Originally posted by Dr. E
I'm interested in hearing thoughts on progressions. Which receiver do you like to target first second & third. Plus do you look for receivers later in the progression. I always wanted the second guy in the progression as my primary target with the third progression as back up. Only used 5 & 6 for just a chance they get open long and the QB reads it.
Happy to reply, but keep in mind you gave me a 1 paragraph question with an infinitely more complicated answer.
TL;DR version
1. My replies will be from the perspective of zero quick read SA. I don't like the SA, I don't recommend the SA, and I cannot give advice on qb behavior when using the SA since it's insanely unpredictable. All my replies also assume plateau dots, since I haven't OC'd a non-plateau team in 90 seasons.
2. As a ROUGH estimate (as this varies by play, progressions, formation, qb tactics, defensive allignment), your QB will throw to the 1st read 60% of the time, 2nd read 25% of the time, 3rd read 10% of the time, 4th/5th read 5% of the time. As such, since with 30 attempts, 27 of them are likely to go to the first or second read, those are the important ones to get right.
3. The Three effective strategies for the first two progressions on 1st/2nd down are: Short -> Long, Long-> Short, Double-up. On 3rd down you generally want both the first 2 reads to be something that'll hit the first down marker, since YAC isn't reliable outside of fringe build scenarios.
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Longer Versions:
1. Quick Read is the bane of my existence as an OC. To be an effective OC against WL quality defenses you need control, and quick read takes away your control and instead gives it to a poorly programmed Bort logic. Quick read literally will abandon your progressions to throw to someone the AI thinks is "open" that results in a double or triple coverage INT. It's literal insanity.
2. Talking about progressions themselves basically need to be at a play-level. Further, personnel matters (some teams run blocking WR's out of 1 slot that should be avoided, sometimes you are doing anti-tag stuff and have a bFB or bTE that need to be avoided. The emphasis at the end of the day, are the first 2 progressions are what REALLY matters.
It's important to keep it mind there is an "action point" on each route that Bort programmed, which will effect how quickly the QB will move off a player as their first progression. Usually, if this route has a curl or a change of direction, it is a second or two after that change of direction. This means if your first progression is a 5 yard in, your QB quickly will move to his second progression if that player doesn't get open on that 90 degree break. But if your first read is a 15 yard in, your QB will be staring that guy down for awhile. Generally QB's will cycle progressions 2-5 faster and will not be waiting for an action point.
3. So... Uses...
Short -> Long. This is generally my recommendation, since you want a player who will be able to get separation quickly, and even if you are hurried and the QB freaks out, the throw is unlikely to be dangerous. This is normally 90 degree in routes or out routes that are 0-6 yards. Second progression is normally a longer route (so if the QB has time and the first option isn't open, maybe you go for the gold).
Long -> Short. Want to go for a deep play, but second progression should be a safety route so QB has somewhere to dish if the deep play isn't available. Long-Long is very dangerous and should only be used on 3rd+long scendarios.
Double up first player. I tend to use this in scenarios where the action point of the route is too early, causing the QB to look away from a guy who will end up being open in a moment. Primarily should only be used on very early action point routes, or sometimes with very fast speed receivers.
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Follow-up questions welcome. Hard because I would write a literal book about progressions on every single route but it'd take my lifetime.
I'm interested in hearing thoughts on progressions. Which receiver do you like to target first second & third. Plus do you look for receivers later in the progression. I always wanted the second guy in the progression as my primary target with the third progression as back up. Only used 5 & 6 for just a chance they get open long and the QB reads it.
Happy to reply, but keep in mind you gave me a 1 paragraph question with an infinitely more complicated answer.
TL;DR version
1. My replies will be from the perspective of zero quick read SA. I don't like the SA, I don't recommend the SA, and I cannot give advice on qb behavior when using the SA since it's insanely unpredictable. All my replies also assume plateau dots, since I haven't OC'd a non-plateau team in 90 seasons.
2. As a ROUGH estimate (as this varies by play, progressions, formation, qb tactics, defensive allignment), your QB will throw to the 1st read 60% of the time, 2nd read 25% of the time, 3rd read 10% of the time, 4th/5th read 5% of the time. As such, since with 30 attempts, 27 of them are likely to go to the first or second read, those are the important ones to get right.
3. The Three effective strategies for the first two progressions on 1st/2nd down are: Short -> Long, Long-> Short, Double-up. On 3rd down you generally want both the first 2 reads to be something that'll hit the first down marker, since YAC isn't reliable outside of fringe build scenarios.
=============================
Longer Versions:
1. Quick Read is the bane of my existence as an OC. To be an effective OC against WL quality defenses you need control, and quick read takes away your control and instead gives it to a poorly programmed Bort logic. Quick read literally will abandon your progressions to throw to someone the AI thinks is "open" that results in a double or triple coverage INT. It's literal insanity.
2. Talking about progressions themselves basically need to be at a play-level. Further, personnel matters (some teams run blocking WR's out of 1 slot that should be avoided, sometimes you are doing anti-tag stuff and have a bFB or bTE that need to be avoided. The emphasis at the end of the day, are the first 2 progressions are what REALLY matters.
It's important to keep it mind there is an "action point" on each route that Bort programmed, which will effect how quickly the QB will move off a player as their first progression. Usually, if this route has a curl or a change of direction, it is a second or two after that change of direction. This means if your first progression is a 5 yard in, your QB quickly will move to his second progression if that player doesn't get open on that 90 degree break. But if your first read is a 15 yard in, your QB will be staring that guy down for awhile. Generally QB's will cycle progressions 2-5 faster and will not be waiting for an action point.
3. So... Uses...
Short -> Long. This is generally my recommendation, since you want a player who will be able to get separation quickly, and even if you are hurried and the QB freaks out, the throw is unlikely to be dangerous. This is normally 90 degree in routes or out routes that are 0-6 yards. Second progression is normally a longer route (so if the QB has time and the first option isn't open, maybe you go for the gold).
Long -> Short. Want to go for a deep play, but second progression should be a safety route so QB has somewhere to dish if the deep play isn't available. Long-Long is very dangerous and should only be used on 3rd+long scendarios.
Double up first player. I tend to use this in scenarios where the action point of the route is too early, causing the QB to look away from a guy who will end up being open in a moment. Primarily should only be used on very early action point routes, or sometimes with very fast speed receivers.
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Follow-up questions welcome. Hard because I would write a literal book about progressions on every single route but it'd take my lifetime.
