Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Flanker Dig lines up from Singleback Spread 10 personnel with no backfield help, sending both outside receivers on crossing vertical routes that break and settle into deep in-cuts, creating a natural rub at the top of the route stems. On the strong side, the inside slot pushes vertical up the seam before snapping his route back across the middle on a shallow dig, while the tight end/slot to that side runs a corner route stemming from the flat area. The backside receiver runs a quick out breaking to the flat as the underneath outlet. This is primarily a man beater built off natural picks and crossing traffic, though the layered dig and corner combo gives it zone-beating window shots too, and the primary read progression starts with the deep crossing digs on the left before working to the intermediate dig/corner combo on the right and finally the flat route as the checkdown.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment: a single high safety indicates man coverage underneath, which sets up the crossing dig picks perfectly, while two deep safeties suggest zone drops that the digs can still exploit by sitting in the seams. Watch cornerback press alignment on the outside receivers, since press man invites the natural rub at the crossing point and speeds up the separation on the dig break. Key the middle linebacker's depth and drop angle after the snap, because if he sinks too far into the deep middle he opens up the underneath dig for an easy completion. Look for user controlled defenders lurking in the shallow crossing zone, as a smart user can jump the dig route if he reads the quarterback's eyes early, so be ready to work the corner route or flat as a secondary answer. Cover 3 with a hard flat defender can take away the outlet route, forcing the quarterback to trust the dig against the linebacker's zone drop instead of bailing out to the checkdown.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing single high or two high shells since the crossing digs on the backside work best against man coverage or single high safety looks.
If you see press man on the outside receivers, expect natural picks to spring one of the digs open, so trust the rub and throw with anticipation rather than waiting for full separation.
Use the flat route as a built in hot route answer against blitz looks, especially if the offensive line shows a protection issue against extra rushers off the edge.
Pair this play with 60 Go or Four Verticals in the same drive to condition the defense to respect vertical shots, which opens up the digs sitting down in soft spots against zone drops.
Best called on second and medium to third and medium distances where the dig routes have room to settle in front of linebackers without needing a full field completion.
