Playbooks
Breakdown
Redzone HB Scissors is a Shotgun 11 personnel pass play built around a scissors concept on the left side, where the outside receiver runs a corner route while the slot receiver crosses underneath on a whip route to the opposite flat, creating natural traffic for man defenders. On the right side, the TE and outside receiver both run drag routes heading left, giving you a shallow crossing option and a checkdown against zone. The HB stays in to protect or releases late as a safety valve, and this concept is tagged as both a Cover 2 and Cover 4 beater, meaning the primary read is the scissors corner route against a two high shell before working back to the crossing drags underneath.
Defensive Reads
Watch for two safeties splitting the field pre-snap, that shell is exactly what this scissors concept is designed to exploit, so rotate a safety down late to disguise coverage. Key the flat defender on the corner route side, if he sits on the whip route instead of the corner, the throw will be there fast, so user him and get depth immediately at the snap. Zone drops from linebackers on the right side drags are the biggest risk to this play, sit a linebacker in the shallow crossing lane to take away the checkdown progression. Man coverage with no help over the top shuts down the scissors action if the corner trusts his technique through the traffic, so press coverage on the outside receiver disrupts the timing before the rub occurs. If you see Cover 3 or single high, bail your corner deep on the corner route threat and trust your underneath defenders to clean up the crossing routes since the concept is weaker against three deep shells.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the safeties are showing two high, since this play is specifically built to attack Cover 2 and Cover 4 shells with the scissors corner route beating the flat defender over the top.
If the corner sinks and the safety pinches inside on the corner route, look immediately to the underneath drag routes on the right side, they will settle into soft spots against zone coverage.
Use this play on the goal line or inside the 10 where the corner route has less room to be overthrown and the scissors action forces man defenders to fight through a natural pick point.
Pair this with Comeback Z Post or Double Post from the same set to keep defenders honest on high safety help, then come back to HB Scissors once you see them shading toward the post concepts.
If the defense shows single high looks pre-snap, consider hot routing the HB out of protection into a route since the scissors concept loses some value against man coverage without a natural rub happening in real time.
