Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Curls out of Pistol Weak with 21 personnel gives you a five man route concept built around a curl on each side of the field. The backside receiver runs a deep curl at roughly 12 yards while the backside TE releases across the formation on a deep in behind the underneath traffic, creating a natural high low read on that half. On the play side, the outside receiver runs a vertical curl breaking back to the sticks, the slot runs a shallow drag underneath, and the running back releases to the flat, giving you a three level stretch (curl, drag, flat) that punishes both zone drops and man leverage. Primary read starts with the play side curl, works down to the drag if the curl window is closed, and checks the flat as the outlet against blitz or man coverage.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment, a two high shell with soft corners signals Cover 2 or Cover 4 where the curls will have room to sit down in the window. Watch the slot defender and flat defender post-snap, if they widen with the drag and flat routes it opens the curl for the primary throw. Man coverage with no help over the top is where this play struggles against a hard press corner, since the curl route can get jammed at the top of its stem. Look for a user controlled linebacker sitting in the shallow zone or spying the drag route, this is the biggest threat to jump the underneath crosser and create a turnover. A three deep zone blitz with the underneath defenders sinking to the sticks can take away both curls, forcing the checkdown to the running back in the flat as the only clean outlet.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a quick shift to see if the defense adjusts, this reveals man coverage if a defender follows the shifted receiver.
Against zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, target the play side curl sitting down right in front of the flat defender since it exploits the seam between underneath and deep zones.
If you see man coverage or a blitz look pre-snap, hot route the running back to a quicker flat release or check the shallow drag immediately as your rhythm throw.
Pair this play with HB Slip Screen and PA Comebacks in the same set to keep the defense honest, since Curls punishes zone drops while the screen punishes an overaggressive pass rush and PA Comebacks hits underneath defenders who bite on the run action.
Best used on second and medium to second and long where the sticks align with the curl breakpoints, giving you a built in conversion throw if the defense sits back.
