This ain't your Daddy's Flood Concept

Sorry for the poor English...but the title just sounded good.

The traditional flood pattern has been a staple of many teams. The vertical stretching of defense has always been a part many offenses. The standard teaching of the flood was simple. 

#1 WR Streak to clear the deep defender.

#2 WR Square Out. Break at 10 yards.

#3 WR Speed Out. Break at 5 yards. 

The #1 WR was only an option if the defense had blown the coverage. Easy read on the Flat defender. If he flies to the Square Out, throw the Speed Out. If he sits on the Speed Out, then throw the Square Out. The variation I plan to use this year makes all routes viable for the QB.

FIRST, replace STREAK with BURST CORNER.

SECOND, replace SQUARE OUT with a SEAM OUT.

THIRD, still use a SPEED OUT or have the route come from the backfield.

The BURST CORNER (thanks to Coach Slack and Coach Maddox for showing this route in the R4 book) gives the concept a deep threat that is not determined by just blown coverage. The way I teach it is to have the WR take 3 steps in at a 45 degree angle then burst upfield and by the seventh steps make a corner cut. The common mistake is the corner is not skinny enough. You must tell you WR to line up inside (most people refer to as bottom) of the numbers and when he makes corner cut make sure to stay at or near the numbers. This gives the route the proper spacing. 

The SEAM OUT is similar to the SQUARE OUT the difference is the angle. The WR must run vertical to a depth of 10-12 yards. The WR’s route should not look like a 90 degree angle, but more like a backwards seven.

The SPEED OUT is pretty standard. The only difference is slight break in the gain depth to 5-6 yards. If the route is coming from the backfield make sure the release is clean.

A twist that I may use this year is running FLOOD from a 2x2 formation. The only difference is the SPEED OUT becomes a shallow route.

FLOOD from a 2 x 2 formation

FLOOD from a TRIPS formation

FLOOD from a WING formation, RB sneaks into flats

Of Course, the backside runs a POST. He must be reminded to get into the QB's view!