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Breakdown
Mesh Spot out of Shotgun Empty Chips Tight combines two proven man and zone beating concepts into one call. The mesh combo underneath creates a natural rub against man coverage while the spot concept to the other side gives you a built in curl, flat, and corner read against zone drops. With five eligible receivers spread out of the empty backfield and no running back to chip, the offensive line handles a max protect scheme, so this is a pure pass play with no play-action or RPO element. Your primary read starts with the spot concept flat defender to identify the coverage shell, then works into the mesh crossers underneath if the defense shows zone, or the first open crosser off the pick if you see man coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a single high safety rotating late, which signals Cover 3 or Cover 1 man and tells you the mesh crossers will have room to work underneath the linebackers. Identify the flat defender's depth and width pre snap. If he sits wide and deep, the spot concept curl route is your immediate answer since the window opens right behind him. Key the middle linebacker's drop on the snap. A hard flow toward the mesh side means the defense is selling out to stop the crossers, so bail out to the spot concept curl or corner instead. User controlled defenders sitting in a lurk position near the mesh point are the biggest threat to this play, since a smart user can jump the crossing routes and create a turnover if you throw into that window blindly. This play struggles against a hard double robber Cover 1 blitz package where extra defenders sit in the shallow zone, since the mesh concept has no answer for a spy sitting right in the crossing lane, so check the linebacker depth and blitz indicators before committing to the underneath reads.
Usage Tips
Check the safety alignment before the snap. Two high safeties tell you Cover 2 or Cover 4 zone drops are likely, which favors the spot concept curl and corner combo. One high safety means Cover 3 or man coverage, which is where the mesh crossers become your best friend against man beaters.
Use the mesh crossers as a natural pick play against man coverage. If you see press corners or tight man alignment on the outside receivers pre snap, prioritize working the mesh side immediately off the snap instead of waiting on your first read.
This play shines on second and medium to third and medium distances where the defense is more likely to sit in zone shells like Cover 3. The spot concept curl route sits right in that soft spot behind the linebackers and in front of the safety.
Pair Mesh Spot with SFT Mesh Y-Corner or Dagger from this same set to keep the defense guessing. If they start jumping the mesh crossers after seeing it once, go to Dagger or Deep Post Out to attack over the top since your formation and personnel look identical pre snap.
Hot route the running back check release into a shallow drag if you face heavy pressure looks, since Empty Chips Tight leaves no blocker in the backfield and max protect blitz packages can overwhelm the tackles on obvious passing downs.
