Gridiron Cut & Pursuit Simulator: Open-Field Tackle Evasion Lab

Preset Offensive Moves Hawkins Jump Cut

Playbook Evasion Preset

Ball Carrier Mechanics 20.8 mph

Top Sprint Speed 9.3 m/s (20.8 mph)

Hard Plant Cut Angle 48° Out

Cut Deceleration / Plant Force 1.8 Gs (Sharp Plant)

Mid-Flight Special Move

Defensive Pursuit Geometry Cover 1 Robber

Safety Reaction Delay 0.24 s

Tackler Over-Pursuit Tendency Aggressive Fast Alley

Scrub Play Timeline 0.00 s

Ready: Click 'Play Run' or tap canvas to place a cut waypoint.

STATUS: READY TO SNAP

EST. YAC GAIN: +0.0 YDS

CLOSING VELOCITY: --

Tackle Avoidance Rate

86.4%

Defender misses tackle cone

Max Lateral G-Force

1.82 G

Change of direction burst

Pursuit Angle Error

32.6°

Safety over-commits inside

Separation at Intersect

2.4 m

Safety tackle radius is 1.2 m

The Physics of Open-Field Tackle Evasion

Ball-carrier evasion isn't just pure straight-line 40-yard speed; it is fundamentally about de-synchronizing the defender's interception angle. When an open-field safety commits downhill, their brain calculates a linear closing vector based on constant carrier speed and heading.

Interception Vector: θ_intercept = arcsin[(v_carrier / v_tackler) × sin(α_rel)]

A sudden jump-cut or plant change creates an instantaneous angular deviation (Δθ > 35°). Because the pursuing safety carries forward momentum (inertia: p = m × v), they must decelerate and redirect their hips. The time required to pivot gives the runner immediate separation along the perimeter seam.

Hawkins Move Breakdown: Washington State Cougars

Washington State's dynamic ball carriers utilize the inside hesitation jump cut: pressing the inside tackle gap to freeze the middle linebacker, then violently planting the outside cleat with up to 2.2 Gs of lateral force to bounce to the sideline alley.

Closing Velocity V_c = -(ṙ) = - (r · v_rel) / ||r||

Notice how the closing velocity drops toward zero at the moment of the cut. When closing velocity approaches zero while separation remains positive (> 1.5 yards), the tackler has lost leverage and is reduced to an off-balance arm tackle, yielding massive Yards After Contact (YAC).

Cut phases and pursuit in the saved gridiron model

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Read the explanation

The gridiron source converts its default carrier speed nine point three meters per second into about ten point one seven yards per second using one point zero nine three six one. Before the cut it assigns direction point one radians from the forward axis. Across one sixty-second simulation step that gives about point one six nine five yards of travel. The complete history stores each time, position and velocity; the drawing is a projection of that history. The saved cut begins at one point one five seconds and transitions for point three five seconds. Its agility setting one point eight makes its written speed factor one minus one point eight times point one eight, equal to point six seven six. A spin move multiplies that again by point eight five, about point five seven four six. Those are explicit toy speed rules, rather than a biomechanics measurement of lateral acceleration. After the transition a jump cut uses a one point one two burst factor. Defenders initially creep at minus point eight yards per second until their reaction delay expires. Normal pursuit predicts the carrier ahead with lead time capped at point six seconds. Just after a cut, another branch uses aggression times point three two as a lag adjustment and aims laterally behind the current carrier. These explicit branches can produce different separation histories even with similar running speeds. All exported paths and tackle times must remain visible; the model does not establish real player ability or a measured probability of success.