Playbooks
Breakdown
Four Verticals out of Shotgun Trey Open sends all four eligible receivers vertical to stretch the field horizontally and vertically at once. The two outside receivers to the trips side and the backside single receiver push straight up the seams and sidelines, while the TE releases up the field and breaks his route back toward the quarterback on a deep dig or comeback to sit in the middle void. The RB stays in to protect, giving the QB a clean pocket to read the four verts from outside in. This is a classic Cover 2 and Cover 3 beater, designed to attack the deep middle void and overload the safeties before working back to the shorter in-cut from the TE.
Defensive Reads
Read the safety alignment before the snap, since two deep safeties signals Cover 2 or Cover 4 while a single high safety signals Cover 1 or Cover 3. Watch the corners at the snap, if they play with outside leverage and no help over the top the seams will open quickly against man coverage. Key the middle linebacker or deep third defender after the snap, if he sits flat footed or bites on the TE breaking route the seam behind him is wide open. This play struggles against a well disguised Cover 4 with quarters defenders sinking deep, since four defenders can match four verticals and take away every deep shot. Beware of user controlled lurk defenders sitting in the intermediate middle, since a heads up user can jump the TE's in cut route and turn it into a pick six if the QB stares him down too long.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify two high versus one high safety look before the snap since this concept is built to punish both shells differently.
Against Cover 2, throw the seams before the safeties can rotate over the top, targeting the window between the corner and safety.
Against Cover 3, work the middle read first since the deep third defender in the middle of the field has to cover two verticals by himself.
Use the TE dig or comeback as your checkdown against a hard two high shell when the outside verts are covered, since he sits underneath the deep safeties.
Pair this play with Curls or Y Stick HB Angle earlier in a drive to bait linebackers and safeties into sitting shallow, then hit Four Verticals once you see them creeping up.
