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Breakdown
Smash out of Shotgun 5WR Trips is a classic two-man high/low concept run on the trips side, with the outside receiver running a corner route and the slot receiver just inside him settling on a hitch, creating a vertical stretch on the flat defender. On the backside, the single receiver runs a corner route with the other backside receiver sitting on a quick hitch underneath, mirroring the smash concept to both sides of the formation. This is a classic Cover 2 beater since the corner routes attack over the top of the cornerback while the hitches occupy the flat defender, and the primary read progression starts with the boundary side corner/hitch combo before working backside if the coverage rotates away.
Defensive Reads
Watch for two deep safeties pre-snap since Cover 2 is the shell this play is designed to exploit with the corner route sitting behind the cornerback and in front of the safety. If the defense shows Cover 3 or rolls a safety down late, the corner route window shrinks and the quarterback should look to the hitch or work to the backside smash concept instead. Man coverage with a single high safety can be beaten by the natural rub from the trips bunch alignment, so look for the slot defender getting picked off on the hitch release. User lurk defenders sitting in the flat can undercut the hitch route, so the quarterback must read the flat defender's leverage before committing to the shorter throw. Blitz packages that bring extra pressure off the edge will remove a flat or hook defender, so identify pre-snap blitz looks and be ready to hot route protection or throw hot to the hitch route quickly.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the safeties are showing two high shells since this play is designed specifically to punish Cover 2 and Cover 4 zones that leave the corner route open behind the flat defender.
Key the cornerback depth at the snap: if he sinks with the hitch route, throw the corner immediately before the safety can rotate over.
Use hot routes to convert the backside hitch into a quick slant if you diagnose man coverage, since the natural pick from the trips bunch can spring a receiver open against man matchups.
Pair this play with Four Verticals or Curl Flat Corner in your sequencing so defenses cannot sit on the same coverage shell twice, forcing them to guess between deep and short zone drops.
Run this on second and medium or third and short to medium since the high/low read gives you both a safe checkdown and an explosive shot play depending on the defender's leverage.
