Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Spacing out of Close Flex Weak I stretches the field horizontally with five underneath breaks read left to right against Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells. The backside receiver runs a quick out, the tight end sits on a short spot route just past the line, and the fullback releases into a shallow flat, while the frontside X runs a hard flat and the Y off the line climbs into a corner route up the sideline. Progression starts with the flat to corner stretch on the strong side, then works back to the tight end spot and backside out if the flat defender jumps the underneath stuff.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender at the snap, if he sits on the tight end spot route the strong side flat to corner combo will be wide open behind him. Key the deep safety rotation, a two high shell that stays split invites the corner route to work into the void against Cover 4. Zone blitz teams that bring five and drop a spy underneath can take away the shallow crossers, so identify pre-snap blitz indicators like a linebacker creeping toward the line. Man coverage with no help over the top gets exposed by the corner route since it clears out the flat defender and isolates the CB deep. Lurk defenders sitting in the shallow zone can jump the tight end spot route, so recognize when the defense flashes a robber technique and adjust your read to the outside stretch instead.
Usage Tips
Check the corner and safety depth before the snap, if the corners are sitting at five yards with a single deep safety this is a great answer to Cover 3 sink zones. Use the flat to corner stretch on the strong side as your first read since it puts the CB and flat defender in conflict on any Cover 3 or Cover 4 shell. Hot route the backside out into a curl if you see a robber sitting underneath, since Spacing leaves the shallow zone crowded against zone blitzes. Pair this call with HB Dive or HB Zone to keep defenses honest on early downs before hitting them with Spacing on second and medium. Mesh and Qk Slants from this same set work well as man beater complements if the defense adjusts to a nickel look after seeing Spacing a few times.
