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Breakdown
PA Deep Attack out of Shotgun Trio uses play action to hold the linebackers before releasing a four man route concept designed to stretch the field vertically. The backside X runs a deep corner/go route up the boundary while the inside slot climbs on a deep vertical seam, creating a two man high low read on that side. The playside TE runs an out breaking route to the flat area and the underneath receiver runs a shallow drag or flat route off the play fake, giving the quarterback a checkdown if the deep shots are covered. This is a play-action deep shot play built to punish zone shells and single high safety looks, with the primary read starting on the deep corner route, progressing to the deep seam, and finishing with the underneath drag as the checkdown.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth at the snap: if they bite hard on the play fake and drop late, the deep seam route will be wide open before the safety can rotate over. Key the boundary cornerback's leverage on the deep corner route; if he plays inside shade with no safety help over top, that route wins immediately against man coverage. Identify single high shells (Cover 1 or Cover 3) as the primary target for this concept since the seam and corner routes attack the seams of those coverages. Beware of Cover 4 or Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties splitting the field, since they can take away both the corner and seam routes and force you into the underdeveloped checkdown. Look for user controlled defenders sitting in the deep third or lurking the seam, since a smart user can rob the seam route and force a late, risky throw to the corner.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs or in shot play sequences when you have already established the run game so the play fake actually holds linebackers and the safety.
Check the pre-snap safety alignment: if you see two high safeties rotate to a single high shell post snap, hit the deep corner route on the boundary immediately since that usually means man coverage underneath.
If the defense shows single high pre-snap, trust the deep seam route to work up the middle behind the linebackers before the safety can get over top.
Use hot routes to convert the underneath drag into a quick out or spot route against teams that sit in shallow zone and try to jump your checkdown.
Pair this with Jet HB Off Tackle or Inside Zone earlier in a series so the defense respects the run fake, then come back to PA Deep Attack once you see linebackers stepping up aggressively on run keys.
