Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Curls out of Shotgun Tight Y Off Wk (11 personnel) sends both outside receivers vertical before breaking down into curls at roughly 12 to 14 yards, giving the QB two high-percentage sit routes to work on either side of the field. The TE runs a quick out breaking underneath, while the backside receiver runs a corner route from the slot area and the HB releases out of the backfield on a wheel route up the sideline for a home run shot if the defense sells out on the shorter stuff. The primary read starts with the two curl routes working from the field to the boundary, then progresses to the HB wheel as a big play checkdown if a linebacker or safety bites on the intermediate routes, making this a zone beater designed to sit in soft spots against Cover 2 and Cover 3.
Defensive Reads
Read the two curl routes first, since they are the built in answer against soft zone coverage and Tampa 2 shells where linebackers drop underneath but leave a window at the sticks. Check the flat defender or underneath zone defender assigned to the TE out route, since a squatting linebacker or nickel defender can jump this route for a user pick six if the QB stares it down. Watch the backside corner route from the slot, since a single high safety rotating late can be a sign of Cover 1 or Cover 3, which opens a window on that corner route against a trailing linebacker. Key the HB release out of the backfield, since a spy linebacker or blitzing defender who stays home on the HB shuts down the wheel route as a big play option. Diagnose two deep safeties before the snap, since Cover 2 shells invite the curl routes to sit in the softer intermediate zone, while a single high safety alignment should shift your eyes to the corner and wheel routes instead.
Usage Tips
Use this on second or third and medium when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells like Cover 2 or Cover 3.
Pre-snap, identify if the corners are playing off coverage, since that cushion is exactly what the curl routes are designed to exploit for easy completions in front of the sticks.
Hot route the TE out route into a quick flat or speed out if you diagnose Cover 3 sky with a flat defender sitting underneath, since the natural TE route can get clogged by an underneath zone defender.
Watch the HB wheel route closely against man coverage, since a linebacker in man on the HB has almost no chance of staying with him vertically, making this your man beater answer.
Pair this play with Smash Drag or Smash X-drag in the same set to keep defenses honest, since both concepts attack similar zones but create different high-low reads that force linebackers to hesitate on their drops.
