Playbooks
Inside Hi Lo
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Inside Hi Lo out of Shotgun Tight Flex 11 personnel is a play-action pass built around a vertical stacking concept on the play side. The outside receiver runs a deep cross that clears the top of the defense while two inside receivers stack a curl and an in route underneath it for a true hi lo read on the same side of the field, and the backside runs a seam up the numbers with a blocking back releasing on a shallow angle route. The primary read progresses low to high: check the underneath in route first, climb to the curl sitting behind it, then look off to the deep cross or seam if the shallow defenders squeeze the window, making this a strong Cover 3 and Cover 4 beater with man coverage answers built in against off corners.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high safeties since Cover 3 leaves the curl to in stack wide open against a hard flowing linebacker. Watch the underneath linebackers immediately after the snap, if they bite on the play action fake the in route and curl will have huge throwing windows underneath. Track the deep cross defender across the field, a lurking safety or a zone drop from a Mike linebacker sitting in that window can bait a bad throw over the middle. Man coverage on the stacked receivers with no safety help is the biggest tell that the seam or deep cross will win, so jump the route with a user defender or bring safety help late to disguise the call. Watch for a nano blitz off the edge on the play action side, since the extra rusher can force an early throw before the hi lo stack has fully developed.
Usage Tips
Look for two high safeties pre-snap since the deep cross and seam combo stresses Cover 4 defenders who have to respect vertical shots while staying disciplined on the hi lo stack underneath.
Use the play action fake on early downs, second and short or first and ten, to freeze linebackers and open the shallow in route before the curl defender can sink into the throwing lane.
If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, hot route the deep cross into a quicker slant or work the seam route immediately since the natural rub from the stack creates instant separation.
Sequence this call after Mtn Y Cross or Falcon Cross so the defense starts keying deep crossing routes, then come back to Inside Hi Lo to attack the same coverage rules with an underneath answer.
Against zone blitz calls, get the ball out on the in route quickly since the play action drop can bring extra pressure off the edge and eliminate your top of progression read.
