The Jet Sweep has become a staple running play for many offensive systems over the last 20 years. Even though you are seeing it from shotgun spread teams now, it actually started as an under center play. In fact I personally think it was harder to stop from under center wing looks because the motion was a lot shorter and harder to account for. From the shotgun however the Jet is becoming a much more dynamic play because it is being packaged with other plays. It is also being packaged with read concepts which makes it even more potent. Today I would like to discuss Play Action pass possibilities off the Jet and how to disrupt the run fits and rotations of the defense.
Attack More Than Just The Edge
The reason the Jet sweep is so important to some offensive schemes is its ability to attack the edge or perimeter of the defense. Today's offensive mindset for a lot of teams is to put speed in space. One of the reasons for that is the realization of how hard open field tackling really is on a defender. The other reason is the horizontal pressure on a defense helps create vertical running lanes on the inside of the defense. When you are talking about high powered offenses they all usually have the same characteristics. They have the ability to run the ball to the edge, they can run the ball inside, they slow you down with screens and draws, and they have the ability to play action pass with players that stretch the field. Now, you still have teams like Alabama and Stanford who just wear you out all game but at the high school and junior high level you wont always have the lineman and backs to do that. One of the ways you can create space in the run game is by attacking the perimeter, and play action passing to slow down support.
Adding To Your Package
In keeping with the theory of playing fast football, we need to look at how we can add play action passes into our offense while still staying simplistic enough to keep the learning curve to a minimum. Again, all the greatest plays in the game are worthless if they are not executed at full speed with a clear mind. All too often I see offensive guys who try to throw every new play they see or hear into their scheme. I'm not saying you should not add things to your playbook, but when you add something you should think about the carryover from other concepts in your scheme. As far as up tempo is concerned, you must always consider the verbiage and communication involved. I've always been a huge fan of Jon Gruden, not only his offensive mind but his passion and intensity. But let's be realistic here "Flip Right Double X Jet 36 Counter Naked Waggle at 7X Quarter" is probably not the best way to communicate to High School players in an up tempo offense. What we want to do here is build play action passes into an already existing offensive package. For us we like to use the Jet Sweep as a base play, as a read play, and as a play to run counters off. So adding play action passes into our jet package helps us slow down run support and safety spin while still staying within the structure of our offense. I will talk in the video segment about running base 5 step passing concepts and then adding a route concept to take advantage of secondary rotation. I will also talk about protection and making sure you can marry your protection schemes to your play action so your lineman have the ability to play fast and be efficient protecting the QB. I've said this in other posts but want to reinforce the notion of keeping the QB on his feet when throwing play action passes, especially if they are designed to take "SHOTS" down the field. It's very frustrating to see something in coverage you like, get a play called at the right time, only to have the QB get crushed. When throwing play action passes do everything you can to protect the QB. Again most of the concepts being covered will be discussed in the video chalk talk so please take the time to watch the video. I hope these ideas help you build an explosive offense.
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