Protections - Hawg Tuff

The Spread Offense 

with: 

UW-Platteville UW-Platteville UW-Platteville UW Platteville Football 

Football 

Mike Emendorfer 

“Complete “Complete “Complete Complete Screen Screen Game” 

Game 

Building a Passing System 

Mike Mike Emendorfer 

Emendorfer

Offensive Mechanics 

Multiple with Simplicity 

• Focus Only On The Words That Affect 

You 

• Learn To See The Big Picture

Huddle Procedure

Play Calls 

• Running Game - Words 

• Passing Game - Numbers

Running Game 

Tells us the running play we 

are running. 

Basic Play Call 

Dive Right 

Tells us the direction we are 

running the play to.

The first number indicates 

the protection and the release 

of the running back. 

Passing Game 

Basic Play Call 

962 

The second number indicates the 

formation and the series that we 

are running. 

The last number indicates what 

concept we are running in our 

routes. It also indicates where 

the strength is located (odd = left, 

even = right)

Passing Game 

Play Call With Motion and Tags 

Y MO 984 Boston Hot 

Motion is first in 

the play call. 

Tags or adjustments 

within the concept 

are directly after the 

play call. 

If we want to 

take the R-Back 

out of the 

protection and 

hot release him, 

that indication is 

last.

• On First Sound 

– Down 

• On One 

Cadence 

– “Down Blue – Blue, Set Go” 

• On Two on Two 

– “Down Blue – Blue, Set Go, Go” 

• Hard Count 

– “Down Blue – Blue, Set Go Go, Go, Go” 

• On Repeat 

– “Down Blue – Blue, Set Go, Go, Set Go”

• Split Ends 

• Wings 

• X/Z 

• W/Y 

• R 

Terminology 

Personnel

Terminology 

Terms 

• Wide Side (Field)/Short Side (Boundary) 

• Front-side/Back-side 

• Split 

• Landmark 

• Trouble 

• Run/Quick Check

• R.A.C. 

• A.M.F. 

• D.A. 

• Sight Adjust 

• 6 Second Rule 

• Q Receiver 

Terminology 

Terms

• Doubles 

• Trips 

• Panther 

Formations 

• Hurricane 

• Cluster 

• Adjustments

X 

X 

80’s 

Formations 

Doubles 

# # # 

W 

W 

W 

R 

R 

R 

Right Middle Left Hash 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Z 

Z

X 

60’s 

Formations 

Trips 

# # 

W 

R 

Y 

W 

R 

Right Left Hash 

Y 

Z

X 

90’s 

Formations 

Panther 

# # 

R 

W 

Y 

W 


Y 

R 

Z

X 

W 

70’s 

X 

Formations 

Hurricane 

# # 

R 

Y 


W 

R 

Z 

Y 

Z

50’s 

X 

Formations 

Cluster 

# # 

R 

X 

W 

Y 

W 


Y 

Z 

R 

Z

W 

Formation Adjustments 

Flop 

X 

W 

R 

Tight Squeeze 

X 

5-7 yards 5-7 yards 

R 

Y 

Z 

Z 

Flip 

Y

X 

X 


W 

1 by 1 

W R Y 

Spread 

Y 

R 

Ghost 

Z 

Z

X 

X 


Con 

W 

W 

W 

R 

R 

R 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Pro 

Z 

Ace 

Z

X 

X 

W 


W 

R 

R 

Y 

Bunch 

Y 

Double Bunch 

Z 

Z

Motions 

Why? 

• To disguise our intentions/delay defensive recognition 

• To gain a blocker at the point of attack 

• To create personnel advantages 

• To force the pass coverage to declare man or zone 

• To create coverage problems or checks 

• To force the coverage to bump, changing personnel and 

alignment 

• To help circumvent the jam

X 

X 

R 

W 

W 

Motions 

R 

Ram 

Lion 

R R 

Y 

Y 

Z 

Z

X 

X 

Motions 

Player Specific 

W W 

R 

Out 

R 

W 

Y 

WZ Z 

Y 

Z 

W Mo 

Z Out

X 

X 

W 

W 

R 

R 

Motions 

In 

Trace 

Y 

WY 

Y 

Z 

ZW 

Z In 

Z 

Y Trace

Shifts 

Pre-Snap Movement 

• To disguise our intentions/delay defensive 

recognition 

• To create personnel advantages 

• To create coverage problems or checks 

• To force the coverage to bump, changing 

personnel and alignment

X 

Shifts 

Y Stem 

R Y W 

Y 

X 

R 

W Stem 

Y Z 

W 

W 

R 

R 

Z

Protections 

• The first building block of our passing 

game is protection. Great protection is the 

most basic key to the success of our pass 

offense.


