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OFFENSIVE
THOUGHTS
by Jim Parinella
Structure in an offense can come in several ways. The receiver, the spot to
cut to, fakes, and even the timing and route can be specified. On a complex
end zone play, all or at least most of them need to be called out (or, one
player is given an option and the others have no choice after that first player
chooses). In a typical set play off the pull, only the cutters and maybe a
side of the field are completely specified. Both methods are useful in their
place.
The purpose of this article is to tie together some loose ends from over the
years and explain them in the context of the underlying structure in a free-flow
offense.
BASIC RULES
On an extremely simple level, offense can be broken down into five rules:
1. Take what they give you.
2. If you really want something they're not giving you, try to fake them into
giving it to you.
3. If you’re not sure exactly what you want, fake until they give you something,
then take it.
4. Actively get out of the way when someone else is making a better cut.
5. Make smart choices with your throws.
The rest, as they say, is obvious. But since "obvious" is different for different
people, I will attempt to specify, and will attempt to err on the side of
"but everybody knows that already".
Let’s suppose I’m the first downfield cutter in a called play, and I’m standing
out by myself waiting for the disc to be walked in. If the defender is 5 yards
behind me and I can gain 20+ yards, I will take it and cut in. If the defender
is fronting me by 5 yards and the thrower has the long backhand, I will take
it and cut long. If it’s a 2- or 3-yard cushion in either situation, I might
make one hard step right at the defender to get him backpedaling, then immediately
reverse directions. These would all be categorized as #1.
#2 and #3 often appear the same to an onlooker. Sometimes I’ll make several
hard steps on a comeback cut, the defender will overcommit to it and I’ll
break deep immediately. Other times, I’ll just juke in and out, (sometimes
a juke will be just one step, and other times it will be three or four). As
soon as I see the defender is off-balance, I’ll make my decision and go. The
key I’m looking for is when the defender’s shoulders have completely turned
perpendicular to the direction he is going in. Once he’s there, he can’t stop
quickly. If you time it well, you can have 3 or 4 shots at making the defender
err.
#4 is an undervalued skill. Suppose now I’m at the back of the stack as a
deep fill and someone is starting a deep cut. If I stay there, my defender
can leave and prevent or intercept the deep pass, so I have to get him out
of there or, failing that, get yardage off the poach. The best way here would
be to make what appears to be a hard cut to the opposite side as soon as I
see my teammate breaking deep. If I go too early, I’m simply taking myself
out of the play and possibly cutting off someone’s away cut to that side.
It’s important for me to be active while I’m waiting. I want to prevent the
defender from getting comfortable and being able to watch me and the disc
at the same time. Just try to imagine what the defender wants to do to play
good defense, and try to prevent him from doing that. Make him constantly
change his position or angle, make him move, whatever. Anyway, suppose I space
for a second and just as I see the break deep, so does my defender. I have
to preempt his poach in this case, and come in on that side (favoring the
middle of the field a bit), hopefully forcing him to react to my motions and
come in with me instead of stopping the long play. If I wait, he has the time
to make a decision on what to do, but if I go instantly, then his choice has
to be made instantly, too. In general, during flow, if I’m thinking of making
a cut myself, I’ll usually have begun edging toward that side, so I’ll run
in towards the thrower but a little to the sideline so he doesn’t have to
throw over me. If I wasn’t preparing to cut, I’d probably head to the opposite
side to avoid the possibility of a pick. Similarly, if someone is cutting
in from behind you in the stack, actively move toward the other side of the
field.
#5 should be anticipating which of those things above might happen. The thrower
should be aware of the deep poacher, and if that happens, he should try to
find who is now open. If you can see the poacher moving, follow his trail
back to the poachee. Don’t force a pass simply because it’s the play, or because
you think the receiver can outjump two defenders. Be ready to abandon the
downfield cutter, turn sideways towards the field, and hit the dump.
