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Wide Receiver Play: Stance, Launch and Alignment

The first thing we teach our receivers on the first day of camp is how to line up before the play starts.  It all begins there; if we can't line up properly we can't be successful on the play.

Stance

I like the two-point stance for wide-receivers.  The disadvantage is a bit slower get-off on the route but I think that is offset by the receiver having greater vision to look over and read the defense before the snap.

To teach the stance we have the receivers stand up straight, knees slightly bent, with their feet shoulder-width apart.  Then have them bend over and touch their knees.  Without straightening up let the arms hang comfortably.  That is the basic posture for the receiver stance.

Now the feet.  For young receivers I prefer to teach the stance with the outside foot forward.  There is a good argument to be made about letting the receiver place his stronger foot forward as it will enable them to get a faster start, but I think that placing the outside foot forward lets us be more consistent with how we teach our routes on each side.

So, we start with the posture.  Feet shoulder width, knees slightly bent, hands touch the knees, then hang comfortably.  Head up so he can see.  Now we take the inside foot and we reach it back just slightly, resting lightly on the toes.  95% of the weight is on the front foot, the receiver should be able to lift the back foot off the ground momentarily without losing his balance.

Launch

Launch refers to how the receiver explodes off the line of scrimmage on the snap.  First let's talk about the basic launch -- no corner press.

It's important to start fast and be efficient.  To that end the first movement must be forward.  Young receivers make one common mistake in their launch:

  • The first move is backwards -- they take their back foot and step backwards.  This is sometimes followed by a second mistake of stepping with the forward foot first.

Mistake number one is by far the most common and requires a lot of practice and drilling to break that habit.  Videotape your receivers launching out of their stance and then show it to them in frame-by-frame advance.  Show them how many frames have passed before they move forward, for some of them you'll see 4, 5 even 8 frames go by before the receiver has started forward.  Pull the camera back a bit and show that the quarterback is already starting his second step before the receiver gets one step upfield.

To cure this problem tell the receiver to squeeze the toes on their front step and imagine themselves like a spring.  On the snap they are going to launch themselves forward stepping out with their back foot.  Have them practice pulling their inside arm back and throwing their outside arm forward.  It's very difficult to step backwards with the inside foot AND pull the inside arm backwards at the same time.

For some receivers it may help them to start with their knees a bit more bent and their back foot slightly further back.

Versus Corner Press

When there is a corner aligned on the receiver to press them the defensive back's objective is to disrupt the timing of the route.  Some receivers assist the DB in that effort by trying to juke and shake the DB at the line of scrimmage for too long.  One move and then launch should be the limit.  If the WR tries to make 2, 3 or more moves at the line of scrimmage the delay alone has disrupted the route just as the DB wants.  Make one move and launch.

Releases

A release is a maneuver to escape press coverage.  There are three releases we teach our receivers.

  1. Swim

  2. Rip

  3. Rake

The Swim is a pretty standard release that is taught to receivers and defensive linemen.  Once the receiver knows which way they want to go, you take that hand and firmly strike the shoulder of the DB.  The objective here is to try and prevent the DB from being able to turn that way; so (without holding) you strike the shoulder and try to pull it slightly forward.  The off hand goes high; extending the arm up and reaching it over the opponent's shoulder and behind him.  At the same time the receiver steps with his off foot and tries to place that foot beyond the DB's hip.  As he steps through he continues the swim move with his off hand and rips it down and back knocking the DBs arms down and back.

For example, if a receiver is being bumped and wants to escape to the right he would strike the DB's left shoulder with his right arm, swing his left arm vigorously up and over while stepping with his left foot past the DB.  Finally he finishes the big circle with his left arm by ripping down hard on the DB's arms.

The Rip is essentially the mirror image of the Swim.  The on hand and footwork is exactly the same.  The difference is that the away hand, instead of swinging up and over, will this time swing under and rip up; knocking the DBs arms up and away as the receiver escapes.

Generally the taller receivers prefer to swim while the shorter receivers prefer to rip.  It's good for a receiver to be proficient in both moves so as to not have to rely upon just one.

The third technique is called the Rake.  It bears a vague resemblance to the swim, but is much more subtle and requires some arm strength.  For this technique the receiver has decided which side to escape to, and the DB has put his hands on the WR to press him.  The receiver's on side hand will slap the forearm of the DB while he bends the away arm at the wrist making something of a hook with his arm.  The away arm reaches across the DB's arms and powerfully rakes down, yanking the DBs arms down and away as the receiver escapes past the DB.  This move requires quick and strong hands.

Alignment

Let me just say a few words about alignment.  The basic principle that must be taught is that the receiver must understand where he is on the field and how much grass he needs to carry out the play.  If he is going to run a 3 route (a 12-yard out) he needs to line up tighter to the formation so that there is room to the outside for his route.  If he lines up 5 yards from the sideline he hasn't left himself much room to run his route and he'll have a hard time staying inbounds.

Conversely if he's going to run an inside route he wants to line up wider, to give himself more spacing between the DB and the linebacker.  The receiver can't be too obvious about it, however.  If he lines up 2 yards from the sideline the defense can be pretty certain that the receiver isn't running an out route.  The experienced receiver can line up a bit wider when needed and a bit tighter when needed all without being too obvious about it.

On running plays the receiver needs to understand his blocking assignment.  If he is to stalk block the corner, then he should line up wide, but not so wide that the corner is forced to look back inside or not respect the fade route.  If he is to crack block a linebacker then he should take a few steps tighter so as to give him a chance to reach the linebacker in time.

Questions on wide receiver play?  Post them in our Offense forum.