Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Smash out of Near Y Left Slot pairs a corner route from the outside receiver on the right with a hitch/flat route underneath from the slot, while the left side runs a deep out breaking to the sideline off a vertical stem. This is the classic two-level Cover 2 beater, stacking a hard flat route under a corner route to stress the flat defender and the deep half safety on the same side. The primary read progression starts with the corner route to see if the safety commits, then works down to the flat/hitch underneath if the cornerback sits on the short route.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check for two deep safeties split evenly, which signals Cover 2 and tells the offense the smash concept is live. Watch the flat defender's depth at the snap, if he sinks too deep trying to cover the corner route, the underneath flat throw will be wide open. If the cornerback presses and turns his hips to run with the corner route, the user should look to undercut the flat route with the nickel or linebacker instead of chasing vertically. Cover 3 with a hard-charging outside linebacker can disrupt the timing of the corner route, so user the flat defender to jump the underneath throw early if the quarterback locks onto it. Man coverage with a deep half safety over the top negates the corner route's advantage, so user a linebacker to shadow the underneath route and force the quarterback to hold the ball longer.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the defense shows two deep safeties before the snap, since Smash is built specifically to attack that shell.
If you see man coverage instead, hot route the flat defender's man beater by converting the underneath route to a quick out or speed cut to create separation immediately.
Use this on second and medium or third and short distances where the underlying route can convert quickly if the corner route is covered.
Pair this call with Curl Flat or Post Drag from the same set so the defense cannot key on the smash concept alone and has to respect multiple route combinations from the same formation.
Look to throw off play action tendencies earlier in the game plan by running FB Dive or HB Inside first, then coming back to Smash once the defense starts stepping up on run fakes.
