Somewhat like the Flat route, the Swing pattern has a halfback or fullback running straight to the left or right, behind the line of scrimmage, as an outlet for the quarterback to pass to if he is under pressure. The difference is that the Swing has the back smoothly cutting upfield along the sideline if the ball is not thrown to them before that time. Thus, it can be used to get the back open downfield while the majority of the defense follows a decoy receiver away from the area.
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