Playbooks
Fk Screen Verts
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Fk Screen Verts is a play-action screen concept out of Empty Base Shotgun with 11 personnel. The outside receivers to the right and left both run go routes to clear vertical space, the inner slot receiver runs a skinny post while the running back releases out of the backfield on a screen fake before settling into a leak route to the flat. The line shows a fake screen protection look, selling the screen action to freeze linebackers and pull them up before the four verticals stress the deep coverage, making this a strong Cover 2 and Cover 3 beater with the leak route as the checkdown against a soft underneath zone.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two-deep or single-high safety alignment since that dictates which vertical route will be open. Watch linebacker depth at the snap. If they bite hard on the screen fake, the seam and post routes will have room to sit down behind them. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exploited quickly by the outside go routes, so check for press corners with no deep help before snapping. Look for a user-controlled defender sitting in a lurk spot in the middle of the field, since that player can undercut the post route or the seam if he reads the play-action fake correctly. Cover 2 shells with aggressive flat defenders can jump the leak route out of the backfield, so if you see a corner sinking hard into the flat, expect that checkdown to be taken away and prioritize the seam throw instead.
Usage Tips
Use this play on early downs when defenses are keyed in on shorter passing concepts because the fake screen action holds linebackers just long enough to open the seams for the go routes.
Read the safeties before the snap. If you see two deep safeties in Cover 2, target the seam route between the numbers and the hash since the corners will be forced to squeeze the outside verts.
Against Cover 3, work the post breaking route in the middle of the field where the single high safety has to choose between the deep middle and the outside thirds.
If the defense sells out on the screen fake and linebackers crash downhill, the leak route to the flat becomes an easy checkdown for positive yardage.
Pair this play with Mtn HB Screen or WR Screen earlier in a drive so the defense respects the screen fake here, then hit them with the verticals once they start jumping the underneath routes.
