Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Slot Sail out of Shotgun Empty Chips Nasty is a five-man route concept built around the classic Sail combo to the strong side, with both outside receivers running go/streak routes vertically off the numbers and the two inside receivers on each side working out routes at the sticks. The strong side stacks a corner route over a flat-breaking out route to create a high-low stretch on the flat defender, while the backside mirrors a simple streak and out combo to hold the defense honest. There is no run action shown, this is a straight dropback pass concept with the sail combo as the primary read, progressing from the corner route to the underneath out route depending on how the flat defender reacts.
Defensive Reads
Presnap, check safety depth, if both safeties sit at 10 to 12 yards with even spacing, expect Cover 2 and prioritize the corner route beating the flat defender underneath. If you see a single high safety with corners playing off, that is Cover 3, and the out routes underneath the streaks become the easier completion against the flat zone drop. Watch the flat defender post snap, if he sinks under the corner route the quarterback should climb the progression to the streak instead of forcing the sail combo. This play struggles against man coverage with an underneath robber or lurking linebacker sitting in the throwing lane of the out routes, since there is no natural rub to clear that defender. Blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge on the sail side can collapse the pocket before the corner route fully develops, so account for pass protection issues if the offensive line is not sliding to that side.
Usage Tips
Presnap, identify the strong side of the Sail concept and check if the corner is playing hard outside leverage before the snap, since the corner route needs room to work.
Against Cover 2, throw the corner route on time before the safety can rotate over the top, this is the classic Cover 2 beater rep for this play.
Against Cover 3, look to the underneath out route since the flat defender in a 3 deep shell often widens with the corner, opening a soft spot for the sag route sitting at the sticks.
Use this play on third and medium to long since the sail combo needs time to develop, and pair it with Dagger or Dig Stick from this same set to keep defenses guessing between vertical shots and quick underneath throws.
If the user drops a defender into a lurk spot on the sail side, hot route the backside out route into a quick option to move the ball away from the pressure.
