3-Step Passing Game

It is my pleasure to share with you the cornerstone of our offense at Blinn College which is our 3-step passing series. This series has been the foundation of our offense and helped us be very successful as an offensive unit. During the past two seasons we have completed 73% of our 3-step passes and averaged 12.2 yards per completion using this series.

At Blinn College we operate primarily from the shotgun and employ the no huddle from spread formations. Our objectives as an offense are to develop a ball control passing game and eliminate mental mistakes. The 3-step game we use has helped us accomplish these goals. Some of the reasons we like to run the spread no huddle offense are:

• To better utilize our skilled athletes.
• Take pressure off the offensive line.
• Neutralize a dominant front seven.
• Difficult for the defense to simulate in practice.
• Difficult for the defense to disguise coverage.
• Easy to read the blitz.
• Spreads the defense out.
• Creates mismatches.

The spread no huddle attack has helped us put up some great offensive numbers including a scoring average of nearly 53 points per game. Also, this past year we set new conference records for total offense (558 per game), total points (476), and passing yards (3,096). Our Quarterback Dane King led the NJCAA in passing yards and total offense, receiver Rashod Turner led the NJCAA with 64 catches for 1045 yards and 11 touchdowns, and running back Derrick Ross finished third in the NJCAA with 1,487 yards.

Our 3-step passing game consists of 10 routes. We like to run certain routes against different coverages, and these are the routes that we check to versus the blitz. We primarily use slide protection when running these routes when we have six available blockers, and use man protection when using five blockers. Timing is very important when throwing each of these routes. We work on each of these routes daily, perfecting our timing of the throw, and steps of our receivers. We feel that it is very important to get as many repetitions as possible each day to become proficient at these routes. We start each practice with routes on air to perfect these routes. Also, each day we do 10-minute 1/2 skeleton drills vs. our defense running our 3 step routes and then a 20-minute full pass skeleton drill vs. our defense. We always go #1 offense versus #1 defense when doing each of these drills because we feel we can get better repetitions because of the level of competition. We also work these routes for 5 minutes daily vs. bump man-to-man coverage.

The following diagrams are each of our routes with the assignment of the quarterback, running back, and our 4 wide receivers.

If you have any questions about any of these route or how we run our no huddle offense, feel free to call us at Blinn College and we would be glad to answer any questions that you might have. Best of luck in the coming season.

