Coachguru Articles - Turning Athletes into Excellent Wide Receivers

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Pitching Philosophies and Tips by Billy Brown (Austin High)

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Turning Average Athletes Into Excellent Wide Receivers

By Shannon Roberts

Ferris High School

With so many wide open passing attacks in today's football, wide receivers are one of the most explosive and dynamic positions on the field. Many people assume you must have great athletes in order to run this type of offense. I believe this is a misconception. Wide receiver is actually one of the few positions in football where an average athlete has a chance to beat an excellent athlete. With the right technique, intelligence, and strategies, a wide receiver can consistently get open against bigger, stronger, and faster defensive backs. Hopefully some of the techniques and strategies discussed here will help you turn your average athlete into an excellent receiver and a great athlete into an unstoppable force on offense.

Stance:

The WR stance should facilitate no wasted movement. The correct posture should allow the athlete to explode forward, with no rocking back motion. In order to ensure this, the front foot should be pointed straight ahead. All of his weight should be on the balls of the feet, while keeping the heel in contact with the ground. The knee should be ¡°over the toe, and the shoulders should be ¡°over¡± the knee. By ¡°over¡±, I mean more forward toward the LOS. Placement of the knee and shoulder is extremely important. This posture will enable a quick forward movement on the snap of the ball. The back leg is also important to a good release. The distance between the front and back foot should cause the back leg to be almost straight, with virtually no knee bend. Another major point for the back leg is making sure ¡°all cleats are in the ground¡±. Do not let them raise their heel off the ground, as this will cause them to rock back. Hand position also plays an important role in a correct stance. I prefer the receiver to have their hands up approximately chest high, ready to fight press coverage. Make sure their elbows are relatively tight against their body with palms facing inward.

Footwork:

I teach the WR that there are only two types of cuts, and if mastered, ANY route can be run effectively. These two cuts I call the ¡°buzz cut¡± and the ¡°hard step¡±. A buzz cut includes any route that requires a cut of 90¢ª or more. Routes such as outs, stops, curls, square in, and comebacks are examples of buzz cuts.   When executing a buzz cut, I ask the receiver to drop his tail, and lower his shoulders over his toes. I always stress getting low and tell them ¡°don¡¯t let me see your numbers¡±. The next important step is to buzz the feet quickly. This means take short, quick, choppy steps. On the last step before the WR cuts, he should drive the foot down hard and place it at a 45¢ª angle. By placing the foot at a 45¢ª angle, it allows the hips to open slightly, which allows the WR to get around quicker.   The fewer steps the WR takes when going from full speed to stopping, the quicker he will be, and the less time the DB has to break. Also, make sure he pumps his hands, gets his head around first, and hands up quickly, ready to catch the ball. The ¡°hard step¡± is a cut at an angle of 45¢ª or less. Routes such as posts, corners, slants, fades, first part of a dig, and ¡°go¡± (used in a ¡°go¡± to get separation), are examples of hard step. When a hard step cut is executed, the shoulders and tail should lower slightly, but do not need to drop as low as in a buzz cut. The most important coaching point of a hard step is to make sure plant foot (inside foot for a corner and outside foot for a post route) is driven very hard and quickly downward. When executed properly, the thigh of the plant foot should raise slightly above parallel with the ground. Also, make sure the WR gets a good ¡°separation¡± step. This is the first step after making the break. In all routes, this is the most important step. It should be a very quick step, which is not shortened. This will allow a good separation between WR and DB. After these two cuts are mastered, the WR should be able to finish any route well. However, in order to get open, a good knowledge of how to run routes is necessary.

Route Running:

Good route running is the biggest key to a less athletic WR having success against a more athletic DB. It is extremely important that ALL receivers are aware of and use good technique when running routes. The following point will help your receiver, regardless of athletic ability, become more adept at getting open and beating DB¡¯s.

Alignment

To start with, a receiver should vary his alignment according to the route he will be running. A slant route calls for a wider alignment, while a drag calls for a tighter alignment. The WR should take measures to not let the DB know whether you are going to make an in cut or an out cut. First of all, this can be done by varying alignment almost every play. Try varying on run plays where you are not a primary blocker, or on pass plays away from you.

The Release

The first important step in good route running is the release. By ¡°release¡±, I am not referring to ¡°get offs¡± from press coverage, but the first few steps of the route. It is important to vary the release. The WR always wants to keep the DB guessing. Do not let the defender know, for instance, every time you release inside you are running an in route. I always tell them to change the way you get there, but always end up on the correct shoulder. A good release can also neutralize the DB¡¯s leverage. If he is lined up on the inside trying to take away an in cut by releasing hard inside for two or three steps, the WR takes away the DB¡¯s advantage.

Correct Aiming Point

The most common mistake I see wide receivers make is not cutting on the correct side of the DB. It is very important that the WR finishes his route on the side he wishes to cut. As a coach, you should give him an aiming point. If he plans to run an out route, his aiming point should end up be the outside shoulder of the DB. Any kind of break inside, the WR should aim for the inside shoulder. This will help the him avoid contact, and will greatly increase his separation step, thereby increasing his chances of getting open.

Get His Hips Turned

The best way for a slower WR to beat a faster DB is to get him to use his speed in the wrong direction. The WR should keep the DB off balance by using different moves all the time. Appearing to run one route while actually running another will keep the DB guessing, and not allow him to ¡°jump¡± the initial movement. For example, when running a post route, taking a couple of steps to the corner could get the DB to turn his hips, or at least lean the wrong way. In this instance, a quick break to the post has a great chance of getting open. Using two or three moves in one route can give a DB a headache. Just make sure the DB is not making so many moves that the QB is waiting on him to throw the ball. Another way to get him leaning the wrong way is to ¡°lean on him¡±. When a DB is trying to run with him and use his body to push the WR too wide or out of bounds, the WR should lean into the DB. By doing this, the WR is getting the DB¡¯s weight opposite of the direction he is cutting and therefore slowing down his break. In addition, when making the steps in and out of the cuts, use his body to propel yourself away from him. Do this with the arm from elbow to shoulder; do not extend the entire arm, as there is a much less chance of drawing an offensive pass interference call.

Do Not Round It Off

The WR should make his breaks in a straight line, not rounded off. This has several positive effects on the route. First of all, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. We want the receiver to get open as quick as possible. This also does not allow the DB as great of an opportunity to step in front of the route. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it gives the quarterback a good consistent target at which to throw. This will greatly improve the timing of the passing game. If the QB knows the WR will break at the correct angle, he can throw it even before the break is made. When this timing is developed it will dramatically improve your passing game. With good footwork, the WR should execute a crisp, sharp route.

Accelerate Out of The Break

Another common mistake for WR¡¯s is to come out of the cut too slowly. As a coach, you should emphasize sprinting out of the cut. This will allow the separation step, so importantly sought from the WR. I always emphasize, ¡°how fast can you go, how fast can you stop, and how fast can you go again!¡± By using good footwork described in this article, acceleration out of the break will become routine.

Win the Chess Match

Playing WR is much like playing chess. The WR should think a move or two ahead of the defender. To start with, careful video observation should let the WR should know how a DB would react to each of his routes and moves. Also, by using different moves throughout the game, the WR should have clues on how to get open when he needs a big catch to win the game in the fourth quarter.

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