Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Spot Quads aligns four receivers to the strength (trips plus a flexed slot to that side) with a single receiver split away to run the deep clearout. Off the snap, the outside receiver runs a corner route up the sideline to hold the deep defender, the two inside quads receivers run a flat/hitch combo (the innermost man sits at the hitch depth while the next receiver curls just underneath), and the flexed slot runs the shallow drag/spot underneath from the numbers back to the middle of the field. The lone receiver on the backside runs a deep vertical to occupy the single high safety and clear space, while the offensive line and running back stay in to pass protect, making this a quick-hitting Cover 3 beater built around the spot concept with the flat-to-curl combo as the primary read.
Defensive Reads
Pre snap identify if the defense shows single high safety, that alignment is what this concept is designed to exploit with the spot combo underneath Watch the flat defender at the snap, if he stays wide he opens the curl window, if he sinks with the curl route the flat and drag are open Beware Cover 3 sky or buzz looks where a linebacker or safety rotates down late, this can jump the shallow drag route and bait a turnover Man coverage with press corners struggles against this concept because the underneath spot combo creates natural rub and separation, but a hard corner blitz off the edge can disrupt timing before the quarterback resets his eyes If the defense shows two high safeties pre snap, expect the corner route to be taken away, so prioritize the underneath flat and curl combination instead
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or third and short when you expect single high safety looks or Cover 3 zone drops from the defense
Key the flat defender first, if he sits on the shallow drag throw the curl behind him, if he widens with the flat route hit the drag underneath for an easy completion
Look to the corner route on the boundary side if the cornerback bites hard on the underneath spot combo, it is a built in man beater against aggressive press corners
Pair this with RPO Peek Slant or RPO Zone Peek Pop earlier in a series to get defenders keying underneath, then come back to Spot Quads to hit the corner route over the top
Works well on third and medium since the spot concept gives you three underneath options plus a vertical shot, giving the quarterback a full field high low read within two seconds
