Originally Posted by unoriginal

You are missing so, so much. You have the box, but you are missing all the pieces to the puzzle.

Here is what goes on on your average high school / low-brow college passing play:

(1) Play is called. Play calls for flanker and tight end nearside, split end far side, to be joined by the tailback motioning out of the backfield. Routes are to be post / chute and slant / out, respectively.
(2) At line, flanker notices free safety creeping past his coverage spot towards the line. He and tight end begin calling hot audible. QB hears and cancels the tailback motion into doubles, and keeps him in strongside for protection.
(3) It is now obvious the defense is in zero coverage. Outside receiver routes change to seam routes. Tight end changes to option route against sam linebacker.
(4) Just before snap of ball defense falls back to what becomes obvious is cover two. Receivers must convert seam routes to burst routes (15 yard speed outs) from the seam. Tight end must change option route to hook to fit in gap between dropping linebackers.

As a former cornerback it was real obvious to me what teams were running static routes and what teams were making adjustments on the fly. Shutting down the former was real easy because you could eventually deceipher what they were going to do based upon how they lined up, what the situation was, and what they did in their first three steps off the line.

I'm going to hazard a guess that Bill Belichick's offense doesn't make use of many "just go here" routes.