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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
HB Slip Screen out of I Form Slot is a designed screen pass built to bait aggressive pass rushers upfield. The two outside receivers run vertical routes to hold the corners and clear the underneath throwing lane, while the HB slips out of the backfield to the flat as your offensive line releases downfield to set up blocking angles. The primary read is the HB in the flat, this is not a progression play, you are throwing it to the back as soon as he settles unless the defense sniffs it out immediately.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check linebacker depth and alignment, if they are creeping up to the line in an obvious blitz posture this play is designed to exploit that aggression. Watch for a defensive end or outside linebacker who consistently crashes hard upfield on run downs, that is the exact rush lane this screen is built to punish. Post-snap, the biggest killer of this play is a spy or a linebacker sitting flat-footed reading backfield action instead of biting on the play fake. Man coverage on the outside vertical routes is fine since those are just clear-out routes, but zone coverage with a flat defender staying home shuts this down completely. If you are on defense, user a linebacker and manually drop into the flat or spy the HB instead of rushing to counter this concept.
Usage Tips
Call this against defenses showing heavy pressure looks pre-snap, especially aggressive 3-4 or 4-3 fronts with defensive ends crashing hard off the edge. Use it as a change of pace after running HB Blast, HB Power O, or HB Counter to punish linebackers who are keying run and flowing downhill. Best on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and short to medium) when the defense is more likely to bring a nano blitz or user blitz off the edge. Delay your throw button press slightly to let the offensive linemen get out in front of the HB, throwing too early results in negative yardage. Avoid this call against zone-heavy shells with linebackers sitting in short zones, since spies and flat defenders can blow it up instantly.
