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Running off the defender can mean two things:
- It can mean that you are running a route to get the defender to move out of an area of the field that the ball is coming to.
- It can also mean that the ball is not coming in your direction, so without giving you a specific route to run, you may be asked to just “run him off”.
The trick to successfully running off a defender is to make them think that the ball is going to be thrown your way. To do this:
- Always explode off the line and run a good hard route.
- Never come off the line half-ass (unless that’s part of you selling the route).
SIDE NOTE ON RUNNING OFF THE DEFENDER.
- Coming off-the-line half-ass against a better defender may tip him to developing play, allowing him to make a faster read + reaction in order to pursue and or otherwise help shut down the play.
- On the flip side, come off the line half-ass, and the defender may ignore you to cheat the play. If he does, you can then turn on the jets and get wide open. Rule of Thumb: Don’t come off the line half-ass if you know it may have a negative impact on the actual play call.