Playbooks

Curls Lead Swing

Shotgun·Normal Y Off·11
CurlSwingPass Play

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 3 playbooks

Saints OffenseOffenseSuperstar HB ReceivingNFL Live Saints OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Curls Lead Swing out of Shotgun Normal Y Off is a quick-game zone beater built around two curl routes to the boundary side and a lead swing route out of the backfield. The HB releases into the swing route with a lead blocker in front, giving you a built-in screen element against overaggressive pass rushes, while the curls sit down in the intermediate zones to punish soft coverage and hole shooters. Your primary read progression starts with the near curl, works to the swing route as a checkdown or blitz-beater, then comes back to the far curl if the underneath defenders widen out.

Defensive Reads

Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells with linebackers dropping into intermediate zones are the biggest threat to this play, since they can sit on the curl routes and force you to the swing route early. Watch the flat defender and outside linebacker at the snap, if they widen out to take away the swing route, the curls will have extra space to work in the void behind them. Man coverage with a linebacker spying or blitzing off the edge is where the lead blocker on the swing route becomes critical, key on whether that blocker picks up the rusher cleanly or gets beaten. User-controlled lurk defenders sitting in the shallow zone will jump the curl routes hard, so if you see a defender sink unnaturally deep before the route develops, that is your cue to reset to the swing route instead of forcing the throw. Cover 2 with hard corners jumping the curls from depth can shut this play down quickly, so if you see the corners squatting at ten to twelve yards pre-snap, be ready to hot route a curl into a deeper comeback or switch to a different concept.

Usage Tips

Use this play on second or third and short to medium, since the swing route gives you a safe checkdown if the curls are covered.

Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing zone with off corners and linebackers backpedaling, because that tells you the curls will have room to sit down in the soft spots.

If you see man coverage with corners pressed at the line, hot route one of the curls into a quick out or speed out to counter physical man defenders and get separation faster.

The lead blocker on the swing route makes this an excellent answer to overloaded blitz looks, so if you see six or seven in the box pre-snap, get the ball out to the swing route immediately and let the lead block work.

Pair this play with Curl Flats or Slant Flat in your play-calling sequence to keep the defense guessing between flood concepts and curl-based reads, then mix in Mtn Curls from the mirrored formation to attack the opposite side once they start jumping the curls.

Other Plays in Normal Y Off