Renowned defensive guru Cody Alexander says there’s a better way to get a read on opposing passers than using traditional charts.
At nearly all my stops, from the Big 12 to the cauldron of Texas high school football, I’ve been left to my own devices for building the secondary’s gameplan. One of my biggest takeaways? You’re better off ditching the traditional 16-square passing chart that tracks where quarterbacks throw. It’s an antiquated way of tracking where offenses are attacking through the air.
Like its cousin in the run-gap chart, the passing chart has seen better days. Offenses are less about structure and more about matchups when it comes to the passing game. Some offenses keep their personnel right and left, while others have specific positions and move players around. Each week you could be looking at a vastly different process if you use the traditional passing chart to track throws.
Because offenses are personnel-based, a defensive coach needs to tweak the way they view an offense’s passing game. For me, I use four specific columns that I combine to get a vastly better picture of an opponent’s passing game:
- Backside Concept
- Deep Shot
- Target
- Scramble

Some coaches only tag the route that the quarterback throws. Doing that only gives the staff one-fifth of a chance of understanding the opponent’s intent.
The “Target” column puts the why behind where the ball is going.
Cody Alexander has authored five books. A former graduate assistant at Baylor University, where he was on staff for three bowl appearances and a Big 12 championship, Alexander has turned his efforts to Texas high school football, where his teams have been a Class 5A D-II area finalist three times.