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With the 2025 NFL Draft behind us and the doldrums of the offseason upon us, I thought this would be a good time to get into some scheme and play breakdowns. I will go over some of the more popular offensive and defensive schemes and plays that you will hear this fall either during games or breaking them down afterward. Consider this Summer School of Football 101.
What is a Mesh Concept?
Mesh is a popular passing concept that combines options for downfield completions while underneath receivers run some kind of mirroring crosser or over so that they run across the entire formation which can shake them loose in traffic vs man coverage or can have them find soft spots and sit-down vs zone coverage. The main goal of this concept is to isolate your best players and exploit their 1v1 matchups ideally by getting the ball to them on the move or in space to operate for YAC opportunities. It is a popular concept because it can have success against almost all types of coverage.
How is it successful vs Man Coverage?
A typical mesh route concept will basically look similar to something like this.
This graphic gives a great understanding of the difficulties man coverage vs this concept, especially with running backs who are good receivers, and the easy reads created for the QB.
In this scenario, the first read would be to the tailback on the rail route to the left. If the CB follows the X toward the strong side of the field, it leaves the tailback 1v1 with the WLB in the flat with no safety help. This is a huge advantage for the offense. The next read would be the inline Y (TE), but this can also be run with a slot WR or by flexing the TE into the slot. With the CB following the X to the strong side and the RB drawing the WLB outside toward the numbers, the weak hash area should be wide open, and the chaos created in the middle of the field by the crossing X should provide some legal pick action to free up on the Y move. The progression would then be the X and Z with the FB as the dump off/safety valve. Having a strong Z that can get vertical and win contested catches vs man is also a plus, because based on how the FS reacts with the first read going to the weak side, there is a good chance for a deep shot with no safety help.
Can this be used against Zone?
Yes. If the defense drops into a zone, the X and Y both have the options to sit down at the hashes or where the open space develops and the dump off could be moved up in the progression to be an option.
Is the progression always the same?
No. Based on how it is coached or who the coaches want to get the ball on a particular play, the progressions will change. You can even run the exact same route combination with an emphasis on getting the ball to a certain player by having them line up at a different position. Ever see a WR motion from the LOS to the RB spot next to the QB or see the RB motion out to a WR spot on the LOS? These are ways to diagnose the coverage but also ways to get certain players into the most advantageous matchups. The coaches could also modify the play call to determine the pre snap reads to move a player up or down in the progression.
Are there coverages it doesn’t work against?
Not really, if the progressions are done quickly enough and the QB and receivers are on the same page reading the coverages. However, zone blitzes and simulated pressures make it difficult for this to happen because the coverage responsibilities are not pronounced until after the ball is snapped. That is why this is a preferred pass concept vs man coverage.
Are there variations of this concept?
Yes. As long as the route concept includes some type of mirroring crossing or over routes, there can be a myriad of other types of routes run by other receivers, and it can be run from a myriad of different formations. Here are a few more examples of plays run with different routes and formations. You will see the one constant is always the crossing routes.
Is this concept good for the Chargers?
100% yes. The playmaking roster is tailor made for this concept. The RB room offers three backs who are good receivers and a fantastic quick twitch slot WR in Ladd. The shallow crossers, overs and curls are QJ’s bread and butter, and Harris has the ability to dominate those routes as well as being the deep ball option along with Mike Williams. Conklin is also most effective in the short to intermediate parts of the field. Pairing the skill set of these players with Herbert’s quick diagnosing and progressions meld perfectly for this concept and could be an effective option this season if Greg Roman chooses to deploy it.
I love these, Erick. Thank you so much for taking the time to break down these concepts. Super helpful. These make me enjoy watching—and re-watching—games so much more.
I like watching QB School on YouTube to get similar insights, but your posts have so much less JT O’Sullivan, so that’s a huge plus.
@smith Awesome! Thank you. I will keep these coming over the summer breaking down more passing and running concepts and possibly a few blitzes or coverages. I started doing these on BFTB a few years back. I got the idea because as my son got into HS and started becoming more than a casual fan, he would ask me what certain routes or defenses or terminology meant while watching the games or highlights. It got me thinking that often on this sight or at BFTB, some of us bring up terminology that maybe not everyone is familiar with so creating these posts is a good way to explain them in a way that’s easy to digest. I am a teacher at heart and absolutely love the scheming and concepts of the game, so I really enjoy putting these together. On the surface football looks like just a simple game of speed and physicality, but there is so much to process and scheme in order to be slightly successful.
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