Playbooks

Flood

Shotgun·Doubles Y Off·11
FloodPass PlayCover 3 Beater
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This play belongs to no NFL team or scheme playbook, so it may not appear in the in-game builder.

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 1 playbook

Franchise College Spread OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Flood is a classic three-level stretch concept out of Shotgun Doubles Y Off, built to overload one side of the field vertically with a deep route, an intermediate out or corner, and a shallow flat route. This is a Cover 3 beater by design since it stacks three defenders in a single zone landmark, forcing the deep third defender and the flat defender to pick their poison. The primary read progression works high to low: start with the deepest route to see if the safety commits, then work down to the intermediate breaking route, and finally check the flat as your outlet against a hard zone drop or blitz.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, look for two deep safeties splitting the field evenly, that usually signals Cover 4 or Cover 2 which forces you to rely on the intermediate route rather than the deep shot. Watch the flat defender at the snap, if he sinks with the intermediate route instead of squatting on the flat, that is a sign of a zone match or Cover 6 concept that can bait you into an overthrow. Man coverage with press corners on the flood side is where this play struggles most since there is no natural rub to separate receivers, so be ready to hot route or check down quickly. Cover 3 with a curl to flat defender sitting shallow is the exact shell this concept is designed to shred, especially if the deep third defender bites on the intermediate route. Watch for a user safety disguising a robber blitz underneath the flood, if he sits in the shallow flat window as a rat defender, abort the high read and go to your backside check down immediately.

Usage Tips

Identify the coverage shell pre-snap by checking safety depth, if you see a single high safety rotate to the flood side, that confirms Cover 3 and you should trust the high to low read immediately.

Hot route the backside receiver into a quick drag or spot route to give yourself a check down against man coverage or if the flood side is jumped by a robber defender.

Use this play on second and medium or third and short distances since the flat route gives a safe completion outlet if the deep and intermediate windows are covered.

Pair this with Mtn Sail or Y-sail earlier in a drive so defenders start keying flood concepts to that side, then hit Four Verticals or Slot Option out of the same formation to punish overaggressive flat defenders.

Against user linebackers who jump the flat route with a lurk technique, throw off the intermediate breaking route with a hard lead so it clears the underneath traffic before the safety can rotate over.

Other Plays in Doubles Y Off