Playbooks
Breakdown
Deep Post Out is an Empty Chips five-wide concept out of Shotgun that isolates a post from the inside receiver on the right against an out and a corner-breaking route from the outside receiver, while both left side receivers run shallow outs to the boundary and one right side receiver clears vertically before breaking outside. With no running back to protect, the five-man empty look forces the defense to declare coverage and account for four distinct route levels stretching the field horizontally and vertically. This is a man beater at its core, using the deep post to split the safety while the flat routes underneath punish off-coverage and zone drops. The primary read progression starts with the post route attacking the middle of the field, then works to the corner route breaking to the sideline, before checking down to the flat routes on either side.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment because a single high safety cheating toward the post route side tips zone coverage and invites a sim blitz. Watch the flat defenders on the outside; if a cornerback or linebacker is sitting low and shallow, the underneath out routes will get jumped immediately after the snap. Post-snap, key the middle linebacker or deep safety rotation to see if they are dropping to wall off the post route, which signals zone coverage that favors the corner route breaking to the sideline instead. Look for a user-controlled defender lurking in the shallow flat zone since that is the most common way defenses bait quarterbacks into a pick against the outside out routes. This concept is vulnerable to disguised Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells where the safeties stay deep and split the field evenly, taking away both the post and the corner route simultaneously.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two-high or single-high safety look because the post route needs a soft middle to work against man or split zone coverage. If you see Cover 3 or Cover 1 with a deep middle defender sitting, hot route the post to a dig or bring the corner route in as a primary instead. Use this play on second or third and medium to long since the deep routes need time to develop and the flat routes serve as your checkdown against a blitz. Pair this with Curl Flat or Slot Sail earlier in a drive to condition the defense to expect quick underneath throws, then hit them with the post route once they start jumping the flats. Against aggressive blitz packages, get the ball out quickly to the near side out route since the empty backfield removes any extra protection.
