Playbooks
PA Snag is a play-action pass out of Shotgun Dbls Flex Y Off Close designed to hold linebackers with a run fake before attacking the flat, corner, and underneath areas with the classic Snag concept. The concept pairs a corner route with a hitch or snag route underneath and a flat route, creating a high low stretch on the outside cornerback and stacking traffic in the short zone, which makes this a strong Cover 3 beater. Primary progression starts with the corner route on the vertical stretch, then works down to the snag sitting in the void, and finally checks to the flat as the outlet against zone drops or if the play fake buys enough time.
Check the safety alignment before the snap, a single high safety means Cover 3 or Cover 1 is likely and the corner route has a clean vertical lane to attack. Watch the linebackers immediately after the snap, if they bite hard on the run fake the underneath snag route will be wide open in the vacated zone. Identify any user controlled defender flashing into the passing lane over the slot, since a smart user will sit in the snag window and jump the route if you telegraph it too early. Beware of Cover 4 or Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties, this squeezes the corner route and forces you to live underneath with the snag and flat combo. Watch for zone blitzes disguised as base fronts, if a linebacker or slot defender drops slower than expected the flat route may be the fastest release against pressure.
Use this on early downs or second and short to sell the run fake and get linebackers to bite before they drop into coverage.
Look for single high safety shells pre snap since the corner route on the boundary attacks Cover 3 and Cover 1 hard, and the snag sits right in the honey hole vacated by flowing linebackers.
If the defense shows two high safeties, be ready to check down quickly to the snag or flat since the corner route will be capped by the deep half defender.
Hot route the flat defender's man to a quick out or slant if you diagnose man coverage before the snap, since the natural spacing of Snag already beats zone but needs a faster access route against tight man coverage.
Pair this play with Inside Zone or HB Pump Draw earlier in a series to sell the run threat, then call PA Snag once the defense starts cheating linebackers up to stop the ground game.