Playbooks
Breakdown
Slot Stick runs out of Shotgun Tight 11 personnel with both outside receivers pushing deep drag routes across the entire width of the field, clearing out underneath zones and dragging linebackers or off corners with them. The two inside receivers (slot and tight end) run vertical stick routes straight up the seams, settling in behind the linebacker level and in front of the safeties as the built in man beaters and zone sit routes. This is a pure dropback pass concept with no play-action or RPO element shown, and the primary read progression starts with the two inside vertical stick routes for a quick rhythm throw before working out to the deep crossing routes if the middle of the field is clogged.
Defensive Reads
Watch cornerback depth pre-snap, since press man alignment on the outside receivers signals the deep drags will take longer to develop and the quarterback should live on the inside stick routes. Key linebacker depth at the snap, if they sink hard into the middle of the field to wall off the stick routes, that opens throwing lanes for the crossing drags working underneath them. Identify any user controlled defender lurking in the shallow middle zone, since that defender can jump both stick routes and bait a turnover if the quarterback stares down the inside reads too long. Recognize Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells, since the deep drags are designed to exploit the seams vacated by drop zone defenders, making this a strong zone beater against those shells. Look for blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge, since the stick concept relies on quick timing and a hard edge blitz can collapse the pocket before the verticals settle into their windows.
Usage Tips
Use the two inside stick routes as your first read against man coverage since they create natural rub potential off the formation and get vertical fast before defenders can recover.
If you see a two high safety shell pre-snap with linebackers sitting shallow, check the deep crossers early since the drag routes will run away from zone drop defenders and create YAC opportunities against soft zone.
Hot route the backside stick to a flat route or option route if you diagnose a hard blitz look, since the built in verticals need time to develop against pressure.
Pair Slot Stick with Bench or WR Hooks in your play calling sequence so the offense threatens both underneath sit routes and deep crossing action from the same personnel and formation look, keeping the defense guessing on route depth.
Use this on early down and medium to long yardage situations where the defense may sit in zone, since the sticks give you a safe rhythm throw and the crossers punish overaggressive linebacker drops.
