Throughout football’s history, the screen game has played an important role in a number of highly successful teams’ offensive game plans. Your traditional bubble, tunnel, running back, full back and tight end screens are staples throughout all levels and have been run for years. With the emergence of the spread offense, the screen game has evolved to include a slew of creative additions and designs to help teams incorporate screens into their offenses regardless of what you run as a base. The emphasis of these screens is they get your athletes in space on the edge as fast as possible and hit the second level with blockers faster than your traditional screens.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been on the cutting edge of college offenses and how to schematically gain advantages across the field. Lincoln Riley has multiple screens that attack the second level of defenses, but one of the most effective he’s employed is his shallow screen. Initially the play looks like your traditional mesh play. When you watch the play again you notice that everyone begins blocking before the ball has been delivered. The Sooners release the running back out into the route and block the playside linebacker and safety with a crack from the slot wide receiver and running back. The effect of this is there is no low-hole player able to pick up the shallow crossing route. This is a creative way to get into the second level early into the play and block all threats to get your speed players in plenty of space.

Lincoln Riley dialing up another awesome play for Oklahoma running a mesh style screen for a massive gain.

WRs run the mesh concept, but because the ball is caught behind the LOS, the WR + TE can both block immediately. A great design to get a free running WR. #All22Daily pic.twitter.com/kAASqJpKdK

— Brady Grayvold (@CoachGrayvold) March 27, 2018

Another big screen team in college football is the Auburn Tigers. Since the beginning of his coaching career at the high school ranks, Gus Malzahn has been a big screen usage coordinator. A major component of Malzahn’s screen game is using motion to manipulate defenses into looks that give him the advantage at the point of attack. On his swing screen design, Malzahn starts in an empty stack formation and short motions his running back into the core of the formation. As the running back hits the edge of the formation, the ball is snapped and immediately thrown back to the edge of the defense with the playside tackle and guard fast releasing into the second level of the defense. Both wide receivers can immediately block as well and what ensues is a massive gain. This screen is another way to immediately block second-level defenders while also getting the ball out quickly and safely to a skill player.

Like this Screen from Auburn. H half motions into backfield, line uses throw by to set the tunnel. Nice play to get matchups.#All22Daily pic.twitter.com/MQl2jZLaKn

— Brady Grayvold (@CoachGrayvold) June 13, 2017

During Super Bowl 51, we saw the emergence of one of the most popular goal line and short yardage screens in the game today from the New England Patriots. New England starts in an under center empty formation and motions in the widest split towards the formation. Tom Brady takes the snap and fires a ball to the perimeter as both wide receivers immediately block their defenders, which allows Danny Amendola to score the two-point conversion that ultimately helped set up the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. This screen is so useful because it allows the ball to get to the edge but also sets up the offensive players to get onto their blocking paths immediately, not giving the defense a ton of time to react or adjust. Ultimately, this play is just another way for you to get the football on the outside with a low-risk throw as if it were a quick-hitting run play.

The 2 Point conversion play to tie the Super Bowl last year.

Patriots are the masters of the short screen game and getting guys open on the edge. Have to imagine we'll see plenty of this vs. the Eagles this upcoming Sunday.#All22Daily pic.twitter.com/YyX6fOaNTm

— Brady Grayvold (@CoachGrayvold) January 30, 2018

While a lot of these schemes seem new and innovative, teams have been using second-level screens for years. One of my favorite teams to watch use their screen game that is not on national television every week is James Madison University. For years, James Madison has been competitive at the FCS level and plays like this have aided their success immensely. Much like the Auburn screen, both wide receivers are going to come down and crack on interior defenders, allowing the H-back to arc release and pick up a second- to third-level defender and create more space for the running back. A lot of these screens aren’t particularly difficult scheme wise, but what they do is challenge your second- and third-level defenders to get off of blocks, which allows your skill guys to operate in space.

James Madison has a great Flare Screen to get their RB in space.

With a double crack on the LBs and the H leading on the secondary, you get numbers to the boundary immediately. A different look to get to advantages on the edge.#All22Daily

pic.twitter.com/ogUZiYbRSm

— Brady Grayvold (@CoachGrayvold) December 27, 2017

Overall, the screen game across all levels of football still has a place in every single offense out there. The evolution of the screen game has led to more screens hitting the edge faster and acting as a quick-hitting outside run. The traditional running and full back screens are still very much a component in offenses all over the game, but with the evolution of the spread offense, you are seeing more teams wanting to get the ball out to the perimeter as fast as possible. However, they must be more creative than your typical bubble or smoke screens.

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