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Progression reads

One of the challenges of reading football articles is the author’s assumption that all readers know as much as the author. Since I had to clarify progression reads for myself, why not extend the same courtesy to you?  So what is a progression read anyways?  A progression read is a pass play where the quarterback is given multiple choices of receivers of where to throw the ball. The number of receivers can be as little as two, or as many as five. But it’s a series of If/then decisions a quarterback must rapidly make after the snap of the football to successfully find the open receiver and pass the ball to him.

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Of course, as any offensive play, the quarterback starts the play by getting a pre-read of how the defensive coverage will align on that play. Perhaps even more importantly, the quarterback needs to know where each of the receivers will be on the play based upon that coverage. He does this and finds his target based on rhythm drops — i.e. on a five-step drop, the ball is thrown to the primary receiver when he makes his last step back, he then targets the second receiver after a hitch-up or “gather” step, and the third receiver after he resets his feet.

The trouble with tribbles… er… progression reads

If you’ve watched NFL football games, no doubt you’ve witnessed the quarterback staring at one receiver for the entire play.  Ultimately, all fans witness that faux pas, which can be very frustrating if another receiver becomes wide open. Of course, it’s the quarterback’s eyes which defenders follow like cats chase a laser pointer.

Offensive coaches need to know the progression as well as the quarterback — since it’s the quarterback’s job to throw it to the first open receiver, and not the open receiver who can make the most yardage. As fans, it’s quite easy to lose that concept. Quarterbacks can sometimes become impatient as they can presume that an open receiver earlier in the game won’t be open if and when the play is called again. Progression reads require the coach/quarterback to remain open-minded and take whatever the defense is willing to give.