Running the Whip or "Pivot" Route

We've worked a little the last week and a half on the 88/87 Whip combo and I wanted to give you guys an idea of how to run the whip vs. multiple coverages. I definitely noticed us struggle running it in 1 on 1's on Monday. This route should be effective vs. both zone and man. In zone the whip should come inside and slide with the quarterback, almost as if you were posting up and sliding in the paint in basketball. In man to man coverage the route becomes more abrupt, almost like a hard slant and you whip or pivot out (thus the name) Here is a video of one of the greatest slot receivers in the game running a pivot route and destroying the defense. The video is halfway down the page. Watch how Welker sets up his pivot route. (Especially around 12 seconds in the vid)

Welker Video


Now there are multiple sets and combinations to run this with but we are using a basic smash variant to give the QB a high low read. As the year progresses, so too will our passing game but we must perfect the little things first!