• Our linemen must be know and be able to 

execute our schemes, but even more, they 

must maintain a fierce pride in protecting 

the passer that says, “Nobody touches the 

quarterback.”


• Our back must understand his role within 

different protection schemes. He must get 

himself to the right places, and be 

physical enough to constantly handle 

linebackers and defensive ends.


• Our receivers play a major role by 

identifying coverage and potential blitz 

situations, understanding when they must 

break off their route to sight adjustments 

(being the ‘Q’ receiver), and most 

importantly GET OPEN in the time 

required by each pass so that the linemen 

and back do not have to pass block for 

unnecessary periods of time.


• Our quarterback is the center of it all, and 

he insures that we are a great protection 

team through the right recognition and 

communication. He must also get the ball 

of on the correct timing, and throw the 

ball away rather than taking foolish sacks.

Protection Concepts 

• 1- Slide Protection 

• Rip/Liz- Gap Protection 

• 9- Man Protection 

• Smoke- Semi Roll Protection


1- Slide Protection 

W M 

S 

E T T E 

QB 

R


1- Slide Protection 

W B 

M S 

E N E 

QB 

R


Gap Protection 

W M 

S 

E T T E 

Rip 

QB 

R

S 


Gap Protection 

B 

R QB 

M 

E N E 

Liz 

W


9- Man Protection 

W M 

S 

E T T E 

QB 

R


9- Man Protection 

W B 

M S 

E N E 

QB 

R


Smoke Protection 

W M 

S 

E T T E 

QB 

R


Smoke Protection 

W B 

M S 

E N E 

QB 

R

• Simple 

Passing Concepts 

• Constant through formations


• 0 (East/West)- Mesh 

• 1-2- Vertical 

• 3-4- Smash 

• 5-6- Screen 

• 7-8- Flat/Curl


0 – Mesh 

• Attacks the underneath edge of coverage very 

rapidly, many times from a tightened 

environment 

• Creates multiple “rubs” by incorporating 

different crossing routes 

• Quick rhythm concept, whose primary purpose 

is to attack man-to-man defense by creating 

match-up problems and multiple rubs


X 

980 West 

C 

W 

SS 

E 

S 

R 

T 

FS 

N 

M 

E 

W 

Y 

Z 

C


1-2 - Vertical 

• Allows our offense to attack and stretch 

the defense toward the end zone 

• Designate our areas of attack as 18-22 

yards down the field 

• Lower level control route

C 

X 


W 

SS 

S 

981 

vs. Cover 2 

E 

T 

R 

M 

FS 

N 

E 

W 

Y 

vs Blitzes 

C 

Z


3-4 - Smash 

• One of the best ways we have of putting 

pressure on two deep coverage by creating 

situations where the cornerback cannot cover 

two people; he will see a six yard hitch in front 

of him and have a deeper-developing flag route 

behind him 

• Attacks down the field on the deep outside edge, 

or underneath as a ball-control pass

X 

C 


W 

W 

FS 

M 

vs. Blitz 

E N T E 

R 

984 

SS 

S 

Y 

Z 

C


5-6 - Screen 

• Controls the blitz and pass rush by 

inviting the defense up-field and then 

allowing them to rush 

• Offensive line will block downfield as we 

throw underneath to our receivers or back

X 

C 

W 

W 


FS 

M 

E N T E 

R 

85 

SS 

S 

Y 

Z 

C


7-8 – Flat/Curl 

• Used to stretch the defense horizontally 

• Stretches a flat defender to the sideline and 

replace him with a receiver behind him 

• Creates a triangle of receivers for the QB to read 

• Attacks an area 12 yards down the field on the 

hashes and the area 5 yards deep on the numbers

C 

X 

vs Blitz 


W 

W 

M 

FS 

S 

E N T E 

R 

988 

SS 

Y 

Z 

C

Protections - Hawg Tuff

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