Playbooks
Verticals TE Option
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Verticals TE Option lines up out of Empty Sketch Stack with three receivers to the field and one to the closed side. The two stacked receivers on the left both run vertical seams, with the inside man bending outside at the top of his route to work the numbers, while the closed side receiver runs a true vertical stem before breaking outward into a corner route to attack the sideline. The lone inside slot receiver runs a quick option route off the line, sitting down or working vertical based on the leverage of the underneath defender. This is a pass play built to beat both zone and man coverage, with the deep verticals stretching Cover 2 and Cover 3 shells while the option route gives you a built-in man beater against linebackers or nickel defenders in coverage. Primary read starts with the option route in the middle of the field, then works to the vertical seams and finally to the corner breaking route on the boundary.
Defensive Reads
Watch the middle linebacker or slot defender at the snap, since his depth and leverage on the option route tells you whether he is sitting in a shallow zone or matching man coverage. If both safeties stay deep and split the field evenly, that is Cover 2, and you should expect the corner route to be the primary void to exploit before the safety can rotate over. A single high safety at the snap signals Cover 3 or man coverage, which means the seam verticals have a strong chance to split the underneath zone defenders if the corners are playing off. Look for user-controlled defenders dropping into a deep third or spying the option route, since a jump on the shallow route usually opens up one of the vertical seams for a big gain. Disguised blitzes with corners pressed at the line can shut this down quickly, so check for bump coverage combined with an extra rusher, which forces a fast decision on the option route before the seams develop.
Usage Tips
Presnap, identify the safety alignment first since two deep safeties signal Cover 2 and one high safety signals Cover 3 or man, both of which this concept is designed to attack.
Use the option route as your emergency valve on early downs, since it settles quickly against zone drops and gives you a safe completion if the verticals are covered downfield.
Against Cover 2, key the corner route on the closed side since it settles into the void between the flat defender and the deep half safety.
Hot route the outside seam receiver into a skinny post if you see a single high safety cheating toward the field, since that adjustment creates a natural man beater versus Cover 1 or Cover 3.
Pair this play with Y Slot Choice or Post Cross Unders in your play-calling sequence to keep the defense guessing between shallow option concepts and full field verticals.
