King’s Air Raid Offense

Background: In NCAA 10 I have been running two completely different offenses: The GT
Flexbone and the TTU Air Raid. I’ve heard that you can run from shotgun, but I have never had
any success. If you would like to add a running game to this offense, go right ahead as it would
make it much better, but for now I will continue to run the Air Raid. This is not going to be
TTU’s Air Raid, and I do not believe that it resembles many others, because I seem to mix in lots
of different concepts from lots of different teams. One reason that I enjoy this offense is that it
irritates the defense. I have been forced to play against similar offenses and they drove me
crazy. I was doing everything I could to defend it, but my only success was when the offense
made a mistake. By passing almost every down, you can only be stopped by your own
mistakes.

Playbook: Texas Tech (TTU)

Here are the rules to the offense:

1. Don’t get sacked. EVER!!!
2. Don’t throw picks.
3. Complete 66% of your passes past 10 yards

If you could follow these rules without flaw, it would be almost impossible to stop you. Now of
course you should understand the point of the first two, but you may be wondering about the
third. If you complete 66% of your passes past 10 yards that means that for every down you
get you have a 66% chance of making a first down. Seeing that you get 3 downs to attempt a
first down, it is very improbable that you will be stopped (assuming you don’t throw any picks
or get sacked). Also, it should be noted that short passes are very valuable and should be used
to force the defense to cover them, thus leaving the deeper routes open and to allow yourself
to gain some “cushion” yardage so that not all of your routes have to be past 10 yards.

Formations: Personally, I like to use only 4 WR formations. I dislike 5WR formations because
they don’t provide enough pass protection, but I also need all the speed that I can get on the
field at one time. If you had a good TE that you like to use, you could definitely use the same
concepts listed below, but from a TE formation. I use two kinds of 4WR formations: Spread
and Trips. The first picture is a picture of Four Verticals from a spread formation. Notice that
there are two WR’s on either side of the formation. The second picture is the same play, but
from a Trips formation. These formations have 3 WR’s on one side of the formation and a lone
WR on the other side. Trips formations make reading many defenses much simpler than with
Spread formations.
Personnel: In reality, you should always look for WR’s with good qualities all around: Hands,
Awareness, Route Running, but unfortunately, despite EA’s attempts, Speed is still the most
dominant rating, and this is what you should look for in WR’s. As for QB’s I need a QB with at
least an overall rating of 90, and obviously the better the THP/THA the less chance that he will
overthrow a wide open WR. A fast Hb is always a good asset, and some decent pass blocking
skills are helpful because I often keep them in to block. The only thing that I change about my
depth chart is that I will put my best WR’s at 3rd and 4th WR because they often get the most
catches.

Reads: There are two kinds of ways to make reads when you run a play. One way to read the
defense is to identify what kind of coverage the defense is in on that play and then throwing to
the weak point of that particular coverage. Another way of making reads is having a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
progression for every play. This puts less pressure on me by not forcing me to read the defense
very quickly after the ball is snapped. Because I have practiced these plays so much, I can
comfortably make my progression. This is also useful for when you are playing an experienced
user who uses different/unique coverages. Another benefit is that sometimes, although a route
should be open vs. a certain coverage, it may not always be open, and other times it may be
open when it usually would not be. This is not to say that I don’t read what coverage the
defense is in. There are plays where I use this kind of read, but they will be discussed later.
Remember that you are not going to watch the WR himself, but where he is going. If that area
is open, you throw him the ball, if it’s not, you don’t. I will be using some short-cuts and
instead of explaining what I mean every time; I am going to show you what I mean when I talk
about my reads:

 Pre-snap Man/Zone: If you are in a trips or bunch formation you can use this read, and
should on every single play. If there is someone lined up on all of your WRs on the 3WR
side, then the defense is most likely in man. If they are not, then it is either a zone, or a
zone blitz.
  Post Read: If you read a Cover 2 (Two safeties deep)/1(1 player in the deep middle with
man underneath), then you are going to hit the post route over the middle. After you
read coverage, you need to look at the pass rush until the post comes open. Otherwise,
use the reads below.
 Read X after his cut: Basic read. If he is not covered by a defender, then throw it, if he is
then don’t.

Although I stated in the guide that i prefer a 1, 2, 3, 4 progression in the guide, that doesn't
mean that I don't use the strategy of reading the defense for the type of coverage. This is also
helpful when I know if the defense is in man or zone. Notice that no matter what kind of man
coverage they are in, a flat route should be open, so although it may not normally be my first
read, I might change it at the LOS. Here are some routes to beat common coverages:

Cover 0
Any Slant
Any Flat route
a Skinny post
Lobbing a Corner Route

Cover 1:
Delay your throw until he passes the deep defender on a Post
When you are on a hash, lob a Corner to the opposite sideline
Middle Slant: look for the drag route after the hook zone drifts back to cover the slant
Slant
Any Flat route: I would run this to the wide side of the field just to be sure he doesn't catch it
and run out of bounds. This is one of the few times that I will allow the HB to not block, but i
only do this when he has an "outside angle" route, where he runs at a 45* angle to the outside
and then cuts to a flatter route in the flats. Another great HB route is basically an out route run
through the offensive line such as in Inside Cross from Trips.

