Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Ace TE Drag lines up in Singleback 12 personnel with both outside receivers running vertical seams to occupy the deep safeties. The inside slot runs a drag route crossing the field underneath while the other TE releases outside then breaks upfield, and the shallow drag route crosses the formation as the primary underneath option against man and zone coverage alike. Blocking is a standard five man protection up front with the RB checking release, making this a quick pass play built to attack the middle of the field on the drag as the first read before working to the vertical seams.
Defensive Reads
Identify if the defense is in man or zone before the snap by watching linebacker depth, shallow linebackers often signal man coverage responsibilities on the drag. Post snap, find the user controlled defender since a smart user will sit in the shallow zone to jump the drag route, if so progress immediately to the vertical seam reads. Watch for a Mike linebacker blitz off the edge or up the middle, since the drag can be affected by interior pressure if the protection breaks down. Cover 3 zone drops can clog the drag lane with an underneath defender sitting in the curl to flat zone, so be ready to climb the ladder to the seam route on that look. Against Cover 2, the drag route sits in the natural void between the underneath zone and the deep half safeties, making this an ideal beater when you see two deep safeties pre-snap.
Usage Tips
Use this out of Singleback Ace on second and medium to third and short so the drag route has room to work against soft zone drops.
Read the middle linebacker pre-snap, if he is sitting in a hook zone the drag will have to be timed to sit down in the window behind him.
Motion the TE or check the drag route's release if you see man coverage from a linebacker, since the drag creates natural leverage and separation against man defenders.
Pair this play with Y Shallow Cross or Inside Cross in your call sheet so the defense cannot key on the drag concept alone.
If the safeties show two high shell pre-snap, trust the seam routes to hold the deep defenders and hit the drag in stride for extra yards after the catch.
