Coaches Spotlight-Coach Jim Santomassimo “Wing T Passing Attack!!”
Wing T Passing Attack
by; Coach Jim Santomassimo
During my years at Brien McMahon, St. Joseph, & now Branford High School, I have been able to develop a very effective passing game, which I have been able to use at 3 high schools with slight adjustments, in order to fit it to our personnel & adapt some of the ideas & concepts that the schools were already having success with prior to my arrival.
Our 3 step game can be run from our basic wing-t formations & is very effective vs. teams that try to stop our running game. We use our basic 2 receiver combination routes. The SE runs an out, slant, hitch, or fade & the HB runs a seam or swing as a compliment which also can be used with jet motion. With the use of jet motion, we can take advantage of single coverage away from the motion by calling our choice route or put the defense in conflict to the front side when they try to defend the jet sweep. Once the HB goes in motion & crosses the formation, the QB signals the pattern to be run by the lone SE, depending on the defensive coverage. The SE route can be a loop out, slant, or fade. This have been a great way for us to move the ball against teams who are difficult to run the ball against as it can replace your running game along with quick screens to & away from the motion.
With the use of extended motion, we have also developed a very effective trips package from our 3 step game. The ball is snapped when the motion is halfway between the 2 front side receivers & we can run 4 combinations. On all of them, the QB reads the middle receiver, who has come in motion. On the 1st pass, the QB reads the seam route run by #2 & if the defender freezes or goes to the flat, the QB throws the ball to #2. If the coverage on #2 bails out to cover #2, the QB throws the ball to #3, running a 5 yard flat route. This is a great play vs. cover 3. On the 2nd pass, the QB still reads #2, who is running the seam but then looks to #1, who is running a fade or take off route, which he is also running on the 1st pass. If for some reason the QB does not like either one, he can throw the ball to #3, who is still running to the flat. We have had great success with this vs. teams that come up to defend the jet sweep & cover 2 teams.
We have 1 other that we run from trips. The QB still reads #2 but the patterns from the other receivers change. The QB’s 2nd read is #1 running a loop out. #3 runs directly at the FS, preventing him from jumping #2. This is a good change up against teams who after scouting us, like to match up. All 3 plays can be run from our no back sets & with the use of jet motion can be run as the same 3 step combinations, putting the defense once again in conflict. We can also run our bubble & SE screens with or without motion and also from no backs.
We also have a very effective sprint out package that along with our 3 step game, is used in our no huddle or 2 minutes situations. We can either use it with 2 receiver combinations or with trips by using motion. The front side routes are the same as our Belly Keep Pass routes. Our base routes are a 5 yard loop out by #1, a corner route by #2. We use the same patterns as we do on our Waggle on the backside & the protection is very similar to our Waggle. By doing this, we are not asking our players to do much more than they already are doing. There are really no new assignments or techniques. The QB sprints out & follows his normal progressions, like with Waggle & Belly Keep Pass, again, no new teaching. We can also run our normal Shuffle Pass with this package with little or no changes.
We have several other combinations from our sprint out package (Switch/Out/Comeback/Go/Post). On Switch, the front side 2 receivers switch routes. On Out, #1 routes a 10 yard loop out & on Comeback, he runs a comeback. We can either have #2 run the seam route or by sending him in motion away, we can take advantage of single coverage. On the Go & Post, #1 runs a post. #2 runs a Wheel route on the Go play & Corner route on the Post play.
By using extended or jet motion, we can add a 3rd receiver to the play side. With extended motion, we can run our Flood, Switch, & Wheel plays. On Flood, #1 runs a Fade, #2 a 10 yard out, & #3 runs a 5 yard flat route. If we call Switch, #2 & #3 switch routes. On Wheel, #1 runs a Post, #2 a Wheel route, & #3 runs to the flat. If we add the word “Jet”, the ball is snapped when the motion is directly behind the center, adding the deception of the jet sweep as opposed the extended motion, where the motion is half way between the 2 play side receivers. With the use of Jet Motion, the patterns of #2 & #3 are switched. We can also run it to a TE/Wing flank, making the threat of the run even greater & use the Flood play to put the defense in more of a conflict. To the TE side, the wing is #1 & runs the corner route, #2 is the TE, who runs the 10 yard out, & #3 is still the man in jet motion, running into the flat. We also run sprint out from our End over formation where our TE lines up in between our SE & HB & since the TE is ineligible, he is told to block down in order to pin the flank down & still be able to run our Switch Pass with extended motion, putting the defense once again in conflict when the try to defend the jet sweep.
