Hey coach, great breakdown. As a former NFL wide receiver though I’m going to help you out with some things. Most of what you’re saying is quite excellent, however there are a couple of mistakes. Speaking about the 10 - 12 yd curl route, young WRs on the high school level can do exactly what you said and catch a lot of balls. However, that kind of curl will not be very effective on the D1 level, and will not work at all on the NFL level. First of all, I have been running precise curl patterns since the 10th grade - AND A CURL SHOULD NEVER USE MORE THAN FOUR STEPS. You counted 4 steps on the kid’s curl pattern, but he actually took 5 steps to complete his curl, which is one too many (5 steps are for the 15 yd comeback route, which can be devastating if you don’t use more than 5 steps to turn and drive back to the ball.) What every receiver should do is train their body to “stop” in as few steps as possible, and 5-steps is a bit sloppy curl for a wide-out, but many guys will probably need 5 steps at first. I’ve been stopping in 4-steps since I was 14 - 15 years old, and it is difficult at first, but a wideout should train himself to accomplish this, and his right inside foot should always be the first foot to begin the breakdown on the 10 - 12 yard curl (that’s along with using the inside foot up on the WR stance on the line, never the outside foot.) Like you said, the WRs momentum is actually stopped on the 3rd step (which is exactly right,) but at this point he should keep his shoulders square and keep his eyes looking forward as if he is going to continue to run, and not turn his shoulders too early. This is very important, and it could mean the difference between a PBU or Int, and a completion or a TD, especially when facing highly athletic DBs. I’ll break down the reasons one-by-one: 1) You already know that a WR turning his shoulders really early to face the QB will alert the DB, which I am sure will be ok on most high school levels, but against more athletic DBs with better reaction time it can be disastrous. I think you are already aware of this problem, but there are many more problems this creates that you are probably not aware of. 2) When facing better DBs (perhaps even on the high school level) the DB will be chasing you back to the ball, and IF YOU START TURNING TOO EARLY THE YOU WILL HAVE A VERY POOR BODY POSITION THAT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BEAT THE DB TO THE BALL. Watch Hines Ward explain this very well ruclips.net/video/AQdluYWJuek/видео.html 3) One thing Hines Ward doesn’t explain about the curl route, is how to maintain the stop-and-go body language at the top of the curl, so that if the DB is overly aggressive then the WR can then fake a 10 yard stop, and then continue to a go route, which usually results in a TD or a very big play. It is extremely important that a WR looks like you are still going forward when you stop so that 1) you maintain deception, and 2) you can easily continue forward to a go route. If a DB becomes overly aggressive on a curl, a coach can then set up the curl and go, or the WR can instinctively use a curl-and-go maneuver to fool the DB on a go route play. Personally, I call DBs “breaksteppers,” - because the only skill that most DBs (cornerbacks) have is break stepping. Most CBs are poor tacklers and usually have poor ball skills - BUT EVER CORNERBACK IS AN EXPERT BREAKSTEPPER. CBs practice breakstepping every day and this single skill is all that most CBs are particularly good at. Therefore - IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO MATCH THE DBs SPEED WHEN YOU COME OUT OF YOUR BREAK ON THE CURL. That DB will be coming like a bat out of hell and if you turn your shoulders too soon then you will come out of your very break very sluggishly and a good DB will be all in your shit! So have your WRs train as if they are playing against high quality DBs, because somebody hopefully some of them will. So 1) train to limit their curl routes to 4-steps, 2) have them maintain a “running forward” look until the very last second of their curl so they can maintain deception, maintain the “stop-and-go” option, and so they can beat the DB’s breakstep to the ball (most importantly.) Good luck coach
That description of the two different kinds of "tic tac toe" cuts ws exactly what I needed. I knew the 90 degree angle cut but I wasn't efficient enough trying to use that cut on a curl route thanks!
Well done! One fundamental concept to stress to your WRs that underpins all these cuts is the following: the series of steps are designed to position your plant foot perpendicular to the intended direction in order to provide maximum power and efficiency
FallenWolf depends on a couple main factors 1) ability/comfort (which one are you better at) 2) what type is separation is needed 3) what type of scheme the route is in
Hey
coach, great breakdown. As a former NFL wide
receiver though I’m going to help you out with some things. Most of what you’re saying is quite
excellent, however there are a couple of mistakes. Speaking about the 10 - 12 yd curl route, young
WRs on the high school level can do exactly what you said and catch a lot of
balls. However, that kind of curl will not
be very effective on the D1 level, and will not work at all on the NFL level.
