Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Packers Smash is a classic Cover 2 beater run out of the Shotgun Y Trips Wk formation with 11 personnel. To the trips side, the outside receiver runs a deep corner route while the two inside receivers run a flat route and a short hitch/curl underneath, creating a high low smash concept that stretches the flat defender and the deep half safety vertically. On the backside, the isolated receiver runs a deep comeback breaking back toward the sideline while the running back releases into a shallow flat route underneath as a checkdown or blitz beater. The primary read progression starts with the trips side corner route against the safety, works down to the flat defender versus the underneath flat route, and comes back to the backside comeback if the defense rolls coverage away from the trips concept.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify two deep safeties split evenly across the field, which signals Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells that this play is designed to exploit with the corner route over the flat defender. Key the flat defender on the trips side after the snap, since a defender who sinks too deep opens the underneath flat route, while a defender who jumps the flat opens the corner route behind him. Watch for a single high safety rotating over the top pre-snap or at the snap, which usually indicates Cover 1 or Cover 3 and shuts down the deep corner route, making the backside comeback and running back flat route your best options. User controlled defenders sitting in a deep half or playing a lurk technique near the trips side numbers can undercut the corner route, so be ready to check down quickly if you see a defender sitting unusually deep before the snap. Man coverage with press alignment on the backside isolated receiver signals a strong disguise against the comeback route, so expect the quarterback's eyes to shift immediately to the trips side high low read.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two deep safeties, since Packers Smash is built specifically to attack Cover 2 by putting the flat defender in conflict between the underneath route and the deep corner route.
If the safety on the trips side jumps the corner route immediately, hot route the flat defender's man into a quick out or check down to the running back's flat route for an easy underneart completion.
Use this play on second and medium or third and short to medium situations where defenses often sit in zone shells, since the high low read on the trips side is designed to convert quickly against soft zone drops.
Pair Packers Smash with Packer Slants or Packer Unders in your play calling sequence, since those quick game concepts punish the same Cover 2 look with different timing and can set up defenders to bite on the underneath routes before you hit the corner route over the top.
Against man coverage, look to the backside comeback route immediately off the snap, since it is designed to create separation against press or off man corners who are playing standard depth.
