Playbooks
Breakdown
PA Slide (1) out of Strong I with 22 personnel sells the play action fake to hold the linebackers and strong safety before working a slide route concept to the play side. The offensive line executes run blocking steps to disguise the run action, buying the quarterback time to work through his progression as receivers slide into open zones or work away from man coverage. This is a play-action pass built as a zone beater against teams that key run fits from Strong I, with the primary read starting on the underneath slide route before working back to the intermediate crosser or checking down to the fullback or halfback leaking out of the backfield.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is in a two high safety shell or has rotated to single high, since two high zone leaves natural windows for the slide routes to settle into. Watch linebacker depth at the snap. If they bite hard on the run fake and step up, the slide routes will be wide open behind them in the intermediate zone. Post-snap, key any user-controlled defender sitting in a lurk spot over the middle, since a smart user player will jump the slide route if he reads play action pass instead of run. Look for cornerback press alignment pre-snap. If corners are playing tight man technique, expect the underneath slide to get picked up quickly, forcing a check to the second progression route. Identify blitz packages that bring extra defenders off the edge. A fast overload blitz can beat the play action fake before the fullback or offensive line can pick it up, so recognize blitz creep in the linebacker alignment before the snap.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs (1st and 10 or 2nd and short) when the defense is showing run support with linebackers stacked near the box, since the play action fake carries more weight and freezes second level defenders longer.
Check the safety alignment before the snap. Two high shells with soft corners are ideal for this play since the slide routes settle into the voids between zone defenders.
Use motion or a quick pre-snap read on the strong safety to confirm whether the defense is in man or zone. If you see man coverage with tight press corners, consider hot routing the slide receiver into a quick out or speed release to beat the jam.
Pair this play with HB Blunt Dive or Power O earlier in a series to sell the run threat, then call PA Slide (1) once the defense starts cheating linebackers up into run fits.
Against aggressive user blitzers, get the ball out on time to the first slide read rather than holding it, since the play action mesh point can leave the quarterback exposed if the fake holds too long.
