Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Cheat Flood runs a vertical flood concept to the trips/bunch side out of Shotgun Bunch Wide. The outside receiver stems vertically up the sideline, the middle bunch receiver runs a corner route, and the inside bunch man clears out on a quick flat/out route, stacking three levels on the same side while the backside X runs a deep post to hold the safety. This is a Cover 3 beater by design (as tagged) that stresses the flat defender and deep third corner simultaneously, with the primary read progression going flat to corner to deep sideline route.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender's initial drop, if he widens with the flat route the corner route window opens behind him against Cover 3 Check the deep third corner's depth at the snap, a shallow corner alignment signals he is banking on help over the top which favors the flat and corner combo Man coverage with no safety help over the top is vulnerable since the outside vertical stretches a single defender with no deep support Cover 4 or two-high shells with a deep safety sitting on the corner route can undercut the throw, so identify safety rotation before the snap User-controlled defenders lurking in the flat or jumping the corner route can bait the quarterback into the post route, so track any manual defender peeling off his zone assignment
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion out of the bunch to identify if the defense is playing zone or man, since the shifting alignment often forces a coverage rotation that tips Cover 3 or Cover 1
Key on the flat defender immediately after the snap, if he sinks with the corner route throw the flat route for an easy underneath completion
Attack this on third and medium to long since the flood concept gives you three clear levels against zone drops
Hot route the backside post into a dig or comeback against Cover 4 shells where the safety sits deep and takes away the post
Pair this with Curl Flat or Slot Hook from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick underneath throws and the full flood so linebackers cannot sit on the flat route
