It's Time to Smash the Competition
Need a route concept that places vertical stretch on a flat defender? The Smash concept is the concept for you!
The Smash Concept is a fantastic way to put vertical stress on the flat defender in Cover 2, Cover 3, and Cover 4. Really, as long as there is a defender assigned to the flats in zone defense, the Smash concept will work. The Smash Concept features two primary routes:
The inside receiver (#2) will run a deeper route that breaks at the 10-12 yard mark.
The outside receiver (#1) runs a hitch (the smash route) that breaks at 5 yards.
Other than that, the concept can be run in a lot of different ways. Previously on this Substack, we went over the Drive concept. The Drive concept also had two distinct routes that must be run, but those two routes were run across the middle of the field. This handicaps the play a little bit with respect to what the other players can do. The Smash Concept is run to one side of the field towards the sideline, meaning the rest of the field is wide open. In our system, we run the Smash Concept to both sides and tell our QB to pick the best matchup. Although this play puts stress on the flat defender, we tell our QB to read the CB. We do this because it makes the read a lot easier. If the CB is in Cover 3, they are going to bail and cover the corner route. However, if the CB sees the #1 receiver break for a hitch and the CB even takes a small step towards the hitch, this leaves the corner behind the hitch wide open. This is what that play looks like:
Obviously, this is a very simple concept that can be run at the high school level. We tell the QB to field the snap, take one step, and fire the ball towards the correct read. This is the simplest form of the Smash concept. The upper levels of football run this play in much more unique ways.
The Oklahoma Method
Lincoln Riley is obviously one of the best offensive minds in football. The way Oklahoma ran the Smash Concept under Lincoln Riley featured a fade route by the #2 receiver. The play itself was drawn up like this:
The QB has two different options. If the blitz is coming, he has the hot route in the Y. If the pocket is clean, it becomes a Smash read on the left side and the QBs eyes should immediately be on the CB. If the CB even takes a slight step towards the hitch, the ball should be gone towards the fade. This route concept can be successful in a Cover 2 look as well, as the QB can hit the soft spot between the CB and the FS in Cover 2. It is worthwhile to remember that all of these concepts can be run against man coverage if the QB does not check out of it. The receivers winning their routes is what it ultimately comes down to. If you believe that your receivers can attack down the field and your QB has an arm, then the Smash Fade Concept may be for you and your offense!
Sprinting Out to Smash
Gus Malzahn is also a highly touted college football coach, more so known for creating Cam Newton than anything else, really. However, he also gives us another great way that coaches can utilize the Smash Concept. You should understand the basics of the Smash concept by now. #2 receiver runs some sort of deep route towards the boundary and the #1 receiver pretty much always runs a hitch. HOWEVER, sometimes, especially when using this concept in the sprint out game, the outside receiver can run a different route. On the tree, this route is known as a whip. The play itself would look something like this:
Using the whip with the outside receiver allows this play time to develop. The QB can sprint out, get eyes on the CB and make their read. If the CB steps down on the whip, the corner will once again be wide open. When watching the film, you will realize that 9/10 the whip is wide open. In our offensive system at my high school, we incorporate the whip into our offense quite a bit. Once again, the whip route is there 9/10. It is one of the dirtiest routes in all of football. If you have an elite route runner with big play ability on the outside, consider using this form of the SMash Concept instead of the classic hitch. You will not be disappointed with the results.
Once again, I hope everyone who read this learned something and has takeaways that they can implement into their offense. Keep growing the game, coaches! Now more than ever, the youth of the World need us to be fantastic role models. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
Best,
Coach Davis