Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Smash Y-Shake aligns out of Shotgun U Off Trips Flex with 12 personnel, showing a two man route concept to the boundary and a shake combo to the trips side. The backside X runs a deep corner route while the TE underneath him runs a quick flat, forming the classic Smash concept to attack Cover 2 with high low leverage on the corner. To the trips side the Y runs a vertical seam that breaks into a deep post while the outside receiver runs an in route back across the field, creating the shake action that settles in soft zones or breaks away from man coverage. Primary read progression starts with the deep corner and flat smash combo against two deep safety shells, then moves to the Y-shake seam post if the corner rotates away, with the underneath in route as the checkdown against zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Look for two deep safeties splitting the field evenly before the snap, which signals Cover 2 and tells you the smash combo corner route is live. If the corner cheats up to jump the flat route, throw the corner behind him immediately for an explosive gain. Watch the underneath linebackers and nickel defender on the trips side, since if they widen with the in route it opens a throwing lane for the Y shake post behind them. Man coverage without safety help is vulnerable to the Y post breaking across the field, so key on the corner or safety leverage on the Y at the snap. Blitz packages with a lurking linebacker in the shake area can undercut the in route, so if you see a linebacker sitting in that throwing lane, reset to the corner flat side instead.
Usage Tips
Check for two deep safeties pre snap since this concept is built specifically to attack Cover 2 with the smash combo on the boundary. If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, prioritize the Y shake post since it creates natural separation off the break against trailing defenders. Use motion or a hot route on the flat TE to hold underneath defenders and open passing lanes for the corner route. This play works well on second and medium to long situations where you need a chunk gain, since the corner and post both threaten explosive yardage. Pair this call with Flood Y-Dig or Levels Y Sail in the same set to keep defenses guessing between smash concepts and levels concepts, forcing linebackers and safeties to hesitate on their run fits and coverage drops.
