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Breakdown
Spot Stick from Empty Bunch Tight deploys five receivers with a bunch stack to the right and a lone receiver to the left. Off the bunch, the outside receiver runs a corner route, the middle bunch receiver hits a quick stick to the flat, and the inside receiver stems vertically then breaks into the stick sit route over the middle. The backside receiver runs an out breaking route while a shallow drag crosses underneath from the numbers side, giving the quarterback a full stick concept read with the corner as the clear out and the flat and stick as the underneath answers. This is a classic zone beater built to attack Cover 3 with the stick concept, since it stresses the flat defender and hook defenders with three levels of horizontal spacing.
Defensive Reads
Key the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he sits shallow to jump the stick route the quarterback should reset to the flat or corner instead. Watch the flat defender's leverage out of the bunch, aggressive user pressure on the flat route opens the stick sit route behind him in the soft spot of a Cover 3 zone. Identify single high safety alignment pre-snap, this confirms Cover 3 or Cover 1 and tells you the corner route has one on one leverage against outside coverage. Look for a user controlled defender lurking in the shallow drag lane, since that route is the first thing an aggressive defender will jump to bait a turnover. This play struggles against a hard match Cover 4 or a two high shell with disciplined zone drops, since the flat and stick routes get squeezed by defenders sitting on the short and intermediate windows.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a hot route check to confirm if the defense is showing a single high safety, since this concept is a certified Cover 3 beater and the stick sit route will find grass in the flat curl to hook zone. If you see man coverage look immediately to the corner route off the bunch since it can take the top off a soft cover 2 or beat man leverage with a clean release. Progression should start with the flat route to hold the underneath defender, come back to the stick sit route sitting down in the zone window, then reset to the deep corner if a linebacker or safety widens out of position. This play pairs well with Quick Slants and Shallow Drags in the same set since all three attack underneath zones quickly and force defenders to declare early, letting you counter with Clear Deep or Wide Corners once the defense starts jumping the short routes. Best used on second and medium or third and short since the stick concept guarantees a high percentage completion underneath if the defense sits back in zone.
