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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
HB Circle out of Shotgun Y Off Trio Wk is a five man flood concept built to overload one side of the field while still hitting a slant to the backside. The HB releases out of the backfield on a circle route to the flat, the inline TE runs a curl in the intermediate zone, and three receivers stack a slant, an out, and a deep go route on a vertical stretch that occupies every level of the defense from the flat to the deep third. This is a man beater designed to create natural rubs and picks against man coverage, and it also functions as a Cover 3 beater since the flood side overloads the cornerback and outside linebacker with three routes at three different depths. The primary read starts with the go route to see if the corner bites, works down to the out and curl combo against zone drops, and finishes with the HB circle route as the checkdown against a hard blitz.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check corner alignment on the flood side, since a corner playing off coverage with outside leverage signals soft Cover 3 or Cover 4 that the out route can exploit. Watch the strong side safety depth before the snap, if he is rotated deep and outside it usually means Cover 3 or Cover 4, which favors the out and curl reads over the go route. Post-snap, track the flat defender or user controlled linebacker, since he has to choose between the HB circle route and the underneath slant, creating a natural conflict read for the quarterback. If the defense shows Cover 1 or Cover 0 with a blitz, get the ball out quickly on the slant or circle route before the extra rusher closes the pocket. This play struggles against Cover 2 with strong safety help over the top on the flood side, since the go route gets taken away and the underneath defenders can squeeze the out and curl combo.
Usage Tips
Use HB Circle on third and medium to third and long when you need a flood concept that stresses one side of the field vertically and horizontally.
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing single high safety look, since the go route on the flood side can win one on one against Cover 3 and Cover 1 shells.
If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, hot route the deep go into a fade or bump the slant into a shallow drag to speed up the man beater window.
Against zone heavy defenses, work the out and curl combo since those routes settle into the soft spots vacated by underneath zone defenders.
Pair this play with Curls Combo or Slants from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick game throws and the deeper flood shot, since both plays share similar formation looks and route stems.
