Playbooks

Deep ln

Shotgun·Doubles·11

Pass Play In Dig Deep Cross Corner Out Flat Dagger Man Beater Cover 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.

Play diagram for Deep ln from Shotgun Doubles in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetDoubles

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

Breakdown

Deep In out of Shotgun Doubles is a dagger based dig concept designed to attack the middle and boundary of the field with vertical stems that break underneath deep zone coverage. The backside runs a deep cross that clears out and a corner route breaking to the sideline, while the frontside stacks an in route sitting behind a flat route from the slot, with the running back releasing on a flat/checkdown route to the opposite side away from the protection. Pass protection is a five man look with the back leaking out late, and the primary read progression starts with the deep in/dig route working from the far hash, checks down to the flat route in front of it if the middle is clogged, and finally works to the running back or corner route on the backside if the pocket holds. This concept is built as a Cover 3 beater and man beater since the dig sits down in the hole against zone drops while the deep cross and corner stress man coverage leverage.

Defensive Reads

Key the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he sinks into a deep zone drop that signals Cover 3 and you should sit the dig route in front of him before he can undercut it. Watch the corner on the backside deep cross release, if he presses and mirrors the route with no safety rotation that confirms man coverage and you should attack with the corner or deep cross immediately. Look for a user controlled defender lurking in the middle of the field, this is the biggest threat to the dig route since a smart user can jump the route and create a turnover if you telegraph the throw. Check the flat defender assignment before the snap, if the slot flat route is covered by a linebacker with no help underneath, the dig route above it becomes an easier throw since that defender cannot cover both levels. Beware of a Cover 2 shell with two deep safeties, this can squeeze the window for the deep in route and force you to rely on the flat or running back checkdown instead.

Usage Tips

Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to identify if the linebackers are sitting in Cover 3 zone drops before the snap since the dig route sits right in the natural hole behind those drops.

If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, prioritize the deep cross and corner route on the backside since those routes create instant separation against man leverage.

Hot route the running back to a check release if you are facing a heavy blitz look, this gives you a quick outlet against pressure while still keeping the dig and corner routes alive downfield.

Pair this play with Curl Flats or Curls Slot Shake in your play-calling sequence so the defense has to respect both the intermediate zone stretch and this deeper dig shot, keeping linebackers honest.

Best used on second or third and medium to long situations where you need a chunk gain, since the dig route develops with some timing and needs room to operate against zone drops.