What They Do: Smash Concept Part II

First of all thanks to all of you that provided feedback on Part I of the Smash Concept article,  it was greatly appreciated.  It’s great to know that these articles are helping you see the game better and make more plays.

At the end of Part I,  I stated that I would talk more about the increased role of the running back in the smash concept in Part II.  Well,  I lied.  I was getting ahead of myself.  There was an adjustment made by offenses that came before the inclusion of the running back that we need to talk about before getting to that part.

As I discussed in Part I,  the use of the Cover 2 defense became a problem for offenses who were trying to get the ball down the field in their vertical passing game.  WRs were getting jammed and routes were getting pushed together while athletic defensive linemen were putting heavy pressure on the quarterback.

The answer to that problem was the smash concept as offenses high / lowed the cornerbacks by running a hitch in front of him and a corner route behind him.  Soon the defenses adjusted with “china” calls in which the corner would yell out “china” when he got a hitch to get the outside linebacker or nickel back out to the hitch route while the cornerback retreated to intercept the corner route that he knew was coming behind him.

So in the never ending game of adjustments,  offenses tweaked their smash concept in a slick way that they still continue to use today.  That tweak was running their #1 receiver on a post corner route and send #2 to the flat while the cornerback was distracted.  In his efforts to get a jam on the #1 WR taking an inside release,  the cornerbacks would often lose track of #2 running into the flat where the cornerback belonged.

The other thing that would happen is corners would see the #2 WR coming to the flat and abandon getting the jam on #1 only to have #1 end up behind him on the corner route.  Ultimately,  the location point of the routes ended up being the same as the original smash concept (one WR in the flat and another WR at the corner) but was done so in a different way.   (see play diagram below)

With these multiple ways to attack the cornerback and linebackers being devised,  defenses were forced to expand the role of safeties in helping with the corner routes and that’s when the increased role of running backs in the smash concept came in.  I will discuss that in Part 3 of the Smash Concept coming up later.

As you can see,  the adjusted smash concept really put the cornerbacks in a bind.  They were programmed in Cover 2 to jump the out routes as it was one of the reasons that cornerbacks loved playing the defense.  What’s better than jumping a route in the flat and taking it back for 6?  The other problem was that once you got the cornerbacks to realize that #1 was sneaking in behind you,  cornerbacks were not primed to call an out route by #2 a “china” route so that the LB could help with the route.  It was a nice tweak by the offenses to defeat a coverage that was giving them a headache.  The adjustment by defenses involved the safeties which I will discuss in Part III.

If you have any questions or comments about this article or the member’s area,  feel free to contact me at: cwilson@alleyesdbcamp.com – Thank you for being a member.

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alleyesdbcamp

Owner at All Eyes DB Camp

Chad Wilson is the founder of All Eyes DB Camp and a former standout defensive back for the Miami Hurricanes. After an elite collegiate career, Wilson spent a season with the Seattle Seahawks before transitioning into coaching. A 3-time Florida state champion defensive coordinator, he has spent over 20 years developing the "All Eyes" blueprint that has produced NFL All-Pros and stars like Xavien Howard, Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, Minkah Fitzpatrick and more. His coaching system is proven at the highest levels—his own sons, Quincy and Marco Wilson, both excelled as starters in the SEC before being drafted into the NFL.

Chad is the author of "101 DB Tips"—The Ultimate DB Reference Guide. You can find more information on the manual and how to order your copy in the sidebar and footer of this page.

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