Applying R4 to the Coverdale Quicks by Darin Slack

I would love to dial the R4 down to a lock tight, do this is in every situation" system. However, if there is one thing I have learned being on this board, and in my meager 28 years in the game, you must know where to flex, and where to draw the line.

Like the military, there are robust guidelines and training for battle scenarios. The guidelines are part of the non-negotiables that officers hope will "kick-in" when the scenario goes to heck in a hand basket, as most battle scenarios do. Football is no where near war, but the same fluid situations present themselves to teenagers under pressure, with coaches trying to limit collateral damage with "rules of engagement." As you know however, "rules" while extremely necessary for order and discipline, can hinder productivity as much as free-wheeling can.

My point is this - the intermediate passing game puts the quarterback further from the LOS, and creates a more stable environment for R4 to function as a process, with footwork tied very tightly to it to ensure the quarterback stays on task and moves through his reads on his drop and gets the ball out according to his footwork. R4 and its footwork puts greater demands on the quarterback and coach to be as sound and consistent as possible while not stifling functional creativity for both.

The quick game, in my opinion, is an entirely different animal. It is an offensive ambush. The element of surprise is as critical to its success, as the quarterback's footwork. But even more important than either of those things, is the play called and its design. If the intermediate game is an infantry offensive with whole, the quick game is a covert operation with a handful of men for a specific purpose. Additionally, the quick game is typically tied to an anticipation of a blitz. So within that operation, or play, there must be the capacity for a decision to be made "in theatre," so we don't lose our field position in the process. R4 relies heavily on the accelerators of cushion/collision/closure for its decision, and while the quick game may have those components present in a press situation, usually the quick game decision happens faster than even the "accelerators" would provide. What I mean is that in the quick game field side is determined "pre-snap," as is the expected open receiver, by defensive alignment -(ie. corners/flat defenders).

In today's intermediate game, many coaches have tried to do the same "pre-snap- know where you go" approach as the quick game to make things easier, and defenses have wised up with disguising, zone blitzing, and roll coverage, and therefore, R4 allows these things to become post snap again, while sustaining a full field of options, and providing competitive advantage to the offense with its speed of outcome.

The quick game on the other hand, while undergoing many upgrades, still has a clear non-negotiables tied to it due to aggressive protection(limited), and depth of drop and routes. Get the ball out quickly or you get sacked, and hit receivers in holes before the defense recovers.

R4 was meant primarily to restore sanity, in my opinion, to the voluminous over-analysis of the intermediate passing game, that was intended to simplify the QBs read down to a "quick game" concept (Pick a side, hit it on five), but instead has left many coaches scratching their own heads about how to position every read, for every situation, on every play. It becomes exponentially confusing.

The quick game hasn't hit that point YET. It still maintains some of its original purity, because of those non-negotiables I mentioned. However, with the advent of increasing routes, and over design in the quick game, it won't be long before it becomes "top heavy", and will need to have a system to govern it. You see what is coming for sure, but even then, the speed of the play, the need for an on the spot decision, and the presence of immediate pressure, will always have the QB throwing on the last step, and "releasing" quickly if not. This is what R4 was trying to bring back to the intermediate game, without giving up on the big play.

I guess the simplest way to say it is, "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." The quick game isn't broken, in my opinion, like the intermediate game was. All the right pieces still operate in the quicks - rhythm footwork, fast decision making, and release. And they will always be there.

What concerns me about the quick game more than R4 being applied, is the basic lack of understanding on the part of many coaches about the mechanics/footwork of the quarterback, and the timing of the routes that go with them. This is where I think the quick game will get "top heavy" faster.

I see, in ever increasing measure, QBs being asked to make throws with footwork, and mechanics that DO NOT make sense to the TIMING of either the QB's readiness to throw, nor the receiver's being positioned in a hole. QBs don't understand throwing mechanics, so they are slow in delivery(footwork depth and hitching) and throw too hard(adrenalized fear, ignorance, or arrogance,et al), and the receiver's are faster than ever into space and through it for the same reasons.

The Quick Game is a CONCEPT of skills, spacing, and timing, and R4 while assisting in the non-negotiables of intermittently ordering progression in man scenarios, or defender keys by presnap read sides, and helping with a speedy decision on cushion/collision - it cannot fix those things I just mentioned, because they exist as problems on deeper level.

That goes to the over wrought play design concern as I mentioned earlier that we all need to monitor in our offenses. And in terms of where the need is greatest in the QUICK game and how I believe we can best help with our resources, isn't as much a need for our R4 system, as it is a need for our C4 system of mechanics.

Just my opinion, and no disrespect to the many great coaches who are redefining great play design - they are mission critical. But, we still have to throw it, and catch it.

One point of clarification. When I mentioned "over-wrought" play design in the quick game, I am not referring to Coverdale's package in any manner. I have met Andrew and find him to be one of the most intelligent men I have ever known in football.

I am referring to a plethora of over schemed, mechanically uninformed quick game offenses that are getting the defensive "beating" they rightly deserve.