Cutting out of a stack combines four skills, all of which are essential if you want to consistently be successful.
In general, out of a stack, you are not going to be cutting off a stopped disc. So, you’re responding to the action around you, moving continuously, trying to judge when is the appropriate time to cut. In general, there are two things to remember.
First, you’d always rather be in position to receive the disc when the thrower has just caught a pass. That often means he or she is unmarked or badly marked, and often has momentum going up-field. As a deep throw is an essential threat in any cut, the more credible the threat, the more effective any cut will be.
Second, you’d rather cut a little too much than not enough. You’ll often see players standing in the stack, waiting for the perfect moment to cut. You don’t generally get enough perfect moments to make this worthwhile, so you have to work to create moments that are good enough.
Generally, you have to be moving when the previous pass is in the air if you want the timing to be right on a cut. That means that you have to be aware of where the disc is moving, and where the cutters in front of you are headed. If the disc has just been swung to the home side of the field, and you’ve made a beautiful setup to cut to the away side of the field, the entire stack is now between you and the disc, and you’re not a terribly large threat. Not good. Instead, when you’re beginning a cut, you need to think ahead slightly and make your best guess as to where the threat will develop. If you’re very good, you’ll be right maybe 75% of the time. Even if your results are somewhat less than that, don’t worry about it. Your work is not wasted, since whatever movement you do sets up your next cut (see step 4)
In general, your defender will be frightened of you doing something. You want to reinforce this threat. That usually means getting yourself into position where both your primary threat and a secondary threat are useful for the offense. A good example is when a handler on your team has just gained some yardage up the sideline. If you are making your cut there, you want to begin in the stack as the handler is making his or her cut. By the time he or she receives the disc, you should be moving at near full speed deep, toward the sideline (in a diagonal line). At this point, barring interference from anyone else on your team, your defender has to fear you continuing your cut deep. At the same time, if he or she overcommits to stopping the deep throw, you have a useful cut back at the disc to gain 15 or 20 yards.
In general, your primary threat will be deep, but defenders will generally prefer to take that away, in favor of letting you gain yardage coming back at the disc. In order to make your away cut threatening, and therefore leave you 2 options, the following must be true:
If you have set up your cut effectively, your next step is to be sure to make your defender choose to defend something. That means that you must hit full speed, and convince the defender that you have really made up your mind that you are going (whether deep, or in, or wherever).
However, you should not have made up your mind. You must always be willing to take advantage of your defender’s mistakes, and most of these mistakes will be mental mistakes rather than physical mistakes. If your defender does not really believe your cut, it had better be a good enough cut that you’ll be thrown to. So, don’t make up your mind too early. The majority of blocks occur at the high level when the offensive player tries to outguess his or her defender, and ends up making the wrong guess.
You will know when your defender commits by the fact that he or she is no longer worrying about anything by covering you. You can always tell this. All of a sudden, the defender realizes that you’re a legitimate threat, and puts his or her head down to follow you. Often, if your threat is good enough, your defender will even look away from you to find the disc in the air. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.
As soon as the defender is at full speed, and not looking at you, make your move to the other area you have set up. This is most effective when you’ve made your hard move deep. Then, when the defender looks back over his or her shoulder to pick up the disc, he or she must lose sight of you. Then, you cut underneath them. They are going the wrong way (at full speed), and looking the wrong way, and you will gain 4 or 5 steps on the cut.
However, remember that you can’t decide too early that you are going to cut underneath. If your defender is still looking at you, you’ll probably only gain a step or two on the cut, and then it becomes a footrace back at the disc… and all too often, a layout block.
It may sound difficult to get your defender to look back at the disc, but it’s really not hard. All defenders are susceptible to the suggestion that the disc is up in the air, and they have to look at some point or risk looking foolish as it flies right by them. Just add a little extra speed, and look back for the disc yourself. Your defender will look back as well, 9 times out of 10.
No cut will work all the time. The key is to remember that no fake is as effective as a failed cut. Imagine a deep cut that you’ve set up beautifully. You’ve duped your defender into thinking that you’re heading in to the disc, and then turned around and headed deep. For whatever reason, the throw doesn’t go up. But, you’re still moving deep at near-full speed, and your defender is probably in a panic to catch back up with you. So, at this point, you’re thinking about your next cut, usually on the other side of the field (depending on what your offensive handler strategy is, of course).
Your failed deep cut is really a terrific fake for your next in cut. Again, wait until your defender really commits to catching up to you, and then pull the same move to come back in. There is nothing more demoralizing to a defender to really work to catch back up to someone who has beaten you, only to find that he or she has just made another cut and beaten you again. Don’t be satisfied with going back to the stack and standing still. Your defender is on the defensive, and you should make him or her pay. Letting him or her reset position is a gift.
Other thoughts:
Jason Haas