Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Y Stick out of Shotgun Spread with 10 personnel shows a classic stick concept on the right side: the Y receiver runs a quick stick route sitting at roughly five yards, the outside receiver on that side runs a corner/flag route stretching vertically, and the flat route underneath clears out to the sideline to hold the corner. On the backside, both receivers run in-cuts that break inward toward the middle of the field, giving the quarterback a second option if the strong side stick gets jumped. This is a man and zone beater built for quick timing throws, with the stick to flat to corner triangle attacking Cover 2 and Cover 3 flat defenders while the backside ins give a answer against man coverage; the primary read progression starts with the Y stick, then works to the flat, then hits the corner route if the defense sinks underneath.
Defensive Reads
Watch the strong side flat defender presnap since a linebacker sitting too deep opens the stick route instantly Key the corner route defender because if the safety rotates down to take away the corner, the stick and flat combo underneath will be wide open Look for user controlled defenders lurking in the shallow zone trying to jump the stick route, which signals you should immediately go backside to the in cuts Cover 2 shells with the safety cheating toward the corner route will leave the flat defender isolated against both the stick and flat, forcing a bad rep for the defense Man coverage with no underneath help funnels well against the stick concept because the route sits down and creates natural separation, but disciplined zone drops from a Cover 4 look can shut this down if the flat defender stays patient
Usage Tips
Presnap identify if the flat defender is sitting inside or widening outside because that dictates whether the stick or flat route is open first
Against Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells target the stick route immediately since the flat defender usually widens to the corner route threat
Hot route the backside in cuts into shallow crosses or drags if you see man coverage with no safety help over the top to create natural rub separation
Use this in third and short or third and medium situations since the stick route sits down quickly and gives a high percentage completion window
Pair this with Curl Flats or Slants Middle in your play calling sequence to keep the defense guessing between quick game concepts that look similar presnap
Motion the backside receiver before the snap to confirm man versus zone based on whether a defender follows the motion
