Smash
Hitch + corner · High-low the cornerback
An outside receiver runs a short hitch while the inside receiver runs a corner route over him — a high-low on the flat defender. Against Cover 2 that defender is the cornerback; against Cover 3 and Cover 4 the stress lands on the apex defender — the nickel or walked-down safety — who has to drive on the hitch or sink under the corner route.
When it applies
Red zone first; against Cover 2 the cornerback has to choose, and against one-high and quarters the apex is outnumbered by design.
+ StrengthsSimple two-man read; deadly in the red zone against two-high.
− Trade-offsA hard-flatting cornerback can take the corner route; man coverage matches it up.
Filed under: Pass concepts