If you have been watching the NFL lately, then you know that a great number of passes thrown are to players who are behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, the numbers seem to indicate that that number ranges anywhere from 15 to 30 percent. (A lot of the data depends on who is capturing it, and who is defining it, but that’s another story.) Suffice to say, there are more passes thrown behind the line than there were before.
So, how does this affect our APBA play? Well, we have two options to capture this type of play. The first, the traditional SHORT PASS, probably does the best job, but it has too many INTERCEPTIONS, too many Sacks, and not enough PASSES FOR LOSS. The second is the traditional SCREEN PASS. Looking at the SCREEN PLAY you can tell that this play (like the DRAW PLAY) is a DECEPTION play. It is designed to make the defense rush the passer, only to throw the ball over the heads of the rusher to a back who then races up the field. It’s a play that is designed to look like a pass, but is really more of a rushing play. Unfortunately, this does not capture today’s behind the line of scrimmage passing plays either.
The plays that I am specifically talking about are the EDGE PASS (the perimeter pass), or the quick BUBBLE SCREEN, or a pass to the back in the flat, or even the 6-inch pass to the receiver who is in motion when the ball is snapped. These are all behind the line of scrimmage passes.
I wanted to design a play that captured this type of play, without deviating too far from APBA’s tried and true charts. What I did is the same thing that I do with the other innovations—I blended the boards.
The first thing that I learned when looking into this is that this is a different type of play. Let’s take a look at the EDGE PASS. I don’t envision this to be a traditional TEAM play. This is more of a one-on-one play. On the EDGE PASS, the QB gets the ball and fires it out about two seconds from the time that he gets it to the receiver. Therefore, the chances of a Sack are somewhat reduced. More importantly, the receiver is usually going one-one-one with a cornerback, and the success of the play depends on getting around that player. So, in my mind, the result has little to nothing to do with a TEAM offense. It has more to do with a player going one-on-one.
In researching this, the first thing that I thought of was my beloved Miami Dolphins and superstar receiver Tyreek HILL. Everyone knows that he is a 5. But, is he really on this type of play.? HILL is super fast, but the Dolphins always put him in motion. Why? Because I his game is speed, and it helps him get off of the line. If he just stands there when the ball is hiked, then he has difficulty getting past the defender. So, his speed is neutralized. So, even though he is a 5 in our game, he is not very good on this type of play.
For that reason, I am deviating away from the ratings altogether. Instead, I simply throw one die. One a 1, the best result is used; on a 2-5, the middle result is used; on a 6, the worst result is used. Pass receiving grades are NOT used. This is merely the luck of the die. And, that’s exactly how it is in real life. Sometimes the defender makes a great play, and sometimes the receiver gets by the defender for a big gain. Usually, he just gets a few yards.
So, how did I do this? First, I only make the play available from o15-d31. For the best column, I use the G-column from the A-receiver; for the middle, I use the S-column from the B receiver; for the worst column I use the D-column from the C receiver. I added one more line of passes caught for losses, and I reduced the amount of INTERCEPTIONS by one in each column. I also reduced the amount of yardage lost on a sack. (I did not want to change the Sack total.) Since most of the plays go toward the sidelines, I added a few more out-of-bounds designations to the results.
So, why should you use this? It’s not necessary, but it makes the game more fun. It also gives you some coaching options. Plus, 99 percent of the results are directly taken from APBA’s own charts, so we aren’t doing anything radical. (I never make any changes that are radical.)
I call this an EDGE PASS, but it is really more of a play that captures all of the BEHIND THE LINE passing, other than the designed SCREEN PASS. And, it works great!
Try it out, and let me know if you have any questions.