Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Smash out of Shotgun Double Stack shows a classic high-low concept on the right side with a corner route stacked over an out route from the stacked receivers, creating a two-level stretch on the flat defender and deep half defender. On the left, a single stacked receiver runs a deep corner route with an underneath drag or shallow cross working opposite, giving the quarterback a boundary option away from the smash concept. This is a zone beater built to attack Cover 2 and Cover 3 by forcing the flat defender to choose between the out and the corner, with the primary read starting on the right side smash combo before working back to the backside corner or drag if the flat defender sits deep.
Defensive Reads
Key the flat defender or cornerback on the smash side, if he sinks with the corner route the out route will be open underneath for an easy completion. Watch the deep safety on the smash side, if he stays true to the corner route without help the out sits wide open in the void. Against Cover 3, identify the curl to flat defender pre-snap since he has to cover both underneath routes on that side, which is nearly impossible if the quarterback reads it correctly. User linebackers dropping into the shallow drag or lurking the middle can disrupt the backside route, so scan for spy or lurk technique before committing to the backside read. Man coverage with press corners and a single high safety is the best way to shut this down, since it eliminates the natural zone conflict the smash concept is designed to create.
Usage Tips
Attack Cover 2 shells first since the smash concept is designed to put the cornerback and safety in an unwinnable bind on the boundary you flood. Pre-snap, check for two deep safeties and outside corners playing off coverage, that alignment confirms the smash side will win versus zone drops. If the defense shows man coverage with a single high safety, hot route the out route into a quick slant or speed out to beat man leverage instead of forcing the corner route into tight coverage. Use this on second or third and medium situations where the sideline routes have room to work and the quarterback has time to read high to low. Pair this with Four Verticals or Stack Out from the same set to keep the defense guessing between vertical shots and the smash flood, since both plays start from identical stacked alignment and disguise the route concept until after the snap.
