Empty Theory: Splitting the Field
Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Anthony Richardson is young passer with sky high potential, but he needs to take a major step forward this next season in the short passing game. Luckily, Head Coach Shane Steichen could use empty personnel sets to make life easier for his new franchise passer.
I have already dove into the basic premise behind empty theory and how a quick-win wide receiver like Josh Downs is crucial for success, but now let's discuss route concepts. Empty, at its core, is a personnel set that is built around the quick passing game. The beauty of having so many pass catchers out of the backfield, though, is the variety of route combinations that a playcaller can stack together.
As I discussed in earlier installments of this series, empty personnel is all about iso ball. It is about isolating prime match-ups for the quarterback to recognize and exploit in the quick passing game. The best way to do this is by splitting the field and making the quick-game consist of a fast half-field read rather than making the quarterback scan the entire defense post-snap.
Today, I dive into split field reads and break down a few of the key route combinations that we could see out of empty in 2023.
Splitting the Field
Split field pass concepts are a pair of half-field route combinations that are stacked together on the same play. For instance, a common playcall could be a levels concept, where all of the receivers in the formation are running dig routes at different levels of the defense. In split field reads, the front side options could be running that levels concept while the back side players are running a smash or spacings concept.
Let's look into a film example so I can actually start to make some sense.
The picture below is half of the field on one playcall the Philadelphia Eagles had against the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles are running an "Ohio" route combination, which is a two-man route concept that features an out route from the slot and a fly route on the outside.
In this half-field read, quarterback Jalen Hurts is reading the leverage of the inside defender and the depth of the outside cornerback to see if the out route will be available.
On the other side of the exact same playcall, the Eagles are running a flood concept out of bunch personnel. This playcall consists of three routes crossing the field and flooding one area of the defense. It is a clever call against man coverage as it stresses multiple defenders with switch releases and natural picks.
With the Eagles stacking these two route combinations together, Jalen Hurts gets to pick which side to attack prior to the snap. This slows the game down for a young quarterback and turns a full-field read into a half-field one.
Once the ball is snapped, Hurts is able to snap his hips to the left and rip the ball to DeVonta Smith on the out route for a positive gain:
Split field reads simplify the game for young quarterbacks in a lot of ways. They help with mechanics (since the quarterback can set to his preferred side right at the snap) and can help with post-snap reads in the quick game.
These concepts can also provide positive outlets for a quarterback as well. An offense could stack a zone beater three man concept on one side along with a man beater two man concept on the back side. This gives the quarterback ways to beat a defense regardless of which coverage is thrown their way.
Now that we know how to split the field with these reads, let's look at a few popular route combinations that could be happening on each side:
One Man Route Calls
Lookie/Glance
A lookie route is essentially a quick slant over the middle of the defense. This is a one man route call that is usually the quick read either against the blitz or when the weakside two receiver has a favorable match-up against a linebacker or a safety in the slot.
DeVonta Smith with the Eagles last season gained a ton of yards on this quick hitter:
Option/Choice
This route call is in a similar vein as the lookie route, as it features the weakside two receiver in a favorable match-up. Rather than the receiver being hard pressed into crossing face to the middle of the field, the receiver is purely reading the leverage of the defender in front.
If the defender inside shading inside, then the receiver can break out. If they are shading outside, then the receiver can break inside. If the defender is in press with no help over the top, then the receiver can win vertically. The route is purely up to the discretion of the playmaker in the slot:
Two Man Route Calls
Double Slants
Double slants is a pretty common two man route combination in the NFL. The call is as simple as it sounds, as the two players to the side both run dual slant routes around the same depth. The goal on this play is to isolate that outside receiver and take away any potential help to the inside.
Pivot
Pivot is a bit of a deeper route combination that is built to exploit cover two zone. The slot receiver is running a bit of a choice route, as he can either sit down for a hitch or whip back outside depending on zone holes. The outside receiver is running a deeper dig right in front of the two high safety.
The goal on this play is to get the two low zone defenders to attack the slot receiver's route in order to leave room at the second level for the dig.
Hitch/Chop
A hitch/chop two man concept is in the same family tree as a smash concept. On this call, the outside receiver is running a hitch route with minimal depth while the slot receiver is running a chop or a seam route. If the coverage has single high help to the inside, the route is a chop call and if the coverage is quarters or two high then it is a seam route.
This is a rare deep passing concept that hit a few times in empty for the Eagles last season:
Three Man Route Calls
Flood
Flood, as mentioned above, is a three man route concepts where the offense is flooding an area of the defense with crossing routes at multiple levels (similar family as the levels concept). The Eagles loved to sneak out speedy receivers underneath on drag routes to give them the ball in space last season:
Spacing
Spacing is a quick hitting route concept that features a triangle read to one side of the defense. The quarterback is basing their read purely off of leverage and the ball has to come out hot. Two players run hitch routes at different spots against the zone and a third receiver comes underneath with a flat route.
Mesh
This final route combination doesn't really fit in with the half field reads, but it is a popular three man call that is used in empty. The weakside two and the slot strongside players are typically the ones involved on this call. Weakside two and strongside two run dual drag routes (opening up natural pick plays) while the strongside three either runs a hitch or a slightly deeper concept.
This call works well against zone, but it can be truly deadly against man coverage:
The basic premise around all of these calls is simplifying the game for the young quarterback behind center. Anthony Richardson wouldn't be asked to make a full field read in these sets, he simply has to pick the favorable match-up to one side and work in the half field.
For a player that has some struggles with his mechanics and setting his feet, these half field looks can mitigate some of those issues early on.
The Bottom Line
Overall, empty personnel offers a ton of versatility due to the vast amount of pass catchers out of the backfield. It may be a formation that is predominantly used to accentuate the quick passing game, but the possibilities are endless underneath to truly get an offense in rhythm.
Anthony Richardson may not be 100% ready to make full field reads and snap his hips to multiple spots from the pocket, but these formation can limit his scope and help him hone in on where he needs to attack post snap.
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