Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Curl Flats out of Singleback Doubles is a horizontal stretch concept designed to attack zone coverage underneath. The backside receiver runs a curl at the sticks while his slot partner works underneath into the flat, and on the frontside the outside receiver mirrors that curl route while the inside slot receiver breaks in shallow off a quick drag. The running back releases up the middle on a check release route, giving the quarterback a five man progression that reads high to low starting with either curl before working down to the flats and drag. This is a zone beater built to exploit soft spots in Cover 3 and Cover 2 by putting a defender in conflict between the curl sitting down and the flat route stretching underneath.
Defensive Reads
Watch for cornerbacks lined up seven or more yards off the ball pre-snap, which signals zone drops and tells you the curl flat combo has a strong chance to work. Post-snap, key the underneath linebackers and see if they widen to the flat or sink to the curl, since whichever route they abandon becomes your open target. Beware of Cover 4 or Cover 6 shells with safeties rotating late, since that can bracket the curl route and force the ball down into contested flat throws. If the defense shows a Mike linebacker blitzing off the edge or through the A gap, expect the running back's check release to be affected, so be ready to hit the drag route quickly against pressure. User controlled lurk defenders sitting in the shallow middle can jump both the drag and flat routes, so scan for a user spy before committing to the underneath crossers.
Usage Tips
Use this on second and medium or third and short situations where zone coverage is likely, since the curl and flat combo punishes defenders trying to cover two levels at once.
Pre-snap, identify if the corners are playing off or bailing into zone drops, since that tips Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells where the curls will sit in soft windows.
Hot route the backside flat runner into a deeper out or corner route if you see Cover 2 to prevent the corner from jumping the shorter flat.
Pair this play with Four Verticals or Streaks in your play-calling sequence so defenses respect the deep shots and stay honest, opening up the curl flat window underneath.
Against man coverage, key on the middle linebacker chasing the running back's check release route since that can create natural picks for your drag runner working across the field.
