Playbooks
Double Salem
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Double Salem is a five-wide flood concept out of Shotgun Empty Steeler that overloads the field side with three routes while leaving the boundary as a simple one-man read. To the field side the outside receiver runs a deep out that clears the sideline, the inside slot pushes a corner-breaking route back across the middle underneath, and the third receiver runs a quick flat route, creating a high-low-flat flood that stretches zone defenders vertically and horizontally. On the backside, the isolated receiver runs a sharp out route while the inner receiver runs a slant, giving a built-in man beater against press or off coverage. With no run threat off empty this is strictly a quick-timing pass play designed to attack both zone drops (Cover 3, Cover 2) and man leverage, with the primary read starting on the field side flat-to-corner combo before working back to the backside slant if the flood is capped.
Defensive Reads
Check the strong safety depth before the snap: if he is walked up near the box, the field side flood is live because there is only one deep defender to cover three routes. Watch the flat defender's initial step after the snap. If he sinks with the corner route instead of staying on the flat receiver, throw underneath immediately for an easy completion. Man coverage on the backside isolated out route is a green light matchup if your receiver has a speed or route-running advantage, since there is no safety help rotated to that side. Cover 3 cornerbacks who bail deep at the snap open up the underneath flat and slant routes on both sides, so check the corner's backpedal speed as your post-snap key. Blitz-heavy defenses using six or seven man pressure packages neutralize this play quickly since it lacks max protection, so if you see overload blitz alignments pre-snap, expect a hot read or check to a quicker route instead of the developing flood.
Usage Tips
Use this play on third and short to medium distance situations where defenses are likely to sit in zone or press man to take away the sticks.
Pre-snap, identify the safety shell first: a two-high shell means the corner route behind the flat has a bigger throwing window, while a single-high shell tells you to work the field side flood fast before the extra defender rotates over.
If you see press corners on the outside receivers, hot route the backside out to a slant or fade to counter aggressive jams, since the base out route can get reroutes disrupted at the line.
Combine Double Salem with Steelers Cross or Y-Stick in your play-calling sequence to keep linebackers honest, since both plays sell similar initial releases before breaking in different directions.
Against Cover 3 defenses, prioritize the flood side corner route since it sits in the deep zone seam between the corner and safety, punishing zone defenders who squat on the flat.
