Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Double Slants aligns out of Shotgun Flex Y Off Wk with 11 personnel, showing three receivers to the left and the TE isolated to the right. Both inside receivers on the left run quick slants that cross the middle of the field while the outside receiver runs a deep over route from the backside, and the TE releases vertically before breaking on a deep in behind the slant traffic. The RB checks release out of the backfield to the boundary as a flat/checkdown option. This is a man beater built on natural rub picks, with a quick progression that starts on the underneath slants and works up to the TE crossing route against zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Watch for user-controlled linebackers sitting in the shallow zone since they can jump the inside slant if they read your eyes early. Against man coverage, key the safety help over the top, if there is no safety rotating to the slant side, the crossing routes will pick and separate almost immediately. Zone coverage with a Tampa 2 or a robber underneath is the biggest threat to this concept since it clogs the middle where both slants converge. If the corner presses the outside receiver on the deep over route, expect a hard jam that delays the release, so be ready to move to the TE crossing route as your next read. Blitz-heavy fronts that bring extra rushers off the edge will get exposed by the RB check release into the flat, so key linebacker depth at the snap to confirm if they are blitzing or dropping into coverage.
Usage Tips
Fire the ball to the first inside slant quickly against man coverage since the crossing routes create natural rubs that shake defenders. Check the safety alignment pre-snap, if you see two high safeties sitting deep, the slants will have room to work underneath before the shell can rotate down. Hot route the RB into a flat route if the defense shows blitz off the edge to give yourself a quick outlet against pressure. Use this play on early downs or third and short since the slant combo gets the ball out fast and picks up positive yardage against both man and zone. Pair this with Curls or RPO Peek Slant from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick game and RPO reads, then mix in Sluggo Seam or Double Post as a shot play once the defense starts jumping the underneath routes.
