Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Flood out of Shotgun Split Slot Offset stacks three routes into the same vertical zone on the strong side: the outer receiver runs a vertical seam, the inline slot breaks off into a corner route, and the flat receiver releases underneath on a shallow flat route that climbs to the sideline. On the backside, the lone receiver runs a deep in-cut, while the running back checks protection before leaking out to the flat as a late outlet. This is a classic Cover 3 beater built to stress one deep third defender with three levels of a vertical flood, and the primary read progresses from the deep corner route to the flat route underneath, working high to low based on the flat defender's depth.
Defensive Reads
Identify the single high safety pre-snap, this tells you the defense is vulnerable to the flood side overload since only one deep defender can help. Key the flat defender's drop after the snap, if he sits on the shallow route the corner route behind him will be open in the void. Watch for the deep third defender flowing hard away from the flood, he cannot cover three levels alone which is the entire premise of this beater. If the defense shows two high safeties or rolls to Cover 2, the flood loses its advantage since the corner route runs into help over the top. Beware disguised Cover 1 blitzes that bring a linebacker off the edge, since the running back's late flat release can be late to help if the protection breaks down.
Usage Tips
Look for single high safety shells like Cover 3 or Cover 1 pre-snap since this concept is designed to overload one side of the field against a lone deep defender.
If the corner is pressed on the outside receiver, hot route him to a quick out to counter man coverage before the flood routes fully develop.
Use this on early downs or third and medium distances where the defense is likely to play zone coverage and you need a chain-moving underneath option if the deep shot is covered.
Pair this play with Mtn PA Y Cross or Mtn PA Double Posts in the same set to keep defenders guessing between play action shots and this quick-hitting flood concept.
Watch the flat defender's initial drop, if he sinks to take away the corner route, throw underneath to the flat route immediately since the window will be tight but open.