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Passes accomplish one (or more) of the following items:
1. Gain yards ("yardage cuts").
2. Put the disc in a better position (swing pass, short break mark throws).
3. Maintain possession (most dumps or high stall count throws).
Realize that ANY of these can be useful, and that a 30 yard break pass that
sets up the whole flow might be asking a little too much sometimes.
You should also consider those items from a receiver’s perspective. If you
are consistently making cuts but not getting thrown to, then you might be
cutting to the wrong spot or at a bad angle. Whenever possible, make cuts
that gain yardage, are to the open side of the field, put the disc in a good
position on the field, keep the flow going, and/or prevent a Hail Mary pass
at stall 9. Actually, the open/break side is a tricky issue. It’s usually
easier to cut to the break side and you’re more likely to create something
big, but it’s a tougher pass to complete, especially if the mark is competent.
I’ll estimate that passes (less than 30 yards) to the force side are complete
98% of the time (with most of those turnovers coming on poaches), while about
90% of break passes are complete. A team should be willing to accept this
lower completion rate because of the reasons above, plus any strategist or
game theorist will tell you that an assortment of options in a multiple choice
game are necessary. (And, for the record, a long pass completion rate of about
60% (in most games) is enough to make it a viable choice.)
When you are poached off of, consider it your job to catch or set up an easy
goal. Many times it won’t come for several passes, but it requires an immediate
hard cut. Most of the time, you want to head in the opposite north-south direction
from the poacher. Whether you should head in the same east-west direction
depends on the situation. By these statements, I mean that if he poaches deep,
you come in, and if he poaches short, you go deep. If he poaches on the forehand
side, then other things determine whether you should also go to the forehand
side or to the backhand side. The primary factor in this decision is where
the field is more open. Do NOT run towards the defender who is trying to find
someone to cover. Even if you think that the thrower can’t get you the pass,
perhaps the next thrower or the one after that will be able to, so move.
Break mark passes should come in to the receiver from the outside or at least
straight on. Both players have control over this. There are two reasons for
this. One is that a defender might be able to get the better angle on a pass
coming from the inside. The other is that there is less margin for an errant
pass. If it’s completed it can be quite damaging to the defense, but most
of us can’t throw this accurately more than 10 yards, if that. So, the break
mark cut has to start from a position that is not straight downfield from
the thrower. (I must point out here, however, that some very good teams have
had great success using this inside out forehand to start the flow. The throw
has to be perfect, but can be devastating if complete.)
Frequently, you can call an audible on the field to make sure the thrower
and receiver are on the same page. What happens is that a thrower or receiver
recognizes a special situation and wants to make sure that his compatriot
also recognizes it. At the very least, a team should have code words that
indicate a desire to cut break mark or with the flow, so on a stoppage or
even in flow, one word shouted by the thrower tells the receiver to cut to
one area and the rest of the team to stay away from that area. It has been
said that the New York New York team of old would indicate where to cut by
calling out one of the bridge names that lead into Manhattan.
Another concept that I think is important to some offenses but that I have
rarely seen discussed is temporal (time) margin vs. spatial margin. A long
comeback cut with a defender on the receiver’s tail has lots of temporal margin
but little spatial margin, meaning that the thrower can throw it any time
he wants but it has to be on the proper side of the receiver. A quick break
mark cut, in contrast, can work with a poorly placed pass if it’s thrown at
the right time. Most dump cuts, too, have more spatial margin than temporal.
(This case is a little different since the thrower can often direct where
and when the cut happens, whereas downfield cuts are almost always receiver-directed.
So, the thrower might have a several second period in which he can throw it,
but once that is decided, the timing relating to the cut and to when the defender
reacts are extremely important. A keepaway game where the defender has to
keep his back to the thrower demonstrates this. If the defender knows when
the pass is coming, the temporal margin evaporates.) Another way of looking
at it is that some passes are thrown too late, or that some cuts are made
too early. So, there is often a very small time window in which a pass can
be thrown. If it’s thrown in that time, it can be almost anywhere and be caught.
