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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Return PA Corner Strike is a play-action shot play out of Shotgun Y Off Trips that hits the field in a two-man vertical stretch. Off the play fake, the outside receiver runs a deep corner route while the tight end (or motion man) releases from the backfield area on a skinny post/strike route up the seam, and the checkdown option runs a shallow drag underneath across the formation. This is a man beater designed to attack single-high and man coverage by clearing the underneath zone with the drag while stacking the corner and strike routes to overload one half of the field, with the primary read progression going corner route first, then strike route to the seam, and the drag as the checkdown against a hard pass rush.
Defensive Reads
Key the free safety pre-snap, since a single-high alignment tells you the corner route has a clean lane against Cover 1 or Cover 3 Watch the cornerback over the outside receiver at the snap, if he bails deep immediately it signals zone coverage and you should progress to the strike route Identify user-controlled defenders lurking underneath, since a rover or spy sitting in the throwing lane can jump the strike route or drag if the quarterback holds the ball too long Diagnose linebacker depth after the play fake, if the linebackers bite hard on the run action it opens up the strike route in the vacated middle of the field Recognize two-high safety shells pre-snap, since Cover 2 and Cover 4 force the corner route into a tighter window and require a well-timed throw before the safety can rotate over
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is playing man or zone, since a defender following the motion man confirms man coverage and tells you the corner and strike combo will have room to work
Call this on early downs or in play-action friendly situations like second and short, since the run fake needs a threat of run to hold the linebackers and safety
Look for single-high safety shells before the snap, since Return PA Corner Strike is built to expose Cover 1 and Cover 3 with the corner route clearing out the deep third
If the corner route is covered, work the strike route to the seam as your second read against Cover 2 or Cover 4 where the safety has to widen for the corner
Pair this play with Return Curls or Return RPO Alert Flat in the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick game and shot plays off similar formation and motion looks
