Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Levels Mills out of Shotgun Flex Y Off Close stacks a two level concept to the offense's left with a deep Mills route breaking away from the field to the right. The two inside receivers run a levels combo, one sitting on a square in at the sticks and the other climbing vertically before breaking flat over the top, while the backside X runs a deep post breaking route (Mills) off the numbers. The HB releases into a wide angled route out of the backfield as a checkdown or coverage stress option, and the line is in a straight dropback pass protection look. Primary read starts with the Mills post backside if the safety bites on the levels flood, then works to the levels stack underneath from deep to shallow, with the HB check down as the final safety valve.
Defensive Reads
Watch the free safety pre-snap alignment, if he is shaded to the levels side the Mills post is your money route. Post-snap key the flat defender and hook defender on the levels side, if they widen or sink too early it opens a throwing lane for the intermediate square in. This concept beats Cover 2 because it overloads the deep half defender with two vertical stems, and it beats Cover 4 by putting the seam and hole defender in conflict. Man coverage with no help over the top is vulnerable to the Mills post since it crosses the field away from trailing defenders. Be wary of user controlled lurk defenders sitting in the middle of the field who can jump the deep in route, and watch for a disguised blitz off the edge since protection is a standard five man drop back look.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high shells before deciding whether to start your read on the Mills post or the levels combo. Against Cover 2 or Cover 4, the levels combo stresses the flat and hook defenders vertically, so work high to low through the stacked routes on that side. If you diagnose man coverage pre-snap, snap your eyes immediately to the Mills post since it creates natural separation against trailing corners crossing the field. Use this play on second and long or third and medium when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells expecting a checkdown. Pair Levels Mills with Flood or Mtn Rub Smash from this same set to keep defenders guessing between quick game and levels concepts, then dial up Levels Mills once you see the defense settling into predictable zone drops.
