Playbooks
Breakdown
Hitch Corners out of Pistol Deuce is a five man route concept built to stretch the field vertically on the outside while giving the quarterback quick access underneath. Both outside receivers run hitches at the sticks while the two inline tight ends release up the seams and break into corner routes towards the sideline, and the running back releases up the middle on an option route. This is a zone beater at its core, using the corner routes to high low the deep outside third defenders while the hitches sit down in the underneath zone voids, though it holds up against man coverage too if the corner routes win vertically. Primary read progression starts with the corner routes attacking the deep outside, then works down to the hitches if the corners are covered, with the running back's middle route as the checkdown against a clean pocket.
Defensive Reads
Read the safety alignment before the snap, since two deep safeties who stay wide can squeeze the corner routes and force the quarterback down to the hitches. Watch the corners at the snap, if they sink deep into a Cover 3 or Cover 4 drop the hitches will be wide open underneath for an easy completion. Key the middle linebacker or any user controlled defender dropping into a lurk position over the running back's middle route, since that defender can jump the checkdown and bait a turnover. Look for blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge, which can disrupt the timing of the corner routes and force the quarterback to speed up his read to the hitches or the running back release. Man coverage with no help over the top from a deep safety is the biggest vulnerability, since the corner routes can win vertically against a trailing cornerback with no safety rotation to bail him out.
Usage Tips
Use this play on second or third and medium to long when you need to attack both levels of the defense at once. Pre snap, identify if the defense is showing two deep safeties or a single high shell, since Cover 2 and Cover 4 shells are where the corner routes create natural window against the deep defenders. If you see man coverage with a corner pressed on your tight end, consider hot routing the corner to a fade or streak to win one on one on the outside. Combine this with Short Post or Corner Post from the same set to keep the defense guessing on whether you are attacking the middle of the field or the sideline. Pair Hitch Corners with HB Dive or HB Stretch to set up run fits before coming back to this play once the defense starts crashing down on early run downs. Use play action variants like PA TE Wheel or PA Deep In earlier in a series to slow down linebacker drops before calling Hitch Corners so the corner routes have more room to develop.
