Playbooks
TE Shake
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
TE Shake is a play action pass out of Singleback Wing Tight that shows a flood concept to the play side. The play side TE runs a wheel route out of the backfield area, the outside receiver on that side runs a go route up the sideline, and the HB releases into a flat route underneath, creating a high low low flood stretch on one side of the field. On the backside, the slot receiver runs a shake (out and up) route working against the sticky defender, while the other backside receiver runs a shallow drag away from the flow. This is a man beater built off the wheel and shake combo, with a primary read progression starting at the shake route against man coverage, then working to the wheel route if the defense bites on the run fake, and finishing with the flat route as the checkdown.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and cornerback press alignment, if you see two deep safeties splitting the field evenly this is a Cover 2 or Cover 4 shell that can bracket the wheel route. Watch the flat defender or curl to flat player after the snap, if they sit and read the quarterback instead of committing to the run fake, this is a sign of zone coverage that can undercut the flat route. Key the middle linebacker or nickel defender assigned to the shake route, if he stays underneath with no help over the top this indicates man coverage that the shake route can win against. User the deep third or deep half defender toward the flood side, this is the single biggest threat to the wheel and go route combo since a rangy user defender can jump the wheel route. Watch for disguised blitzes off the edge, since the play side TE releasing on a wheel means one less blocker, an overload blitz to that side can force a quick checkdown to the flat before the wheel route develops.
Usage Tips
Look for man coverage indicators pre-snap like tight cornerback alignment and a single high safety, since the shake route and wheel route both punish man defenders who cannot flip their hips in time.
Use the play action fake to freeze linebackers before checking the flat route, this is especially effective on early downs like first and second down when defenses respect the run out of Wing Tight personnel.
If you see Cover 3 shells with three deep defenders, prioritize the flood side since the wheel route can outrun the outside cornerback and the go route occupies the deep third defender.
Hot route the backside drag into a deeper crossing route if you are facing zone heavy opponents, this helps against Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells where the shake route may sit in a zone with no natural throwing window.
Pair this play with HB Inside Zone or 26 Duo earlier in a series to sell the run action, then call TE Shake to capitalize on linebackers stepping up and safeties cheating toward the box.
