BSJ Classroom: Inside the Patriots' passing game - Sight adjustments

Over the course of my writing career, I’ve been able to learn from some of the best in the game during one-on-one discussions, film review, and coaching clinics. I’ve been behind the scenes with the Texans as they game plan for an opponent, watched film with the likes of Bill Belichick, Bill O’Brien, Charlie Weis, Paul Alexander, Jim McNally, Bob Wylie, Rod Rust, Ron Jaworski, Greg Cosell, Geno Atkins and a host of others. I’ve just tried to be a sponge and accumulate any insight they’ve shared, and then I’ve tried to pass it on to my readers.

In this series, I’ll try to answer questions BSJ members have about certain things they don’t understand about football — from the simple to the complex.

First installment: An overview of the Patriots’ complex passing offense.
Second: Inside the Patriots’ passing offense — Route conversions

Today: Sight adjustments

PATRIOTS TICKETS AND PARKING: SeatsForEveryone.com

So the next stop on our magical, mystical tour of the Patriots' complicated passing game is the realm of sight adjustments. This concept delves into a variety of areas, almost to the point you could call all four of the Patriots' main pass game concepts sight adjustment. But we'll try to focus on the two main areas: blitzes and coverage.

Let's start with some keys. Many of these go for any passing offense that builds in route adjustments into its offense.

1. Know where the safeties are: When you're trying to decipher a defense, it all starts where the safeties are aligned before the snap and, for the really good safeties/schemes, after the snap. Is one safety lined up behind, say, the slot cornerback? That's what they call the cornerback being "capped." If you see a safety lined up about 7-10 yards behind a slot corner, that's a fairly good indication the slot is blitzing and the safety will pick up coverage of that target. If you see the free safety inch closer to the line before the snap, something funky is coming, so you better be alert to adjust your route.

2. Does the man who lines up to cover you rush the passer or drop? If you're the designated "hot" route on a certain play, that's going to determine your route.

3. How does the defense move after the snap? Do the safeties roll to one side or the other? Do they back up to two-deep positions after the snap? Does the cornerback across from you go from being 7 yards off to in your face after the snap? There's a good chance that receiver is going to have to adjust his route to a fade.

4. What kind of leverage is the defender playing against you?: If he's playing inside leverage and won't let you get inside (as we'll see in the first clip), then the quarterback and the receiver are going to have to be on the same page and sight adjust on the fly.

Let's take a look at this in action with two plays against different opponents this past season for the Patriots. Both involve Rob Gronkowski making catches on the same play using two different routes due to the sight adjustment by both Tom Brady and Gronkowski.

Let's start with the play — or at least a decent facsimile of the play — from an old Charlie Weis playbook:



All the receivers on this play have sight adjustments built into their routes. The outside receivers are running mirror routes (same route on either side of the field). The Y (Gronkowski) is the hot receiver, and he has an adjustment at the top of his route depending on a) a possible blitz, and b) whether there is one safety in the middle of the field (MOFC) or split safeties (MOFO). The Z, which will be Phillip Dorsett on the first play and Martellus Bennett on the second one, also has a safety sight adjustment the same as Gronk, but with a different adjustment.

Here's the first play against the Steelers, with an explainer built in. Basically, Gronkowski and Dorsett both run double seams against a single safety. And then, Gronk and Brady show why they're the best, because they further adjust the route due to the extreme inside leverage playing by the defender.



On the second play, against the Raiders in Mexico, you'll see how both Gronk (Y) and Bennett (Z) adjust their routes due to different safety positioning (two-deep) than on the first play. The two outside receivers are on the same side of the field on this one, but the play is fundamentally the same. The Patriots must have seen something in their game-planning to put this play in with this adjustment.

This time, instead of Gronk staying on his seam route, he runs a hook due to either a perceived blitz or the coverage (or both).



Both plays resulted in receptions for Gronkowski.

These two plays are a perfect example of how the Patriots' scheme is so adaptable, and why it's nearly impossible to defend as long as they execute properly (another reason why you hear the players say, "We didn't execute well enough," after a loss or rough outing by the offense).

Two different teams tried to defend the same play differently, yet both result in first downs for New England.

Coming July 9th: Option routes.