BYU vs Troy Highlights (Troy vs BYU). Troy and BYU played in week 4 of the 2020 college football season.
How To Build Chemistry Between A Quarterback & Receiver
- By Brandon Ogle
- From CoachTube
Understanding the relationship between quarterbacks and wide
receivers goes a lot deeper than just being familiar with the playbook.
After watching numerous teams from the high school level and up, it’s
quickly become apparent the difference between strong and weak
chemistry. Obviously, the best solution to solving these potential issues
is through practice and getting reps together. After all, doesn’t practice
make perfect? In this article, I’ll take a more in-depth look at this
concept of chemistry between the two vital offensive positions.
General Importance
Taking a look at this idea of from a general standpoint, we realize the
most efficient and effective quarterback-receiver duos weren’t one-hit
wonders. You don’t form this magical tandem right off the bat. Over the
course of history, some of the most electric duos included Jim Kelly to
Andre Reed, Dan Marino to Mark Clayton, Peyton Manning to Marvin
Harrison, and so on. The commonality amongst all of these is the fact
that they played together for at least 10 seasons. When you go through
offseason workouts and entire seasons together for that long, chemistry
arises. This section wasn’t just designed to get you thinking of how
chemistry is needed to be truly great, but also that it isn’t a quick
process.
Extra Reps Before/After Practice
During regular practice time, it is likely you’ll improve your skills vastly
over the course of the season. Particularly if you’re rather new to the
game, you will be amazed by how much you can learn and grow as a
player. Likewise, chances are players will be split into position groups
for a period of time at each practice. This time will be critical towards
developing a relationship with your teammates that play the same
position. The same logic can be applied to receivers catching passes
from their quarterback. However, I don’t believe you can ever have
enough practice at these two spots. Just as in basketball where you can
never shoot enough free throws before and after practice, this hard-
working mentality can be applied to football.
For any receivers and quarterbacks interested in taking advantage of
this extra time, I recommend doing some routes before and after
practices. Not only will this impress the coaches who might give the
players more playing time, but it will help develop chemistry. Each
player will start to understand more and more of how the other
operates on the football field
More in Common than Just Football
Yes, I understand that the reason you’re spending this extra time
practicing together is to score more points in the games, but this time
will be much better spent if you get along with each other. Especially for
some of the younger players, they might not play past high school. So,
with this being the case, shouldn’t you try to make some memories that
will last and gain a friend that’s there for you on-and-off the field? It’s
nice to have someone that’s willing to put in the work to be a better
football player, but in the end, having something in common other than
football can truly help broaden the overall relationship.
Trust and Timing
“The essence of football was blocking, tackling, and execution based on
timing, rhythm and deception.” This quote is from Knute Rokne, who
was the head coach at Notre Dame from 1918-1930. Since Rokne’s time
on the sideline, the game has changed tremendously. However, these
concepts of rhythm and timing still very much exist. Have you ever seen
an offensive unit get in a flow during a game where they seem to be
unstoppable? I, for one, can tell you that I’ve witnessed this countless
times. The dynamic of a pass play requires trust and timing between all
parties. The receivers have to trust their timing is perfect (thanks to
those extra reps!) and believe their quarterback won’t leave them in a
position where they’ll get blindsided by a defensive back. Likewise, the
quarterbacks must trust the receivers knows their route and will turn at
the correct time. Failure on the receiver’s part to accurately complete
this task will possibly result in an interception, which won’t only upset
the quarterback, but also force him to be hesitant in looking in that
receiver’s area in future opportunities. Without the proper trust and
timing, it is quite likely you’ll be witnessing a sub-par passing attack.
Respect for Each Other
Due to football’s tough nature, it isn’t uncommon to see things get a
little chippy on the sidelines. Even at the youth levels, players
understand how difficult it is to get regular playing time at some of the
skill positions, with one of these being quarterback. However, that
doesn’t give you the right to disrespect a teammate after a mistake.
Some of this falls on the coach for creating the proper culture, while
plenty is on the shoulders of the players. Ultimately, if you want players
to spend the extra time to build chemistry with their teammates, they
need to feel respected. It all goes back to the idea of this relationship
taking time to develop. There will be peaks and valleys, but the finish
line is only possible when both sides show respect.
Here is Penn State's Head Coach James Franklin on developing the complete quarterback
Willingness to Work
The last concept I’ll bring up is the willingness to work. In the past, I’ve
heard people say the only way to build an elite quarterback-receiver
duo is through a couple of exceptional players. Yes, talent is essential,
but remember “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
It’s not rocket science to see how dominant a tandem of Tom Brady and
Randy Moss can be, but how about the effectiveness that the Matt
Cassel-Dwayne Bowe duo had? What I’m trying to say is it all comes
down to a willingness to work. If you’re fourth on the depth chart at
receiver, then pull the quarterback aside and let him know you’d like to
change where you currently sit. Make him aware that you’re willing to
put in whatever extra work is needed to form the chemistry and create a
duo that can put up points in a hurry!
Just Do It!
You’ve probably heard this famous slogan from Nike, but I’ve put it here
as a closing statement to urge you to try to develop this chemistry with
your teammate. Nothing negative can be created from this extra effort. It
might not result in the next Jim Kelly-Andre Reed tandem, but it could
create something you’d never expect. Maybe you’ll form a long-time
friend or make you a harder worker in the classroom, you just never
know. Rather than attempting to decide whether or not to try, just do it!
Check out what Jim Harbaugh talked about to Patrick Willis and the 49ers about Team Chemistry.
