Breakdown Sports

The next combination we'll look at - along with its derivatives - is the Mesh Concept. The Mesh concept is an Air Raid staple that is so successful that it's found its way into almost every offense. It includes the threat of the two drag routes in combination with a natural rub in the center of the field. This makes it very difficult to defend in man coverage, as the defender (often a LB) has to cover the width of the field and run with a receiver in space while not only avoiding the natural wash of other defenders, but the "rub" that comes from the receiver running a drag route from the opposite side of the field. Likewise, it's difficult for zone defenses to cover it as well. Once the receivers pass the mesh point, they can sit down in any open void of the defense. This not only essentially overloads an area generally close to the QB (allowing him to make quick, accurate throws, so the windows can be generally smaller), but forces the zone defender to quickly id...

The focus of most route combinations is attacking one side of the field, mostly toward the outside. That's well and good, but if you don't attack the center of the field with the pass than you've failed to threaten a lot of grass. We've looked at several route combinations now, and that will come in handy now that we are going a little further in depth.  TE/Flanker combinations ,  Twins combinations , and  2x2 and Mirrored combinations  all make it easier to define the basic concepts that attack the middle of the field. So let's take a look, first starting with the NCAA route combination.