Conservative Read Progression
The conservative approach is predicated on making shallow reads and working your way over the top. The strength of this approach is that it encourages making reads in the order in which each route likely develops.
| Step 1: Read the Pressure The single most important step is to evaluate the pressure on your quarterback. After all, if you are always under immediate pressure after the snap, it's never going to matter how well you make your other reads. Before the snap, you may notice a few defenders showing blitz (see right). Your primary objective is to prevent anyone from coming in untouched or provision a quick-developing route to attack the area left vacant by the blitzing defender. Either way, awareness of the pressure, regardless of the adjustment you choose to make, will improve your decision making should the pressure come. |
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 | Step 2: Look Underneath Next, you want to read your underneath patterns; any route that develops quickly. This includes short ins/outs, curls/hitches, slants, and screens. In this particular case, the read would be to hit running back Curtis Martin as he moves into the flats. The running back is an easy read that allows us to get rid of the ball quickly for typically anywhere between a 5-10 yard gain. This will also give you a good indication as to whether the underneath coverage is in man or zone. If the shallow route isn’t open, the next read will be to attack the areas just behind it. In this particular example, the read would be the tight end running the corner route at a medium depth. This route develops slower than the flat route, providing us with an easy transition from one route to the next. |
| Step 3: Keep the Defense Honest The next read is to look deep downfield for a potential coverage mismatch or 1-on-1 situations. In our example, this is the streak route that Laveranues Coles is running. While the streak route takes the longest to completely develop, the ball needs to be thrown well before the route is even close to completion in order to properly lead your receiver. We recommend having at least one route that stretches the field vertically on every pass play, even if only to keep the defense honest. Doing so will increase the area that the defense must defend and keep the safeties from interfering with your other routes. |
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 | Step 4: Hit Your Outlet Your final read would be any route that stretches across the field. These routes take the longest to develop, providing plenty of time to make the other reads. In this case, the outlet is Justin McCareins’ drag route. If none of our first three reads are open, then we look to our outlet pass to dump the ball off to McCareins for a minimal gain. We strongly recommend having at least one route such as this because they are hard to defend and can usually turn a busted play into a small gain. |
Aggressive Read Progression
The aggressive approach can lead to bigger plays, but also requires taking a few more chances. The strength of this progression is that reads are made in the order of simplicity and you should be able to discern exactly where to throw the ball after the first two reads. We're going to use the same variation on the I-Form Normal TE Corner play to demonstrate how this type of read progression is different.
The premise here is identical to the conservative approach. Make blocking adjustments as necessary and/or be prepared to dump the ball off quickly. Again, in this case, the flat route is the quickest developing route.
Step 2: Keep the Defense Honest The next read is really what makes the aggressive approach different from the conservative. The second part of the field that the aggressive player looks for is the streak deep downfield. Making this read does not mean that a throw is going to be made at this point in the route. However, one quick glance at your receiver and the safety will tell us if this route will be open early in the play. If the safety is in deep zone coverage, then we know that our routes underneath are more likely to be open. Instead, if the safety comes down to guard another area, then we will have a 1-on-1 situation deep. If the latter is the case, there is no reason to continue your read progression; simply wait another second and lob it deep. |  |
 | Step 3: Look Underneath Assuming a shallow zone or straight man coverage has taken away your shallow looks and double coverage has take away you deep look, your medium depth routes will almost always be open. Corner routes are as especially deadly here.
Step 4: Hit Your Outlet The outlet pass remains the same as in the conservative approach. If all else fails, hit your outlet. Altough it is very cliched at this point, take what the defense gives you. |
Regardless of whether you choose the conservative or the aggressive approach, always account for any pressure that your opponent may be bringing. The more you can read pre-snap, the easier your post-snap execution will be. Start thinking about the process you take when making your reads and ask yourself if you are maximizing your options. Are you easily able to go from one player to the next without wasting precious seconds in the pocket? If not, use the TE Corner as a guideline to start making your game more efficient.
