Bobby Rhoades – University of Central Arkansas – Developing Complete Route Runners
I. Stance
A. Lower Body
1. Toes Straight
2. Knees over toes, should be a straight line from knee through toe
3. 80/20 weight distrib. to eliminate false steps. Adjust with press
4. Feet shoulder width apart with comfortable stagger
B. Upper Body
1. Bend at waist until chest over knees. Straight line from chest, through knee, to toes.
2. Shoulders quare, point the top of your shoulder pads at the DB.
3. Comfortable arms, adjust with press if needed
II. Route Guidelines
A. Vs. Man
1. Threaten the defender’s technique. He’s playing a certain leverage for a reason. Make him have to defend it.
2. When the route allows it take the best possible release. Release based on what the defender gives you with his alignment.
3. Get back to your original stem. Own your line off the ball. This gets you vertical faster (shortest dist. between 2 points). Why we do a lot of release drills across the field (use lines).
4. Create illusion. WR’s have to be great actors (head fakes, fluctuations in speed, etc.).
5. Sharp cuts with great acceleration. This creates your separation from the defender. Too many times the break is used as a stopping point. It should be a point of acceleration.
B. Vs. Zone
1. Threaten the defender’s deepest part of the zone. #1 thing a defender is taught is don’t get beat deep. This opens windows in the zone.
2. Eyes come around immediately once the plant foot hits the ground. This helps us locate the windows faster.
3. Stay under control coming out of routes. Must be ready to adjust because the windows will be different every time.
III. Release Philosophy
A. Vs. Zone
1. Rolling start off the ball gets you up field with no false steps. Get great drive off the ball to threaten the defender deep. Have to be aggressive against collisioning defenders to stay on your stem.
B. Vs. Soft Man
1. Work to break down the defender’s cushion immediately. This forces his hand. Stem to nose up to make him honor a two way break. If the DB is trying to bump and run, blow a hole through his shoulder (Bullet). Avoid the center of his body.
C. Vs. Press
1. Redistribute your weight in your stance. You must foot fire to get your feet to parallel in order to make a stick move. Keep shoulders pointed forward to protect your body from the defender (hides torso). Hands, feet, and eyes work together.
IV. Release Techniques
A. Hands (Swim – like an overhand punch, Rip – like an uppercut)
B. Single Stick
1. Make sure you stick outside the framework of the defender’s body. Forces him off balance. Make sure you gain ground on your step. This keeps your shoulders in good position, and puts you on the offensive. One of the most basic releases
C. Double Stick
1. Counter to the single stick. Hard step in the direction you want to release, step and weight shift opposite the way you want to release then go. Double Stick release to the left should look like a single stick release to the right initially.
D. Squirt
1. Counter to hard leverage corners. Must get the CB running to execute this release properly. Biggest mistake is finishing the release too soon. Great for slants or any vertical stem route.
E. Read
1. Used against DB’s off a couple of yards. Foot fire to break their cushion, let him make the first move, and break opposite. This is great against aggressive CB’s.
F. Speed
1. Most basic release. If the DB presents an easy release take it. Though simple, it is often over used.
V. Release Drills
A. Rope Ladder
1. Forward, Sideways, Typewriter
2. Builds proper foot fire technique.
B. Release Progression
1. Teaches basic single and double stick moves at a slower pace. Forces WR’s to learn stick moves from proper parallel position. Done at varying speeds.
C. Hoops
1. Forces the WR to get back on his line. Helps to eliminate drifting after the release. Can be used with release progression or with a dummy.
D. Sled
1. Great for getting multiple reps in a short amount of time, and teaches physical use of the hands.
E. Read Drill
1. Can be a combination drill that works the read release off the ball with a read release on a downfield defender.
F. Squirt Drill
1. I usually do this drill across the field so the WR can work on getting back on his original stem.
VI. Keys To a Great route
A. Speed
1. Use fluctuations in speed to fool the defender as to the route you are running (speeding up at the top of a comeback). Use speed out of the route to create separation.
B. Leverage
1. Work to maintain advantageous leverage on the defender. Stem to give yourself the best chance to beat him to the ball.
C. Influence
1. Make the defender think you are going somewhere you are not. This will slow the DB down giving you an advantageous position to the ball.
D. Body Control
1. Helps in regards to influence. Avoid tipping your routes with bad mechanics. Use proper technique to get out of breaks faster.
E. Defense
1. Understanding defenses is key to running good routes. Knowing where the defenders will be will let us know where we need to go to get open. FILM STUDY!
VII. Common Route Mistakes
A. In the Route
1. Running Tall – WR’s have a tendency to want to raise up as they are running, especially on underneath routes. A good forward lean accomplishes two things. It creates the illusion of going deep, and it puts your body in a better position to get out of breaks faster.
2. Failure To Get Vertical – After the stem many WR’s have a tendency to continue drifting in the direction they want to break. This eliminates the illusion of a two-way go, and gives the DB a tip on the direction of the break.\
B. At the Break
1. Eyes Down – WR’s often want to look at the ground when they make their break. Once the eyes drop, the DB knows you are no longer heading deep, and he breaks on you.
2. Turning Shoulders – By keeping your shoulders square you are creating the illusion of a two way go. If you turn your shoulders early before the break. You are tipping your hand to the DB.
3. “Flaps Down” – WR’s have a tendency to stop pumping their arms at the break. This tells the DB you are no longer heading vertical. If anything the arms should be sped up.
4. Chest High/Raising Up– To execute a proper break the chest must be over the knees. To do this, however, you do not need to raise up to go down.
5. Rolling Out – Too often the plant foot hits put the other foot carries above it. This causes a lack of sharp angles at the top of the route. This is caused by not driving your weight down through the plant foot. Often the WR is simply trying to stop rather than change direction.
6. Drifting Out – The WR often slows down looking for the ball. This eliminates any separation gained by a good route.
VIII. Break Point Objectives
A. Create distance between yourself and the defender.
B. Give yourself a better angle to the ball than the defender.
C. Get your body between the defender and the ball.
D. Get the defender on his heels.
IX. Break Point Techniques
A. Create illusion.
B. Use speed fluctuations (Speeding up)
C. Keep everything square
D. Point the toes where you want to go.
1. This helps get your hips aligned properly to get out of the break. Simply point the toe of your plant foot in the direction you want to break. This will align your hips in the proper direction.
X. Break Point Drills
A. Hip Warm Up
1. Will cover all square and curl breaks. Use with a throw by and bump. Marching also works well (Grambling)
B. Adjust on Sight
1. Used to help eliminate choppy steps at the top of routes.
C. Sit Cone
1. Works on sinking hips with chest over knees at the initiation of the break.
D. Quick Cone
1. Helps the WR get better at opening his hips quickly, and getting them aligned in the proper direction.
E. 45 Degree Cone
1. Works on sharp route cuts, getting the hips open and accelerating out of the break.
F. Square
1. Works on eyes up, shoulders square, and other break point fundamentals used in the 45 degree drill just executed with 90 degree cuts.
G. Top of Route
1. This grid helps develop not just the break, but the finish of the route. Can also work getting up field after the catch.