Playbooks

Y Cop Smash

I Form·Slot·21

Diagram coming soon

Quick Reference

FormationI Form

SetSlot

Personnel

212 RB · 1 TE · 2 WR

In 2 playbooks

Cowboys OffenseOffense NFL Live Cowboys OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Y Cop Smash is a man beating passing concept out of the I Form Slot set that pairs a smash combo to one side with a cornerback route (Cop) from the Y receiver, creating high low and high low man conflict for the safety and corner. The smash side gives you a quick hitch underneath with a corner route stretching the sideline vertically, while the Cop route from the tight end attacks the seam behind underneath defenders and in front of deep safeties. The primary read starts with the smash concept: check the flat defender or corner leverage first, then work to the Y Cop route in the middle of the field if the safety bites on the smash side or if you see single high look.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high safety alignment, since single high (Cover 1 or Cover 3) opens the Y Cop route as the primary read while two high shells push you toward the smash concept. Watch the flat or curl defender at the snap, if he sits on the hitch route the corner route behind him is open, if he bails with the corner then the hitch is the answer underneath. Key the middle linebacker or nickel defender responsible for the seam, a slow reading linebacker who steps up on run action or shallow action gets beat clean by the Y Cop route. Beware of user controlled safeties sitting in a lurk position over the middle, since a smart human defender can rob the Cop route if they read your eyes and jump the seam. This play struggles against disciplined Cover 4 or Cover 6 shells with safeties staying deep and disciplined linebackers holding the middle, since both levels of the concept get squeezed with no natural void to exploit.

Usage Tips

Use pre-snap motion or a quick shift to identify if the defense is showing man or zone before the snap, since the smash concept and Cop route hit very differently against each shell.

Against Cover 3 or Cover 1, prioritize the Y Cop route since it splits the seam behind linebackers and in front of the deep safety, giving you a big chunk play if the middle linebacker bites on run action or shallow crossers.

Against Cover 2 or quarters shells, work the smash concept first since the corner route can climb the ladder over the underneath cornerback before the safety rotates over.

Hot route the backside receiver into a quick drag or spot route if you are getting heavy pressure looks, this gives you a checkdown that also clears out underneath zone defenders.

Pair this play with HB Toss or HB Power O earlier in a series to get linebackers flowing downhill, then come back to Y Cop Smash to hit the Cop route behind a linebacker that is biting on run fits.