The most characteristic element of our
offense is the quick passing game. The quick game doesn't refer to
every pass that's thrown short, however. On almost all of our pass
plays there are short routes built in, so it's useful to define the
quick game as contrasted with other passing plays. One key feature
is that it usually uses 5-man protection (protection involving only the OL)
while the QB takes a 1-step drop from the shot-gun. In the most common versions of these plays,
the RB is an essential part of the passing concept and so we can't
use 6-man protections here. Another feature is that in the quick
game the “concept” that's being worked happens less than 10 yards
from the line of scrimmage. This contrasts with our down-field
passing game, where we'll use more 6-or even 7-man protections, the
QB will take deeper drops, and the concept that's being worked is
meant to read defenders farther downfield. So, we might throw short
routes such as outs, slants, or flat routes on any number of passing
plays, but the quick game only refers to a subset of them.
