Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
PA Saints Sail is a play-action pass out of Singleback Wing Tight 13 personnel that sells the run fake before flooding one side of the field with a classic sail concept. You get a deep corner or go route from the outside receiver, a sail or out route from the intermediate receiver, and a flat or check release from the backfield or tight end, stacking three levels on one half of the field. This is a premier Cover 2 and Cover 3 beater because the sail concept stretches the flat defender and deep half safety vertically and horizontally at the same time, and the primary read progression starts high to low: go route first to see if the corner bites on the play fake, then work down to the sail route sitting in the void, and finally check down to the flat route as your safety valve.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify two high safeties as your green light for Cover 2, since the flat defender cannot cover both the sail route and the flat route without help. Watch the cornerback depth at the snap: if he sinks with the go route immediately, the sail route underneath will be wide open in the void. Against Cover 3, key the single high safety rotation and the strong side cornerback's run fit discipline, since a slow corner reaction to the play fake opens up the vertical shot. Post-snap, be aware of user-controlled lurk defenders sitting in the intermediate zone, as smart defenders will jump the sail route if they read play-action pass immediately. This play gets shut down by aggressive Cover 4 or Cover 6 shells with disciplined flat defenders and by blitz packages that get quick pressure before the play-action fake fully develops, so check for overloaded blitz fronts pre-snap and be ready to check down to the flat route immediately.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs, 1st and 10 or 2nd and medium, when defenses are still respecting the run game and playing base coverage shells.
Look for two high safeties pre-snap to confirm Cover 2, since the sail route will sit perfectly in the window between the flat defender and the deep half safety.
If you see Cover 3 with a single high safety, target the deep go route on a go ball since the corner has to respect run action and can get beat vertically before recovering.
Hot route the flat route to a shallow drag if the defense shows heavy flat zone coverage, giving you a quick answer against Cover 4 or Cover 6 looks.
Pair this play with HB Inside Zone and PA Boot to keep linebackers honest, then dial up PA Saints Sail once you have shown enough gap runs to sell the fake convincingly.
Sequence this with PA Y Sail or PA Boot Flood from the same set to disguise your intentions since the run fake and initial routes look almost identical pre-snap.