2 Man Under
Hit a Post
Any Slant
Any Flat route
Drag or In route

Cover 2
Post
Corner
Four Verticals: Although the fade route on the outside is usually my last read, I might make it
my first if I expect Cover 2.

Cover 3
Spacing: I don't believe that I mentioned this play in the guide, but since I have written it, I have
tried it out an now it is one of my main short passing plays. It should be found in almost all of
the trips formations and my reads are: the middle receiver, then the inside receiver, then the
outside receiver. This is a great play near the goalline and in short yardage situations.
Any High-Low Read: plays with a high-low read include: Levels, Strong Flood, a drag/in
combination, Smash, Slot Post and SE Under.

Cover 4
SCREENS
Short Routes Ins, outs, flat routes, slants, drags, etc.

I'd also like to touch on down and distance a little (I hope to delve more into this later). One of
my absolute favorite plays on 3rd and short is Four verticals. Why? Well consider this; The
common ideology is that you have a higher chance of completing a short pass vs. a long pass,
which is absolutely correct in normal situations. The problem is that now the defense is keying
on the short pass. I know that whenever I play someone who is passing a lot and they get a 3rd
and short, I often switch my zone coverage to aggressive and call a Cover 2, something that I
wouldn't even consider on a normal down because the offense is usually too scared to try and
hit the deep route. This means that on offense I have a great chance to pick up the first down
and a lot more. Another strategy that players use on 3rd and Short is bringing a heavy blitz.
Because the streaks are so quick to develop, you should be able to get the ball off before they
pressure gets to you. By passing deep every down, you force your opponent to respect your
deep threat, which allows you to make the short, high-percentage throws when you need to.

Directional Throws: Here I will discuss what I mean when I tell you to throw it “down and in”
and things like that.
 Down and In: You should point the stick in between down and towards the middle of the
field. Used for slot streaks, and posts.
 Down and Out: Point the stick between down and towards the outside sideline of the field
(lead the WR). Used on many routes towards the sideline.
 Up and Out: Used on drags, lead the receiver and throw the ball up. Between up and
leading the WR.
 Lead: Point the stick directly towards where the WR is going. Used on Ins, outs, slants,
drags, and others.
 Lead and Away from the defender: This is only used on curl routes so imagine that you have
a slot receiver run a short curl route. After he makes his cut, a defender from the middle of
the field comes to cover him, so now you are going to throw it leading to the outside. If you
had the same situation, but the defender was coming from the sideline then you would
throw it leading to the inside. If he is completely covered just don’t lead at all or find
another receiver.

Concepts/Plays:
In total I use around 25-30 total plays, but many of the plays (such as the Four Verticals plays
above) use the same concept. They are listed in no particular order. I will list the formations as
Shotgun Spread or Trips but those are not necessarily what exact formation that they are in the
playbook, but I just grouped them as where the WRs line up. Many of the plays can be found in
multiple formations.
Here is a list of the concepts/plays that I use in the order that they will be in the guide:
 FL Cross
 Flanker Dig (Spread)
 Four Verticals (Spread)
 Inside Cross (Spread)
 Slants (Spread)
 X Follow
 Flanker Dig 2 (Spread)
 H Shallow Cross
 Slot Post
 Curl Post wheel
 Inside Cross (Trips)
 Levels
 Middle Slant
 Slants (Trips)
 Slot Drive
 Smash
 Stick
 Strong Flood
 Four Verticals (Trips)
 SE Under
 Smash Middle
 Mesh
 Slot Corner
 Spacing
 Y Shallow Cross
 Cross Flood
 Deep Curl
 Mesh (Spread)
 Y Corner
 Y Stick

