Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Hitch Corners out of Shotgun 5WR Flex Trey gives you a five man route concept with no blockers staying in, so protection falls fully on the offensive line in max protect. To the trips side, both outside receivers run corner routes stacking the sideline while the inner slot receiver runs a quick hitch to hold underneath defenders. On the backside, the lone receiver runs a deep corner route that clears out toward the sideline while the tight end or slot underneath breaks off a quick hitch/curl in the shallow flat. This is a zone beater designed to stress cornerbacks and safeties with hi-lo stretches on the sideline, with the primary read starting on the trips side corner route against the deep half defender, then working down to the hitch underneath if the corner is capped.
Defensive Reads
Presnap, identify if the cornerbacks are playing off man or bail technique, since that alignment tips zone coverage and opens the corner route throwing lanes. Watch the safeties at the snap, if they rotate to a single high shell the corner routes will be contested by defenders working from depth, making the underlying hitch routes the higher value read. As the defense, sit your flat defenders and curl to flat zone droppers on the hitch routes to bait the quarterback into throwing the corner route into a trailing safety. User the deep half safety to the trips side and key the outside corner route stem, jumping the route before the break beats slower CPU reactions on cover 2 style shells. Man coverage with underneath linebackers spying will struggle to leverage the corner routes vertically, so blitzing off the edge or bringing a nano blitz through the A gap forces a quick decision before the corners fully develop.
Usage Tips
Look presnap for two high safeties shifting late or rotating down, since Hitch Corners punishes zone defenses that leave soft spots between the flat defender and the deep half safety.
Use the trips side corner route as your first read versus Cover 2 or Cover 4 because the corner route sits in the window behind the cornerback and in front of the safety.
If the defense shows man coverage presnap, hot route the backside hitch into a quick out or speed out to give yourself a faster access throw against tight man coverage since the corners take longer to develop.
Pair this play with Four Verticals or Curl Flats from the same set to keep defenses honest, since Hitch Corners looks identical presnap but attacks the flat and deep corner instead of the seams or shallow crossers.
Best called on second and medium to second and long or on early downs in plus territory where a corner route completion for a chunk gain is valuable and the hitch underneath is a safe checkdown against a hard pass rush.
