Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 15 playbooks
Breakdown
Jet Pull Shallow out of Shotgun Bunch Spread uses jet motion from the backfield across the formation, with the motion man selling the sweep before the quarterback works a shallow crossing route underneath. From the bunch alignment, the outside receiver runs a deep comeback breaking back toward the sideline, the middle bunch receiver runs a corner route stemming outside, and the inside bunch receiver clears out on a shallow drag that crosses the entire width of the field. This is a man beater built off natural rub traffic from the bunch alignment, with the shallow drag as the primary read against man coverage and the comeback or corner as the answer versus zone drops that flow with the crossing routes.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a defender shadowing the jet motion across the formation before the snap, that is your indicator of man coverage and a signal to jump the shallow drag route with a user defender. Key the underneath linebackers post-snap, if they widen with the shallow crosser instead of sitting in a zone, that confirms man principles and the comeback route behind them becomes a bigger risk. Sit a linebacker or nickel defender in a hook zone to take away the shallow drag against teams that spam this concept, forcing the quarterback to hold the ball longer. Press coverage on the outside bunch receiver disrupts the timing of the comeback route, giving extra time for the pass rush to affect the quarterback before the shallow crosser fully develops. A well timed blitz off the edge opposite the bunch can beat this play since the shallow drag takes time to cross the field, so man free or cover zero looks with an unblocked rusher are effective counters.
Usage Tips
Use the jet motion pre-snap to identify man versus zone, if a defender follows the motion man across the formation you are getting man coverage and the shallow drag will pick up natural traffic from the bunch release.
Take the shallow drag as your first read versus man coverage since the rub from the bunch alignment forces defenders to fight through picks, creating easy separation underneath.
If the defense rolls into zone coverage post-snap, look to the comeback route breaking outside since zone defenders sitting on the shallow crosser will leave the sideline open.
This play works best on second and medium or third and short since the shallow drag and comeback both provide quick, high percentage completions against tight coverage.
Pair this with Cheat Slot Cross or Mtn Slot Under from the same set to keep the defense guessing on which receiver is the true shallow threat, since both plays share a similar crossing concept but attack different levels of the field.
