Film Study: How Saints freed Chris Olave up with crafty play design

By Ross Jackson

The partnership between play caller and player execution was on full display in Week 16 as New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore found a way to free up his top wide receiver for a wide open touchdown late in the third quarter.

Moore stresses the importance of the pre-snap operation and putting players in position to make plays and the Saints’ 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Shough to wide receiver Chris Olave is a stellar example of both principles translating to the field.

Third-and-5: Shough finds Olave for 23-yard touchdown strike

As the Saints line up, running back Audric Estime starts out wide. As he lines up, a Jets linebacker follows him. This is an immediate indication of man coverage. If it were zone coverage, typically, the linebacker would have stayed in the box instead. That suspicion is then confirmed with the motion that follows.

After showing Estime on the outside, the back is motioned into the backfield and the linebacker, Jamien Sherwood, follows. This confirms man coverage. Once Shough sees Sherwood trailing Estime, he signals to the offense and then the play is off to the races.

Just before the snap, tight end Juwan Johnson quickly motions from inside of the formation from Olave to outside. This gets Olave and cornerback Jordan Clark face-to-face with Johnson to the right, setting up the post-snap action.

At the snap, Olave breaks out on an inside fade/wheel route, working out toward the fieldside boundary before turning downfield for the endzone. Johnson crosses over the top, creating congestion that Clark can’t work through. 

While the rub (or “pick,” if you’re a defensive player) frees up Olave, Shough keeps his eyes glued on on the deep safety, holding him in the middle of the field. That keeps the middle-of-field defender from being able to break to the outside to get over the top of Olave’s route. 

Once the ball is thrown, Olave clears around the corner, outside of wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. who is occupying another outside corner on an inside-breaking route. The safety is out of place to make a play at this point, evidenced by his pointing to try to communicate to his teammates about the free runner downfield. But it’s far too late.

Shough rears back and delivers the pass for a walk-in touchdown to Olave.