also: screen pass · screen game
A pass thrown behind or near the line with blockers in front of the catch rather than protection behind the throw. A whole category, not one play, and the versions have almost nothing in common.
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A pass thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage where the value is in what happens after the catch. Blockers get in front of the receiver, and the throw works much like a long handoff.
Many screens invite the pass rush upfield before throwing behind it, which makes an aggressive rush helpful to the design. Other screens are thrown immediately to the perimeter. The blocks and defensive leverage still matter against any front.
Because it is a category, "we ran a screen" tells another coach almost nothing. The versions differ in who catches it, where the blockers come from, and what defenders they are trying to remove.
screen passbubble screen, tunnel screen, drawThe version the word originally named. The offensive line lets the rush come, two or three linemen release out to a side, and a running back slips behind the rush to catch a short pass with those linemen in front of him.
It is the slowest-developing screen and the one that depends most on selling a genuine pass first, which is why it is a situational call rather than a base one, and why it is so damaging when a defense guesses right.
back screen, slow screendrawScreen names a family, not one set of assignments. Programs often give separate calls to the direction, receiver and blocking pattern, so the local playbook matters more than the generic label.