Stick
What it is
A short sit-down route by the inside receiver with a flat route under it and a vertical clearing route outside.
Why it matters
Stick is the quick game's answer to a linebacker who has to cover both the flat and the hook: the stick route sits in the window if he widens and converts to an out if he does not. It is one of the few concepts with a built-in conversion, which is why it appears on nearly every third-and-short call sheet in football.
Both sides of it
Running it
Inside receiver pushes to five or six yards and sits in the window facing the quarterback, converting to a speed out if the underneath defender sits on him. A back or slot runs the flat and the outside receiver clears vertically. The quarterback reads the flat defender on a three-step rhythm.
Stopping it
This concept beats spot drop, so match it: the underneath defender carries the flat and the hook defender walls the stick rather than dropping to a spot behind it. Against the conversion, the defender must not turn his hips outside until the receiver has committed — the stick route wins on the defender's own guess.
Also called
Programs call this stick, stick-flat or sit or convert. The Coach answers to any of them.
Related
This entry is authored, not generated. It is one of 205 in the index that the AI-ssistant Coach retrieves from, and that Film Study tags clips against.