Playbooks
Breakdown
PA Shot Post is a play-action deep shot out of Singleback Wing Flex Close with 12 personnel that fakes the run to freeze linebackers before attacking downfield. The diagram shows the post runner breaking hard outside then cutting sharply back inside toward the middle of the field, paired with a deep out or corner breaking route from the opposite side that stretches the boundary, plus a shallow crosser and flat route underneath to hold off man defenders and give a check-down option. This is a man beater first, since the post's hard outside jab into an inside break is designed to lose a trailing corner, but it also has zone-beater value versus single-high shells by threatening the deep middle void. Primary read progression is post first, then work to the deep out/corner if the safety rotates over the top, and finally check down to the underneath crosser or flat route if both are covered.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify safety depth and spacing since a single-high safety means the post has a direct runway to the seam and middle of the field. Watch the cornerback over the post route, if he is playing outside leverage or bailing deep at the snap he is anticipating the play-action and can undercut the break. Post-snap, key the middle linebacker's drop, if he sits shallow to jump the shallow crosser he opens the post lane, but if he sinks deep with the play fake he can jump the throwing lane. This play struggles against two-high shells with a robber or lurk defender sitting in the deep middle, since that defender can read the quarterback's eyes and undercut the post before it clears the traffic. Cover 3 with a fast-flowing safety to the play side or a disciplined Tampa 2 middle linebacker are the top defensive answers, since both put a defender in the exact window the post route needs to access.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs or in second-and-medium situations where defenses expect run action from the 12 personnel look and bite on the play fake. Check for a single-high safety pre-snap, since that tells you the post has a clean run at the deep middle without immediate help. If you see two-high shells, hot route the post into a deeper skinny post or bump the corner route to a fade to stress the safety rotating over. Pair this play with Inside Zone Split or Mtn Inside Zone Split earlier in a series so the play-action fake actually holds linebackers and the safety keys run instead of pass. Sequence it after Four Verticals or PA Cross Country to keep the defense guessing between vertical shots and horizontal stretch concepts from the same personnel.
