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Breakdown
Speed Out lines up from Pistol Spread 10 personnel with three receivers to the left of the formation and two to the right. At the snap, the outside left receiver runs a vertical stem, the slot receiver breaks into a speed out at roughly ten yards, and the innermost receiver fires a short flat route underneath. On the right side, the outside receiver runs a deep vertical seam while the slot receiver cuts across the middle on a shallow drag that stretches all the way to the sideline. This is a man beater built on horizontal and vertical stretch, with the primary read starting on the right slot drag against man coverage leverage, then working to the left speed out if the corner sits, and using the two verticals as answers versus soft coverage or blitz looks.
Defensive Reads
On defense, watch the depth of the slot corner presnap since a shallow alignment signals man coverage and vulnerability to the speed out and drag combo. Key the middle linebacker at the snap, if he drops hard into the drag lane he can undercut the crossing route and force the quarterback to hold the ball. Zone coverage with two deep safeties can bracket the verticals but often leaves the speed out and drag windows open in the intermediate area, so underneath defenders must sink quickly. A disguised blitz with a nickel corner crashing off the edge can beat this play before the routes develop, since the concept relies on timing rather than max protection. User the flat or drag defender in man coverage to jump the route early, since the quarterback progression favors those short throws first before working to the verticals.
Usage Tips
Presnap, identify if the corners are playing outside leverage or inside shade, since the speed out and the drag both attack space that outside leverage corners tend to give up.
If you see man coverage, prioritize the drag route across the field since it creates natural separation against trailing defenders and works well on third and medium.
Against zone coverage shells like Cover 3 or Cover 2, use the two vertical routes on the outside to hold deep defenders and let the speed out sit down in the void behind underneath zone droppers.
Hot route the flat route to a quick out or slant if you see a linebacker sitting directly on top of it in man coverage, this keeps the underneath concept alive versus aggressive man droppers.
Pair this play with Y Stick or Quick Slants earlier in a series to condition the defense to expect short throws, then hit the speed out or verticals when defenders jump underneath routes.
