Great read on Option routes by Doug Farrar of Y! shutdown corner blog. Thought I would share...
Worth the read if you're interested in that stuff..
Option routes, and why they drive some receivers crazy | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
O'Shea wasn't kidding. In one Patriots playbook I've seen (the 2004 version), there were 25 different single receiver routes, and that doesn't count all the available options. Nor does it cover where those routes are run in a split on the field, or how the receivers run routes in tandem. There were 17 different two-man route combos in the playbook I saw, and five different three-man route combos. Once you've mastered all that stuff, there's then the matter of the call in any pass play -- the name of the route group that a team decides on any pass play for anywhere from one to five receivers. Add in the protection at the line, and you have the start of what will be an eventual Patriots play call.
One example (diagrammed here): "1 Out Slot ZAC." In this play, the fullback (lined up wide left) runs a 14-yard in, though he should look for an outside release if anyone's cheating up expecting something quick. The halfback reads blitz, hits a run sneak through the A-gap if he's free, and digs sharply to the right. The "X" or iso receiver does a sight adjustment, reads the coverage, and could either come back outside, or loop to the seam, depending again on the coverage. The "Z" receiver motions from right slot, and heads 6 yards upfield, into a four-way option. The "Y" receiver could turn a "chute" route, or he might hook inside.
Worth the read if you're interested in that stuff..
Option routes, and why they drive some receivers crazy | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