Diagram 1. Turn	Position Assignment: Turn QB 5 STEP QUICK STEP. BEST LOOK SIDE. X TURN AT 10 YDS. A TURN AT 10 YDS. Y TURN AT 10 YDS. Z TURN AT 10 YDS. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 2. Inside Rec. Fade	Position Assignment: Turn QB QB 3-STEP - READ THE CORNER. LOOKING TO THROW THE FADE VS. MAN PRESS. IF THE CORNER BAILS, THEN CHECK IT DOWN TO X. X RUN LIKE THE OUTSIDE SCREEN. COME DOWN L.O.S. AND SETTLE. A FADE Y FADE Z RUN LIKE AN OUTSIDE SCREEN. COME DOWN L.O.S. AND SETTLE. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 3. Smash	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - READ THE CORNER. X RELEASE AT 45 DEGREES AND SIT AT 4 YDS. A CORNER BREAK AT 10-12 YDS. Y CORNER BREAK AT 10-12 YDS. Z RELEASE AT 45 DEGREES AND SIT AT 4 YDS. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 4. Sluggo	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - LOOKING TO THROW THE SLUGGO. IF THE CORNER AND SAFETY SIT ON IT, LOOK FOR THE BUBBLE. THE BUBBLE MAY TURN UP THE SIDELINE. X SLANT AND GO. BREAK AT 6, TAKE 3 STEPS ON THE SLANT, THEN BURST VERTICAL A BUBBLE Y BUBBLE Z SLANT AND GO. BREAK AT 6, TAKE 3 STEPS ON THE SLANT, THEN BURST VERTICAL. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 5. Hitch	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - READ SOFTEST CORNER TO SHORTEST THROW. ALSO BE ALERT TO OUTSIDE BACKER OR ALLEY PLAYER THAT CAN JUMP IN THE THROWING LANE VS. ANY ROTATION IN SECONDARY WORK OPPOSITE THE ROTATION. X HITCH AT 6 - PUSH OUTSIDE SHOULDER OF DB - CONVERT TO A FADE VS. PRESSURE. A INSIDE SEAM - THROTTLE DOWN IN THE HOLE AFTER 1ST BACKER. Y INSIDE SEAM - THROTTLE DOWN IN THE HOLE AFTER 1ST BACKER. Z HITCH AT 6 YDS - PUSH OUTSIDE SHOULDER OF DB CONVERT TO A FADE VS. PRESS. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 6. Out	Position Assignment: Turn QB 5-STEP FIRM - READ SOFTEST CORNER TO SHORTEST THROW. ALSO BE ALERT TO OUTSIDE BACKER OR ALLEY PLAYER THAT CAN JUMP IN THE THROWING LANE VS. ANY ROTATION IN SECONDARY WORK OPPOSITE THE ROTATION. X SPEED CUT OUT AT 10 ROLLING TO 12. A INSIDE SEAM. THROTTLE DOWN IN THE HOLE AFTER 1ST BACKER. Y INSIDE SEAM. THROTTLE DOWN IN THE HOLE AFTER 1ST BACKER. Z SPEED CUT OUT AT 10 ROLLING TO 12. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 7. Slant	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - THROW BEST LOOK SIDE. READ THE OUTSIDE BACKER. BE ALERT TO ANY ALLEY PLAYER THAT CAN JUMP THE SLANT. X SLANT AT 6 YDS. A BUBBLE Y BUBBLE Z SLANT AT 6 YDS. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 8. Vertical	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - VS. 2 SAFETIES READ 1/2 FIELD SAFETY VS. 1 SAFETY READ HIM AND LOOK FOR ONE OF THE INSIDE VERTICALS. X VERTICAL - FASTEST RELEASE. A VERTICAL - FASTEST RELEASE AND GET 2 YDS. OUTSIDE OF THE HASH Y VERTICAL - FASTEST RELEASE AND GET 2 YDS. OUTSIDE OF THE HASH Z VERTICAL - FASTEST RELEASE. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 9. Out	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - READ THE OUTSIDE BACKER. LOOK FOR THE INSIDE RECEIVER WITH THE BEST LEVERAGE. X VERTICAL MUST TAKE AN OUTSIDE RELEASE. A SPEED CUT OUT AT 4 ROLLING TO 6 YDS. Y SPEED CUT OUT AT 4 ROLLING TO 6 YDS. Z VERTICAL - MUST TAKE AN OUTSIDE RELEASE. B BLOCK PROTECTION
Diagram 10. All Slant	Position Assignment: Turn QB 3-STEP - READ THE OUTSIDE BACKER. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE INSIDE SLANT. IF THE BACKER COLLAPSES IT, THEN LOOK OUTSIDE. X SLANT AT 6 YDS. A SLANT - GET INSIDE THE BACKER AND THEN GET BACK VERTICAL. Y SLANT - GET INSIDE THE BACKER AND THEN GET BACK VERTICAL. Z SLANT AT 6 YDS. B BLOCK PROTECTION

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American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this clinic article, here are a few videos that you may find interesting: FV- 01295E The Quick Passing Game (T. Donnan) FV-01306B Play Action Passing (Woodley and Quartaro) FV-00883B Pass Protection and Quick Game (#2) (Novell) To find these videos and many others, view our online catalog at www.AFMVideos.com.

About the author
Scott Maxfield

This fall Scott Maxfield begins his third season as Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator at Blinn College. The Buccaneer offense ranked #l nationally in total team offense, passing offense, and scoring offense. Coach Maxfield previously coached at Pearl River Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College. You can reach him at smaxfield@blinn.edu