Passing 101 Read this section and practice throwing these types of routes against various defenses
Spread Passing -These are different passing schemes to use and
look at while playing.
a) The curl route.
b) The comeback route.
c) The out route.
Curl Routes -Curl routes are great vs. man coverage, and unaligned zone.
a) When throwing a curl route you want to release the ball right as your receiver
is turning around. As far as placing the ball, you’ll want to throw it to
the side opposite the DB.
b) If the DB is a shade to the inside of the WR, throw to the outside.
c) If the DB is lined up directly on top of the receiver, you’ll generally want to throw
it directly to the receiver. Just allow he receiver to shield the ball with his body Do
not throw this ball if there is a zone underneath the receiver.
You’ll want to gun the ball in as hard as possible (unless the receiver has a ton of
space around him)
The Comeback route Very similar to the curl route. The only real difference
is, the WR is running back towards the ball rather than just turning and catching.
You’ll want to pass right as the receiver is making the cut, and you’ll always want to
place the ball towards the direction the WR is cutting to. Once again, you won’t want
to pass the ball if there is a zone underneath the receiver. This is another route you’ll
throw the ball hard to.
The Out Route
Out routes are a simple read.
a) Zone coverage below the receiver, don’t throw the ball.
b) Man coverage you’ll want to throw the ball right as the receiver slows
down to make his cut.
c) Zone above the receiver, you’ll only want to throw the ball if the DB is on the inside
of the receiver (towards the middle of the field as opposed to the sideline).
d) As far as placing the ball, in most cases you’re fine just throwing a regular
pass. You might want to lead the receiver to the sideline if either
1) The DB is particularly fast. This is so you create a little space for the receiver
to be able to catch it.
2) The DB is particularly slow. Once again this is to create some space, but
it’s more so the WR has room to cut up field and smoke the DB.
You can put some air under the ball on Out Routes.
The In Route In man coverage this is thrown much like the out route
but backwards.
a) You have a bit more flexibility when throwing against the zone.
b) It is a risky route, but with the proper timing you can throw it over the middle vs. a zone.
c) What you’re looking to do is place the ball in a hole in the zone. This requires
practice to understand, but basically when throwing over the middle
vs. zone, you want to be thinking "is the arc the ball is going to take to its
destination unimpeded" rather than "is my WR open". It might seem counter
intuitive, but many times you’ll want to throw the ball when the WR appears to be
covered, he’ll have blown past his coverage by the time the ball gets there.
d) Against the zone it is almost always right to throw the ball hard to the receiver,
against man it is almost always right to put some air under the ball. You’ll want to
throw the In while the receiver is still on the side of the field he started on
The Drag Route -The drag route is similar to the in route as far as timing
goes, but mostly is shallower than the In route.
a) You’ll be throwing underneath the zone, which makes it safer, although you’ll often
gain fewer yards.
b) It is safe to put air under the ball when throwing the drag. It seems bulleting the
ball in short pass situations often cause the WR to slow down upon catching the ball,
which is not what you want to happen.
c) This route is longer developing than the In. Wait till the receiver is on the opposite
side of the field that he started on (Try to have him to catch the ball, between the
guard and the tackle, after crossing in front of the center).
The Slant Route -This is a great route to run against a man blitz.
a) Against man coverage, the slant is safe as long as the receiver is in front of the
defender. If the defender is deeper than the receiver, but in front of him it is sometimes
possible to place the ball behind the receiver and allow him to do a falling backwards
catch animation. Careful doing this with poor receivers, as it can lead to a pick.
b) Slants are a tricky timing affair against zone coverage. You’ll want to throw the
ball when the trajectory of the path it will take splits 2 zones. Basically if you can
draw a line between the QB, and where the WR is going to catch the ball without hitting
the defender, you are aiming correctly. In the zone situation it is almost always
correct to bullet the pass, whereas if it is man to man and the WR has the db beat
you can often put some air under it.
The Flat Route -This is kind of the opposite of the slant route, although it
also works well against the blitz. Just throw the pass so the WR shields the pass with his
body.
Basic Passing Notes So by now you should have a basic mechanical understanding
of how to throw your routes that you like. Just remember to throw the ball
when you have a window, and throw it quick. You really want to be able to throw these
routes before someone can get to you on the blitz. Obviously the deeper the route the
more time it takes to develop, keep aware of the blitz when throwing routes that take
more than 5 vertical yards to develop.
Try to stay in the pocket against a 3 or 4 man rush. When you start breaking out of
the pocket, you lose your blockers and can actually cut down on the time you have to
make a throw.
Subject: Passing 101 