Audibles
 Middle Slant (trips)
 WR Screen (Trips)
 Y Stick (Spread)
 Cross Flood (Spread)
 H Shallow Cross (Spread)
Shotgun Spread: FL Cross
Hot route the HB to block. This is a good
play because it combines a corner route
with a high-low read in the middle.
Reads:
X (Up and Away), A after his cut (Down and
in), B (Lead), Y (Down and In)
Shotgun Spread: Flanker Dig
The first read on this play is a Post Read.
This is a great play to run against man or
zone. Against man it may be tempting to
throw it to one of the in routes right after
the cut, but be patient and wait until he
comes across them middle (this is true for
all in routes).
LB (Lead), A after his cut (Down and In), B
after his cut (Down and In), X (Lead), Y (Up
and Away)
Shotgun Spread: Four Verticals
Hot route the HB to block. This play is much
more effective vs. zone than man. If you
read man after the play starts your only
option becomes one of the inside streaks
thrown down and in away from the
coverage.
A/Y (Down and In), B/X (Lob or Up and
Away)
Shotgun Spread: Inside Cross
Optional: Hot route the HB to block. If you
don’t hot route the HB to block, he is a very
good read vs. man or zone. Another play
that combines a good complimentary route
(post) with a high low read.
[LB (Lead)], Y (Up and Away), A after his cut
(Down and In), B (Lead or Down and In)
Shotgun Spread: Quick Slants
I recommend that you only run this play if
you are sure that they are in man coverage
though it is definitely possible to hit vs.
zone. If they happen to come out in 4-4
then flat routes are absolute money routes
because the only flat defenders in any play
in the 44 are LB’s.
X/B (Lead), Y/A (Out and Away)
Shotgun Spread: X Follow
Optional: Hot route the HB to block and
make a Post Read. I have found that X’s
route is much more effective if you allow
the HB to run his route, but my main read
on this play is A deep over the middle.
[LB (Lead)], Y (Up and Away), X after his cut
(Down and In), X to lead (Lead)
Shotgun Spread: Flanker Dig
Hot route the HB to block. B’s route takes a
surprisingly long time to develop and you
may want to take a glance at the pass rush
after you determine that you are throwing
to him.
A (Down and In), Y (Up and Away), B after
his cut (Down and In), B to Lead (lead)
Shotgun Spread: H Shallow cross
If you know the defense is in man then I
would hot route the HB to block, otherwise
do not. You will find that it is hard to hit the
HB after he has hit his curl because he
catches it and runs backwards and usally is
tackled for a small game, so just treat it like
a slant route and hit him in stride.
Y (Up and Away), LB (Lead away from
defender), A after his cut (Down and In), B
to lead (lead), A to lead (Down and In), X
(Out and away)
Shotgun Spread: Slot Post
Optional: Hot route the HB to block. This is
one of my favorite plays for making the post
read with A and LB as my check-down
reads.
Post Read, LB (Lead), A directly after cut
(Down and In), X directly after cut (Down
and away)
Shotgun Trips: Curl Post Wheel
This play is definitely an all coverage beater,
with the post or slant vs. man, and the curl
post wheel combo against zone.
Post Read, LB (Down and Out), B (Lead
away from defender)
Shotgun Trips: Inside Cross
Optional: Hot route the HB to block.
Obviously very similar to the Spread version
of the play.
A (Out and Away), LB after cut (Down and
In), Y (Lead), LB (lead), B (lead)
Shotgun Trips: Levels
The most difficult defense to attack with
this play is going to be a Cover 1. Your first
two reads will be covered easily and you
will have to wait for B before someone will
be open.
A after cut (down and in), A (up and away),
LB after cut (down and in), LB (up and
away), B to lead (up and away).
Shotgun Trips: Middle Slant
Hot route the HB to block. I would only
recommend this play against man, but if
you identify the defense as man, then this
play is one of the best to beat it. The only
time that I don’t throw the slant vs. man is
if the hook route in a Cover 1 doesn’t run
with the drag (throw the drag).
Lb (Lead), A (Up and away)
Shotgun Trips: Slot Drive
If you know the defense is in man then I
would hot route the HB to block, otherwise
do not. This is the Trips version of Shallow
Cross, so the reads are very similar. You will
have the same problem as before with the
HB’s route.
LB (Up and Away), Y (Down and Away), A
after Cut (Down and In), B to lead (down
and in)
Shotgun Trips: Smash
Optional: Hot route the HB to block. This is
a great play for 3rd and Long, and don’t
forget the curl route. I often get caught up
in going deep and forget to check-down for
an easy 1st. I always make sure that the
smash concept is on the wide side of the
field.
A (down and in), Y (Lead), LB after cut
(down and out), B (Lead away from
defender)
Shotgun Trips: Stick
Only run this play vs. man. This and Y Stick
are two of my absolute favorite passing
plays because it is very unlikely that I will
throw a pick on this play and it nets me very
good yardage on 1st and 2nd down.
X (lead), A (Lead away from defender) LB
(lead)
Shotgun Trips: Strong Flood
At the snap, start to drift the QB to the side
