Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Clearout Sideline Outs lines up in Shotgun Tight Y Off Wk with 11 personnel and clears out the left side with two vertical seam routes while the outside receiver on that side runs a deep flag away from the numbers to pull coverage even further off the boundary. The lone receiver to the right runs a quick out to the sideline, giving the quarterback an immediate high percentage throw against a cleared out flat zone. This is a man beater at its core, using the double clearout verticals on the left to occupy safeties and linebackers so the boundary out route on the right has a wide open throwing lane, with the primary read progression starting on the right side out route before working back to the seams if the corner sits on the flat.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender on the boundary side presnap, if a linebacker or slot corner is sitting shallow in the flat zone the out route throw will be contested and you should progress to the clearout verticals instead. Man coverage with no safety help over the top on the boundary side is the ideal shell for this play since the out route beats man leverage almost every time on the sideline. Two high safety shells with cornerback press on the outside receivers can bracket the vertical clearout routes and speed up the underneath defenders reaction to the out route, so expect a tighter window. Post snap key the flat or curl defender's first two steps, if he bails deep to help on the verticals the out route is uncontested, if he sits flat footed the throw needs extra velocity or a hitch in the quarterback's release. Zone blitzes that bring extra pressure off the boundary edge can collapse the pocket before the out route timing completes, so identify pre-snap blitz indicators like walked up corners or safeties creeping into the box.
Usage Tips
Presnap identify if the defense is showing single high or two high safeties, since single high shells leave more room for the two vertical clearout routes to stress the deep middle and open the boundary out even further.
Throw the out route on a quick timing based rhythm, this route wins fastest against man coverage when the corner does not get a jam at the line.
If the cornerback on the boundary side is playing off man or soft zone, hot route the out to a speed out or shorten the depth so you beat a cornerback breaking downhill before the throwing window closes.
Use this play on third and short to third and medium, the quick out to the sideline is designed to pick up a manageable chunk without needing the deep verticals to fully hit.
Pair this call with PA Fk Cheat Quick Out or PA Behind Fk Cheat Quick Out in the same set to keep the defense guessing between straight dropback and play action while running similar route concepts to the boundary.
