Rebuilding the Patriots’ Passing Game: Empty Formations

After being named a Pro Bowl alternate as a rookie, Mac Jones plummeted back to Earth under the weight of insufficient leadership and poor protection in his sophomore campaign. While his execution also fell short of expectations, including undeniable mechanical regression, neither he nor the rest of the offense was put in a position to succeed consistently.

Under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, the hope is for improved structure, discipline, and subsequently a better on-field product. A highly-respected quarterback coach, O’Brien makes things easier on his signal-callers by providing answers to whatever look or coverage a defense presents. The first entry to this series dove into how RPOs could unlock a facet of Jones’ game we haven’t seen in the NFL. This week, we take on empty formations.

Empty Mismatch

Like RPOs, empty make a quarterback’s life easier by maximizing options and stressing defensive rules. They do this by “emptying out” the backfield and having all five eligibles run routes, often making coverage easier to decipher by spreading out the defense. Having only five blockers means the ball must be thrown quickly, but the mismatch opportunities presented can turn short throws into big plays or create easy vertical opportunities.

Empty tends to place receivers in unusual spots, leading to advantageous matchups and forcing defenders out of their comfort zones. These sets are especially lethal from unpredictable groupings, as an offense could break the huddle in heavy run personnel and get their most dynamic player matched up on a linebacker.

Dual-threat quarterbacks make empty nearly indefensible by providing their own run game on top of the obvious threat of pass (see: Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts), but the formation’s ability to manipulate coverage and provide answers make it a cerebral pocket-passer’s best friend (see: Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins).

Despite these advantages, and Mac Jones’ success using empty at Alabama, it’s another element of the third-year quarterback’s game that’s barely been tapped into since he was drafted in 2021. But with empty-enthusiast Bill O’Brien helming the offense, that trend is likely to change in 2023.

HISTORY

Mac Jones Empty (Alabama)

After using empty at one of the FBS’ highest rates in his senior season, Jones has ranked bottom-20 in such dropbacks each season since entering the league. This was somewhat surprising during Josh McDaniels’ tenure, as he used empty at one of the league’s highest rates with Tom Brady under center. That said, Jones had some trouble reading coverage as a rookie, particularly underneath, so McDaniels’ decision may have been justified. Matt Patricia did his best last season, but he lacked the tools to utilize empty to its fullest potential.

O’Brien has prominently and successfully featured empty throughout his play-calling career. Alabama ranked top-15 in empty dropbacks when O’Brien was offensive coordinator from 2021-2022, only the Steelers used empty more than his Texans from 2017-2020, and the look was a fixture of the Patriots’ offense during his first stint as coordinator in 2011.

O’Brien believes in putting playmakers on the inside of empty sets and away from outside corners, who are usually the most talented coverage players on the field. These can be players from any position group, as long as they fill a specific role. When installing game plans, O’Brien watches how teams defend empty to inform where he’ll put each receiver and how they’ll attack the defense. Here’s a quick breakdown of each key alignment:

#3 Receiver in Empty

• #3 Receiver: Can be fast, but must be quick. Often faces the MIKE (typically a middle linebacker).

#2 Receiver (Weak) in Empty

• #2 Receiver (Weak): Similar to the #3, but size can be a bigger advantage due to more defensive back matchups. Often faces the WILL (typically a weakside/dime linebacker) or weak safety.

#2 Receiver (Strong) in Empty

• #2 Receiver (Strong): Bigger receiver who plays to his size. Often faces the SAM (typically a nickel corner, but will sometimes be a strongside linebacker vs base) or strong safety.

The controlled chaos of empty goes hand-in-hand with the simplicity of O’Brien’s core philosophy, the Erhardt-Perkins system. Taught to O’Brien by former Patriots offensive coordinator and four-time Super Bowl champion Charlie Weis, this system is rooted in efficient aggression. Rather than tagging routes with numbers or using lengthy terminology, the Erhardt-Perkins uses single words to describe concepts involving two or three receivers. This makes it easy for players to know their assignment from anywhere in the formation and for the offense to dictate the tempo.

Here’s an example from the Patriots’ 2016 low Red Zone installation:

Each receiver’s alignment is determined by the “Bazooka Right” formation call, with 78 telling the offensive line how to protect. “Dragon” tells the three-receiver side to execute a slant-flat-slant combination and “Gotti” tells the two-receiver side to execute a go-out combo.

As O’Brien puts it, football is about common sense and communication. If the offense were to anticipate zone on a play but broke the huddle to Cover 1, a single word could get them into a man-beater that turns an initially murky look into an easy conversion. That flexibility makes the use of tempo and no-huddle especially taxing on a defense’s ability to relay information, forcing them to choose between predictability or mayhem. Signal callers with a mastery of the system can relentlessly exploit weak links or draw penalties through sheer discombobulation.

