Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Read is a play-action shot play out of Shotgun Doubles Offset Wk that sells the run fake before attacking downfield. The backside X runs a deep post while the play side stacks a corner route from the outside receiver behind a deep out from the slot, and the inline TE runs an out into the flat off the run fake to hold the underneath defenders. The primary read starts with the deep corner route since it stresses the safety over the top, then works down to the out and flat route if the shot play is covered.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a single high safety rotating late, which tells you Cover 3 or Cover 1 and opens up the corner route against man coverage on the outside. If both safeties stay deep and split the field, that is Cover 2 or Cover 4, and you should look to the deep out route sitting in the void between the corner and safety. Linebacker depth at the snap matters, if they step up hard on the run fake you get easy access to the shallow flat route and drag concept underneath. User controlled defenders sitting in the intermediate zone or lurking near the post can be an issue, so check for a spy or a linebacker dropping into a deep zone before committing to the post read. Disguised blitzes with an extra rusher off the edge can beat this play if the play action fake does not sell fast enough, so be ready to check down quickly against aggressive nano blitz packages.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or in a 2nd and short situation where the run fake actually threatens the defense and linebackers bite on the play action.
Check safety depth before the snap, if you see a single high safety cheat toward the post side, work the corner route on the opposite side against soft coverage.
Hot route the flat route TE into a deeper drag if you are getting a zone shell that sits underneath, giving you a quick outlet against a Cover 3 look.
Pair this with RPO Read Bubble or Inside Zone from the same set so the defense has to respect the run fake before you hit them with PA Read later in the series.
Best called on 1st and 10 or 2nd and medium when defenses are more willing to commit extra defenders to the box.
