Playbooks
Breakdown
Double Post out of the I Form Close 21 personnel sends both outside receivers vertical up the seams before breaking into deep post routes, stacking the safeties high and attacking the middle of the field. The slot receiver runs a quick out to the flat as a checkdown or man beater against tight coverage, while the fullback stays in for extra protection at the line. Read the frontside post first since it clears out over the top of Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells, then work to the backside post if the safety rotates away, with the flat route as your last resort dump-off.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and width, since two safeties sitting deep and wide of the hash marks signals Cover 2 or Cover 4, both of which this play is designed to beat. Watch the corners at the snap: if they bail into deep zones rather than pressing, the posts will have room to split the safeties in the middle of the field. Man coverage with no help over the top shuts this down quickly, since the posts have no natural rub or pick to separate from tight man defenders. Key the middle linebacker or a user controlled defender dropping into a deep middle zone, since he can jump the inside post if the quarterback stares it down too long. Cover 3 with a true single high safety condenses the throwing window on both posts, so expect tighter coverage and be ready to check down to the flat route quickly.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the safeties are showing two high or rotating to single high, since this concept is built to exploit two deep safety shells where the corners have to squeeze both posts. Against Cover 2 hot route the flat receiver into a deeper option if the corner sits low, and let the posts split the safeties for a big play down the seam. Use this on second and long or in the red zone when defenses lean on Cover 2 or Cover 4 to protect against explosive plays, since the double post concept is specifically labeled as a Cover 2 and Cover 4 beater. Pair this with DBL Outs or PA Deep Read from the same set to keep the defense guessing between horizontal and vertical stress concepts. If the user drops a linebacker into a deep middle lurk, snap throw to the far post away from that defender before he can undercut the route.
