Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Curl Flats out of Shotgun Ace Offset lines up with 12 personnel and shows two curl routes from the outside receivers breaking back at roughly ten yards while the inline TE and slot release into the flats underneath on both sides. The blue route from the backfield works a short middle read while the rest of the line stays in to protect, giving the quarterback a five man protection look against four man rush fronts. This is a zone beater built on a high low stretch: read the flat defender first, and if he sinks with the flat route, work up to the curl sitting in the window behind him. Primary progression starts with the boundary curl to flat side, then works backside curl, with the shallow middle route as a checkdown against blitz.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defenders at the snap: if a corner or linebacker sinks into the flat zone, the curl route behind him becomes the primary window to attack. Check linebacker depth pre-snap, since shallow drops from linebackers can jump the flat routes and bait the quarterback into a turnover. Cover 3 and Cover 4 zone shells are vulnerable to this concept because underneath defenders cannot cover both the flat and curl on the same side. Man coverage with a underneath defender shaded outside can take away the flat and force a difficult throw into the curl, especially if a safety adds a lurk over the top. Blitz packages that bring five or six rushers can shut this down quickly if protection breaks down, so watch for edge pressure and check if the checkdown route is your only clean release.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing a two high shell or single high look, since curl flats punishes zone defenses that drop underneath linebackers into shallow zones.
Use the flat routes to hold linebackers and open passing lanes for the curls, and progress from the flat defender to the curl sitting behind him on the same side.
On third and medium, this play is ideal because the curl sits right at the sticks while the flat gives an easy checkdown if the curl is not open.
Pair this with Inside Zone or HB Punch from the same set to keep linebackers honest against the run before hitting them with Curl Flats on early downs.
If the CPU or opponent shows man coverage pre-snap, consider hot routing one curl into a deeper dig or audibling to Dagger or Flanker Drive instead, since curl flats is not built to beat tight man coverage.
