Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
X Corner Post attacks from Singleback Trips 11 personnel with a five man route concept designed to stress one side of the field. The X receiver runs a corner route up the boundary while the two remaining trips receivers stack a deep vertical seam and an underneath drag across the middle, with the RB releasing to the flat as a checkdown outlet. This is a man beater built to isolate the X on a corner route against tight coverage, and the drag/flat combo underneath gives you answers versus blitz. Primary read starts with the X corner route, works down to the vertical seam if the corner route is capped, and checks down to the flat/drag if both are covered.
Defensive Reads
Watch the deep safety alignment before the snap, a single high safety cheating toward the trips side signals Cover 3 rotation and tells you the corner route will have a soft spot in the deep third. Track the flat defender's depth at the snap, if he sinks with the underneath drag route instead of jumping the flat, the RB checkdown becomes wide open. Key the corner's hips at the top of the stem, if he opens to the sideline early on the corner route break, throw it now before he can close the window. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the corner post leverage, but Cover 2 with a hard flat defender jumping underneath routes early can bait a turnover if you force the corner throw into double coverage. Identify blitz packages pre-snap by checking linebacker depth, a walked up linebacker or slot corner blitzer means the RB flat route and quick drag become your answer against pressure before the corner route has time to develop.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the corner is playing outside leverage or inside shade on the X, since outside leverage opens up the post-corner window immediately off the break.
Look for single high safety shells like Cover 3 or Cover 1, this play thrives against those because the corner route occupies the deep third defender while the seam climbs behind linebackers.
If you see two high safeties rotating down as Cover 2 or Cover 4, hot route the underneath drag into a deeper crossing route or bail to the flat route to the RB for a safer conversion.
Pair this play with Curl Combo or Stick out of the same Trips formation to keep the defense honest on shorter combinations before hitting them with the corner route shot play.
Use this on second and medium or early down situations when defenses are more likely to sit in zone shells, since the corner route needs room to develop and a tight down and distance may bait pressure looks.
