879 – 4 on 4
Play Name: 879
Play Theory: In 4 on 4, you’ll most likely be facing man-to-man defense. If that’s the case, victory comes down to your athletes against their athletes. However, if your opponent is playing a zone, this play can shred it. The two most common zone defenses will be:
- 1 safety, 2 corners, 1 rusher; or
- 2 safeties, 2 corners, no rusher
This play is designed to overload the deep coverage. Red is running an 8 route (post) and Blue is running a 9 (streak). The center should delay his route after snapping the ball. The goal is that two people will cover Red and the center (Black) will sneak through underneath.
Tip: From the description, you might think that Blue is just a decoy. What makes this play work well is that Blue has free reign to adjust this route based on the defense. A couple alternatives would be a post (8), post-corner (87), or an out-n-go (39).