Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Motion Flood runs a three level flood concept to the play side out of Singleback Deuce Close 12 personnel. Pre-snap motion brings a receiver across the formation before the play action fake, then the offense floods one side of the field with a deep corner/vertical route, an intermediate out breaking route sitting at the sticks, and a shallow flat route from the backfield leaking outside. This is a classic Cover 3 beater built to stress the flat defender and deep third corner by stacking three routes in the same zone, and the primary read progression works high to low: check the deep vertical breaking route first, come down to the intermediate out route sitting underneath, then dump it to the flat route as the checkdown if the defense rolls coverage over the top.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify safety alignment: a single high safety with corners playing off suggests Cover 3, which is exactly what this flood concept is designed to attack. Watch the flat defender after the snap, if he sinks with the intermediate out route or gets picked by the motion, the shallow flat route from the backfield will be wide open. Key the deep third corner to the play side, if he sits on the intermediate out route instead of respecting the vertical, the quarterback should hit the deep shot immediately. User controlled linebackers or safeties dropping into the flat as a lurk defender can jump the shallow route, so have an answer ready to move to the intermediate or deep route if you see a user closing down the flat. Man coverage with press corners and a blitz behind it is the primary counter to this play, since the flood routes are stacked in the same area and can be taken away by tight man technique with no zone spacing to exploit.
Usage Tips
Use the pre-snap motion to identify if the defense is playing man or zone based on whether a defender follows the motion man across the formation.
If the defense shows Cover 3 with a single high safety, trust the flood concept and work your progression from the deep route down to the flat instead of forcing the first read.
Hot route the deep vertical route into a comeback or hitch against aggressive Cover 3 corners who are sinking too deep, this gives you a quick answer against a hard sink.
Pair this play with PA Boot Corner Post or PA Deep Cross in the same set to keep the defense guessing between flood concepts and boot action off similar formations and motion looks.
Call this on early downs or second and medium when you want a play action shot that still has a built in checkdown to the flat route to protect against a free rusher.
