Flood Left

Description

Flood Left is a revamped version of one of my oldest plays. The premise is simple: all four forward receivers (two tight ends, two wide receivers) run drag, corner or post routes to the left side, while the running back swings out to the right. The wideouts and tight ends can initially overwhelm the defenders on the left side by sheer numbers. If the defense pursues heavily the RB may find himself wide open on the opposite side. While most of these routes are designed to reliably gain short to medium yardage, Flood Left creates excellent opportunities for good runs after the catch.

This play does not really have primary targets. The wide receivers and RB are all fairly easy to hit for short gains. The tight ends are a bit more difficult targets, though teams with a modern, speedy TE may be able to take advantage of the slant post route for big yards over the middle. This route runs right towards the left safety, but that safety is usually already occupied by the other tight end's quick corner and the WRs underneath. This allows the right TE to run away from his may and the right side safety.

Player Assignments

See the Madden Playbook Guide for a description of these symbols.

Read Progression

1. Left flanker to outside (before curl)
2. Left TE quick corner
3. Right flanker drag
4. RB swing
5. Left flanker curl
6. Right TE post

This progression is pretty basic. At the beginning of the play look at how the defense is aligned against the left WR and TE. Often one defender will have to cover both receivers momentarily, which usually leads to an easy pass to the flanker underneath. You may also want to look for the right TE before he makes his break if the safeties are in man coverage and do not stay back deep. Also, although the left flanker ends his route with a curl, in practice this is rarely used (it's as much to keep him in bounds as anything), so you may end up skipping over his second read.

Analysis

Pros:

• Quick developing play with several good routes
• RB often has room to run in the flats
• One of my best passing plays for reliably converting short yardage

Cons:

• Deep routes are slower developing and possibly dangerous throws
• No extra blockers so you may need to get rid of the ball quickly (limiting use of deep routes)