Playbooks
RPO Walk Alert Slant is a run pass option out of Shotgun Wide Y Off Trips that pairs an inside handoff read with a slant flooded backside from the trips look. The quarterback keys the alert defender (usually the flowing linebacker or overhang) and pulls the ball to throw the slant if that defender crashes downhill on the run action, or hands it off if the second level stays honest. This is a zone and man beater depending on the leverage of the slot defender, and the primary read progression is run key first, then slant window, with the backside single receiver as a hot route checkdown if the numbers are wrong.
Watch the alert defender, usually a linebacker or slot corner, crash toward the line of scrimmage on the snap, that is your green light to pull and throw the slant immediately. If the defense shows a two high shell with the slot corner playing outside leverage, the slant window closes and you should trust the run fit instead. Cover 3 defenses that spin a safety down into the box post snap are vulnerable because the alert defender is often late reacting to both run and pass responsibilities at once. Man coverage with an underneath blitzer, such as a nano blitz off the edge, can beat this play if the quarterback holds the ball too long deciding between run and throw, so make the read fast. Watch for a user controlled linebacker sitting in the throwing lane of the slant, that is the biggest threat to this concept and forces you to either check to the backside hot route or trust the run instead.
Check the box count before the snap, if the defense has six or more in the box the alert read almost always wants the slant throw. Look at the slot cornerback depth on the trips side, if he is sitting inside at five yards or less that is a green light for the slant window against zone drops. Use the flick or hot route to convert the backside single receiver into a quick out or speed route against man coverage teams that like to bracket the trips side. Pair this play with HB Power G in your call sheet so the defense has to respect the same run action without knowing if the ball stays on the ground, this keeps linebackers honest and slows down their alert read trigger. Best used on second and short or first and ten when defenses are willing to sell out on the run fit, since a false alert key from the linebacker turns into an easy explosive slant throw.