Playbooks
Breakdown
WR Attack out of Far Slot is a play action flood concept built to attack Cover 3 and man coverage alike. Off the run fake, the outside receiver runs a vertical go to clear the deep third, the slot receiver breaks off a quick out at the sticks, the inline TE works a shallow curl underneath, and the backside back releases into a swing route for a checkdown flood to one side of the field. The primary read starts with the go route to see if it pulls the deep defender before working down to the out and curl combo, using the swing as the outlet against a hard rush or if the underneath defenders sink into the flood.
Defensive Reads
Read the deep safety shell first, a single high safety indicates Cover 3 or Cover 1 and tells you the sideline should be open for the out route. Watch the flat defender and slot corner leverage, if they sit low and outside they can jump the out route and undercut the throw. Key the linebacker depth at the snap, shallow linebackers that bite on the play action fake leave the curl route wide open in the intermediate zone. Identify man coverage by watching if defenders turn and run with receivers immediately off the line, this signals the go route has a chance to win deep on a blown coverage or missed jam. Look for a lurking defender sitting in the flood area, a user controlled safety or linebacker sitting on the curl and out combo can bait a costly interception if the quarterback stares down that side.
Usage Tips
Check the safety alignment before the snap, if you see a single high safety cheating deep the out and curl combo underneath will be wide open against Cover 3 drops.
Use the play action fake to freeze linebackers on early down and distance, this sells the run action and opens up the intermediate window for the curl route.
Against man coverage, prioritize the go route on the outside since it forces a one on one battle with the corner in space and can result in a big shot play if he bites on the run fake.
Pair this with HB Dive or FB Dive earlier in a series to set up the play action look, defenders that start keying run support will be late diagnosing the flood concept.
If the defense shows heavy blitz pre-snap, get the ball out quickly to the swing route as your built in answer against pressure looks.
