Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Counter HB Leak fakes the counter run action out of Singleback Bunch X Nasty before releasing the HB on a leak route out of the backfield to the flat, shown by the red arrow bending into the boundary. Off the play fake, the three receivers from the bunch stem vertically with the outside man breaking to a corner route up top, the middle receiver working a deep dig/curl, and the inside man sitting down as a shallow flare, while the backside X runs a vertical seam up the numbers. This is a play-action shot play built to beat man coverage by using the counter fake to hold linebackers, with the HB leak as the primary answer against blitzes and the vertical routes stressing the deep half against zone shells.
Defensive Reads
Key the linebacker flow immediately after the snap, since heavy flow to the counter side confirms the defense bit on the play fake and the HB leak or backside seam will be wide open. Watch the strong safety and slot corner from the bunch alignment, since aggressive man coverage on the bunch receivers leaves the leak route uncovered in the flat with no direct defender assigned. Identify single high versus two high safety shells pre-snap, since single high (Cover 1 or Cover 3) leaves the corner route isolated on a cornerback with no deep help over the top. Look for a user-controlled defender sitting the flat or spying the HB, since a disciplined user lurking underneath can jump the leak route and turn it into a turnover. Diagnose blitz packages off the edge, since a nano blitz or contain rusher crashing hard can beat the counter blocking scheme before the fake sells, forcing an immediate checkdown read to the leak.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs (1st and 10 or 2nd and short) when defenses are keying run action from Singleback personnel, since the counter fake sells hardest when the defense expects HB Zone Wk or PA Counter earlier in the drive. Check the HB leak first against any pressure look, since it clears the mesh point quickly and beats overload blitzes before the counter fake even fully sells. Pre-snap, look for safeties cheating into the box or linebackers stacked tight, which signals man coverage or run blitz and opens up the corner route and seam behind them. If the defense shows two deep safeties (Cover 2 or Cover 4 shell), progress off the leak to the seam route since the corner will be squeezed by the deep safety rotation. Pair this play with PA Counter and HB Zone Wk earlier in a series to condition the defense to bite on run action, then dial up PA Counter HB Leak once linebackers start flowing hard to the counter side. Hot route the flare/shallow receiver into a deeper crosser if you see zone defenders sitting underneath, since the shallow route can get clogged in Tampa 2 or Cover 3 sink looks.
