In an effort to attack offenses when the disc is on the sideline, many
teams use a 'rotated' mark to take away the reset. As the mark shifts
to cut off the 45-degree angle backwards, the reset defenders shift to
take away the upfield reset cut, effectively bracketing the thrower's
'safe' options.
As an offensive player, what do you look for to break this defensive
strategy? As a coach, how do you prepare to play against this defensive
scheme?
Lou Burruss
1. Face the mark. This classic piece of throwing technology dates back to
the dawn of modern Ultimate when Windy City and NYNY ruled. The uneducated
thrower looks upfield at the stack and they position their body to reflect
this. When they want to throw a dump they have to turn 270 degrees, which is
incredibly slow. (Or turn their back to the field, which is incredibly dumb.)
By facing the mark, you shorten the turn to 180 degrees. If you want to throw
open side, you merely step out and away from the mark for an easy release.
2. Play off rhythm. All good defenders depend on the rhythm of the game
and the offense to anticipate the action and the deny-dump mark is no
exception. The marker is relying on you turning to the dump at a predictible
point in the stall count (usually 5 to 7.) If you throw the dump on stalling 3
sometimes, they aren’t ready.
3. Play fast. This is similar to playing off rhythm, but is a team
strategy rather than an individual one. The deny-dump mark is dependent on the
mark establishing. If you are releasing on stalling 1 or 2, they can’t ever
set up. It’s only if you hold the disc up around 6, 7 or 8 that you’ll get in
trouble.
4. Develop arounds. Get your around throws quick and confident. The
better they are, the better the marker has to be to take them away. Typically,
the deny-dump mark relies on catching you by surprise and if you are quick and
confident, you have beaten them before they realize they have to take you
seriously.
Ben van Heuvelen
When we’re facing a “rotated” mark paired with good up-line dump defense, we
have to do a few things to win.
First, we have to cut and clear decisively. The defensive tactic succeeds if
it forces the handlers to “dance,” clogging the reset lane and creating
uncertainty for the thrower. Even if the handlers have nowhere to run but
towards the defense, they must run. Often times, the defense isn’t as strong
as it looks and the handler can swim past the up-line defender, or the thrower
can shimmy to open up the around-break throw.
Even if the defense holds, the decisive handler movement will still expose a
soft spot: the inside-out lane. There are a few ways to exploit it.
- A handler who makes a hard up-line cut can button-hook back towards the inside-out lane.
- A cutter – either the first person in a vertical stack, or a far-side cutter in a horizontal stack) can step into the i/o lane. If their defender has rotated to take away the i/o, then often a cutter can make a hard juke and get open straight to the sideline.
- Regardless of who makes the cut, the thrower can increase his odds exponentially by pivoting aggressively. In this case, that means pivoting to get his hips past the marker’s hips. By using his body to seal the marker, the thrower creates a clean throwing path to the inside lane — either the marker must concede it, or he must foul, resulting in a free throw and a new 10 seconds.
I hasten to add that I think this is a very good defensive strategy, worth
adding to a team’s arsenal. Any time you can make a team resort to its second
or third option, your defense is succeeding.
Jeff Eastham-Anderson
In framing this discussion, I think it is important to note that some teams
have a static approach to shifting the mark, while others are more dynamic. In
the static case, the mark starts off taking away more of the reset look only
on the sideline, while giving up more of an angle downfield. In the dynamic
case, the marker starts off with a conventional angle, but rotates with the
marker when they turn to hit the dump.
With that said, whatever strategy you choose to adopt to combat this mark,
your task will generally be easier if the thrower and cutters are actively
looking to move the disc off the sideline as early as possible. Instead of
waiting for a lane cut to develop, realize that your primary goal is to get
the disc out of a situation where the defense has an advantage (they have the
sideline to help them, and they have a cohesive defensive strategy to take
advantage of this position).
A static change in the marker’s position on the sideline generally means that
everybody but the thrower needs to adjust their strategy. The downfield
players need to realize that their defenders are not getting as much help from
the mark as they used to, and need to be in a position to take advantage. For
example, players in a stack, especially the one closest to the thrower, need
to generate more opportunities for the thrower. If the mark shifts a great
deal, the person at the front of the stack can basically cut as if they were a
dump, and preferentially try and receive the disc on the break side.
A dynamic change, where the marker is actively denying the thrower’s main
target, be it downfield or to a reset, means the thrower will need to create
and be ready to capitalize on different opportunities as they are presented.
The main weakness of an active mark is the relative inability of the mark to
tell where the real threat is located. For example, if a cut to the break side
is a little tight, the thrower can move the mark and create a larger window by
faking a throw to the dump.
Jacob Goldstein
Rotating the mark is a very effective strategy in forcing teams into difficult
situations. This strategy works especially well in windy conditions or against
teams that primarily run a vertical stack. I am sure that other authors will
talk about the mechanics of the thrower in this situation but the one thing
that I want to emphasize in this situation is the role of the cutter (normally
a handler) who is in the dump position.
When a mark rotates 45 degrees to take away the backfield dump, the window for
a flat forehand in the inside lane is opened. As a thrower, this is great but
only half of the battle. In order to take advantage of this window, the dump
cutter must actively become aware of this newly opened window. There are two
cuts that I would recommend to take advantage of this window.
The traditional dump cut — cut upfield, stop and become open for a dump in the
backfield is exactly what the defense wants you to do. To take advantage of
the inside lane, the traditional cut should be modified by driving an
additional 3-5 yards farther upfield so that you are coming out of your break
in the newly opened IO window. This will allow an easy flat throw along the IO
lane.
