Playbooks

Dash Flood

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Breakdown

Dash Flood is a horizontal stretch concept built off a quick dash action to one side, flooding three levels of the same zone with a flat route, an intermediate out or sail route, and a deep corner or go route stacked vertically. It is primarily a zone beater designed to overload a single defender in coverage by putting three receivers into his throwing lane at three different depths, though it holds up against man coverage if the flat defender bites on the underneath route. The primary read progression starts low to high: check the flat route first against off coverage or Cover 3, then work up to the intermediate breaking route, and go to the deep corner as a shot play if the safety rotates away from that side.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, look at the corner and flat defender depth on the flood side, since a corner playing seven or more yards off signals soft zone and an easy completion underneath. Post-snap, key the flat defender's first two steps, if he sinks with the corner route he is playing zone drops and the flat route is your throw. Watch for a user controlled linebacker sitting in the shallow flat, since a good user player will jump the underneath route and force you to layer the ball over him to the out breaker. Cover 2 with two deep safeties can take away the deep corner route, so if you see two high safeties before the snap, plan to work the underneath combination instead of forcing the shot. Blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the flood side often leave the flat defender isolated in man coverage, so be ready to get the ball out quickly if you see pressure showing pre-snap.

Usage Tips

Use this play on second and medium to third and long when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4.

Identify the flood side pre-snap and check if the corner is playing off, since that tells you whether the flat route or the deeper out will be open first.

If the defense shows a single high safety, expect the corner route to have a one on one shot against the flat defender's help, so be ready to climb the ladder quickly.

Hot route the backside receiver into a quick option or drag if you see man coverage across the board, giving yourself an outlet away from the flooded side.

Pair this with Flood or Mtn Mesh Rail earlier in a series so the defense starts keying underneath, then hit Dash Flood to attack the same landmarks with an extra vertical element off similar receiver splits.

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