of the flood concept and look to X. If the
defense is in man he will be wide open. Be
patient with the Flood because it will take
some time to develop and for the defenders
to pick their poison. Run the flood concept
to the wide side of the field to make sure
that the play will have room to develop.
X (Lead), A (Lead), LB (Down and Out)
Shotgun Trips: 4 Verticals
Hot route HB to block. Honestly this play is
almost a money play for me. It is very very
difficult to stop.
A (Lead), LB (Down and In), B (Down and
Out)
Shotgun Trips: Quick Slants
You should only run this play if he is in man
coverage. Again, you could run this vs.
zone, but it will be more difficult to find a
receiver.
X/B (Lead), LB (Lead)
Shotgun Trips: SE Under
Optional: Hot route A to block. The reason
that I block A is that I like to roll out to the
HB side and it gives me a sense of security
behind me. LB will be open a lot of the
times and if he is not X should be open
underneath. I always run the HB’s route to
the wide side of the field.
LB (Down and In), X (Up and Away), Y (Lead)
Shotgun Trips: Smash Middle
Hot route the HB to block. I run this play
mostly to set-up SE Under, but it is a very
good play to run all by itself.
Post read, X (Lead and Away), A after cut
(Down and In), Y (Down and out)
Shotgun Spread: Cross Flood
Hot route the HB to block. On this play you
will find that only rarely will you not throw
to Y. The hook is usually open against man
and the in or out is usually open against
zone. This is definitely one of my “go-to”
plays on short yardage situations.
Y hook (Lead and Away), Y in (Up and
away), Y out (Lead), A (Lead), B (lead)
Shotgun Spread: Deep Curl
This is a nice play that combines a streak
and a curl-flat concept onto one side of the
field. The skinny post route by A is fantastic
vs. man or zone. You will need to practice
the timing of B’s route to make sure that it
doesn’t get picked.
A (Down and In), Lb (Lead), B (Down and
Away)
Shotgun Spread: Mesh
Hot route the HB to Block. I like this play
because usually when I see a motioning
receiver in the offense, I assume that they
are running mesh, so this is a nice mix-up to
keep the defense honest.
B (Down and Away), Y (Lead), A (Lead)
Shotgun Spread: Y Corner
Hot route the HB to block. This is one of my
favorite plays to run inside the 15 yardline.
If you can find the corner route open, then
you have an easy touchdown, and the slant
route will get you and easy 1st to keep your
touchdown hopes alive. Zone defenders
are often drawn to the corner route leaving
the slant open underneath.
A (Down and Away), B (Lead), LB (Lead), X
(Lead)
Shotgun Spread: Y Stick
This is definitely another one of my “go-to”
plays inside the 15. I prefer the version in
Double Flex which has both WR’s running
shorter slants because they develop faster.
You can read either side 1st.
A (Lead and Away), LB (Lead) OR Y (Lead), X
(Lead) then go to the other one
Shotgun Trips: Mesh
Hot route the Hb to block. This play is
unfortunately not as effective in the game
as it is in real life. The WR’s do not “sit”
between the zones against zone, nor do
they slant up-field after the mesh vs. man.
Despite this, it is still a decent play to run.
LB (Down and Away), X (Up and Away), A
(Up and Away), B (Lead)
Shotgun Trips: Y Shallow Cross
I like to run this play where the trips WR are
on the short side of the field because I have
better success with the Wheel route on the
short side of the field. This is a classic all-
coverage beater. Cov3-Lb, Cov2-B, Man-
A/Y
A (Up and away), LB (Down and Away), B
(Lead), Y (Lead)
Shotgun Trips: Slot corner
This play has a smash/levels concept on the
right side and it makes for another good
redzone play.
LB (Up and In), A (Down and Away), B (Up
and In)
Shotgun Trips: Spacing
After messing with this play for a while, it
has become one of my absolute favorites
for short yardage. I read only the trips side.
The reads may vary from play to play
depending on the defensive alignment. If
there is a receiver that is uncovered by a
defender, then he becomes your first read.
If all three are covered then you are going
to read A (Lead and Away), LB (Lead and
Away), then B (Lead and Away)
The Screen Game

In this playbook, there are three kinds of screens. HB Slip Screens, WR Screens, and Middle (or
tunnel) Screens. The middle screens take a pretty long time to develop and are often
unsuccessful even against a heavy zone defense, so the main screens that I use in this offense
are the Slip Screens and the regular WR screens. In the Air Raid offense, screens are your running
game. They force the defense to respect the quick handoff (or in this case pass) to a player with
blockers in front of him. I just want to be clear to anyone reading this that I DO NOT throw to anyone
but the screen on these plays. It is illegal in real football, and therefore should be illegal here as well.

The Running Game

My only running game consists of Speed Options that I convert into QB powers by running
straight forward with the QB. Basically only for the Goalline or 2nd/3rd and short just to mix it
up a little against those heavy pass coverages.