Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
PA Slide Comeback is a play-action pass out of Shotgun Split Offset that uses run-fake blocking up front to hold the linebackers while a five-man route concept works both sidelines. The backside receiver runs a deep comeback that breaks back toward the sideline, the slot runs a slide route underneath crossing the formation, and the play-side receiver runs a corner breaking route off the play-action rollout look, with a flat route underneath on the strong side. Blocking is play-action protection with the offensive line selling run and the fullback or extra blocker sliding to cut off backside pursuit, making this primarily a zone beater that attacks the boundary voids created by linebackers stepping up on the run fake, with the primary read progression starting on the deep comeback route, moving to the corner breaking route on the play side, and checking down to the underdown slide or flat route if both are covered.
Defensive Reads
Look for corners playing off coverage pre-snap since the comeback route is designed to exploit cushion that lets the receiver break back to the ball before the corner can close. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if they bite hard on the run fake the underneath slide and flat routes will be wide open in the vacated shallow zone. Identify single high safety shells like Cover 3 or Cover 1, these tend to leave the deep comeback route matched up favorably against a corner without help over the top. Beware of Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells with safeties sitting on top of the comeback route, this coverage disguise can bait you into throwing into a hard sink from the deep half defender. Key on user-controlled defenders lurking in the shallow crossing lanes, since the slide route crosses the field and can be jumped by a spying linebacker or a defender sitting in a zone drop reading the quarterback's eyes off the play-action fake.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs or second and short to sell the run action convincingly against defenses keying on your ground game tendencies out of this personnel group.
Check the safety alignment before the snap, if you see two high safeties sitting deep this comeback route has room to work against off man or zone corners bailing at the snap.
Hot route the underneath slide into a quicker option against blitz-heavy looks since the play-action drop takes extra time and you need a release valve versus a fast four or five man rush.
Pair this with Deep Comeback and Deep Curls from the same set to keep defenses guessing between double move comebacks and pure vertical curl breaks, forcing corners to respect multiple depths.
Use HB Draw or HB Power O earlier in a drive to bait linebackers into downhill run fits, then dial up PA Slide Comeback once they start crashing hard on run action.
