Durkin's Playbook: Bears' Kevin White Just The Fit For Adam Gase's Schemes

By Dan Durkin--

(CBS) Friday marks the first time the Bears' rookie class will take the practice field as professionals. Outside of getting adjusted to the speed of the game, they'll be learning new terminology and concepts. Coaches will start with base concepts to establish a foundation and build from there.

New offensive coordinator Adam Gase will get his first opportunity to work with the team's first-round pick, wide receiver Kevin White. Surely, Gase is anxious to put White's size and speed to proper use in his scheme. At West Virginia, White was heavily utilized on bubble and tunnel screens, as well as smoke and now routes (a Ryan Pace term), base concepts that are featured within Gase's playbook.

Another base concept in Gase's playbook are mesh and rub routes. At its core, the mesh route concept is a high-low crossing route combination designed to stretch the defense horizontally and create congestion in the middle of the field, typically picking a defender to create separation and get the ball in the hands of receivers running full speed in space.

Two receivers -- each on opposite sides of the formation -- are involved, with one being the high crosser and the other the low crosser. The low crosser is taught to target the inside shoulder of the high crosser to create the rub.

Typically, the play is most successful against man coverage. But it's also effective against zone coverage, as underneath defenders carrying receivers crossing their zone can get caught up in the wash over the middle and be forced to change directions, putting them in a disadvantageous trail position. For the quarterback, this is a simple two-receiver read from the home position, typically with the running back in the flats as his checkdown.

Let's step inside the film room to take a closer look at a rub route in action.

The route is best suited for a balanced 2-by-2, in which any two receivers can be tagged as part of the combination, or a 3-by-1 formation involving the backside split end, the position for which White has been tabbed.

Here's a clip from the 2013 AFC Championship game against the Patriots in which the Broncos come out in a 3-by-1 set with Eric Decker lined up as the split end (No. 1) on the backside of a "trips open" formation. On the trips side of the formation, the Broncos line up with Demaryius Thomas (No. 1), Julius Thomas (No. 2) and Wes Welker (No. 3).

Welker is the high crosser, while Decker is the low crosser target on this play. The Patriots match up with nickel (five-defensive back) personnel in a 4-2-5 alignment in Cover-1 (man-free) coverage, with the free safety shaded to the passing strength and set to carry No. 2 (Julius Thomas) vertically.

Thomas and Thomas are used on clear-out routes, which are designed to draw coverage with them deep up the field and give Decker more room to operate in the void they vacated. Then they'll eventually throw blocks for him to wall off defenders.

The Patriots only rush four, so the running back runs a check release "jerk" route into the flat, which occupies the strong safety.

Welker creates the rub in the middle of the field, which effectively occupies three Patriots defenders and creates space for Decker to work the low portion of the crossing route.

Once Decker clears the trash, all the defenders are left in a trail position, while Decker catches the pass at near full speed and is able to get to the perimeter and turn a short, high-percentage completion into a big play.

Given White's willingness to work over the middle of the field, his aggressive open-field running style and big-play speed, he's a prototype target for this concept.

Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.