Playbooks
Depth-chart slots are shown as they line up in the base package for this set.
| Player | Side | Route |
|---|---|---|
| HB1 | Left | Swing |
| SLWR | Right | Drag |
| WR1 | Left | Fade |
| WR2 | Right | Short In |
| TE1 | Right | Slant |
Quick Unders is a timing-based zone beater out of Shotgun Box Y Split that attacks the middle of the field with quick-hitting settle routes underneath the coverage. The concept relies on receivers sitting down in the soft spots of zone drops (curl to flat, shallow drag, and a spot route from the Y) while the offensive line executes quick pass protection to get the ball out in under two seconds. Primary progression starts with the underneath crosser working from the boundary, then works to the nearest sitting route in the middle zone, and finishes with the check down to the flat if the read is capped.
Check pre-snap safety depth, if both safeties sit at 10 to 12 yards it usually signals a zone shell that this play is built to exploit underneath. Key the middle linebacker at the snap, if he sinks into a shallow zone drop instead of blitzing, expect him to be the primary threat to jump the sit routes. Watch for a user-controlled linebacker spying the shallow crosser, since that lurk defender is the most common way this play gets shut down in competitive play. Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells with soft underneath zones are the easiest coverages to pick apart with this concept. Man coverage with press corners and a blitzing linebacker can disrupt the timing, so be ready to hot route or throw off script if the protection breaks down immediately.
Use this play on third and short or second and medium when defenses drop into soft zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4 that concede underneath completions.
Identify Tampa 2 or Cover 6 pre-snap and be ready to hot route the deep threat into a quick out if the safety sits too deep to punish the sit routes with a linebacker jumping the throw.
Pair this play with Curls or Y Trail in the same set to keep defenders guessing between sit routes and vertical stems, forcing linebackers to respect both levels.
Against man coverage looks, hot route the underneath crosser into a slant to create natural separation off the initial break instead of forcing the sit route into a trailing defender.
Snap the ball quickly on obvious blitz downs since the quick game timing negates most exotic pressure packages before they arrive.