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Breakdown
Levels Y Sail lines up out of Shotgun U Off Trips Flex with 12 personnel and shows a two level stretch concept to the trips side paired with a sail route from the inline tight end. The trips receivers run a levels combo: the outside receiver pushes vertical then breaks into a deep out, the middle receiver runs a square in behind him, and the innermost slot runs a short flat route underneath, stacking three horizontal read levels for the quarterback. The lone receiver away from trips runs a corner route (shown in red) as a hi low complement, giving this play a clear zone beater identity with man beater traits on the deep out and corner against tight man coverage. Primary read progression starts with the deep sail out breaking to the sideline, works down to the square in underneath it, and finishes with the flat route or backside corner as checkdown and hi low options.
Defensive Reads
Pre snap, check safety depth and corner alignment on the trips side, since two deep safeties with soft corners signal Cover 2 and invite the deep out throw, while a single high safety with corners playing outside leverage signals Cover 3 and favors the square in. Post snap, key the flat defender's drop, if he sinks too deep the square in will be wide open behind him, if he stays shallow the deep out is live over his head. Watch for a user controlled defender lurking in the shallow middle zone, since that player can jump the square in route and bait a turnover if the quarterback does not go through the full progression. Man coverage with no safety help over the top is vulnerable to the deep out and corner route combo, so look for blitz packages that leave a linebacker or corner isolated on those routes. Heavy blitz looks with man coverage behind them can shut this down quickly since the deep routes take time to develop, so check for extra rushers off the edge before committing to the full progression.
Usage Tips
Pre snap, identify whether the defense is showing two high shells or single high, since this concept was built to stress Cover 2 and Cover 3 corners who have to defend both the deep out and the square in on the same side. Against Cover 2, target the deep sail out route sitting on top of the flat defender before the safety can rotate over the top. Against Cover 3, hit the square in behind the underneath zone defender while the deep out occupies the boundary corner. Use hot routes to convert the backside corner route into a quicker comeback if you are getting a hard blitz look, since that route takes time to develop and can be a liability on third and short. Pair this play with Flood Y-Dig or Dagger H-Choice in the same set so the defense has to respect both intermediate crossing routes and vertical stretches, keeping linebackers honest and opening up the levels concept later in a series.
