Two Ways to Run the Scissors Concept
A look at Kansas State hitting the post two different ways in the scissors concept.
The scissors concept is a post and a deep out (or sail route). It’s a solid play against MOFO because it can put one of the safeties in a jam and if the cornerback has outside leverage, the play is particularly troublesome.
One point that I made previously was the importance of flat control on this play. You will notice its absence hear and the play works — the ball goes to the post but the sail route was wide open too despite no flat control save the play action fake. You will also notice that the competition, Southeast Missouri State, didn’t matchup well against Kansas State, the offense in question today. However, these two plays are nice variations of the Scissors concept worth taking a look at to add to the arsenal.
Fake the Double Post
Kansas State is running the play from a 2x2 set out of 11 personnel to the boundary against a MOFO structure.
This variation is a subtle complement to another good play against MOFO — double post. Here, the inside WR on the sail route fakes the post to force the safety inside and then breaks out. The safety has over and inside leverage so a post here wouldn’t have been ideal. But the fake and then break opposite this safety’s leverage makes this route wide open.
The QB is reading that safety and sees him occupied by the inside receiver’s route. So he throws the post. As it would be, I imagine that if the play had been double post, the result would have been identical.
One more note: like I mentioned earlier, there is no flat control on this play yet the sail route is wide open with no issue from an underneath defender. Why so? Well we have to acknowledge the competition again, but the play fake is what puts the flat defender in a bind. So this is how Kansas State handles the flat, but I’d be curious to see how that would hold up throughout a season of calling the play. Further — a lack of real flat control takes away a check down or hot for the QB. All he has is a hitch to the other side of the field — not ideal. So while this play is a solid variation on the scissors side of things, I would like for the QB to have some sort of flat control that could also act as his hot, if needed.
Changing the Route Angles
Now out of a 2x2 12 personnel formation with a TE/Wing side and the two receivers to the other, the Wildcats have the two big guys run the scissors concept.
The offense is again again facing MOFO — this time a clear Cover 2 — but there is no Mike running up the middle. Instead, the weak side linebacker takes the inside receiver in man coverage, and this decision voids the middle of the field. This mistake becomes painstakingly apparent when seen in combination with the five man pressure taking the Mike out of coverage. So it must be recognized that unsound defense is what really makes this play work.
But there is something of interest to note here: the route angles.
In this variation of the play, it’s not really a post and a sail — it’s the opposite. So the outside receiver is running a dig-looking-route (as opposed to a post) and the inside receiver is running a corner (as opposed to a sail/out route). The difference is in the angle of the routes. The idea is the same in that one breaks in and one breaks out over each other.
These different angles also determine who goes over top. Evidently the rule is that the high angle route should — so in this case that’s the corner route over top with the dig coming underneath. I am not entirely sure when this play would be good besides when the defense plays it like they do here. If the overhang weren’t to carry the corner route (like the inside linebacker does here), along with the cornerback covering grass over and outside, the underneath dig, I imagine, would play out like the dagger concept and require that overhang to be low. And then the QB would be hitting that window between the first flat defender and the first inside linebacker. However, that would require proper flat control (nor is there a hot). So this play looks good here, but I’d be curious to see how it’d play out against another defense.
Alas, despite my concerns with the lack of flat control and hots, the two plays work and hold important details that can be applied to this concept to give it variety: fake the double post and switch angles on the two routes.
Until tomorrow,
Emory Wilhite
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