Playbooks

Return Bench

Shotgun·Flex Y Off Close·11

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 2 playbooks

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Breakdown

Return Bench is a boundary breaking concept out of the Shotgun Flex Y Off Close set designed to attack zone leverage with a return route stacked over an underneath bench route. The return man works back to the sideline against off man or curl to flat zone drops while the bench route sits down at the sticks, creating a natural high low read for the quarterback. This is primarily a zone beater built to punish curl flat and cover 3 rotations, with the primary read progressing from the return route breaking outside to the bench sitting underneath if the corner sinks with the return.

Defensive Reads

Check the cornerback alignment pre-snap, tight press alignment usually signals man coverage which slows down the return route's break. Watch the flat defender's first two steps after the snap, if he sinks with the return route the bench route sits in the vacated underneath window. Identify cover 3 shells by looking for a single high safety and corners rotating into flat zones, this concept is built to exploit that exact rotation. Beware of cover 2 with aggressive corner jams at the line since that can disrupt the return route's timing and force the quarterback into a late read. Watch for a linebacker sitting in the underneath hook zone, a disciplined backer can jump the bench route and bait the quarterback into a turnover.

Usage Tips

Take a pre-snap look at the flat defender before the snap because his depth tells you whether the bench route or the return route will be open first.

Use this on second and medium or third and short since the bench route settles quickly and gives the quarterback a safe underneath answer against zone drops.

If the cornerback shows hard outside leverage in man press, hot route the return man into a slant or shorten his stem to beat the jam before he can redirect.

Pair this with RPO Zone Alert or Return RPO Zone Alert in your play calling sequence so the defense has to respect both the run action and the return concept out of the same look.

Against zone shells with a sinking flat defender, work the quarterback progression fast because the window for the return route closes once the corner gets depth.

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