Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Pivot In Seams comes out of Shotgun Normal Y Off Wk with 11 personnel and shows a five man pass concept designed to attack the middle and edges of the field at multiple levels. The outside receiver to the boundary runs a deep seam while the near slot receiver breaks into a short in cut off the pivot motion, and the backside receivers run a corner route and a short flat/pivot combo to stretch defenders horizontally. The inline TE releases from a tight alignment on a deep vertical seam, and the play works as a man beater by using the pivot action to create natural separation against man defenders trailing in coverage, with the seam route as the primary read against zone shells that vacate the middle of the field. Blocking is a standard pass protection look with the back releasing into a check release role, keeping the pocket clean for the QB to read seam to pivot to corner.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two high safeties or a single high shell, since this determines whether the seam or the corner route is the primary target. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, shallow linebackers will struggle to get depth on the TE seam route which opens a throwing lane over the middle. User controlled defenders sitting in a lurk technique in the shallow middle can jump the pivot in route, so be ready to progress to the seam or corner if you see a defender sitting in that window. Cover 3 with a hard flat defender can take away the pivot route quickly, forcing the QB to climb the pocket and hit the seam instead. Man coverage with no safety help over the top is the biggest weakness for this play since the seam and corner routes can win vertically before the safety rotates over.
Usage Tips
Look at the safety alignment before the snap, if you see two high safeties sitting deep the seam routes have room to work in the honey hole between the numbers and the safety. Use the pivot in route as your primary hot route answer against man coverage since the change of direction naturally shakes off trail defenders. Against single high looks, prioritize the corner route on the backside since the deep safety cannot help both seams and the sideline at once. This play pairs well with Four Verticals and X Dagger in the same set since defenses that key on quick pivot routes will be vulnerable to double move verticals and dagger combos later in a series. Best called on second and medium or third and short to medium since the quick developing pivot route gives a safe underneath answer if the deep seams are covered.
