Playbooks

PA Flood Shot

Shotgun·Tight Slots·11

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 2 playbooks

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Breakdown

PA Flood Shot is a play-action shot play out of Shotgun Tight Slots that stacks three receivers into a vertical flood on one side of the field, pairing a deep shot route with an intermediate out and a shallow flat option to hold the corner and safety. The play-action fake off the shotgun handoff freezes linebackers and second level defenders, opening throwing lanes for the deep shot while the flood underneath punishes zone drops. This is primarily a man beater against single high looks and a zone beater versus cover 3, with the primary read progression starting on the deep shot route, working down to the intermediate out, and checking down to the flat if the shot window is not there.

Defensive Reads

Check safety alignment before the snap, a single high safety tips man coverage or cover 3 and tells you the deep shot has a favorable one on one matchup down the field Two high safety shells signal cover 2 or cover 4, which means you should be ready to work the intermediate out and flat routes instead of forcing the deep shot into a bracket Watch linebacker depth at the snap, shallow linebackers biting hard on the play-action fake open up easy throwing lanes on the intermediate route and flood underneath Beware user controlled safeties sitting in a deep third or playing lurk technique, since they can undercut the deep shot route if you telegraph the throw too early This play struggles against disguised zone blitzes where the defense drops extra defenders into the flood zones after showing pressure, so respect A gap or edge pressure indicators pre-snap and be ready to check down quickly

Usage Tips

Use this on early downs or in shot play sequences when you have already established the run game with Inside Zone or HB Sweep to keep linebackers honest on the play-action fake

Look for single high safety shells pre-snap since the deep shot route wins one on one against a lone deep defender and struggles more against two high shells that can double the vertical

Hot route the underneath flat man into a quick out or drag if you see man coverage with a linebacker matched up, since that mismatch is an easy conversion throw

Pair this play in your call sheet with PA Seam and PA Shot Post from the same set so defenses cannot key on one specific shot concept out of Tight Slots

Take the shot route on time in your drop, do not wait to fully clear your play-action fake animation or you will miss the window against disciplined pass rush lanes

Best called on second and medium or third and long when the defense expects a quicker passing concept, since the vertical shot catches aggressive zone defenders jumping short routes

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