Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Cheat Wheel Post is a play-action shot play out of Singleback Bunch X Nasty that attacks the seam and deep middle with a three-level stretch. The bunch receiver runs a wheel route up the sideline, the inline TE fakes a shallow drag before breaking vertical on a post, and the outside receiver runs a shallow crossing route underneath to hold linebackers. Play-action freezes the front seven while the fullback or extra blocker stays in to protect, making this a man beater designed to isolate the wheel route on a linebacker or slow safety. Primary read progression goes wheel first for the big play, then post as the window opens over the middle, with the underneath cross as the checkdown against pressure.
Defensive Reads
Read the middle linebacker depth at the snap since a shallow drop or blitz trigger leaves the wheel route wide open against man coverage. Watch for a single high safety rotating late, which signals Cover 3 or Cover 1 and tells you the post route has a smaller window but the wheel can still win vertically. Identify user-controlled defenders sitting in the flat or lurking underneath, as they can jump the shallow cross and force you to speed up the wheel read. This play struggles against Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties since the wheel runs into help over the top, so check for two-high alignment pre-snap and be ready to check into a different concept. Zone blitzes that bring extra rushers off the edge can disrupt the play-action timing, so protect against nano blitzes by keeping the fullback in to chip before releasing.
Usage Tips
Use this play when the defense shows man coverage or a single high safety shell, since the wheel route out of bunch creates natural rub leverage against man defenders. Look pre-snap for a linebacker walked out over the bunch or a safety cheating toward the box, both indicate soft coverage on the wheel. If the corner sits low and squats on the flat, hot route the underneath crosser into a deeper dig to stress the intermediate zone instead. This play pairs well with PA Post Curl Shot and PA Boot Corner Post since all three sell the same play-action run fake but attack different levels, keeping linebackers guessing. Call it on early downs like first and ten or second and medium when defenses are more likely to sell out on run action, and save it for shot plays on second and long when you need a explosive gain.
