Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Sail is the classic three-level flood concept run to the field side out of Shotgun Tight Slot Flip with 11 personnel. The outside receiver runs a deep corner route stretching the sideline vertically, the TE/slot runs a sail route breaking to the flat at an intermediate depth, and the backside receiver runs a deep in route crossing the field to occupy the middle of the field. To the weak side, the remaining receiver runs a comeback breaking back toward the sideline to hold the corner and flat defenders on that side. Primary progression is corner to sail to the crossing dig, working high to low on the flood side to attack any single defender forced to cover two levels.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify whether the corner to the flood side is aligned deep (Cover 3) or squatting at a shallow depth expecting help over the top (Cover 2). Watch the flat defender's depth at the snap. If he sinks under the sail route immediately, that signals zone coverage and you should hit the corner route behind him. Key the deep safety rotation after the snap. A single high safety rotating late to the flood side indicates Cover 3 sinking, which opens a window for the corner route before the safety fully rotates over. Man coverage with a linebacker matched on the TE running the sail route is a favorable matchup since most linebackers cannot sustain with the route's outside break. A hard blitz look with the slot corner crashing pre-snap should trigger a check to the backside comeback or a quick game adjustment since the flood side routes take time to develop.
Usage Tips
Use Sail against Cover 2 and Cover 3 shells since the flood on the strong side forces the flat defender and deep corner defender to choose between the sail route and the corner route.
Check the safety alignment pre-snap. If you see two high safeties with the corner cheating outside, expect Cover 2 and prioritize the sail route to the flat since the corner route will be capped over the top.
If the corner is playing off with a deep third look, that is Cover 3. Take the corner route over the top since the flat defender cannot cover both the sail route and the deep corner.
Hot route the backside comeback into a slant or drag if you are facing man coverage to create a quick underneath option and protect against a blitz look.
Pair Sail with PA Read or Mtn Z Choice in your play-calling sequence. Both plays use similar route stems early, so defenders keying run action will bite and open up the flood concept on the backside.
