Playbooks
Breakdown
PA Deep Read out of Singleback Deuce Close 12 personnel shows a play-action shot play with two vertical routes stacking the seams and two outlet options underneath. Both tight ends push straight up the seams from inline alignment while the wide receivers to each side run outs off the play fake, giving the quarterback a true deep read on either hash. The backfield fake holds linebackers and gives the offensive line time to sell run action before the quarterback works the seam-to-out combination high to low. This is a zone beater built to attack the middle of the field voids created by two-high or single-high safety rotation, with the primary read starting on the seam route to the play call side and progressing to the corresponding out route underneath if the safety squeezes the top of the route.
Defensive Reads
Key the safeties before the snap, if they are shallow at 8 to 10 yards they are more likely to jump the seam routes and open up the underneath outs. Watch for a single-high safety rotating late, this signals man coverage underneath and the seam routes become the primary man beater against linebackers in coverage. Identify Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells since the seam routes are designed to split the deep zones between the safety and the cornerback, forcing a hard choice on the defender. Post-snap, track any user-controlled linebacker or safety sitting in the middle of the field as a lurk threat, since they can undercut the seam routes if the quarterback holds the ball too long. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if they bite hard on the play fake it confirms run support is compromised and the seam windows will open faster against zone drops.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs when you have established the run game out of Deuce Close so the play fake actually holds linebackers and freezes second level defenders.
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing two-high shell or single-high, since this play is designed to split the safeties and attack the seam if they cheat toward the flats.
If you see man coverage with no help over the top, hot route one of the seam runners into a corner route to create natural separation against trail technique.
Pair this call with PA Boot Corner Post and PA Deep Cross from the same set so defenses cannot sit on the seam reads once they start keying the play fake.
Use motion or check the flat routes into flat if the defense shows blitz pressure, giving the quarterback a quick alert away from the deep read against zero blitz looks.