The second cut is equally effective and my personal favorite. Again, this cut
relies on the dump cutter realizing that they are in a “no-dump” situation.
The cutter begins the cut by going for the up-line (or post, 02, power
position cut) at full speed. Once the dump cutter reaches the IO window, stop
on a dime. Your defender will normally be out of position for 1-2 seconds
allowing an easy flat throw along the IO lane.
Peri Kurshan
The anti-reset mark can effectively make the backfield dump a very difficult
throw. Here are a few ways to prevent this defense from making your life as a
thrower difficult.
First of all, the D is most effective on a high stall count when you are
running out of time and options (and many teams will only shift their marks to
take away the dump once the stall count gets high). Looking to your resetter
very early lessens the chance that the anti-reset mark will be set in the
first place. In a similar vein, faking and pivoting early and aggressively
will make it less likely that your mark can tell when you’re actually looking
for the reset.
If you do find yourself with an anti-reset mark and a dump that’s covered up
the line, there’s a simple trick that you can use to make your remaining
options seem much less daunting: turn your back to the sideline and then
mentally rotate the field 90 degrees so that you now imagine your endzone of
attack to be in the direction you are facing. The mark will now be a regular
angled, force one-way mark, and the person at the front of the stack is now
standing in the open side lane.
Chances are their defender may not have adjusted to the mark opening up your
options to hit that front of the stack player. Make sure your reset handler
and their defender stay out of the way, preferably by staying back for the
dump so that the mark continues to force the same way. The front of the stack
player is now in a good position to either make a cut on what is now the open
side, or even better, simply wait for you to put a pass out straight in front
of you for them to run onto. From the perspective of what the real field
actually looks like, this pass will be a cross-field pass into the middle of
the field. With a little bit of float on that throw, you can put it out in
front of your target such that they run onto it with momentum towards the
break side of the field, and their mark trailing them on the open side- great
opportunity to a continuation yardage cut on the break side!
Greg Husak
Rotating the mark can be a very effective strategy against teams that
effectively use the reset to work the disc upfield when the initial cut isn’t
open. This defense works best when it has the element of surprise behind it.
However, like many defenses, if offenses recognize that this strategy is being
used they can develop a plan to counter it.
The easiest thing to think about is what the defense gives up when they
implement this strategy. The obvious thing is the inside-out throw that gets
the disc off the line. Having an upfield cutter make a move back to the middle
of the field after making a hard cut to the line will frequently be an easy
way to take advantage. Another option is to shift the stack closer to the
sideline so that there is more space to the inside-out side of the stack for
the thrower to use and for cutters to cut.
If a team is determined to get the disc to the reset, one adjustment to make
is to have the reset wait for a thrower-initiated throw. This keeps the
throwing space more open for the thrower, giving larger room for error. If the
reset moves early and winds up behind the disc on that sideline there is very
little space for the thrower.
Finally, when that mark moves around, there is really no pressure on the
upfield huck. A patient thrower should be able to use this to get off an
uncontested huck if he has the confidence to wait until late in the count.
Adam Goff
Nothing earth-shattering here, but first and most important: the easiest way
to get out of this situation is to avoid it. A good offense recognizes what
the D is playing early (see the zone, see the clam, see everything). An anti-
reset mark can be set up by the defense several throws ahead. A person sits in
the lane, leaving the handler on the sideline open. It’s an obvious throw. The
first way to avoid this is to have that receiver (the person who would be
trapped) move towards the thrower. Often it is better to all but hand the disc
to this person, avoiding the longer throw and the trap. Even better, the
receiver can circle behind — resetting the count while moving upfield.
The second way to avoid this is to break the mark before you have to. When the
defense drops the person in the lane, don’t be tempted — work the disc the
other way.
Sometimes, you just can’t avoid going into the trap. In this case, I recommend
shortening the count in your mind. If you like to look reset or swing at 6,
then you are now thinking of doing it by 3. This often will help you get the
disc off prior to the mark getting set. A side note — it’s important that the
other players recognize that you are doing this — you need them to be looking
for the throws quickly. This doesn’t mean that you should panic. I’ve coached
teams to think of this situation as “three looks.”
Look 1 — you receive the disc and you start to turn — looking upfield and
back to the middle. Your first look is back into the field, away from the trap
sideline. Your priority is to gain yards, but avoid the trap.
Look 2 — you continue to turn — looking almost straight up field (close or
far).
Look 3 — you look back into the same place as look 1. You basically have
bounced your turn off of the sideline. Always looking upfield.
Adam Sigelman
The anti-reset mark is very effective at putting throwers in an uncomfortable
position. You’ve been working it up the line effectively, dumping when needed,
but generally marching up the field. Now, the defense has shifted, and you
either have to make a tough break backwards or hope that your resets can break
free up the line. The sideline, as the 8th defender, limits your options.
Typically in these situations there is a flood of players close to you, as
cutters come in for the bail or defenders sag a bit into the lane.
I find it helpful in these situations to make a 90 degree turn and pretend I
have a normal force mark moving horizontally, not vertically. Now, instead of
looking at a garbled mess and a shrunken open side, I am looking at 40 yards
with both an open side and a break opportunity. More times than not, there is
chaos in the new open side but a decent throw available to the new break side
— either an IO to someone coming into the middle of the field, or an angled
throw (think hammer or blade) to a cutter whose defender is sagging in. Not
only do these throws beat the anti-mark, they also often lean to additional
yardage up the break side.