Tendency-Breaking Routes

The quest of offensive playcallers to find new ways to get their receivers open is never-ending. Unfortunately, there are only so many routes and route combinations to run. NFL defenders and defensive coordinators have seen most, if not all, of them.

Therefore, it’s critical for OC’s to be able to dress up the same plays differently with a variety of formations, alignments, and motions to keep the defense from anticipating the right concept. We’ve written about this before (Post-Wheel, Spin-Dig). It’s also important to be able to do the opposite and run various plays out of the same formations.

Another essential tactic for any playcaller is the ability to understand his team’s tendencies and find the right moments to break them. This can be done as a result of great self-scouting or from deliberately setting up certain tendencies just to pull the rug out from under the defense at the right moment.

Below are just a few of the great tendency-breaking routes and concepts I’ve seen in the NFL over the last few seasons.

On this first example from the Packers’ 2019 Divisional Round Playoff win over the Seahawks, focus on wide receivers Davante Adams and Geronimo Allison. At the snap, they appeared to be utilizing a switch-release:

This isn’t an uncommon tactic, particularly in the red zone or man-coverage situations.

Both of Seattle’s defenders were in man coverage, recognized the releases, and started to fight through the anticipated traffic:

But Adams and Allison wouldn’t actually cross paths. Instead, they took their routes back toward their initial alignment:

Both DBs took their eyes off of their receivers for a brief moment to try and fight through the switch release. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late, and neither ended up covering anyone. The result was an easy touchdown:

This wasn’t the only tendency-breaker Packers head coach Matt LaFleur would use that night to get the win.