Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA End Around out of Singleback Bunch Ace shows a play action shot off a jet motion fake, with the bunch releasing into a deep vertical clear out, a corner route breaking outside from the numbers, a deep crossing dig from the far side, and a check down option settling underneath near the flat. The backfield fake sells the end around handoff before the QB pulls it to work through his levels read from deep to short. This is a play action shot play designed to punish aggressive run fits and man coverage that bites on the jet sweep action, with the primary progression starting on the vertical clear out to hold the safety, then the corner and dig combo attacking the space vacated underneath, and finishing on the check down against a hard blitz.
Defensive Reads
Man coverage defenders who bite hard on the jet motion and run fake will lose ground on the vertical clear out route, making this a strong man beater against Cover 1 and Cover 3 man variations. Cover 3 zone defenders with shallow linebacker drops struggle to cover the crossing dig route since the underneath zone gets stretched horizontally by the corner route breaking to the boundary. If the defense shows Cover 2 or Cover 4 with two deep safeties staying high and not biting on the run fake, the vertical clear out route will get blanketed and the offense should rely on the shorter dig and check down instead. Watch for a linebacker or slot defender sitting in a lurk spot underneath the crossing route, a user controlled defender jumping the dig route can bait the QB into a costly turnover. Fast inside blitzes from the defensive line or overloaded pressure packages can beat the play action fake before routes develop, so identify blitz timing pre-snap by reading linebacker depth and defensive line alignment.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs like first or second and short when defenses expect the run based on personnel and formation tendencies.
Watch pre-snap safety alignment, if you see two high safeties rotate down toward the box or if a linebacker cheats toward the line, that is a sign the play action fake will hold defenders long enough for the crossing routes to open.
Use the vertical clear out route to occupy the deep safety, then key the underneath defenders to decide between the corner route and the dig depending on which zone opens up.
Sequence this play after running actual HB Slash or Inside Zone Split from the same set earlier in the drive so the defense respects the run fake and commits to stopping the end around action.
If the defense shows heavy blitz pre-snap, hot route the check down receiver to a quick option route or bubble to give the QB a fast answer against pressure.
