Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 12 playbooks
Breakdown
Dagger X Out is a full-field pass concept out of Shotgun Y Off Trio Wk that stretches the defense vertically and horizontally with three distinct route levels. To the trips side, the inside slot runs a deep vertical clear-out route up the seam while the outside receiver breaks off an out route at the sticks, and from the backside the isolated X receiver runs a deep dig that crosses the field over the middle. The blocking is a standard 5-man protection with the RB and TE staying in to help, making this a dropback pass designed to attack both man and zone coverage by combining a clear-out vertical with an in-breaking dig and an out route to flood one side of the field. Primary read starts with the deep dig coming across the middle, then works to the out route at the boundary if the dig is taken away.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and leverage since a single-high safety will struggle to help both the vertical clear-out and the deep dig crossing the field. Watch the flat defender and curl-flat zone defender on the trips side, since a hard squat on the out route signals zone coverage and tells you to reset to the dig read. If a linebacker is spying or walking up into the passing lane where the dig crosses, that is a lurk threat that can jump the route, so be ready to check down or move to the out route. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the vertical clear-out occupying the deep defender long enough for the dig to separate against man leverage. Disguised Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells that roll a safety down late can take away the out route, so key post-snap safety rotation to decide between the dig and the boundary out.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two-high or single-high safety help, since the deep dig route needs the middle of the field to be open or a hole between zone defenders to sit in.
If you see Cover 3 or Cover 1 with a deep middle defender, key on the vertical seam clearing out the safety before working your eyes to the dig.
Against Cover 2 shells, the out route at the sticks becomes your quick answer since it settles into the void before the corner can squeeze it and the safety is occupied by the vertical clear-out.
Use this play on early downs or medium-to-long yardage situations where you have time to let the dig develop, since it takes a full three-step read progression to fully open up.
Pair this with quicker hitters like Stick or Quick Short Post earlier in a series to bait linebackers into sitting shallow, then come back to Dagger X Out to hit the dig over the top once they start jumping underneath routes.
