Acme Packing Company
One of the more commonly called play action plays through two games for the Green Bay Packers has been a deep curl concept out of 12 personnel. This is a staple play-action concept in the Shanahan tree, and it’s no surprise it’s ended up in heavy usage on Matt LaFleur. It’s a great way to get a cheap and easy explosive pass play since the curl is usually run at a depth of at least 20 yards.
It is essentially a deep “Hank” concept (West Coast offense term for the curl/flat passing concept) with a play action fake in there. Play action allows the offense to snap the route off deeper in the 15-20 yard range. Under LaFleur, the route is typically broken off at 15 yards.
Like every play action concept, the pass play is designed to hit the void in the middle of the field vacated by the second-level defenders chasing the run. Typically, the offense takes the curl route as it’s the easiest way to secure a completion.
The concept is mirrored with one receiver having the option to convert the curl route to a takeoff route against split safety coverages like quarters or cover-6 if the receiver feels they can beat the safety deep.
Against the Commanders in week two, the play was called a handful of times, each time with quarterback Jordan Love throwing the takeoff route as they caught the Commanders in quarters coverage both times.
The defense here is in cover-6 to match the offense’s 12 personnel in both plays.
The receiver to run the takeoff route is determined by the coverage shell. The quarters side tells that receiver to run the takeoff because the corner and safety technique is flat-footed on their initial read steps at the snap. Speedier receivers can split the coverage easily against that coverage and Love takes a shot downfield on both. He narrowly missed Dontayvion Wicks early in the first quarter on the takeoff route and overthrew Matthew Golden on the takeoff route early in the second quarter.
If the safeties gain too much depth in split safety coverage like they are here in the Chiefs Tampa-2 coverage, then the receiver with the takeoff tag will curl the route down in that void downfield in the 15-20 yard zone.
Christian Watson is likely the tagged takeoff receiver here. Both run the curl routes, and Love hits Watson on the curl to the bottom of the screen in front of the deep half safety.
The pass concept shows that Love and LaFleur aren’t afraid to take the downfield shot on the takeoff route, and the receivers are skilled at reading the coverage to convert their route. Yet when I searched the concept back through 2023, I don’t see them connecting on the deep takeoff route. Perhaps one day they will?