First of all, I have been running precise curl patterns since the 10th
grade - AND A CURL SHOULD NEVER USE MORE THAN FOUR STEPS. You counted 4 steps on the kid’s curl
pattern, but he actually took 5 steps to complete his curl, which is one too
many (5 steps are for the 15 yd comeback route, which can be devastating if you
don’t use more than 5 steps to turn and drive back to the ball.) What every receiver should do is train their
body to “stop” in as few steps as possible, and 5-steps is a bit sloppy curl
for a wide-out, but many guys will probably need 5 steps at first. I’ve been stopping in 4-steps since I was 14 -
15 years old, and it is difficult at first, but a wideout should train himself
to accomplish this, and his right inside foot should always be the first foot
to begin the breakdown on the 10 - 12 yard curl (that’s along with using the
inside foot up on the WR stance on the line, never the outside foot.) Like you said, the WRs momentum is actually
stopped on the 3rd step (which is exactly right,) but at this point
he should keep his shoulders square and keep his eyes looking forward as if he
is going to continue to run, and not turn his shoulders too early. This is very important, and it could mean the
difference between a PBU or Int, and a completion or a TD, especially when
facing highly athletic DBs. I’ll break
down the reasons one-by-one:
1) You already know that a WR turning his shoulders really early to face the QB will alert the
DB, which I am sure will be ok on most high school levels, but against more
athletic DBs with better reaction time it can be disastrous. I think you are already aware of this
problem, but there are many more problems this creates that you are probably
not aware of.
2) When facing better DBs (perhaps even on the high school level) the DB will be
chasing you back to the ball, and IF YOU START TURNING TOO EARLY THE YOU WILL
HAVE A VERY POOR BODY POSITION THAT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BEAT THE DB TO THE
BALL. Watch Hines Ward explain this very
well ruclips.net/video/AQdluYWJuek/видео.html
3) One thing Hines Ward doesn’t explain about the curl route, is how to maintain the
stop-and-go body language at the top of the curl, so that if the DB is overly
aggressive then the WR can then fake a 10 yard stop, and then continue to a go
route, which usually results in a TD or a very big play.
It is extremely important
that a WR looks like you are still going forward when you stop so that 1) you
maintain deception, and 2) you can easily continue forward to a go route. If a DB becomes overly aggressive on a curl,
a coach can then set up the curl and go, or the WR can instinctively use a
curl-and-go maneuver to fool the DB on a go route play.
Personally, I call DBs “breaksteppers,”
- because the only skill that most DBs (cornerbacks) have is break stepping. Most CBs are poor tacklers and usually have
poor ball skills - BUT EVER CORNERBACK IS AN EXPERT BREAKSTEPPER. CBs practice breakstepping every day and this
single skill is all that most CBs are particularly good at. Therefore - IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ARE
ABLE TO MATCH THE DBs SPEED WHEN YOU COME OUT OF YOUR BREAK ON THE CURL. That DB will be coming like a bat out of hell and if you turn your shoulders too soon then you will come out of your very
break very sluggishly and a good DB will be all in your shit!
So have your WRs train as if they are playing against high quality DBs, because somebody hopefully some of
them will. So 1) train to limit their curl routes to 4-steps, 2) have them maintain a “running forward” look until
the very last second of their curl so they can maintain deception, maintain the
“stop-and-go” option, and so they can beat the DB’s breakstep to the ball (most
importantly.) Good luck coach
I’m gonna use this and add it to my game for this season thank you mr.roques for taking the time out of your day to type all of these useful tips down
Have been trying to find a good explanation of steps during cuts to help me practice and this really helps. Thanks!
That description of the two different kinds of "tic tac toe" cuts ws exactly what I needed. I knew the 90 degree angle cut but I wasn't efficient enough trying to use that cut on a curl route thanks!
Loving the details. I'm getting better and better working on these techniques
Well done! One fundamental concept to stress to your WRs that underpins all these cuts is the following: the series of steps are designed to position your plant foot perpendicular to the intended direction in order to provide maximum power and efficiency
Thanks a lot. A great video with detailed instructions.
This video was very very helpful thanks man !
really great video!!!
Great video
Awesome vid
Thanks man
perfect
Do you put your whole foot in the ground at the beginning of your route during the tic tac toe?
When do I speed in or square cut in
FallenWolf depends on a couple main factors
1) ability/comfort (which one are you better at)
2) what type is separation is needed
3) what type of scheme the route is in
Buddy Blevins elaborate on what type of separation is needed
FallenWolf if you want horizontal separatuon, use the speed, if you want vertical separation then use the square
Buddy Blevins sorry for irritation but when do I want horizontal separation or vertical separation
FallenWolf no worries, always happy to help. It really depends on the type of pass concept and what you're trying to do to the defense
This might have been the most confusing video ever