Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Flood out of Shotgun Duo Slot Open uses play action to hold the linebackers before flooding one side of the field with three levels of routes. The backside receiver runs a corner route off the play fake, while the frontside stacks a deep vertical, a corner breaking route, and a shallow flat route from the running back to create a true three level flood. This is a classic Cover 3 beater that overloads one zone defender's landmark, and the primary read progression works low to high: check the flat route first, then the intermediate corner breaker, and finally the deep vertical if the safety bites underneath.
Defensive Reads
Read the flat defender first. If he sits on the running back's flat route, the intermediate corner breaker should be wide open behind him. Watch the deep third safety on the play side. In Cover 3 he has to choose between the vertical route and the corner breaker, and either way one route comes open in the flood. Key linebacker depth at the snap. If they are shallow and aggressive on run fits, that confirms the play action window will be there and the flood should hit clean. Beware Cover 4 or Cover 2 shells with a hard corner squatting on the flat and a deep half safety over the top, since that combination can take away both underdeath and deep options. Watch for a user controlled defender spying the flat or jumping the corner route, since a smart human defender will often sit on the shallow route to bait a checkdown throw into a jump ball situation.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs when linebackers are still respecting the run fake, since the play action freeze is what opens up the flat and intermediate windows.
Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high safeties. Against single high (Cover 3 or Cover 1) this concept is at its best because the flood overloads one deflated zone or one man defender.
If you see two high safeties showing Cover 4 or Cover 2, hot route the flat runner into a quicker option or check the deep vertical route as a shot play against a soft corner.
Pair this with Inside Zone or Triple Option Rt earlier in a series to sell the run fake and get linebackers flowing downhill, then dial up PA Flood once they start cheating up on run action.
Use PA Flood on second or third and medium situations where defenses are more willing to bite on the play fake, and mix in RPO Read HB Flat from the same set to keep the defense guessing between run and flood concepts.
