Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Double Slants lines up out of Shotgun Doubles with 11 personnel, showing four receivers spread wide and a running back staying in to help protect. Both outside receivers run slants breaking hard to the inside at a shallow depth, while the two inside slot receivers work a crossing combo underneath, one running a shallow drag across the field and the other sitting down in the middle as a pivot read. This is a classic man beater built on quick-hitting picks and rubs, designed to get the ball out fast against man coverage, with the primary read starting on the near-side slant and working across to the crossing routes underneath if the slant window is closed.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify whether the corners are in press or off man. Press man is where this play shreds defenses fastest, since the slant naturally beats an aggressive jam. Watch linebacker depth at the snap. If linebackers sit shallow to jump the crossing routes, that opens a throwing lane behind them for a slant sitting down against zone drops. Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells with linebackers dropping into the shallow crossing lanes can clog this concept, since both underneath routes are converging into the same area. Man match or Cover 1 with a robber underneath is the biggest threat, since a user-controlled defender lurking in the shallow zone can jump the crossing routes and bait a pick six. Look for blitz packages sending extra rushers off the edge. A hot route to the flat or getting the ball out on the first read against the slant beats blitz pressure before the pocket collapses.
Usage Tips
Fire this play out of the shotgun on early downs or third and short when you need a quick, high percentage completion against man coverage.
Pre-snap, check safety depth and corner alignment. If you see press man or Cover 1 with corners crowding the line, the slants will win instantly on the pick action created by the crossing routes underneath.
Use your hot routes to convert the backside slant into a flat route if you see a hard blitz look, giving your quarterback a quicker outlet than the crossing traffic in the middle.
Pair this with RPO Peek Slant or Slants Middle in the same set to keep defenses guessing between run and quick slant concepts out of identical formations.
Combine with Four Verticals or PA Dagger as a play-action counter once the defense starts jumping the underdneath slant routes, since they will be selling hard on the quick game.
