Through six weeks of the season, the 16 SEC offensive coordinators have dialed up the flood concept 126 times, resulting in 105 pass attempts.
Flood Concept Overview
Pass Attempts: 105
Completions: 73
Completion Percentage: 69.5%
Passing Yards: 1,019 yards
Yards / Pass Attempt: 9.7 yards
Touchdowns: 3 TDs
Interceptions: 4
Sacks Allowed: 4 sacks for -17 yards
At its core, the flood concept attacks one side of the field at three distinct levels: deep, intermediate, and short. Below, we break down the film to look at six reasons why this design continues to gash defenses.
1. The Deep Route
The standard clear-out route in a flood concept is typically a mandatory outside release go (MOR) or a skinny post. The primary objective is simple: force the outside cornerback to turn and carry the vertical threat, vacating the intermediate zone for an out route.
SEC coordinators are increasingly pairing this with a pylon route (an inside stem breaking to a deep corner). This forces both the cornerback and safety to respect the vertical stretch.
If the cornerback sits on the intermediate route, the pylon route gains leverage on the safety toward the front pylon. If the corner tries to bracket both, the quarterback can pump-fake the intermediate route and drop the pylon route over the corner's head.
Furthermore, running a pylon route from condensed formations creates valuable perimeter real estate for all three levels to develop.
Coordinators are also turning to double-post clear-outs to create a four-strong flood concept. The two outermost receivers push vertical on post stems, the inside receiver breaks toward the sideline on an intermediate out, and the flat route releases from the backfield.
Because the double post mimics a verticals concept, defensive backs are forced into deep bail technique, leaving the quarterback with a clean high-low read on the curl/flat defender.
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