Class in session: Sean Payton, Drew Brees teach NFL Lingo 101

Attached Thumbnails · 07-12-2018, 11:47 AM

Gun Flex Right Stack 394 Dragon Smoke Kill Turbo Sucker Right

It wasn't a particularly special play in New Orleans Saints lore -- or at least you wouldn't think so. Just a 6-yard touchdown run by Mark Ingram in the first quarter of a 2016 win against Tampa Bay.

But NFL Films had Sean Payton and Drew Brees mic'd up for that game and captured them relaying that playcall through the headset and into the huddle. So I used it as an example when each of them agreed to sit down and dissect just what exactly they're talking about when they rattle off these cryptic, almost comically long sets of code words.

When I read it off to Brees to see if he could remember when the Saints might have used it, his instant recall was as mind-boggling as the terminology itself.

"I feel like we've called that play twice," said the 39-year-old quarterback, who is heading into his 13th season with Payton in New Orleans. "I recall we ran one of those plays against Tampa like two years ago and scored on it."

Wait. Can he do that with every play?

"I'd say I've got pretty good recall on most plays -- but especially ones like that one, which was a bit of a specialty play," said Brees, who explained that the Saints called two plays in the huddle in that instance, hoping they would get the right defensive look to "sucker" the Buccaneers into a misdirection run.

"But we could just sit there and go through a call sheet and just go play after play, and I could give you the history of it as we've been with the Saints," Brees continued. "And I could probably rattle off that same playcall in certain games in critical situations. 'Man, this was a game-changer. Or this was a game winner and this was this and that was that. Or this guy made this adjustment on this play.'"

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SmashMouth · 07-12-2018, 11:48 AM

So what does it all mean? Here's the breakdown, courtesy of one of the most dynamic offensive duos in NFL history:

Gun Flex Right Stack: That's the formation. "Gun" means Brees is in the shotgun. "Flex" means the Y receiver is flexed out a little bit from the line of scrimmage. And "Stack" means the two receivers on Brees' left side are essentially stacked on top of each other in the slot.

394: That's the protection. The "3" signifies that it's a three-step drop, which Brees said tells the offensive line to be "quick and aggressive." And the "94" signifies a max protection, so everyone should be able to block long enough to at least get the ball off on a pass play.

Dragon Smoke: That's a route concept -- in this case a quick pass designed to beat a blitz. Payton said the receivers would know whether to run a "drag" route or a "smoke" route based on the look the defense is giving or the game situation. The routes are where these names usually get most creative -- like Moore's "speed smash" to the corner of the end zone in the Super Bowl. Or "Harvey" or "Hank" or "Henry" (variations that all signify a hook route).

Kill: That's the key to this play -- the word that signifies Brees is calling two possible plays in the huddle. If he yells, "Kill!, Kill!, Kill!" before the snap, he's switching to the second play (which he did on Ingram's touchdown run).

Turbo Sucker Right: That's the run play Brees switched to when he saw the defense giving the look he wanted. "Turbo" means the Z receiver went in motion from the left side to the right side. And "Sucker" means it's a misdirection play that looks like Brees might hand off to the Z receiver on a jet sweep as he comes across. Instead, Brees hands the ball to Ingram, who runs up the middle between the right guard and the right tackle.

Rugby Saint II · 07-13-2018, 12:54 PM

Kill! Kill! Kill! I always thought Drew was referring to messing up the defense.

QBREES9 · 07-15-2018, 05:47 AM

I love these.

jeanpierre · 07-15-2018, 08:15 PM

Knew that Kill meant he was calling an audible, changing the play; though I thought the Center would call pass protection at the line...

Like the Patriots, it's not the most athletic that wins games...

