Rev-Up Your “Jet” Motion Offense with Explosive Play-Action Passes (Part I)
By Joe Austin, Head Football Coach,
Southwestern University
Jet Motion:
Power read packaged with “jet” motion is an important play for our offense. We find this scheme beneficial because it provides an advantage in terms of preparation, defensive distraction, execution, flexibility, variety, and “jump.”
Preparation. “Jet” motion forces teams to dedicate some of their limited preparation time to defending against it. Even when teams prepare for this scheme thoroughly they generally respond in only one way, giving the offense the advantage of accurately predicting how the opponent matches up against it.
Defensive Distraction. “Jet” motion creates defensive stress and forces the defense to shift before and at the snap. Fast offensive motion causes the eyes of level two and level three defenders to become distracted from their normal visual cues – an advantage the offense can capitalize on.
Execution. “Jet” motion creates advantages at the point of attack. Using the back out of the backfield as a lead blocker creates a numerical advantage. Utilizing the lead block while handing the ball to the motion player gets the ball to the edge of the defense faster than other more traditional running plays.
Flexibility. “Jet” motion allows for ball distribution to a variety of carriers when paired with power read. This flexibility allows for various permutations both in terms of initial play calling that dictates the ball carrier and/or by allowing ball carrier decisions based on defense reads. Either way the offense gains an advantage because “Jet” provides multiple options based on a given defensive look.
Variety. “Jet” motion provides multiple “wrinkle” opportunities based on schematic necessity. Changing the read player or eliminating reads altogether makes the scheme extremely versatile. Combined the potential to create misdirection and the ability to set up other plays makes the “jet” motion set exceedingly difficult to defend effectively and/or consistently.
Jump. “Jet” motion is an injection of energy for the offense. It adds an element of speed and surprise that provides an advantage. Psychologically it entices players to play fast by increasing the tempo of execution.
Jet Motion and Play-Action:
Our use of “jet” motion power read creates opportunities for successful play-action passing. Pass plays that accompany “jet” motion are often successful even when power read runs yield limited yardage gains. These passes succeed because the defense is forced to adjust to “jet” motion every time it is presented. These adjustments are often tailored to providing run support at the expense of pass coverage.
The primary motivation in utilizing play-action passes off of “jet” motion is to take advantage of the defense being on the move prior to and at the snap. The aforementioned eye distraction caused by “jet” motion forces the defense to lose track of their keys in the run game and receivers in the pass game. Combined, the speed and confusion element of the scheme gives the offense’s passing game an advantage.
Advantages of Jet Motion Play-Action:
Jet motion play-action exploits vacated curl zones. Teams commonly defend “jet” motion by attacking the line of scrimmage with their force player. Often this quick-closing force defender is an outside linebacker that is dually responsible for the curl area in zone pass defense. This vacated curl zone creates a defensive weakness that is exploitable with play-action passes.
Defensive adjustments to jet motion create big play opportunities. Teams that recognize their curl zone weakness often combat this disadvantage by rotating their defense towards the motion by moving one safety to the vacated area. When this happens it creates holes in deep coverage while leaving fewer defenders on the side of the formation away from the motion.
In other cases some defenses adjust to “jet” motion by bumping linebackers laterally—mirroring how they defend traditional offensive motion from 2×2 to 3×1. For the offense this lateral movement of linebackers delays pass drops in zone coverage. This delay in underneath coverage allows sufficient time to push the ball downfield.
Properly executed play-action is itself advantageous. The threat of effective play-action slows defensive reactions to run plays—force players don’t attack as quickly, safeties don’t come downhill as fast and linebackers don’t displace as far. “Jet” motion contributes significantly to this advantage by making play-action more difficult to read and adjust to. The result is a more productive run game.
