Playbooks

Slants Middle

Shotgun·Doubles·11
SlantPass Play
Play diagram for Slants Middle from Shotgun Doubles in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 3 playbooks

Run N Gun OffenseOffenseSuperstar QB ImprovisorSuperstar QB Scrambler

Breakdown

Slants Middle out of Shotgun Doubles is a quick-hitting man beater built on a two-man slant combo working from the left side toward the middle of the field, with the outside receiver on the right running a slant that crosses underneath. On the right side, the inside slot receiver runs a quick out breaking to the flat while the outside X receiver runs a deep crossing slant toward the opposite sideline, creating natural pick action against man coverage. The primary read progresses from the near-side slant combo working left to right, hitting the first open crosser off the initial footwork of the underneath defenders.

Defensive Reads

Identify single high safety pre-snap, since Cover 1 man leaves the crossing slants wide open against trailing defenders. Watch for a Tampa 2 or Cover 2 shell, as the deep crossing slant can run into a sitting linebacker or safety help over the top. Key the flat defender post-snap, if he sinks with the quick out instead of squeezing the slant window that throwing lane closes fast. Beware user linebackers spying the middle crosser, a smart user defender will sit in the shallow zone and jump the route right as it crosses the formation. Cover 3 with a hard buzzing safety to the crosser side is the shell that shuts this down fastest, so check to a different concept if you see that rotation pre-snap.

Usage Tips

Fire this quickly against Cover 1 and Cover 0 looks where the crossing slants create natural traffic against man defenders trailing from depth.

Use the quick out to the flat as your outlet against blitz heavy pre-snap looks when you need a fast, safe completion.

Pair this with 45 Quick Base or RPO Peek Slant in the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick game and RPO tags on early downs.

Watch linebacker depth before the snap, if the middle linebacker is sitting shallow expect him to jump the deep crosser, so be ready to check to the flat route.

Best used on 2nd or 3rd and short to medium since the routes develop fast and give the quarterback a high percentage completion window.

Other Plays in Doubles