R&D Labwork: Flood concept out of Wing-T

We are now heading into the intermediate/deep routes that require a 5 step drop or sprint out. We can also start to incorporate play action into these route concepts because it takes longer for the routes to develop.

The first concept I'm going to cover is the Flood concept. The flood concept comes in all kinds of varieties and can include many different types of routes. The Waggle, when run in its' traditional sense, is a flood concept (SE deep, TE intermediate, FB short). Usually these days you see flood concepts coming from a trips look, out of a spread offense.

I am looking at running a drop back or sprint out flood concept that can be a 2-man or 3-man concept that involves a deep out route by Wingback or Slotback.

The dynamics of the deep route is dictated by the location of the end (Split vs Tight), but the end will always be responsible for the deep route to the play side. If Split, then he runs a Streak to stretch the defense vertically. If Tight, then he will run a deep Flag/Corner route. The backside end will always run a post, with the type of post dictated again by location (Split vs Tight).

The Halfback is doing one of two things, based on him being play side or back side. If he is play side of call, he will run an Arrow route to make it a 3-man route. If he is back side of call, he is sealing the back side pass protection (drop back or sprint out).

The Fullback is always blocking. This can be a drop back fill, a sprint out lead, or a play action of the Down/Belly pass concept. That is the other factor we can be using with this pass concept. If we play action, that will confuse the defense and give us time to get our routes to open up. So there is some flexibility there on how your run the concept, mostly based on philosophy and personnel.

Here is what the scheme looks like out of a couple of looks:

As for the Quarterback, the reads depend on how many people are on the route and if you are dropping back or sprinting out.

If it is a 2-man route, you want to look up the Corner to that side. He will tell you where to put the ball. The issue becomes the underneath coverage getting under the Out route, so you if you run it out of sprint action, the QB can run the ball if he has green grass. If dropping back, then the QB better have a solid arm and zip it in there when the window opens. This 2-man, especially with TE/WB works well to the wide side of the field. Even though the throw may be longer, you get more room that defenders have to cover. Also, since they start out compressed, it helps with the difficulty of the throw from drop back.

If it is a 3-man route, you are looking more at the Flat defender. He will try to sit under the Out or jump the Arrow. Especially with sprint out, take the easier throw. If he plays deep underneath the Out, hit the Arrow and make a play. The QB needs to peek at the Streak for possible home run, but then needs to check down to the flats to see the dynamics.


If I had my druthers, I would run this concept with sprint out or play action. It gets the QB on the edge and makes the throw easier. The problem is that defenses pick up on that stuff and sometimes drop back can be a better option to break tendencies.