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Feature- The Play-Action Pass In this edition of Fundamentally Speaking, former Quarterbacks Coach Paul Hackett details the specific motions that go into the play-action fake – that is, a play in which the quarterback simulates a handoff to the running back but keeps the ball for a pass play. The point of the play-action fake is to convince the defense that the play is a handoff just long enough for the defenders to react as they would to a running play. Since NFL defenders are experienced in reading all kinds of plays, including simulated handoffs, the offensive players must be precise in their actions in order to sell the fake. In addition, the rest of the play must be well-designed to take advantage of those false steps into which the defenders are lured. Play-action passing is a huge part of a successful offense in today's NFL because the running game and defense are ultimately what wins championships. The play-action pass is what we use in coaching to complement the running game and to keep the defense on its heels. To learn how to successfully execute the play-action pass, a quarterback first must understand what he looks like when he's actually handing off the ball. You have to study yourself and know what your body language is as you hand the ball to the running back, because the fake has to look exactly the same. Once you know how the play is supposed to look, you have to study and duplicate that action from the eyes of the defender. This is such an important starting point that, many times, we have taken a camera and film the action from the angle that the secondary and the linebackers would see it. We then study the film and work on producing the exact same action that we would use in handing the ball off to act as if we are handing the ball off. When it comes to executing the play-action fake, it becomes a matter of sleight of hand. Quite frankly, the quarterback gives the ball to the back and then takes the ball away. The key issue we have to teach the quarterback is that we always fake with the ball, and then leave the hand and take the ball away. We want the quarterback to use one hand to touch the hip of the runner with the ball and then leave that hand there while using the other hand to slide the ball away. As I said, we're trying to create that old magic, sleight-of-hand trick. We are after the defender's eyes. We want to make him think he sees something that isn't actually there. That's not easy, and it comes down to proper mechanics. There are mechanics to the footwork, but it's mostly a matter of the mechanics of your upper body as you pass the runner. It's your body language as you relax momentarily so that the linebackers feel you relax and shift their eyes to the back. The most important thing in the play-action pass is to not make any quick or sudden movements, because defenders are attracted to quick movements. If you move the ball too quickly they are going to look at you and not the running back. You want the running back to "take" the ball in the exact same manner as if he actually had the ball in his hands, so it's up to the quarterback to get the ball in and out of there so that the linebacker thinks he sees the back with the ball. Everything about this play has to look like any other rushing play, so a quarterback needs to be consistent in his movements. Everything in quarterbacking is done from a comfortable, natural stance behind the center. That starts as we take the ball from center and we ‘seat’ the ball. Everything we do is from the midline of the body as we rotate and turn our feet. Glossary: Play-Action Pass – A play in which the offense emulates a run before throwing a pass in order to elicit specific movements from the defenders. Seat the ball – To take the ball from the center and put it in a comfortable position at the quarterback's midsection. Fake with the Ball – To execute a play-action fake by actually holding the ball out in the hand that is extended to the back; an alternate method is to hold out an empty hand while keeping the ball in the other hand. One o'clock, three o'clock – Landmarks for a quarterback while going through his footwork; on the snap, a quarterback has his feet pointed towards 12 o'clock, so one o'clock is a slight angle to the right of that position. We teach the placement of the quarterback's feet in a way that relates to a clock. The quarterback steps at one o’clock, then steps at three o’clock and then the extension of the arm comes in as we discussed before. After the fake, there is a moment where the quarterback has to pause, and this is very difficult to do because he has to have trust that the fake is going to work. If the fake doesn't fool the defense, the quarterback is going to get knocked on his back, and then you have problems. After we have taught the fundamentals of faking the handoff, we work on designing pass routes that will take advantage of the reaction we are going to get from the linebackers. If we are going to fake right at you, then we are going to try to hit something behind you or do something that takes advantage of the manner in which linebackers react to the fake. We often design things that attack a specific person with a specific play. The other thing is, it's not just the quarterback and the backs that have to sell the fake. We have to make some subtle adjustments with the offensive line up front so that a good linebacker – like Derrick Brooks with all that experience – reads a running play. He has to see a pattern of blocking and the exact movement of arms. You have to work very hard so that all of those things are identical and the play looks like a run. Really, you are talking about tailoring all of your actions to deceive. In the end, what the play-action pass comes down to is a commitment to detail in everything – your feet, your arms and your actions.