Adding Play Action: PA Comeback Slide

The next play we examine is the play action pass that works off the RB Stretch play. This is a full play action pass with a B fake into a naked bootleg. The basis of the play is the misdirection, which is why this is a paired play that is set up off the outside zone play. "Here the idea is to sell hard on the fake run and get action flowing that side (here the left) of the field, when suddenly the QB emerges from the other side. With (Michigan QB Denard) Robinson it puts him in a good pass/run option that will put a lot of pressure on the SAM."

 Al Borges, Brady Hoke's Offensive Coordinator at Michigan, enumerates the advantages we are getting from the naked bootleg play action:

• It gives the quarterback the opportunity to get outside, which shortens the pass distance.
• It equips the offense with a deceiving misdirection package.
• It complements the wide zone and in turn helps offensive linemen block the run effectively.
• It can be run from a variety of formations and groups using any number of receivers.
• It gives an athletic quarterback a run-pass option by putting stress on the contain man.
• The blocking scheme is easy to execute.
• The inside receivers (TE and RB) can work under and behind second-level defenders. 

We're going to focus in on those two highlighted in red. Just to establish what kind of play action fake we are talking about, here is the action on the B fake demonstrated in slow motion by a semipro QB:


Let's look at Coach Borges' coaching points for the action on the play:

1. "The playside wide receiver clears the corner wide and deep to protect the flat receiver."

On the play diagram, that is the X receiver, who will take the deep cover man out of the play to allow the TE and RB to operate underneath. This is a three level attack where the wideout pins the deep coverage while the FB out in the flat pins the shallow coverage. This is what will free up the TE crossing the field behind the linebackers. This is a very standard flood combination that attacks the shallow zone coverage. See for instance the diagram for 69 Y Cross at the bottom of this analysis of the Ohio State zone series. This three level route bootleg action is what you will see in "waggle" plays.

 2. "The quarterback can look upfield if he breaks contain quickly. If he sees the defense is blatantly outflanked, he must get the ball to the flat receiver quickly."

If you don't want the QB to get tired, you can dump the ball to the FB in the flat in instances where he is not covered. This is a good idea if you don't have a running quarterback that can take advantage of open space with his feet.

3. "The backside crossing receiver has the option to throttle down if he stays in good relationship to the quarterback's movement."

 All this means is that the TE has the option of settling down and sitting in the open spaces between zone coverage as long as he keeps a decent throwing angle with the quarterback's position on the rollout. When you look at the video above showing the rollout, you can see that the QB's torso is twisted as he tries to whip around and get into a throwing position. The TE cannot slow down so much that the QB must keep turning to get an angle to throw back against the direction he is running in.

The Pass Option

The primary aim of this play in the is to hit a medium range pass that gets us about 12 yards to the tight end.  After the ball is snapped, the TE will release and execute his plant and cut to the inside just as the play fake is developing in the backfield:



As long as there is no blitz coming, your QB will wheel around and pull the ball up. That's when you look at the playside edge defender. This is the contain man Borges was talking about before. In the case that the contain man has an outside position and cuts off the lane, you want to look upfield for the throw. As you roll out, the TE will come across the field in front of you, moving in the opposite direction of the defense's focus.



If the routes are run cleanly, you should have an open lane as the TE slips behind the underneath LB zones. The deep zone is held all the way in the back by the deep WR route, while you can see in the foreground the shallow cover man moving up to take away the FB. Had he hung back near where the TE is running into, you can dump the ball to the FB arrow route for a decent pickup.





The Run Option

Sometimes you will roll out and see a lot of open field in front of you. Normally I still try to dump the ball to the FB in the flat since I never have running quarterbacks, but if you have a guy that can exploit the running room, you should take it. Here we have a PA Comeback Slide against Nevada, and after the play fake you can see a wide open weak side. Notice no lineman is pulling out in front of the QB, which is what makes it a "naked" bootleg:



That is just asking for it.  Sure enough, when you look up into the underneath zones, you can see the "flat" defender hanging back quite a bit and the linebacker looks like he is sitting to take away that inside area that a slant pass would normally be thrown to.  Those two defenders are going to get in the way of the passing lane to the TE if we try to force the ball in there.



Instead, let's take the open field in front of us. This is the reason a standard play action rollout run/pass option play can be as deadly as a read option play with a running QB like RG III or Denard: "The fifth threat is what separates the boot from other play-action passes. In normal play-action passes the QB sets up to read the defense, but in the bootleg he is rolling out away from flow and becomes a downhill running threat. If you are able to cover all the routes, you still have the threat of the quarterback run."