Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 15 playbooks
Breakdown
Cheat Flood is a classic three-level flood concept built to overload the boundary side of the field, run out of Shotgun Bunch Spread with 11 personnel. The bunch receiver on the far left runs a vertical seam clearout, while the bunch stack on the right creates a corner route, a flat route, and a deep out that stacks all three levels on one side of the field. This is a Cover 3 beater by design since the flood concept overloads the deep third defender and the flat defender simultaneously, forcing a horizontal stretch that zone defenses struggle to cover with only one deep and one underneath defender to that side. The primary read progression starts with the corner route at the top of the stack, works down to the flat route underneath, and finishes with the deep out crossing the field as the checkdown or backside window.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety alignment first since a single high safety confirms Cover 3 and tells you the flood side will be vulnerable to the corner and flat combo. Watch the cornerback over the bunch to see if he sinks into a deep third zone drop or trails a receiver in man technique, which tells you whether to expect zone spacing or man leverage on the flood routes. Post-snap, key the flat defender's drop, if he widens too far to take away the flat route, the corner route behind him will be open in the void. Look for a user-controlled defender lurking underneath the corner route since good players will jump that route first, which means the flat route or the backside deep out becomes the higher percentage throw. This play struggles against Cover 4 or two-high shells with disciplined deep quarter defenders since they can split the difference between the corner and the flat, and it can also be shut down by a well-timed zone blitz that drops an extra defender into the flood side's shallow zone.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing a single high safety look because that tips Cover 3 and confirms the flood concept will have soft spots in the deep third and flat. If you see two safeties deep, be ready to work the deep out on the far side since Cover 4 or Cover 2 shells clog the flood side and force you to move to your backside window faster. Use the motion available in this play to identify man versus zone before the snap by watching if a defender follows the bunch receiver across the formation. In man coverage, prioritize the corner route since the flood stack creates natural rub and pick opportunities against tight man technique. On third and medium or third and long, pair Cheat Flood with Cheat Slot Cross from the same set so the defense has to respect both a flood concept and a crossing concept off similar bunch alignment, making it harder for defenders to sit on the flat or jump the out route. If the defense starts sinking linebackers to take away the flat route, hit the corner route immediately off the snap since the flood stresses that defender's leverage the most.
