Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Curls out of Shotgun Doubles Offset Wk lines up three receivers to the play side with the backside receiver marked as the number 1 read on a deep speed out breaking toward the sideline. The three receivers to the trips side run a curl route combo: the outside receiver curls up and settles, the slot receiver runs a quick out and up curl, and the inside receiver releases underneath to the flat before working outward into a shallow curl. There is no run action shown and no play-action fake in this diagram, this is a straight dropback pass designed to beat zone coverage by settling routes into the soft spots between underneath and deep zone defenders, with the number 1 route serving as the primary read against man coverage or single high shells.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flow of the linebackers at the snap, if they sink hard into the curl windows without honoring the flat, that signals a zone shell like Cover 3 or Cover 4 that this play is designed to beat. Key the corner aligned over the number 1 receiver, tight man coverage with no help over the top invites a quick throw to the deep out before the corner can undercut it. Identify the free safety pre-snap, a single high safety alignment tells you the defense is more vulnerable to the curl settling behind linebackers and in front of the safety. Post-snap, look for a user-controlled defender sitting in the short middle zone or lurking near the curl depth, this is the biggest threat to the underneath curl routes and can bait a bad read if you force it. Cover 2 shells with hard flat corners and two deep safeties can squeeze the curl windows tight, so recognize this look pre-snap and be ready to check into a different concept if it is available.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing zone or man leverage on the trips side, since the curl combo settles into passing lanes against zone but needs separation on breaks against man.
If the corner over the number 1 receiver is playing off coverage, take the deep out route early since it stretches the sideline before underneath defenders can rotate over.
Use this play on second and medium to second and long situations where defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, since the curl routes exploit the gap between linebacker drops and deep zone defenders.
Pair Curls with Slants or H Shallow Cross from this same set to keep the defense honest, since both plays attack underneath zones from different angles and force linebackers to widen or crash inconsistently.
Against aggressive zone blitz calls, hot route the shallow curl runner into a quick flat or drag to give yourself an outlet if the curls higher up the field get jumped by underneath defenders.
