the progression should be to a WR running towards the QB’s eyes, rather than away (running the route from left-to-right).

-The QB will read 1. 9/Go/Fly 2. Intermediate cross 3. Flat (hi-to-lo). In this particular play, the Titans play man-hi so the Z WR runs a 9 route (could convert to a post against a 2-hi look), the X continues running across the field as the rule is to “run to grass” against man, and the slot WR pushes his route outside as he is manned-up as well. Although I didn’t screen shot the result of the play, the ball was completed to the Z WR, who ran a nice subtle out-and-up double move.

That’s a VERY simple example of a progression.

Let’s look at an example of a coverage read from our squad:

The Routes and “Read Man”…

-This is a simple route concept out of a stack look.  The outside WR will run a 6-yard out (this is probably a “stick” or option route that plays off the defender’s leverage), while the TE will run a flat route. This combo is great verse man as the stack look creates natural rubs, and good verse most zones as the route’s depths create a vertical (or hi-lo) stretch on the flat defender.

-The read man is circled. Typically defenses will counter a stack alignment by pressing the “point man” at the LOS to disrupt the route’s timing. Before getting to the “if, then” on the read man, we’ll look at the defense’s options for covering the combo.

-D’s typically play this alignment one of two ways: 1. Play straight man 2. Play a “levels” or a “banjo” concept. It’s similar to a switching off a screen in basketball. The point man defender on the LOS will take the 1st inside breaking route/cross/post. The the outside “leveled” defender will take the 1st outside breaking route/flat/corner. This is a very simple example of pattern-matching, as the defense is zone-based until the WR’s declare their intentions via their route stem, at which time it converts to man based on the above rules.

Here’s how the defenders would play “Levels” against the route combo.

And Man….

The Read….

-The point man defender’s reaction post-snap will key man coverage or “levels”:

1. If the defender takes the flat route, the defense is playing straight man

2. If the defender takes the out route that will initially stem vertically, the defense is playing levels and will banjo (switch) the WR’s if they cross each other.

How “Levels” Coverage Works with the Route Combo….

How Man Coverage Works with the Route Combo…

The Play….

-The point man defender widens with the flat route, telling the QB that the defense is in straight man. The read dictates that the QB target the out route, as the leveled CB now has to get over-top the WR.

Quick Read by the QB….

-Look at the open hole created by the defense playing man here. If the D has shown this coverage verse a stack on tape, you can bet that the O’s staff game planned and repped this route combo to take advantage of the CB’s depth and leverage.

Eazy $…