Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Pivot In Seams lines up out of Shotgun Doubles Off Close Wk with two receivers stacked wide left running vertical seam routes up the numbers, a tight end tucked in tight to the formation working a quick pivot (out and in) route underneath, an inline receiver on the line to the right of the formation running a deep crossing route from right to left, and the running back releasing to the flat on a short check release route. This is a man beater at its core, since the pivot route is designed to create separation against man defenders by breaking one way and snapping back the other, while the two seam routes stress the middle of the field vertically against both man and zone shells. Primary read progression starts with the pivot route for the quick, high percentage throw, then works to the seams if a linebacker or safety bites on the underneath route, with the deep crosser as a home run option if the defense rolls coverage away from it.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify whether the slot corners are aligned press or off. Press man leaves them vulnerable to the pivot route breaking underneath. Watch the middle linebacker depth at the snap. If he sits shallow or spies the quarterback, the seam routes have a clean throwing lane behind him. Post-snap, key any user-controlled defender dropping into a lurk position in the intermediate middle of the field, since this is the primary threat to both the pivot route and the seam window. Cover 2 shells with safeties splitting the field can squeeze the seam routes, so look for the safety rotation before committing to that throw. If the defense shows blitz with extra rushers off the edge, the running back check release into the flat becomes the answer, so track whether the flat defender widens or stays home.
Usage Tips
Use this play on early downs or third and short when you expect man coverage, since the pivot route is built to shake man defenders with its hard breaking angle.
Check the pre-snap alignment of the slot cornerbacks over your seam runners. If they are pressed in man, the seams will win vertically once the corner opens their hips.
Hot route the running back to a shallow drag if you see a blitz look, giving your quarterback a built-in hot read against pressure off the edge.
Pair this play with RPO Read Bubble or RPO Zone Read Bubble earlier in a drive to get the defense keying run action, then come back to this dropback pass to hit the seams once linebackers start creeping up.
Against zone shells, look to the deep crosser late in the progression since it works away from the flow of the seam routes and can find soft spots in Cover 3 or Cover 4.
