Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Y Curl out of Shotgun Empty Bunch spreads five receivers wide with no back in the backfield, using the bunch alignment to create natural rub routes off the line. The two outside receivers on the bunch side clear vertically before breaking, one settling into a curl at intermediate depth while the other continues to occupy the deep defenders, and the backside receiver runs a shallow drag across the field underneath. The lone receiver split away from the bunch attacks vertically up the sideline to hold the corner and safety, while the tight end releases into a quick out breaking route in the middle of the field as the primary answer against a blitz or soft underneath zone. This is a man beater built off natural picks from the bunch, and the first read is the tight end's out route with the drag underneath as the checkdown against pressure.
Defensive Reads
Watch for user controlled defenders sitting in the shallow zone since they can jump the drag route or undercut the tight end's out route if they read the quarterback's eyes early. Press man coverage on the bunch receivers is vulnerable to the natural rub, so if you see press alignment pre-snap expect the curl to break open against a trailing defender who gets picked. Zone coverage with linebackers sinking hard into the curl zone will take away the primary read, so bail to the drag route underneat or the vertical route on the backside outside receiver. Cover 3 shells with a single high safety leave the deep vertical route on the backside isolated on one defender, so if the safety rotates away from that side it becomes a viable shot play. Blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge or through the A gap will be answered quickly by the drag route since it develops fast and gives the quarterback a short, safe throw before the pocket collapses.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, check for man coverage indicators like defenders lined up tight on the bunch receivers since the natural rub from the bunch alignment will spring the curl or the tight end's out route open against man match schemes.
Use the drag route as your answer versus zone blitzes or heavy interior pressure because it clears underneath quickly and gives the quarterback a fast trigger against a five or six man rush.
If the defense shows two high safeties pre-snap, prioritize the curl route sitting down in the intermediate zone since it settles between the linebacker level and the safety shell.
Pair this play with Curl Flats or Z Spot from the same Empty Bunch set to keep the defense guessing on whether the bunch side is running curls, flats, or spot concepts, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their zone drops.
On third and medium, call this when you expect man coverage since the natural pick from the bunch alignment consistently creates separation on the curl and the tight end's out route.
