Playbooks
Quick Reference
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Breakdown
PA Slot Corner out of Shotgun Trio (11 personnel) opens with a play-action fake to sell run action before the routes develop. The backside receiver runs a deep crossing route from the far side while the two inside receivers on the near side run a corner route stacked in front of a shallow drag underneath, and the outside receiver on the right side releases vertically before breaking into a corner route of his own. This is a play-action shot play built to attack zone leverage and single-high coverage, with the primary read starting on the right side corner route and working back to the deep crosser if the safety jumps the flat.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify single-high versus two-high safety shells since Cover 3 and Cover 1 open up both corner routes for easy separation against off coverage. Watch the flat defender and outside linebacker drop depth after the play-action fake, since a slow reaction to the corner route on the right side is your green light to throw. If the defense shows Cover 4 or Cover 2 with deep safeties sitting over the corner routes, work the deep crosser on the backside as your zone beater instead. Key the middle linebacker on the play-action fake: if he bites hard downhill on run action, the shallow drag underneath will be wide open before the second level defenders can recover. Beware disguised zone blitzes where the slot defender jumps the drag route, since this leaves the quarterback with limited time to progress to the deep corner routes.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs in run-heavy personnel to keep linebackers honest on the play-action fake before taking your shot downfield.
Check the safety alignment pre-snap: if you see two high safeties rotating down late, hot route the shallow drag into a hitch to give yourself a quick outlet.
Against man coverage, the deep crossing route from the backside is your best win since it creates natural rub traffic against trailing corners.
Pair this call with HB Off Tackle or Inside Zone earlier in a series so the play-action fake actually freezes second level defenders instead of getting blown up immediately.
Avoid calling this on 3rd and long since the deep developing routes take too long to clear underneath zone drops for a quick conversion.
