There’s not much that makes me sadder than a cool concept that doesn’t pay off, and Green Bay Packers fans saw this in Week 3. Early in the game, the Packers broke out a slick variant of Hank. Hank is a quick game concept, with the outside man running a Hitch route and the inside man running a Flat route. It’s not generally an explosive concept, but it’s been a solid, chain-moving concept for the Packers. On the season, Hank has gained an average of 5.8 YPA and has a success rate of 50%.
On this particular
version, the receiver who runs the Hitch route is supposed to give a quick cut on the Hitch, then turn upfield on a vertical. It’s a Hitch-and-Go. And, since a Slant-and-Go is called a Sluggo, I’ve been calling this a Huggo.
Against the Falcons, Golden is on the Huggo. The play ends with an incomplete pass, with what appears to be a Jordan Love overthrow.
It’s a good concept that doesn’t hit. There were a lot of things about that Week 3 game that made me sad, but this was certainly high on the list.
Fast forward to this past week: a win against the Cowboys. Midway through the 1st quarter, the Packers tried it again. Once again, Golden is running the Huggo from the outside. There’s some contact as he releases off the line, but he is able to spin cleanly to the outside, away from coverage.
This time, it’s a beautiful throw from Jordan Love. He just lays this ball right over Golden’s shoulder, landing as light as a feather.
This ended up going for 37 yards. A few plays later, the Packers scored a TD to take a 7-0 lead. We’re not really breaking that down here, but I did want to include it. Golden is on a post and Love is able to hold the safety in place. His feet and shoulders are pointed to the outside, but he opens up on the throw and releases to the middle. The safety is looking for something to his outside shoulder, so the middle is open for Golden.
Back to Huggo. Why did it work this week? Was it as simple as the throw being better?
We’ve seen this concept a couple times over the years, and the Huggo route was always a pretty quick sell. Quick break on the Hitch then an almost immediate spin in the other direction and a vertical release. Against the Falcons, Golden had a definite stop, sit then spin outside.
That’s different than how we had seen it run it in the past. The timing was different. That stop on the Hitch before releasing meant it was longer before Golden was downfield.When I looked at this play in Week 3, I wondered whether that stop from Golden was a change in the way this was coached, or whether Golden was just taking an extra beat on the route. With what we saw this week, I think we have our answer.
Golden cuts on the Hitch then spins and releases quickly. If you look at the videos at the same time, you’ll see that Golden is 4-5 yards downfield against the Cowboys by the time he starts his spin against the Falcons. (Falcons game is on the top, Cowboys on the bottom.)
It’s small, but the details matter. They got it nailed down against the Cowboys and it led to a big play.
Albums listened to: Manchester Orchestra – I’m Like A Virgin Losing a Child [20th Anniversary Edition]