If it’s thrown afterwards, no pass will get there.
On that note, on a swing pass, be prepared to continue the swing immediately,
both as a thrower and as a cutter. If the swing pass gains yardage also, then
most likely the next cutter should come from the back of the stack. If it’s
a dump-swing, then most likely the next cutter should be someone from the
front of the stack. Even then, though, the back-cutter should be timing his
cut so as to get the next pass after that. Be prepared to throw when you catch
it.
Going back to spatial margins, throw choice can add or subtract. The place
this is most often seen is on hard cutbacks with a defender on the receiver.
There is often no margin to miss on the inside, since a defender can layout
or run by for the block (especially if it’s a very fast pass, since the receiver
tends to slow down on those to make it easier to catch, while on a slow pass
the receiver can keep on running hard. Wind complicates the matter, since
soft passes are more likely to be adversely affected by the wind.). The simple
solution is to throw it to the outside edge of the receiver rather than to
the center. A better solution is to put more curve on the pass so that the
disc arrives at the receiver from the outside. Curved passes are easier to
control and give a better angle. Pro golfers never hit straight shots deliberately
because of this.
Pullers can also achieve better accuracy if they incorporated this idea. The
inside-out pull tends to hang longer, so if there is no significant crosswind
that changes this, it’s probably best to throw from the left side of the field
and aim at the right cone (another idea borrowed from golf). Similarly, an
outside-in pull should be thrown from the right side and aimed at the left
cone.
I can’t stress enough how big of an advantage it is if you know where the
frisbee is and the defender does not. Defensive positioning is a dynamic process
that depends on where the frisbee is, where the stack is, and who the relevant
players are. What is good positioning at the beginning of a point might be
an uncontested goal if there is no adjustment as the point goes on. I try
to make the defender watch me all the time. If I see that he turns to watch
the frisbee, I try to move away from him right then. If he reacts to poach,
I instantly sprint away. Mostly I’m watching the frisbee to see where the
flow is going, but I am also trying to be aware of what my defender is doing.
Another place this comes into play is on an underthrown pass that goes right
by the defender. Although of course an "UP!" call can alert the defender,
the receiver can also let the defender know the pass is coming by preparing
to catch it. Pretending that nothing is happening until the last second can
let you prevent a turnover and also get the defense mad with themselves for
not calling "up".
You can also use your eyes to fake. The converse of the above is pretending
the disc is in the air so that the defender turns to block it, only to find
that it’s not up and you have run away from him. Most defenders (either consciously
or subconsciously) notice where the receiver is looking and expect that he
is looking at the disc. You can play on this by following some imaginary flow
and making it look like you’re setting up to cut past the defender, all the
while you’re watching the real flow out of your peripheral vision. Then, when
it’s time to cut, you first take a step to cut for the imaginary flow, and
the (somewhat) alert defender will have anticipated that and will cut there
first to shut you down. Instead, all you do is turn and sprint the other way
and you’re open by 5 yards.
ZONE O:
Take advantage of temporary 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 mismatches. Unless you’re playing
against an extremely focused and practiced defense, you will have many short-lived
opportunities to exploit this power play. Anticipation and immediate reaction,
as with man to man offense, are important. It’s a rare defense that will simultaneously
have one player making a bid for a block while another adjusts to cover. For
example, if two poppers are on either side of the middle middle, who bites
on a fake left, the other popper is open UNLESS the wing or point adjusts
at the same time. If the offense doesn’t know this, then the defense will
be able to recover in time to prevent the pass. Just about any 2 nearby O
players have a potential mismatch situation. The poppers exploit the middle
middle. A popper and a wing work on the side middle. A wing and a deep work
on the deep. The off-handler and a wing or popper split the off-point. A good
defense will constantly be making adjustments to prevent someone from being
open for too long, but it takes a great one to make that time window almost
non-existent.
I think most downfield O players run too hard when the disc is still in the
cup. When the cup gets broken, that is the time for an all-out fast break.
