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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
90 Cube is a five man route concept out of Shotgun Spread 10 personnel that attacks all three levels of a Cover 3 shell while still holding up against man coverage. To the closed side, the outside receiver runs a slant while the slot receiver runs a flat route underneath, creating a slant flat combo that clears out underneath zones and gives you a quick man beater against blitz. On the open side, the slot receiver runs a go route straight up the numbers and the outside receiver runs a corner route, stretching the deep third defender horizontally and forcing him to choose. The primary read starts with the slant flat combo for a quick throw against pressure or Cover 3 sink, then progresses to the corner route as the deep shot if the corner defender bites on the go route.
Defensive Reads
Watch the deep third defender's leverage on the open side pre-snap, if he sits too deep the go route will win underneath on a double move look, if he sits shallow the corner route behind him is the alert. Key the slot defender's depth on the closed side, a linebacker sitting at five yards or less signals he is sitting on the flat route and will jump the quick throw. If the offense shows a heavy blitz look, the slant flat combo is designed to beat man pressure quickly, so a defender in user control needs to jump the slant route the instant the ball is snapped. Cover 3 with a hard sink from the deep third defender gets exposed by the corner route, so rotating a safety over the top to help on that side shuts down the deep shot. Man coverage with no help over the top on the corner route is the biggest liability, so bracket the outside receiver on the open side with a safety rotation to force the quarterback into the shorter slant flat read.
Usage Tips
Take a pre-snap look at the deep third defender on the open side before the snap, if he is shaded inside the go route the corner route behind him is money.
Use this play on second and medium to long or third and medium when you need a quick answer against the blitz but still want a deep shot attached.
If the defense shows man coverage, hot route the flat defender's man into a quick out to speed up the timing and beat a nickel corner who presses in man.
Pair 90 Cube with Four Verticals or PA Z-under in your play calling sequence so the defense has to respect both the quick slant flat and the vertical shots off similar formation looks.
Against zone drops that sink hard on the slant, check down to the flat route immediately instead of forcing the ball into a lurking linebacker.
