Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Stick out of Empty Ace Shotgun spreads five receivers wide with no running back in the backfield, forcing the defense to declare coverage assignments before the snap. The diagram shows the left side running a classic stick concept: the inside receiver runs a quick out at the sticks, the slot receiver sits down on a hitch, and the outside receiver clears vertically to hold the corner deep. On the right side, the tight end runs a corner route breaking outside while the outside receiver runs a deep crossing route underneath, giving you a two way go if the defense overloads one side. This is a man and zone beater built for quick access throws, with the stick and hitch combo as the primary read against man coverage and the crossing route as the answer versus zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify if the slot corner is playing tight man technique or sitting off in a zone shell, tight man alignment tells you the stick and hitch combo will win quickly. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if they sink hard to cover the stick route that opens the crossing route on the opposite side for a bigger gain. This play struggles against aggressive Cover 3 sky or Cover 4 match schemes where the slot defender jumps the hitch route immediately, so be ready to reset to the crossing route as your checkdown. Beware of a nano blitz or user rushing off the edge since Empty Ace has no running back to chip or pick up extra pressure, get the ball out quickly if you sense a blitz look. Man coverage with no safety help over the top on the crossing route is when this play hits biggest, look for single high shells like Cover 1 to take advantage of the deep in cut.
Usage Tips
Check the pre-snap alignment of the slot corner and linebacker depth on the left side, if the defense shows man coverage the stick out route to the sticks is your first read and should be timed to hit right as your quarterback plants his back foot.
Against zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, work the deep crossing route on the right side since it settles into the void between the linebackers and the deep safeties.
Use the vertical clear out route on the far left to occupy the deep corner and open a throwing lane underneath, do not force that read unless the defense busts coverage.
This play excels on third and short to third and medium since the stick route sits right at the sticks for an easy conversion read.
Pair this call with Curl Flats or Flood from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick underneath throws and deeper zone stretch concepts, this keeps linebackers honest and prevents them from jumping the stick route.
