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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Sprint Smash is a classic smash concept run out of Shotgun Trio HB Wk with 11 personnel, built to attack Cover 2 shells. The diagram shows a deep corner route breaking outside from the boundary receiver, a short hitch or curl sitting underneath from the slot, and a check release or flare route out of the backfield to the near side, with the offensive line sliding to protect on a sprint style pocket flow. This is a man and zone beater since the corner stretches the flat defender vertically while the underneath route occupies the space that Cover 2 corners normally sit in, and the primary read progression starts with the deep corner route to see if the safety bites, then works down to the underneath hitch, and finally checks the backfield route as the outlet.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap identify if the corner is aligned outside leverage in a two high shell, since that tells you the smash concept is live and the corner route has a clean lane to the sideline. Watch the flat defender or corner at the snap, if he sinks under the hitch route the safety over the top will be isolated on the deep corner throw. Man coverage with the corner playing tight technique on the outside receiver signals you should hot route into a quicker breaking route rather than the corner. Check for a user controlled safety sitting in the deep quarter or half, if he stays home on the snap the window to the corner route shrinks and you should reset to the underneath hitch or backfield check down. Zone blitzes that bring extra pressure off the edge can disrupt the sprint pocket flow, so key linebacker depth and edge defender width to see if the sprint side is protected before committing to the deep read.
Usage Tips
Look for two high safeties pre-snap since this concept is purpose built to punish Cover 2 and Cover 4 shells that ask the corner to cover both underneath and deep. If you see man coverage with the corner pressed on the outside receiver, hot route the corner route into a slant or speed out to beat the trail technique. Use this on second and medium or third and short situations where the underneath hitch route can be an easy conversion throw if the safety rotates over the top. Pair this play call with Sprint Rub Flat or Sprint Spot in the same set so the defense sees similar sprint action and route stems, then hit them with the deep corner shot once they start jumping the underneath stuff. Roll the pocket away from a user blitzer if you see him walk down pre-snap since the sprint action naturally buys extra time on that side.
