Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Stick out of Singleback Doubles Y Off Close is a quick-game man and zone beater built on the classic Stick concept. The diagram shows the inside receiver running a vertical seam that sits down, the slot running a quick out breaking away from the formation, and the flanker at the top running a stick route that settles at the sticks before releasing outward with a swing/flat conversion toward the sideline, while the TE stays in to help with protection against the shaded defender. The primary read progresses from the flat/stick route on the strong side to the inside seam sit, giving the QB a horizontal stretch on any underneath defender who has to choose between the flat and the hook zone.
Defensive Reads
Identify if the defense is playing zone or man by watching the flat defender, if he sinks with the sit route instead of jumping the flat, that signals zone coverage. Watch for a nano blitz off the edge, since the TE staying in to block can be overloaded if the defense brings extra pressure from the strong side. Cover 3 defenses struggle with this concept because the underneath defender responsible for the flat has to choose between the swing route and the stick sitting route. Man coverage with a hard flat defender jumping the swing route will open a throwing window for the stick route settling underneath the linebacker. Look for a sky or cloud corner rotation post-snap, which tips a blitz or extra run support and leaves the flat route wide open for an easy completion.
Usage Tips
Use this on third and short to medium since the stick and flat combo is designed to convert first downs quickly against underneath defenders.
Check the pre-snap alignment of the strong side linebacker or slot corner, if they are sitting inside expect to hit the flat route for an easy pitch and catch.
Against man coverage, hot route the seam runner into a corner or streak to create separation vertically since man defenders will trail the sit route tightly.
Pair this play with HB Slam or Inside Zone Split in your play-calling sequence to keep linebackers honest before coming back to Stick for the quick horizontal stretch.
If the defense shows a two high shell pre-snap, target the stick route sitting at the sticks since it exploits the soft spot between underneath zone defenders and deep safeties.
