Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
Deuce Close Tilt is the 21 personnel gadget branch of Singleback, and it plays nothing like the standard Deuce or Deuce Slot looks. You get two tight ends (or a TE and an H-back depending on your depth chart) aligned tight to the formation with a fullback type body offset, one receiver split wide, and a single back behind center. The "Tilt" part matters: the inside tight end is angled toward the backfield, which shortens his release path on flat routes, jet motion, and arc blocks. The defense sees heavy personnel in a one back shell, which almost always pulls base or big nickel onto the field instead of dime, and that is the entire point of the set.
The Gadget tag shows up in the play art. Mtn Jet Sweep, Mtn Zone Fake Jet, Mtn PA Jet Sweep, and Mtn HB Misdirection Lt all run off the same pre-snap window dressing, so you can hand the jet, fake the jet and hit zone, or fake both and boot. Once your opponent starts flowing linebackers with the motion man, PA Boot Slide, PA Sprint HB Flat, and Mtn PA Flood attack the vacated flat and intermediate hook zones with the quarterback moving off the launch point. That mobility solves the biggest problem with heavy sets, which is getting your quarterback stuck in a muddy pocket against interior pressure.
Matchup wise, the single split receiver is isolated on an island, which is exactly what you want against man coverage. Spacing Switch, Stick, and Bench give you three distinct ways to work the boundary while the tight ends occupy second level defenders in the box. If the defense walks a safety down to handle the run threat from Mtn Zone Toss, HB Stretch, and Mtn Zone Split, you are now throwing PA Deep Read against single high with a linebacker chasing a tight end up the seam. That is the leverage this set is built to create.
Strengths
- Jet motion package (Mtn Jet Sweep, Mtn Zone Fake Jet, Mtn PA Jet Sweep) forces linebackers to declare pre-snap, and you can read the flow before the snap to choose run or pass
- Heavy personnel baits base and big nickel onto the field, giving your isolated X receiver a linebacker or third corner matchup on Bench and Stick
- Deep run tree out of one look: HB Dive, HB Stretch, HB Zone Wk, Mtn Zone Toss, and Mtn Zone Split all hit different gaps from identical alignment, so film study gives your opponent almost nothing
- Play action rollouts (PA Boot Slide, PA Sprint HB Flat, Mtn PA Flood) move the launch point away from interior pressure and turn zone defenders into conflict defenders
- Spacing Switch and Mtn Crossers HB Choice are clean man beaters, with the switch release creating natural traffic against press man and the HB Choice option route sitting down against zone
Weaknesses
- Only one receiver split wide means limited horizontal stretch against Cover 3 Match and Cover 6, and you cannot flood a boundary with three receivers
- Tight end and fullback bodies lose badly to a user-controlled linebacker or safety, so a good user sitting on the seam kills PA Deep Read
- Heavy pass sets are slow developing, and A gap pressure or a nano out of Bear fronts gets home before Mtn PA Flood or PA Deep Read can clear
- The set is run tendency heavy, so opponents will load the box and play single high, taking away your quick game and daring you to throw outside the numbers
- Jet motion tips your hand if you overuse it, and a smart defender will simply spike the jet man or user the flat every time you send motion
Usage Tips
Use Mtn Jet Sweep and Mtn Zone Fake Jet early to establish the motion, then punish the over pursuit with Mtn HB Misdirection Lt and Mtn PA Misdirection in the same series
On second and medium against a two high shell, go to HB Stretch or Mtn Zone Toss, since light boxes cannot handle a lead blocker and a zone read stretch from heavy personnel
Against single high man, hot route the isolated X to a slant or dig and let the tight ends clear the middle, or run Bench and throw the corner route over the top of trail technique
Check pre-snap for a walked down safety or an overloaded edge, and audible from PA Deep Read to PA Sprint HB Flat so your quarterback escapes the pressure side
In the red zone, Stick and Spacing Switch give you quick answers against man, and you can hot route the fullback to a flat or angle route to attack the linebacker vacating on the stick concept
