2023 Packers Stick Concept

Breaking down Jordan Love's most used pass concept of 2023.

Successful offenses always leave clues. There are a million different concepts that can be successful in football, but any good team is going to have the 3 or 4 concepts they rely on heavily. For the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love in 2023, that concept was Stick.

They used many different variations, but in each game when they needed a completion, this is the concept they went to.

Basics of Stick

Stick is a simple hitch and flat combination. The tagged receiver, runs a 5-yard hitch route, aiming to split the difference between the flat and the hook defender.

The flat route or quick out aims to the sideline and would run out of bounds at 6 yards.

This is a great concept to attack all coverages. Vs zone, the quarterback has a simple inside-out read on the flat defender. The out route is great vs man coverage, and when it starts inside the stick route, it creates a natural rub.

In many systems, stick is paired with other quick game concepts to the other side. Spacing (pictured above) and slants are among the most popular.

While picking a side quick game can be effective if the quarterback can choose correctly, it doesn’t give many answers if he picks wrongs, or the defense covers the chosen concepts well. Because the timing of all the quick game happens simultaneously, it doesn’t work well as a full-field progression.

The Packers have solved this issue by pairing stick with 5-step drop concepts to the backside. This way, if they don’t get the coverage they like, or they don’t win, the quarterback has options that time up.

X Stick F Cross

The Packers’ most used version was Stick Paired with a backside Cross concept. Timing is the key, and any good passing concept is going to have routes break as the quarterback works to that part of the progression. For Stick, the quarterback will take a quick 3-step drop from under center or 1 step from the gun. The Packers primarily ran this concept from the gun.

The cross concept is based on 5-step timing, so if the stick combination isn’t there, Love can reset his feet and work the Cross, to the dig, to the flat route. Giving him a chance to work the whole field, with all the routes timing up.

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X Stick Dagger

We’ve seen how the Packers use Dagger in their play-action game.

Play Pass: Dagger

Here they take that same concept and put it on the backside of Stick. Just like with Cross, the depth of the Dagger routes allows for Love to quickly throw the stick combination or reset his feet and work the Post, to the Dig, to the Flat route.

Below are 5 more stick variations and 10+ minutes of Packers’ Stick Film.