The NFL Route Tree

With the NFL season only being a few hours away (as great as it was, I’m siding with the old school generation in believing that Sunday, not Thursday, is our true opening day) I figured it was time to run into the war room and quickly draw up something.

Something we see EVERY Sunday but fail to comprehend would be the route tree. Originally created as a format to run the Air Coryell offense, the route tree is generally known by every professional wide receiver. The consensus was that by using the route tree, a receiver could close his eyes and imagine the upcoming play in his head, rather than sit down in an empty room for hours on end memorizing a gigantic playbook and chalkboard. The Air Coryell offense is stilled used heavily in the NFL today, especially within the Dallas Cowboys organization where head coach Jason Garrett has evolved it from his days of playing quarterback for the team.

The offense is run by using a route’s assigned numbers. Though a quarterback in the Coryell system usually reads the fields from long to short, the numbers in the route tree begin with the shortest route and work their way up (from 1 being an OUT to 9 being a GO).

The offense is easily “seen” by a receiver once he hears a play called out in the huddle because of its simplicity. For example: 987 H Scat. Though it might sound a bit more complicated on game day, this might actually be a play you see Romo drop back to.

Imagine you’re a receiver. You hear the play that was listed above. Now close your eyes.

The numbers are called out according to what the X (number one receiver), Y (slot receiver), Z (number two receiver), and half back/running back (H) should run. Unless of course you’re in a 2WR formation, in which case the tight end will be your Y. Therefore, according to 987 H Scat, The X will run a GO, the tight end/slot will run a POST, the Y (on the opposite side of the field, unless you’re in a bunch formation) will run a CORNER, and the running back will run a SCAT, which is simply an underneath route that will most likely be used for a dump off. Once the ball is snapped, the play should run like the image above.

And remember that unless it’s a short route or a double move, the point of break for a receiver is usually within the 12-15 yard range.


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