Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Dagger out of Shotgun Empty Chips (11 personnel) stacks a deep dig from the outside receiver behind a clear-out post from the slot, creating a natural pick against man and a soft spot against zone drops. On the opposite side the TE runs a corner route while the inside receiver works a deep vertical seam, stretching the field from sideline to sideline with five receivers out and no protection help behind the QB. This is a classic man beater and Cover 2 killer, and the primary read progression starts with the deep dig, works to the corner route if the safety jumps the underneath crosser, and checks down to the vertical seam if the middle of the field opens up.
Defensive Reads
Read the pre-snap safety alignment first, since two deep safeties in Cover 2 or Cover 4 will struggle to close on the dig route running through the middle seam. Watch the flat defender and underneath linebacker depth at the snap, because if they sink too fast into the throwing lane they open up the corner route behind them. Key on man coverage indicators like inside shade from the corner on the post side receiver, which signals the clear-out route will successfully rub off the defender chasing the dig. User the deep middle defender if you are on defense and shade him toward the dig route landmark, since that route sits right in the honey hole most user lurk defenders exploit. Bring pressure with a nano blitz or overload blitz off the empty set edges to disrupt the quarterback's timing before the dig route develops, since this play takes a full three to five step drop to hit its top read.
Usage Tips
Snap out of empty and immediately identify if the defense shows two deep safeties or one, since the dig only settles into the window if a single high safety cannot cover both hash marks. Against man coverage, trust the post clear-out to rub off the underneath defender covering the dig, giving you a clean throwing lane on your first read. Hot route the running back or check release the TE into a flat route if you sense pressure, since the empty set removes any blocking help and this play is vulnerable to nano blitzes off the edge. Use this in third and medium to third and long situations where you need a chunk play, and pair it with Curl Flat or TE Screen from the same set to keep defenders honest against the quick game before hitting them with the deep dig shot. Sequence this behind Corner Strike or Deep Post Out to condition the defense to bite on shorter combo routes, then hit Dagger once you see linebackers cheating up on run action or shallow crosses.
