Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Slants out of Shotgun Doubles Y Off is a quick-hitting man beater built on stacked slant routes from the two receivers on the play side, with one runs a shallow slant to the flat area while the outside receiver runs a slant behind him, creating a natural pick/rub combo against man coverage. The backside receiver runs a deep crossing route from the opposite side of the field, giving the quarterback a full-field alert if the play side is jumped. Blocking is a standard pass protection look with no visible screen or RPO elements in the diagram, so this is a straight drop back passing concept. Primary progression starts with the underneath slant to the flat, then works to the second slant behind it, and finally to the deep crosser on the backside if the play side is taken away.
Defensive Reads
Watch the corners at the snap, if they trail the slants tightly in man with no help underneath, the pick action will spring the shallow slant open immediately. Key the flat defender or nickel, if he sinks with the slant instead of jumping the route, the quarterback should climb the progression to the second slant. Identify the backside safety depth before the snap, a single high safety shaded away from the crosser opens up the deep crossing route as a big play option. Look for underneath zone defenders sitting in the passing lanes on the slant side, that indicates Cover 3 or Cover 4 and signals the quarterback to check to the crosser rather than force the slants. Beware a user linebacker spying the shallow slant lane, if he stays home and drives on the underneath route it can bait an interception, so be ready to reset to the deep crosser as the outlet.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or third and short when defenses are likely to play man coverage underneath.
Presnap, look for corners lined up tight on the receivers, that alignment signals the slant/rub combo will work cleanly against man.
Hot route the deep crosser into a shorter option like a hitch or drag if you see a zone shell like Cover 3 or Cover 4 sitting deep, since the crosser can get bracketed underneath.
Pair this play with RPO Peek Slant or RPO Glance Slant earlier in a drive so linebackers respect the run action, then come back to full Slants for a clean man beater once they start biting on RPO reads.
Snap the ball quickly on the first slant read if you see a nano blitz coming off the edge, since the quick underneath route gets the ball out before pressure arrives.
