Playbooks
Breakdown
Dagger out of Shotgun Open Flex 11 personnel is a classic vertical stretch concept built to attack zone shells and man coverage alike. The inside receiver runs a deep seam/post straight up the middle to clear out the deep zone while the outside receiver underneath breaks in on a deep dig across the middle, creating a natural high low read in the same window. On the backside, the far outside receiver runs a shallow drag while the running back releases outside on a flat/out route, giving the quarterback a full field progression from deep to short. The primary read starts with the seam runner to see if he splits or occupies the safety, then works down to the dig sitting behind linebackers, with the flat and drag as checkdown outlets versus pressure.
Defensive Reads
Pre snap, check safety depth and spacing, two high shells with soft corners are the biggest red flag that Dagger is live for a big play underneath. Post snap, key the middle linebacker or nickel defender responsible for the deep middle hole, if he sinks late the dig will have a clean throwing lane. Watch for user controlled safeties dropping into a lurk position over the dig route, since that is the primary counter defenses use against this concept. Cover 3 with a deep half rotation can be vulnerable if the flat defender bites on the running back, opening the drag route as a secondary answer. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the seam runner winning vertically, so watch for blitz packages that leave a linebacker isolated on that route.
Usage Tips
Look at the safety alignment before the snap, two high shells are exactly what this concept is designed to punish since the dig will settle into the vacated middle void created by the seam route. Against single high safety looks the seam route can win one on one deep, so be ready to trust the vertical shot if the safety cheats toward the dig. Hot route the running back into a max protect check on third and long since Dagger takes time to develop and the quarterback needs a clean pocket to work through the two levels. Pair this call with Deep Outs or X Seam to keep defenses guessing between horizontal stretches and vertical shots off the same personnel and formation look. Use this on second and long or third and medium when you expect zone coverage, since man heavy blitz packages can disrupt the timing before the dig sits down.
