Play of the (other) Day: Pylon-Sail Concept vs. Sparty

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Best for last, right? Penn State’s regular-season finale included explosive runs, explosive passes, and jussssst enough competency on offense for the fanbase rightly laud the substitute-teaching job conducted by Co-OC’s Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle. Heck, a few brazen message board warriors pounded their dust/crumb infested keyboards asking for Penn State head coach James Franklin to consider an internal promotion of Seider or Howle (or both…because we still aren’t sure who was actually calling the plays).

Not to be all Debbie Downer, but for what it’s worth, every concept PSU ran this past Saturday Friday had been called dozens of times during the  mostly-forgettable Mike Yurcich era.

So, you might be wondering, what changed all the sudden that led to Penn State posting a satisfying 586 total yards of offense? Well, I have no idea. (insert shoulder shrug emoji guy). Michigan State’s clown-car defense definitely had something to do with it, but it’s not like they were the only disfunctional defense on Penn State’s 2023 slate. Perhaps, the Nittany Lions simply better executed all those recycled Yurcich  concepts than they had previously…recycled concepts like Pylon-Sail.

If you’re thumbing through  playbook, this route concept can be found in the “flood” family. This means there will be a target to throw to in the flat, a target in the intermediate, and a deep option taking the top off the defense or “clearing out.” The idea in Flood – or in this case, Pylon-Sail — is to put a defender in conflict and make him choose one route over another. If he covers the flat, you throw over his head. If he drops to the middle ‘Goldielocks’ route, you check down to the flat.

Makes sense?

For those reading who didn’t nob their heads and are transfixed in a blank stare, we’ll provide visuals. Example 1: Seider/Howle first called this concept on 2nd & Long, post-penalty early in the 2^nd Quarter.

Here’s the diagram:

Here’s the video:

MSU appears to be in some sort of split field coverage, showing quarters to the boundary/short side of field. Sail is the perfect call against quarters – I’ll explain why.

The clearout route appears to be a post on this particular rep — but it’s too tough to tell on the broadcast angle (so this might not TECHNICALLY be “pylon”-sail, sorry, but it’s still sail). Regardless, the clearout occupies the corner. The key here is the sail route itself. It is imperative for 84-Theo Johnson to sell the “over” or “crosser” before breaking to the sideline. Defensive backs have rules they must follow in coverage. You can make the DBs “pass you off” to the guys on the other side of the field if your acting job is good enough…and it is here.

Johnson turning his head before breaking back outside is the cherry atop the chunk-play sundae here. Combine that with the flat defender being occupied by the shallow route coming from the opposite side, and you’ve got yourself a completion.

Next example…early 3^rd Quarter…same drill.

Diagram:

Video:

MSU shows quarters again. The clearout on this particular rep (5-Omari Evans) is in fact the pylon route. This is an extremely deep corner route aimed for…you guessed it! The pylon! The vertical threat stresses the corner because if he jumps the sail route, he leaves a huge void in the pylon area. This leaves the sail for the safety that’s lined up on the hash — already a huge leverage advantage for the offense on a route going to the sideline. Again, the head nod (this time executed by 1-KLS) is imperative! Watch what it does to the LB that drops to the hook/curl zone — completely fooled into thinking a crosser is coming.