Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Fade Smash out of Shotgun Doubles Offset is a classic Cover 2 beater built on the smash concept to one side and a vertical stretch to the other. The backside receiver runs a corner route off a quick out stem while the tight end sits underneath on a flat route, creating the traditional high low smash read on the outside cornerback and safety. On the play side, the two receivers stack a deep fade up the sideline with an out breaking route underneath it, stretching the boundary defender vertically while flooding the zone with three levels. The primary read progression starts with the smash side corner and flat combo to identify the Cover 2 rotation, then works to the backside fade if the safety commits to the flat or bites on the underneath route.
Defensive Reads
Man defenders should key the release of the outside receivers immediately, if a cornerback opens his hips to the sideline on the fade he is vulnerable to a hard out break underneath, so playing with inside leverage denies the smash throw entirely. Zone defenders in Cover 2 must widen the flat defender to the tight end and trust the safety to get depth on the corner route, any hesitation from the corner in his deep drop opens the window over the top. User the deep half safety to the smash side and force the quarterback to hold the ball, since both corner routes need time to develop and a disciplined safety can rob the throw if he reads the quarterback's eyes. Watch for linebacker spies or a nickel blitz off the slot, this play has no built in hot route protection shown in the design, so a well timed interior blitz can disrupt the timing before both verticals develop. Cover 3 with a rolled up corner on the fade side is the toughest shell to attack here, since the deep third defender can sit on the corner route while the flat defender cushions the underneath route, forcing a checkdown or throwaway.
Usage Tips
Diagnose the safety alignment pre-snap, if both safeties are showing deep halves at 10 plus yards this is your green light against Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells.
Work the smash concept first on early downs, the corner route over the flat defender is a free explosive play if the cornerback sits on the underneath route.
Use the backside fade as your outlet against single high looks like Cover 1 or Cover 3, since the corner route becomes a pure vertical win against a deep third defender who has to respect the flat.
Pair this play with Double Slants or Slant Flat from the same set to condition the defense into thinking quick game, then hit them with the double corner shot when they sit on short zones.
Best used on second and long or third and medium situations where defenses often shade into Cover 2 shells to protect against the sideline, this play punishes that tendency directly.
