Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Short Post out of Pistol Deuce with 12 personnel shows two outside receivers running mirrored short post breaks, with the boundary receiver (red) angling upfield then cutting inside and the field receiver (yellow) breaking inside toward the middle at a shallower depth. Both tight ends release from inline and run quick outs underneath, one to each side, giving the quarterback an in-out combo on both flanks that stresses the hook and curl zones. This is a man beater built to punish inside leverage, with the primary read starting on the post breaking away from single coverage and progressing to the near-side TE out route if the post window is closed.
Defensive Reads
Watch pre-snap safety depth and leverage because a single-high safety cheating toward one post route leaves the opposite side one on one with no help over the top. Corners playing outside shade or press man are vulnerable to the inside post break, while corners sitting inside leverage can jump the route and undercut the throw. Zone shells with linebackers sitting in hook or curl areas can clog the short post windows, so read the near linebacker depth to see if the throwing lane is actually open. User controlled lurk defenders sliding underneath the post are the biggest threat, so if you see a defender crashing down late, reset to the TE out on that side. A hard blitz with man coverage behind it beats this play if the post routes get jumped before the break, so know your protection and be ready to check down quickly to the TE out.
Usage Tips
Check for single-high safety pre-snap because the post routes are designed to split the difference between the safety and the corner in man coverage.
If the defense shows two-high shells, hot route one of the TE outs into a flat or seam read to stress the flat defender instead of forcing the post into a covered underneath zone.
Use this on early downs or third and short since the TE outs give a quick underneath answer if the post is not open in time.
Pair this with HB Dive or HB Counter from the same Deuce Pistol look so the run action keeps linebackers honest and opens throwing lanes for the post.
Sequence this with PA Deep In or Inside Cross later in a series once the defense starts jumping the short post breaks, giving you a double move counter off the same formation.
