Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
WR Under is a shotgun 11 personnel man beater built around a shallow drag that crosses the entire formation, giving the quarterback a built in answer against man coverage and blitz pressure. The backside receiver runs a deep in-cut behind the line while the tight end works a corner route to the flat area and a boundary receiver runs a go route to clear space vertically, creating a natural flood look from top to bottom. The near slot receiver releases into a curl at intermediate depth, and the running back releases out of the backfield on an angle route to the sideline as a checkdown or man beater against linebackers. The primary read starts with the shallow drag working across the field, then progresses to the curl and angle route if the drag is taken away by a shallow zone defender or a trailing linebacker.
Defensive Reads
Watch for man coverage indicators like tight cornerback alignment and linebackers shading toward the slot receivers, since the shallow drag and angle combo will consistently win against man defenders who trail rather than sit. If the defense shows a two high safety shell with linebackers sitting at intermediate depth, they are likely in zone coverage designed to take away the drag, so key on whether the curl route settles into an open window behind the linebacker level. Blitz heavy defenses that bring extra pressure off the edge can be exposed by the shallow drag since it releases quickly and beats most nano blitz packages before the rush arrives. Look for a user controlled linebacker sitting in a lurk position over the middle, since that defender is often assigned to jump the shallow drag and can bait a turnover if the quarterback is not patient. If the cornerback on the go route bails deep at the snap, that confirms man coverage and opens up the underneath crossing routes even further.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a quick glance at the linebacker depth to confirm man coverage before snapping, since the shallow drag is your bread and butter answer against man to man defenders. If you see a single high safety shell, expect man coverage underneath and prioritize the shallow drag and angle route combo. Hot route the tight end into a deeper corner route if you are getting soft coverage on that side to stretch the field vertically. Against zone heavy defenses, look to the curl route sitting down in the intermediate zone window as your secondary progression. Pair this play with Double Slants or Inside Cross in the same set to keep defenders guessing on shallow crossing concepts, then mix in Four Verticals or X Dagger to punish defenses that start jumping the drag route. This concept is best used on second and medium or third and short since the shallow drag develops quickly and gets the ball out before pressure arrives.
