Playbooks
Breakdown
Corner Strike aligns out of Shotgun Empty Trey with three receivers stacked to the trips side and two isolated to the boundary. The trips side runs a deep corner route from the outside receiver while the two inside receivers cross underneath, one settling into a shallow drag and the other running an out breaking route toward the sideline, creating a natural pick concept against man coverage. The boundary side features a receiver breaking outside on an out route with the other running a deep crossing route toward the opposite sideline, giving the quarterback a two level stretch on the weak side. This is a man beater built around the trips side rub concept, with the primary read starting on the corner route against single high looks before working down to the shallow crosser versus zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Watch the trips side cornerback at the snap, if he sinks into a deep zone drop the corner route will be taken away and the quarterback should reset to the underneath crossers. Key the flat defender on the trips side, a hard squat into the shallow drag signals zone coverage and opens the out breaking route for a quick pickup. Identify the boundary safety pre-snap, if he rotates toward the trips side the backside deep crosser becomes the counter read against a light box. Track any user controlled lurk defender sitting in the middle of the field, this play is vulnerable to a spy or rat in the hole jumping the shallow crossing routes. Cover 3 with sound zone drops and disciplined corners who stay square can shut down the deep shot, forcing the quarterback into the underneath options only.
Usage Tips
Check for single high safety pre-snap since the corner route on the trips side wins big against Cover 1 and Cover 3 when the cornerback bails early.
Use motion or a quick glance at the flat defender before the snap to determine if the underneath crossers will have room to work against man coverage.
On third and long, prioritize the deep corner as your first read since it stresses the boundary corner and creates explosive play potential.
Pair this call with Slot Drive or Stick from the same set to keep defenders honest on shorter combinations before dialing up the corner shot.
Against teams that show heavy blitz tendencies, hot route the shallow drag into a quick option route to give the quarterback a faster outlet.
