The following statements are the single most important factors in the success of your passing game. Develop, practice, and then master protection schemes for every downhill and sprint set. Linemen are the key to your team’s success. It is an honor to be O-Line. Make sure everyone on the team knows about it.

Pass is a symphony; understanding of good protection, execution of routes, reads and execution. This is why passing is challenging to implement well below the high school level. There just isn’t enough time.

Coaches your job is:

• Know the different coverages. You need to be able to recognize coverage 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Know the weaknesses of each coverage and the areas of the field that are easiest to exploit.
• Watch the movie. Even at the youth level. Film all opponents and trade films. Look for trends and count. Most athletes are animals of habit. Studies on pre-performance rituals in sport have been completed. Use them to your advantage.
• Train athletes. Give them a chance to work on the fundamentals and drill down the routes, readings and adjustments. Passing requires more work than the running game. Require good technique and correct decision making.
• Simulate game conditions as closely as possible when performing drills. Work on the plays you plan to use in the game. Use the playbook, 7v7, whiteboard, defensive recognition drills, and videotape.

The single wing quarterback must:

• Learn to read defensive schemes. The method for reading the defense must be the same each time. Look towards the middle of the field; locate the free insurance, then the strong insurance. Look left in the corner. Look directly at the cornerback, then at the linebackers. This has to be done in 2-3 seconds. Wait for the defense to move and try to disguise coverage.
• When looking for insurance, determine if the middle of the field is open or closed. Do this by seeing if there is a depth between the goal posts or focus on the formation. Check the depth, eyes and leverage of the corner posts. These give you an indication of the man’s area or coverage.
• If the corners are 6 or more yards out, lined up on or off the receiver and facing you, it’s probably a zone. If they’re closer, either on hits and runs or less than 6 yards and looking at the receiver, it’s probably man coverage.
• If the midfield is closed, the defense is coverage 1 or 3. If depth, eyes, and corner leverage look like zone, then coverage is coverage 3. If they’re on a man, it’s coverage 1.
• If the middle of the field is open, the defense is in coverage 0, 2, 4, or 5. It is in coverage 2 or 4, if the corners appear to be in play. It is cover 0 or 5, if the corners are in man. If the safeties have cheated to within 10 yards and have their eyes on a man, expect 0 coverage, and if they come back, it’s either 2 coverage, pressure, dog or 5 coverage, depending on what you call it.

One last point that I see most coaches below the college level failing to do is map out each of the passing concepts within the system against each of the defenses. This drill will immediately improve the quarterback’s decision-making speed and accuracy.