But when the disc is stationary, too much movement merely alerts the defenders
as to their whereabouts.
And use the overhead to spread out the cup and side middles.
SCORING PASSES:
Most goals (except for long passes) are scored very close to the front cone.
A curving pass can really make a difference, as the defender is more likely
to be close to the receiver, since there is no threat that the receiver is
going to stop and cut long. Therefore, the angle that the disc comes in at
is more important. If you have a good fast receiver cutting hard to the cone
(especially if he’s big) and he has even a half step, it’s almost impossible
for the defender to make the block, so a soft pass in front of the receiver
is a sure goal. Sometimes the away curving pass is a sure goal, but that pass
is tougher to complete in wind or when you’re pumped up and the adrenaline
is flowing.
Timing cuts from the goal line straight to the cone can be very effective,
but they bring with them a significant potential downside. If done too frequently,
then they dissuade players at the back from cutting. Players at the front
who are contemplating the scoring cut should look back to see whether a deeper
player is about to cut.
Isolation plays can be great if both players know it’s an isolation play.
Timing cuts (really, any pass that is thrown before or as a cut is being made,
rather than after a receiver is open) can be more effective here, since not
much room is needed, the defender has no chance to catch up, and there is
no need to set up the next cut. But I can’t really explain how to know when
to make this cut and when to let the default offense take over. A necessary
but not sufficient condition is that both the thrower and receiver look for
it. Other conditions: defender is significantly overplaying the cutback on
the force side and/or is not watching the thrower and/or is extremely anxious
to run hard (and can therefore be faked out easily), cutting area is open,
and no one else is close enough to poach.
HUCKING:
Often a team will specify or encourage the long pass as part of a called play.
But if that’s the only time long passes are thrown, the offense limits itself
too much. Smart long passes should be encouraged. Don’t let a good matchup
be the primary reason for a huck. There are three basic situations when a
huck in flow can be an easy goal.
1. If a thrower catches the disc running laterally or downfield (not back
to the disc) and his man is behind him, he is in a "power position" and can
catch it and throw it long immediately. Potential deep cutters should be on
the lookout for this anytime there is a leading pass, and should start their
long cuts early enough so that the thrower CAN turn and fire.
2. In an isolation situation (either called or natural) where one side of
the field is wide open, the receiver can make the defender bite on a comeback
fake and turn and sprint long. Most throwers don’t have the touch to throw
a long pass straight down the field that goes by the defender but not the
receiver, so most of us should throw it so that it comes in at an angle to
the receiver. This can be done by throwing a straight pass at an angle to
the receiver’s path (either the cut or the pass can be made at the angle,
so a receiver cutting from the opposite side of the field from the thrower
will provide that angle) or by throwing a curving pass around the defenders.
In either event, a short stack makes it tougher for the defense to provide
deep help.
3. A receiver might find himself with his defender several yards away and
towards the thrower. There are actually a few subsets of this. One is when
a defender poaches short on a comeback cut. The poachee must immediately recognize
this and cut as the poach is being made. Another is when the disc changes
position and the defender doesn’t realize it (like in #1 above). A third way
is by sprinting deep after you dump it, particularly if the defender makes
a bid for a hand block and doesn’t expect you to take off so quickly.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Set plays and structured offense are good and necessary. Teams should have
guidelines about cutting hierarchy, what types of throws are looked for, what
to do when trapped, etc. However, they also need to be flexible enough to
allow players to be able to trust their instincts. If you have enough guidelines,
then most situations will present two (or more!) conflicting guidelines and
the player will have to decide which one to follow. Experienced players can
look at two similar situations, recognize the differences, and know how to
react to each of them. Newer players should try to figure out what the general
principles are and when they should be applied and when others are more appropriate,
and eventually they’ll become experienced vets who complain about how fundamentally
unsound those young’uns are.
References
Jim Parinella
http://www.tiac.net/users/parinell/disc.htm
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