Here are some of O’Brien’s favorite concepts from empty, how they mesh with what Mac Jones does well, and how their current arsenal fits in.

KEY CONCEPTS

When teaching how to read route patterns, O’Brien emphasizes a “good thought process” so quarterbacks can play fast without being paralyzed by information. This is another lesson learned from mentor Charlie Weis. These thought processes fall into two buckets:

• Progression reads: Features a vertical concept on one side of the field and a horizontal concept on the other, with the quarterback reading right-to-left read (or vice versa). Players are taught to start on the vertical and work to the horizontal unless they immediately know where they’re going with the football.
• Coverage reads: Features a concept specifically designed to beat zone or man coverage to each side of the field. The quarterback’s progression is thus based on what he anticipates pre-snap, but he must be alert to deception and read the post-snap look correctly.

Here are some empty concepts the Patriots could lean on this season:

Hoss Juke

Maybe New England’s’ most well-known play, HOSS Juke was a staple of the Tom Brady era but faded out with the lack of empty use since Mac Jones took over. But with O’Brien featuring the play in both Houston and Alabama, it’s due for a comeback.

Texans HOSS Juke

“HOSS” is a two-man route that stands for “Hitch Outside, Slot Seam,” with the hitch converting to a go against press and the seam converting to a post against split-safety looks. On HOSS Juke, the concept is mirrored on both sides of the formation with the #3 receiver running the “juke”, which is a shallow crosser where the receiver sits if uncovered against zone or whips back out if matched by an inside defender.

On paper, the play is nearly indefensible against zone due to each receiver running an adjustable route. If the defense matches with man coverage, aggressive quarterbacks can throw backshoulder to big guys in the slot or go underneath to the juke if the matchup is ideal. When seams clear out the middle of the field, this underneath throw can go for chunks of yards in the right hands.

Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte Over the Middle

Rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte are the Patriots’ most electric #3 receiver candidates, with both excelling after the catch and possessing the quickness to separate on juke. Douglas actually filled this role for the Patriots’ coaching staff at the Senior Bowl, performing so well during practices he sat out the actual game. Boutte also has some experience running the route from his LSU days.

Hunter Henry Seam

Mac Jones and Hunter Henry have shown excellent chemistry on seam routes over the past two seasons, so Henry would be an ideal option as the #2 receiver strong.

Mike Gesicki Seam

Mike Gesicki, who I think will be a featured player from empty, was dominant down the seams in Miami. He could be a fit at either #2 receiver spots, and possibly as a big target over the middle at #3.

Slants

Mac Jones Empty Slant

Jones excelled throwing slants to big slots as a rookie, especially YAC threat Kendrick Bourne. These were usually three-receiver patterns with a flat route to clear out middle defenders. The formation featured Bourne as the #2 receiver strong between Henry and a running back, an unusual look that helped identify coverage and create potential mismatches.

Texans Slant Concept

O’Brien tends to put his slant concepts to the two-receiver side of formations. When running slant-flat in Houston, he’d often use a stack look to create rubs against man on critical downs.

Mike Gesicki Slant from Empty

Gesicki’s frame and catch radius make him a very difficult cover on slants, both inside and outside. Boutte and Douglas’ after-catch ability could also be exploited out of the slot.

High-Low

High-low is an umbrella term for route combinations that stretch defenses vertically, which Jones has executed well in his career.

Texans Empty High-Low

O’Brien runs most of these to the two-receiver side, often from stacks, with an intermediate route paired with a short option route. These almost always go to the underneath receiver, but quarterbacks can go downfield if defenses get greedy.

Texans Empty High-Low (Gotti)

Houston also used the Gotti concept mentioned earlier but from more traditional splits.

Texans Levels Concept

When running high-low concepts to the three-receiver side, O’Brien typically uses “Levels” concepts which pair a downfield route with two underneath routes rather than one.

Mike Gesicki Levels Concept

Gesicki often lined up as the #3 receiver in empty formations with the Dolphins and excelled on intermediate routes. He’d be a natural fit as a downfield option.

Mac Jones Smash Concept

One of Jones’ best high-low combos from empty has been “Smash”, which pairs an intermediate out-breaker with a route to the flat. This was a common low Red Zone call in 2021, and it takes advantage of his touch and accuracy to put passes where only his receiver can get them.

Kendrick Bourne Smash Concept

Hunter Henry and Kendrick Bourne have each scored on this concept, with Bourne securing two passes in the Wild Card Round against Buffalo