In Reply to: Really interesting... posted by jerseybruin on January 23, 2026 at 09:50:30
... to be able to run the ball for 3 or 4 yards at a Crack minimum. That demands the d's respect. And that opens up second level passes, which is the bread & butter of the nfl o.
What is a "second level" pass? A pass 12 to 25 years downfield. (First level passes are short passes and level 3 poses are deep passes.
Level 2 passes are chunk plays that gash the d. They damage morale.
And play action passes make the LBs hesitate and delay their drop into their defensive zones. A big gap between the ba backers and the safeties is the qb's best friend. The worst pass defenders on the field are backers and safeties. Corners and nickels (aka, super corners) are the best.
The o wants to target the worst defenders as much as possible.
There are three kinds of play action passes.
Type 1; deep drop PA faking a run up the middle. This is where the o is going to take a deep shot...a 22 yard deep in. This is the big time money shot. Lots of plays are run to set up this one big money shot. Probably only gonna get 3 or 4 of these a game, max.
Type 2: naked bootleg. QB fakes a wide zone one way, then bootlegs to the other. The pass concept is almost always "flood" or "levels": one guy in the flat (option 1), one guy in the midrange (option 2), and one guy deep (almost never thrown because the ball will be in the air too long and qb accuracy is low when throwing deep on the run). QBs that are spooked being in the pocket (shadouche) love getting out in space so their view isn't obstructed.
Type 3: RPOs... maybe more accurately PRO (pass/run option). Read a second level defender on the backside of an inside zone run, and if he loses discipline, rip a shot behind him to a slanting WR.
Let's see what Ucla cooks up this year. Spring ball should be very interesting. If Ucla doesn't practice all 3 types of PA in the spring, then they sure af aren't going to run those plays in the fall when the games start.