Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Double Hitch out of Singleback Ace 12 personnel sends both outside receivers vertical before snapping their routes back to hitches at roughly ten yards, giving the quarterback two quick horizontal stretch throws on the perimeter. The inline TE runs a short hitch or curl over the middle to occupy underneath zone defenders and give a checkdown option, while the backside TE releases on a deep corner route to stress the defense vertically. This is a zone beater that attacks the soft spots underneath cover 3 and cover 4 shells, with the primary read progression going backside corner route first for the big play, then working to either outside hitch based on which cornerback sits off in zone coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch for cornerbacks playing off coverage at snap, that alignment is the biggest tell that the hitch will be open immediately Key the single high safety rotation after the snap, if he bites on the underdneath hitches the backside corner route will win over the top Look for user controlled defenders sitting in the shallow hook zones, they can jump the inline TE hitch route and create a turnover opportunity if the quarterback stares it down Man coverage with no safety help over the top of the corner route is the biggest vulnerability of this concept, since it removes the zone defender who normally has to respect both hitch and corner Aggressive underneath zone blitzes can be an issue since they clog the throwing lanes to the hitches, forcing the quarterback to hold the ball and climb to the corner route as the only clean answer
Usage Tips
Presnap identify if the corners are playing off man or zone, since the hitches sit down right in front of soft corners and give an easy completion against off coverage looks
Check the middle of the field presnap, if you see a single high safety rotate to the deep corner route on the backside since that safety will have to choose between the corner and any intermediate crossers
Use the inline TE hitch as your checkdown against pressure or when the corners are playing tight man, it settles quickly and gives you a safety valve versus the blitz
This play works best on second and medium or third and short to medium since the hitch depth matches common conversion distances
Pair this with PA Post Dig or PA Post Cross Shot from the same formation to keep the defense honest, once they start jumping the hitches you can hit the play action shots off the same presnap picture
