Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Slants out of Near Y Left Slot (21 personnel) shows a five-man route concept built to attack man coverage underneath. Both outside receivers run slants breaking hard inside, the inline TE and slot receiver run vertical slants converging behind the line to occupy linebackers, and the HB releases out of the backfield on a wheel route up the sideline as a check-down and man-beater against overaggressive linebackers or nickel defenders. The line stays in to protect five-man protection. Primary read starts with the quick outside slant to the play side, works inside to the crossing slants over the middle, and finishes with the HB wheel as the outlet against blitz or if the underneath windows get clogged.
Defensive Reads
User the middle linebacker and get eyes on the two inside slants crossing at the same depth, this is the space where user picks and rubs create big plays if left unattended. Man coverage with no safety help over the top is the biggest vulnerability, the outside slants win instantly against press man without inside leverage. Zone coverage with linebackers sitting at five to seven yards can clog the slant windows and force the quarterback to hold the ball, making this a good look for a delayed blitz or spy. Watch the HB releasing out of the backfield, a linebacker or slot corner with outside contain responsibility needs to stay disciplined or the wheel route turns into a explosive gain up the sideline. Cover 3 with a hard-flowing linebacker to the flat can undercut the flare/wheel concept while still leaving a defender to trail the crossing slants underneath.
Usage Tips
Use this on third and short to third and medium when you expect man coverage since the slants create instant separation on inside releases.
Pre-snap, look for single-high safety shells or man-press corners at the line, both are green lights to fire the outside slant immediately.
If you see two-high shells or zone drops with linebackers sitting in the short middle, hot route the backside slant into a hitch or throw the HB wheel for the explosive play against a blown coverage.
Combine with PA Read Special or Rollout Smash from the same set to keep the defense honest, since the initial mesh of receivers looks identical to those play-action concepts and forces linebackers to hesitate.
Pair with Texas or Post Drag on the following snap to punish defenses that start jumping the quick slant routes with linebackers.
