Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Jailbreak Screen out of Shotgun Double Stack shows a play-action fake to the backfield with the offensive line and TE sliding out to lead block for the screen to the left side. The stacked WR to that side runs a quick screen route while the far side receiver runs off the corner vertically to occupy deep coverage. This is a screen pass designed to bait the pass rush upfield off the play-action look, and the primary read is simply getting the ball out quickly to the screen receiver as soon as the blockers set up in front of him.
Defensive Reads
Watch for defensive ends and outside linebackers crashing hard upfield on the play-action fake, which opens the screen lane instantly. If you are on defense, key the offensive line for any lineman releasing immediately downfield instead of engaging a rusher, since that is the tell for a screen. User your closest defender to the screen side and sit him instead of chasing the play-action fake, since Jailbreak Screen dies quickly when a user defender stays home. Zone coverages with linebackers reading run first tend to get gashed by this play, so spy or blitz packages that keep a defender in the screen lane shut it down. Man coverage that follows receivers away from the line will leave the screen blockers unaccounted for, so match with a defender who can read and react to screen action rather than pure man technique.
Usage Tips
Call this against aggressive defensive lines that consistently crash hard upfield on run action or bring interior pressure, since the screen is designed to punish overpursuit.
Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to see if the defense shows blitz, then throw the screen immediately if you see linebackers creeping toward the line.
Pair this with HB Draw and Fake Screen Go from the same Double Stack set so the defense has to respect both the run action and the screen look before you go back to it later in a drive.
Best called on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and short to medium) when defenses are more likely to sell out against the run or bring pressure.
If the defense sits back in soft zone coverage, check to Curl Flat or Smash instead since Jailbreak Screen loses value against defenses that do not bite on the play-action.
