Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Curls out of Full House Normal Wide is a three man route concept with the outside receivers running curl routes at the sticks and the inline TE running a vertical seam or bender read up the middle of the field. Both fullbacks release into shallow flat routes underneath, giving the quarterback a built in checkdown against underneath coverage. This is a zone beater at its core, using the curls to sit down in soft spots against Cover 2 and Cover 3 while the flat routes stretch linebackers horizontally and clear space for the curl breaks. Primary read progression starts with the TE up the seam, then works to either curl route based on leverage, and dumps down to the fullback flats if the underneath zones squeeze the curls.
Defensive Reads
Read the depth of the underneath zone defenders at the snap, if the flat defenders sink too deep the fullback routes will be wide open in the shallow flat. Watch the middle linebacker or seam defender's initial drop, a hard flat rotation on either side signals Cover 3 and opens the TE seam route as the top read. Man coverage with press corners on the outside receivers is a red flag for this play since the curl routes lose their natural pick up space and can be undercut by a user controlled defender sitting on the route. Blitz packages that send extra rushers off the edge can be neutralized by the fullback flat releases acting as outlet valves, but interior nano blitzes up the middle can disrupt the seam throw before it develops. Cover 2 shells with deep half safeties invite the curl routes to sit in the window between the corner and safety, so if the corners are playing soft at the snap this play should be a quick and easy completion.
Usage Tips
Look for two high safety shells pre-snap since this play thrives when zone defenders have to cover the flat to curl stretch on both sides of the field.
Use the seam read from the TE as your first look versus Cover 3 because the middle linebacker often widens to the flat, opening a throwing lane straight up the field.
Hot route one fullback into a deeper option or drag against man coverage looks since the natural flat release can get jumped by an aggressive slot corner or nickel blitzer.
This play fits best on second and medium to second and long when you want a high percentage completion with a chance at a chunk gain up the seam.
Pair Curls with Power O or HB Sweep from the same Full House set to keep defenses honest against the run before hitting the curl and flat combo out of the same personnel and alignment look.
