Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 12 playbooks
Breakdown
Spacing out of I Form Slot Close (21 personnel) spreads five receivers into a horizontal stretch designed to attack zone coverage underneath. The diagram shows the backside receiver running a quick out to the boundary, the slot defender sitting on a short curl/hitch, the TE working a shallow drag across the middle, and the outside receiver to the strong side running a deep comeback while the flat route underneath climbs into the void. This is a Cover 3 and Cover 4 beater built on horizontal spacing rather than a man beater, with the primary read progressing from the flat/curl combo on the strong side to the drag underneath if the shallow zones are occupied.
Defensive Reads
Key the flat defender and curl/hitch defender to the strong side since Spacing lives on stretching the underneath zone horizontally, and any hesitation there opens the throwing lane. Watch for a user controlled defender sitting the flat to jump the quick out route, which is the biggest threat to this concept if the defense reads Spacing pre-snap. Zone drops from linebackers into the shallow drag lane will clog the crossing route, so identify if the middle linebacker is spying or dropping into that void before committing to the read. This concept struggles against disguised Cover 4 quarters looks with aggressive corner jumps on the flat route, since the shorter routes get undercut immediately. Man coverage with a blitz behind it is the best defensive answer since there is no built in hot route protection shown here, so watch for nano blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge.
Usage Tips
Use this on second and medium to third and short when you expect zone coverage rather than man since the route concept relies on stretching zone defenders horizontally rather than winning individual matchups.
Pre-snap, identify the safety alignment: two deep safeties or a single high safety tipping Cover 3 or Cover 4 both get exploited by the flat to curl stretch on the strong side.
If the defense shows Cover 2 or Cover 6, hot route the shallow drag into a deeper crossing route to beat the underneath zone defenders sitting on the spacing concept.
Combine this with PA Spot from the same set to keep linebackers honest against play action after you have shown them Spacing out of the same personnel and formation.
Sequence this with HB Stretch or Jet Sweep to get defenses playing the run fit before coming back to Spacing, since the horizontal stretch pairs well with a run heavy tendency out of I Form Slot Close.
