Running The Fade Route!

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Blitz
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Most defenses like to go into man coverage with a safety free down at the goalline. Teams are running some zone defense down in the red zone but zone becomes challenging if the offense only needs a quick pass to score.. and CFL end zones are deep. That's a lot of space to cover. For this thread we'll look at the fade route, a popular strategy for offences to use down near the opposition goaline.

WHY THE FADE ROUTE?

Pass defenders, down at the goal line, playing pass defense, are most often taught not to give up the inside route. It's a shorter throw for the quarterback and there is less time for the defensive back to recover. The fade pattern is usually a safe play, with the ball thrown to the outside of the receiver. It's either complete or incomplete but there is a low risk of interception. In man defense, it also forces the defensive back to turn his back to the opposition quarterback. The receiver can see the football arriving and can time his leap to catch the football while screening off the defender.

HOW TO RUN AND NOT RUN THE FADE ROUTE

Defenses are now used to seeing the fade route down at the goalline and defenses are now better at covering it. Therefore offenses have utilized a variety of different approaches to being successful with it. Some offences still want to throw it to the outside of the receiver (safest) but some quarterbacks are now throwing it to the inside shoulder and letting the receiver go up and get it. A third strategy is to underthrow it and have the reciever come back for it.

The key to the fade route is to get upfield with a very quick start and go straight at the defensive back, giving him two options to consider. If you can get him to turn his hips by making him think inside all the better. The third key is to break the route off at the exact angle because the fade is a timing play.

What too many receivers do is break into the fade too quickly. While each offensive coordinator likes to approach it slightly differently I believe the reciever shouldn't break to the outside until he sees the quarterback bring his arm forward to release the ball. Too often the timing of the play is ruined because the receiver is alreay running out of room because he has gotten there too quickly. It forces the quarterback to throw the football into a very small window outside or throw it away. Basically the quarterback is not throwing the football to the reciever but to a spot in the end zone.

READING THE DEFENSE

The quarterback and outside receiver need to read the defense. That can be done through pre-snap or even post snap reads. The receiver can get an early tip by the way the defensive back is playing him. He could be in an inside or outside shade looking into the backfield. That is a good tip that the defense is in zone. Even if the defensive back plays straight up, his eyes can tell the receiver a lot as he begins his route. If the defensive back has his eyes on his letters he will likely be in man. Of course, at the pro level, defensive backs are very good at not only disguising things but they also will deliberately provide false keys.

The quarterback is going to read the defensive formation, the safety, and the cornerback to the fade side. Motion used to help quarterbacks read a defense, in terms of zone or man but nowadays offenses are using motion less. One reason is that teams were getting better at still playing man but switching so that another defensive back picked up the receiver in man coverage rather than a defensive back chasing him across the field. Therefore it became harder to read if it was zone or man. However, I still believe CFL offences should still use it more because it helps to create advantageous matchups!

FORMATION AND THE FADE

The fade route can be run out of trips to the wide side, or two receivers to one side, or even a single receiver to one side. Of course, there is less room on the short side of the field to run the fade. Lets have a look at a double fade play run out of trips to the wide side. The offence is down inside the 7 yard line.

The outside receiver runs a fade route, aiming at an area about 10 yards deep. Lets assume that the corner is playing fade in his man coverage. The second inside receiver also runs a fade route, deeper towards the corner of the end zone. The halfback will be more inclined to cover the second outside receiver more to the inside. The quarterback will catch the shotgun snap and make a quick decision, based upon the positioning of the defensive backs as the receivers first start vertically upfield.

The third inside receiver is given an option route. He reads the safety. If the safety, who will likely have adjusted to the wide side, comes across to help out on the receiver running the deep fade, the insdie third reciever, runs a post. However, if the safety stays home he will break off his route to an inside or outside curl, with the quarterback reading his break.

The quarterback quickly reads outside to his first fade receiver, then to his second, and his third read is the inside receiver running either the post or the curl. The decision needs to be made pre-snap or in a split second post-snap.

GIVING THE OUTSIDE RECEIVER AN OPTION

Another way to run the double fade pattern is to give the outside receiver an option route. If the corner is playing him outside or even up the outside receiver runs a slant. If the corner is shading him inside the outside receiver runs the fade. This takes a deep understanding between outside receiver and quarterback but lots of practice can enable that kind of non-verbal communication. The outside receiver can also have a signal, by his stance, or other subtle means, to let the quarterback know which route he plans to run.

QUICK READS

Offences need to practice their red zone offence a lot at practice. There is nothing more frustrating to have a long drive end with a chip shot field goal. Things happen much faster down near the goal line. Quarterbacks have to read things faster, routes have to be run perfectly on passing plays, and the ball must be delivered as the receiver starts his break. Hesitation by the quarterback or a throw a split second too late, down at the goal line, usually means a lack of success.


WRAP

The fade pattern is only one of many strategies used against goal line man defenses. It is a much more successful play in the CFL than down south because of the wider field and deeper end zone. A defensive back providing too big a cushion is quickly out of position. A defensive back playing press coverage is quickly in a chase position with his back to the football. Receivers who have high verticals and can wait until the last second before throwing their hands up to catch the football make it very difficult for the defensive back to know when the receiver is prepared to catch the football. Providing receivers with two routes against man provides an option that can make things very difficult for a defensive back in man coverage.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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lion24
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Another interesting thread Blitz! :thup: One thing that is essential to the fade route is an accurate quarterback such as Dickenson(usually, although he has been off this season) and as much as I hate to say it Ricky Ray. Ray may be the best at it with Tucker and another pattern I guess not truely a fade but a corner pattern that he throws constantly to Tucker for big gains or touchdowns. So many times it is a blown play because the qb is not very accurate with the throw. However, as you state with the bigger endzones in the CFL it can be an effective play along with the head starts the receivers can get before the snap of the ball. Finally, the play can be made much more effective with a mismatch in size between a bigger receiver and smaller defensive back.
Thank you for everything you did for OUR Lions Mr.Ackles, we will never forget you...RIP
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WestCoastJoe
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Great post, Blitz.

very detailed

I coached some junior high football at one time, and we ran very basic routes, without options, which worked well enough for that game.

I was always curious about the pro passing game. It seemed to me it had to include lots of options based on reads.

You must have done lots of coaching yourself. What levels did you coach?
Blitz
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You must have done lots of coaching yourself. What levels did you coach?
Did some coaching at all levels West Coast Joe! At the pro level and major college level you'll sometimes have options for receivers on certain plays. The big difference at this level to younger amateur football levels is that receivers, even without an option, will change their route if the defense is in man or zone.

A receiver often won't continue to run his route against a zone but 'sit down' in a seam or hole in the zone. For example a receiver may have been given a post route but the safety is sitting there in zone waiting for him. The receiver can break the post into a post curl, finding the soft spot in the zone. Quarterbacks understand, by reading the defense, whether they are in zone or man and will know that his receiver will change his route based upon this read.

Sometimes, against a zone, a receiver running a crossing pattern, will not only stop his pattern in a hole between the linebackers but you'll even see the receiver not only stop but break his pattern back to where he has was coming from. There is nothing worse than a receiver running a short crossing pattern at full speed against linebackers playing underneath zone. The receiver will catch the ball and a linebacker is waiting on him and the collision can be brutal...it's known as a suicide pass.

However, don't think that every receiver has an option on every play. Sometimes they have to run a certain pattern to clear out an area or to create a certain flow to the play to open something else up!
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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