Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Inside Smash runs out of Shotgun Empty Y Slot with all five eligibles split out, giving a clean read against both man and zone shells. To the boundary side, the corner runs a short hitch/curl underneath while the outside receiver climbs a deep corner route to stretch the flat defender and the deep half safety, forming the classic smash combo. On the backside, one receiver runs a quick out/flat breaking route while the other stacks vertically up the seam, giving the quarterback a high low read away from the smash concept if the primary side is capped. This is a zone beater built to attack Cover 2 by forcing the corner to choose between the hitch and the corner route, with the backside vertical serving as a Cover 3 or man beater if the safety cheats to the smash side.
Defensive Reads
Watch for two safeties splitting the field pre-snap, which signals Cover 2 and tells you the smash concept will likely be live all game. If the corner squats on the flat/hitch route and the safety rotates over the top of the corner route, that is a sign of a Cover 2 shell built specifically to take away smash, so look elsewhere. On the backside, check linebacker depth: if the underneath defender sinks with the vertical release, that flat route opens up as a checkdown. Man coverage with the corner staying glued in trail technique on the corner route tells you it is time to work the underneath hitch or backside vertical instead. A single high safety who cheats toward the trips or smash side is tipping a rotation, meaning the backside seam will be one on one and should be your first read.
Usage Tips
Look for two deep safeties pre-snap to confirm Cover 2, since the corner route over the hitch is designed to gash a hard flat defender.
If the corner sits deep on the corner route, throw the underneath hitch immediately for a quick, safe completion and move the chains.
Check the backside vertical route against single high safety looks, since it becomes your explosive play answer if the smash side is bracketed.
Use pre-snap motion or a hot route to convert the backside flat route into a quick out if you see man coverage with no help underneath.
Pair this call with Four Verticals and Stick from the same set so defenders cannot sit on the smash concept without opening up seam and shallow throws elsewhere.
