Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Ohio Spacing lines up out of Shotgun Wing Tight Flip with 13 personnel and spreads five receiving options into a classic spacing concept designed to attack zone coverage. The backside X runs a deep vertical clear-out while the in-line tight end fires a shallow drag across the field going away from the flip side, stretching the middle linebacker horizontally. On the strong side the play stacks a quick out at the sideline, a hitch/curl sitting just past the line, and a flat/wheel underneath that climbs up the sideline after selling flat, creating a high low triangle read against zone drops. This is a zone beater built to exploit soft spots in Cover 3 and Cover 4, with the primary read progression starting on the underneath flat/wheel combo before working up to the curl and out, and the deep clear-out route only in play if the defense rolls a single high shell and leaves the corner on an island.
Defensive Reads
Key the middle linebacker at the snap: if he sinks into a deep zone drop instead of chasing the shallow drag, that confirms Cover 3 and tells the user defender to stay disciplined on the drag rather than biting. Watch the flat defender's depth and leverage, since Ohio Spacing is built to put him in conflict between the flat/wheel route and the underneath out, so a user controlled defender must choose one and live with the other being open. Against Cover 4, the corner on the flat/wheel side is the primary threat to jump the route early, so a smart defender should sit and read the quarterback's eyes rather than committing to the flat or the vertical wheel too soon. Man coverage with no help over the top is the counter to this play since the spacing windows disappear and the backside deep route becomes a real vertical threat, so disguising man look presnap and rolling a robber into the shallow drag lane can bait the quarterback into a bad read. Beware sending an overload blitz to the strong side, since the tight end's shallow drag crosses the formation and can pick up a free rusher if the play design allows him to work through the box unblocked.
Usage Tips
Presnap, identify whether the defense is showing two high safeties or one high, since this concept lives on beating Cover 3 and Cover 4 zone drops rather than man coverage. If the corner over the flat/wheel route bails deep at the snap, that is your tell the defense is in zone and the spacing window underneath will be soft. Use the shallow drag from the tight end as a built in answer versus zone blitzes since it clears the middle fast and gives the quarterback a quick outlet before pressure arrives. Hot route the backside deep clear-out into a slant or hitch on third and short to turn this into a quicker, higher percentage throw when you do not need to test a single high safety. Pair this call with Read Option or QB Zone from the same set to keep the defense honest on run fits, then come back to Ohio Spacing once the linebackers start cheating up in run support, opening the curl and out lanes even wider.
