Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Double Slant Spot out of Shotgun Doubles Z Close is a five-man route Spot concept built to attack Cover 3 and other zone shells. The backside receiver runs a slant while the inline TE and outside receiver on that side stack a corner route over a shallow flat route, creating a high-low read on the flat defender, and the front side receiver runs a slant across the formation while the running back releases into the flat as a checkdown outlet. Protection is a standard shotgun pass set with no blockers shown releasing, keeping the back in as a receiving option instead of chip blocking. The primary read starts with the corner-flat combo (peek the corner route first, work down to the flat), then progresses to the slants underneath if the deep zone defender squats.
Defensive Reads
Key the flat defender immediately after the snap since he determines whether the corner route or the flat route is open in the Spot concept. Watch for a single high safety rotating hard to the corner route side, which signals Cover 3 and confirms the flat route or backside slant should be the quicker throw. If you see two safeties staying deep in a Cover 4 or Cover 2 shell, expect the corner route to be squeezed and prioritize the slants working underneath instead. Look for a user-controlled defender sitting in the shallow zone or lurking near the slants, since a smart user will jump the quick slant throw and bait the quarterback into a pick. Beware of a zone blitz or fire zone call where the flat defender walks up pre-snap, since this can jump the flat route and force an immediate progression to the backside slant or checkdown to the running back.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing a single high safety or two deep safeties, since this concept is designed specifically to punish Cover 3 rotation on the corner-flat side.
If the cornerback is playing off coverage, look immediately to the slant on the backside since it will sit in the soft spot before the flat defender can react.
Hot route the running back to a swing or wheel against blitz-heavy looks so you have a built-in answer if the corner route gets taken away by a blitzing zone defense.
Use this play on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and medium) since the horizontal stretch concept needs time to develop and works best when the defense is not forced into an obvious pass rush look.
Pair this with RPO Glance Post or RPO Zone Peek Glance from the same set to keep linebackers honest before dialing up Double Slant Spot, since defenders will start sitting on quick game if you never threaten the run or RPO game first.