07-12-2018, 11:47 AM	#1
Threaded by SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,125 Blog Entries: 29 Rating: (0 votes - average) Gun Flex Right Stack 394 Dragon Smoke Kill Turbo Sucker Right It wasn't a particularly special play in New Orleans Saints lore -- or at least you wouldn't think so. Just a 6-yard touchdown run by Mark Ingram in the first quarter of a 2016 win against Tampa Bay. But NFL Films had Sean Payton and Drew Brees mic'd up for that game and captured them relaying that playcall through the headset and into the huddle. So I used it as an example when each of them agreed to sit down and dissect just what exactly they're talking about when they rattle off these cryptic, almost comically long sets of code words. When I read it off to Brees to see if he could remember when the Saints might have used it, his instant recall was as mind-boggling as the terminology itself. "I feel like we've called that play twice," said the 39-year-old quarterback, who is heading into his 13th season with Payton in New Orleans. "I recall we ran one of those plays against Tampa like two years ago and scored on it." Wait. Can he do that with every play? "I'd say I've got pretty good recall on most plays -- but especially ones like that one, which was a bit of a specialty play," said Brees, who explained that the Saints called two plays in the huddle in that instance, hoping they would get the right defensive look to "sucker" the Buccaneers into a misdirection run. "But we could just sit there and go through a call sheet and just go play after play, and I could give you the history of it as we've been with the Saints," Brees continued. "And I could probably rattle off that same playcall in certain games in critical situations. 'Man, this was a game-changer. Or this was a game winner and this was this and that was that. Or this guy made this adjustment on this play.'" Twitter read more from Triplett Attached Thumbnails
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07-12-2018, 11:48 AM	#2
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,125 Blog Entries: 29	Re: Class in session: Sean Payton, Drew Brees teach NFL Lingo 101 Twitter So what does it all mean? Here's the breakdown, courtesy of one of the most dynamic offensive duos in NFL history: Gun Flex Right Stack: That's the formation. "Gun" means Brees is in the shotgun. "Flex" means the Y receiver is flexed out a little bit from the line of scrimmage. And "Stack" means the two receivers on Brees' left side are essentially stacked on top of each other in the slot. 394: That's the protection. The "3" signifies that it's a three-step drop, which Brees said tells the offensive line to be "quick and aggressive." And the "94" signifies a max protection, so everyone should be able to block long enough to at least get the ball off on a pass play. Dragon Smoke: That's a route concept -- in this case a quick pass designed to beat a blitz. Payton said the receivers would know whether to run a "drag" route or a "smoke" route based on the look the defense is giving or the game situation. The routes are where these names usually get most creative -- like Moore's "speed smash" to the corner of the end zone in the Super Bowl. Or "Harvey" or "Hank" or "Henry" (variations that all signify a hook route). Kill: That's the key to this play -- the word that signifies Brees is calling two possible plays in the huddle. If he yells, "Kill!, Kill!, Kill!" before the snap, he's switching to the second play (which he did on Ingram's touchdown run). Turbo Sucker Right: That's the run play Brees switched to when he saw the defense giving the look he wanted. "Turbo" means the Z receiver went in motion from the left side to the right side. And "Sucker" means it's a misdirection play that looks like Brees might hand off to the Z receiver on a jet sweep as he comes across. Instead, Brees hands the ball to Ingram, who runs up the middle between the right guard and the right tackle.

07-13-2018, 12:54 PM	#3
Rugby Saint II Bounty Money $$$ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 5800 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA. Posts: 24,052	Re: Class in session: Sean Payton, Drew Brees teach NFL Lingo 101 Kill! Kill! Kill! I always thought Drew was referring to messing up the defense. K Major likes this.
	Last edited by Rugby Saint II; 07-13-2018 at 01:43 PM..

07-15-2018, 05:47 AM	#4
QBREES9 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Haven Ct Posts: 23,985	Re: Class in session: Sean Payton, Drew Brees teach NFL Lingo 101 I love these.

07-15-2018, 08:15 PM	#5
jeanpierre Site Donor 2018 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Thibodaux Posts: 43,543 Blog Entries: 39	Re: Class in session: Sean Payton, Drew Brees teach NFL Lingo 101 Knew that Kill meant he was calling an audible, changing the play; though I thought the Center would call pass protection at the line... Like the Patriots, it's not the most athletic that wins games...

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