Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Out Double Under is a five-man route concept out of Shotgun Empty Quads that isolates the boundary receiver on a solo out route while stacking the field side with layered under routes. On the field side, the outside receiver runs a vertical clear-out, the next receiver runs a deep square-in that sits over the middle, and the innermost slot runs a shallow crossing route underneath, creating a high-low read from the numbers to the hash. The backside receiver runs a lone out breaking away from the formation, giving the quarterback a quick isolated throw if the boundary corner plays off. This is a zone beater at its core, using the underneath crosser and square-in to sit in soft spots between linebackers and safeties while the vertical route stretches the deep zone defender.
Defensive Reads
Read the middle linebacker and nickel defender depth at the snap because this concept attacks the seams left open when they drop too shallow or too deep against the square-in and shallow cross. Cover 3 zone struggles against this play because the flat defender and hook defender cannot cover both the shallow cross and the deep square-in at the same time. Cover 2 zone is more effective since the two deep safeties can help bracket the vertical clear-out while the underneath defenders squeeze the crossing routes. Watch for a user-controlled linebacker sitting in the passing lane of the shallow cross since that is the most vulnerable route to a jumped throw. Man coverage with a deep safety over the top can shut down the backside out route if the corner presses at the line, forcing the quarterback to work the field side concept instead.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two-high or single-high safety because this concept thrives against split-safety zones where the underneath defenders have to honor multiple horizontal threats. If the corner over the backside out is playing off coverage, take the quick out throw immediately since it is a rhythm timing route that beats zone drops before they settle. Against man coverage, hot route the shallow crosser into a slant or speed out to create more separation, since the natural crossing route can get picked off by a trailing defender in man. This play pairs well with Four Verticals in your play-calling sequence because it uses the same Empty Quads alignment but attacks vertically, forcing defenders who cheat up on the unders to get burned deep. Use this on second or third and medium situations where the sit routes from the square-in and shallow cross give the quarterback a high-percentage completion against zone drops without needing a deep shot.
