Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Deep Out is a play-action shot play out of Singleback Tight Y Off with 11 personnel that sells the run fake before attacking the boundary and the seam. The X receiver aligned tight to the line runs a deep out that breaks hard toward the sideline, the TE releases vertically up the seam then cuts on a deep out route of his own to the opposite side, and the backside receiver runs a shallow drag away from the play to hold underneath defenders. The HB stays in as a check release or leak blocker off the fake, giving the quarterback time to work the two out breaking routes on the perimeter. Primary read progression starts with the TE deep out working left to right, then works to the X receiver deep out on the opposite sideline, with the drag as the checkdown against pressure or a blitz.
Defensive Reads
This play beats man coverage and cover 3 sky where the corner has to turn his hips and run with the deep out, since the receiver stemming inside forces the defender to open the wrong way. It struggles against cover 2 and cover 4 shells with a flat defender sitting underneath the out route, so look for a cornerback playing soft outside leverage pre snap as a sign the throwing window will be tight. Watch the linebacker depth after the play fake, if the second level bites hard on the run action the seam and out lanes open up for both the TE and X receiver. User controlled safeties who stay deep and read the quarterback's eyes can jump the throw to the far side out route, so double clutch or look off before committing to the second read. Disciplined zone defenses that keep a flat defender and a deep half safety on the same side will squeeze both out routes and force the checkdown to the drag underneath.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or second and medium when the defense expects run action out of Singleback personnel, since the play fake needs single high or two high run support to actually sell. Check the safety alignment before the snap, if you see two deep safeties sitting off the line the play action window shrinks so be ready to progress quickly to the drag route. Motion is not built into this diagram so make your pre snap read count, look for cornerbacks in press man which signals the deep out routes will win against grabby coverage once the receiver stems inside then breaks out. Pair this with PA Deep Cross or PA Deep Curls in the same set to keep the defense guessing between crossing patterns and out breaking patterns off identical run action. If the corner sits low anticipating the out route, hot route the TE into a corner or fade adjustment to counter and hit the sideline over the top.
