Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Escape is a five-man route concept out of Shotgun Flanker Close with 10 personnel that attacks Cover 3 and man coverage with a slant flat combo on the boundary side and a slant/go combo from the closed formation. The outside receiver at the top runs a deep go to stretch the defense vertically while the inside receiver behind him runs a slant flat that clears underneath, and on the play side the near receiver runs a flat route (red) while the outside receiver runs a slant into the vacated zone. This is a quick pass man beater and Cover 3 beater designed to get the ball out fast, with the flat route as the primary read against zone and the slant working as the man beater versus press or off man coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender at the snap since Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells will have a linebacker or corner sitting in the flat zone that can jump the underneath route. Key the safety depth pre-snap since a two high shell suggests Cover 2 or Cover 4, which puts less pressure on the flat route but opens throwing lanes for the slant behind the corner. If the defense shows a single high safety rotating late, expect Cover 3 with the corner playing outside leverage, which makes the slant route the higher percentage throw over the flat. Beware of user linebacker lurk threats sitting in the shallow zone since a quarterback who eyes the flat too early can get baited into a pick six. This play struggles against aggressive man blitzes with no underneath help since the quick timing routes do not have time to develop against extra rushers, so check blitz alignment before snapping.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or third and short since the routes are quick hitting and get the ball out before pressure arrives.
Pre-snap, identify if the corner over your flat receiver is playing off or press since that dictates whether the flat or slant is open first.
If you see Cover 3 with a hard flat defender sitting outside, hot route the slant receiver to sit down or work the go route on the opposite side to hold the deep third defender.
Against man coverage, trust the slant to win quickly on the inside release and get through your progression fast since man corners will trail underneath routes tightly.
Pair Escape with Stick or Dragon Spacing in the same set so you can run similar quick game action from the same personnel and formation, keeping the defense guessing between flat concepts and spacing concepts.
