Playbooks

Slants

Shotgun·Normal Off Close Wk·11
SlantPass Play
Play diagram for Slants from Shotgun Normal Off Close Wk in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

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Breakdown

Slants is a quick-hitting man beater out of Shotgun Normal Off Close Wk with 11 personnel. Off the diagram, both outside receivers run slants breaking hard toward the middle of the field, the inline TE runs a shallow drag underneath the slants, the closed X receiver runs a quick out to the flat, and the backside receiver on the far side runs a shallow out breaking away from the formation. The RB releases vertically into a check release route up the seam, giving the QB a five-man route distribution with an immediate first read to the near slant, working through the drag underneath and out to the flat if the slant is covered.

Defensive Reads

Check the corners pre-snap for press alignment, since tight press man leaves the slants wide open the instant they cross the defender's face. Watch the Mike linebacker depth at the snap, because a shallow drop or blitz creep signals he will not be able to wall off the drag route underneath. If the safeties rotate to a two-high shell post-snap, expect the corners to be in man or zone with outside help, meaning the slant needs to be thrown on time before the underneath defender can undercut it. User the closest linebacker or nickel defender to sit on the drag and flat combination, since that lurk spot punishes the QB's second and third reads if the primary slant is covered. Beat Cover 3 sink drops by hitting the shallow out or flat route in stride before the corner can flatten his zone drop, but expect Cover 2 with aggressive corner jams to disrupt the timing of both outside slants.

Usage Tips

Fire this play on early downs or third and short when you need a rhythm throw that beats man coverage before the pass rush closes windows.

Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing man or zone shells; if you see press man on the outside receivers, the slants will win instantly against outside leverage.

Use the flat route and shallow out as your zone beater answer if you diagnose Cover 3 or Cover 4, since those routes settle into the soft spots underneath the corners.

Hot route the RB check release into a quick flat or keep him in as extra protection versus known blitz teams to buy the QB time to work the slant to drag progression.

Pair this play with RPO Peek Slant or RPO Zone Peek in your play-calling sequence so the defense has to respect both the pure dropback slant look and the run-pass option version, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their run fits.

Other Plays in Normal Off Close Wk