At-the-line calls · est. 2026

Cullen & Dad's Playbook

The code we built together for calling a route at the line — no huddle, no wristband, just numbers. Every call starts the same way and branches from there. This page is both the rulebook and the keepsake.

The grammar

Every code starts with one digit: how many steps off the line before anything happens. What comes after decides the route. Two ways to build the rest:

Same digit

D1 = D2

Straight up the field. No break.

e.g. 22 · 88

Consecutive digit

|D1 − D2| = 1

Increase → chair. Decrease → button. Break direction still by parity: even second digit → toward QB, odd → away.

e.g. 23 · 76

Any other digit

|D1 − D2| ≥ 2

Even second digit → toward the QB. Odd → away.

e.g. 28 · 39

Repeated triple

4111 / 4222

Deeper break. Same even/odd rule, longer route.

e.g. 3111 · 5222

Coming soon

Color calls — a color word stacked on a number, for a layer the defense can't hear. Not designed yet: does it set tempo, personnel, or a second route, and how many colors before it's more to remember than it's worth at Cullen's age?

Reading one, start to finish

4 — four steps off the line.
Compare digits: 7 − 4 = 3. Not consecutive, so skip chair/button.
7 is odd → break away from the QB.
Result: out-cross — four steps, then a hard cut away from the QB toward the sideline.

The calls

route line QB Diagrams face upfield, QB at bottom left — a break toward that corner is "toward the QB," a break the other way is "away."

The keepsake

The diagrams above are drawn for accuracy. This one's for the wall — one hand-drawn chalkboard illustration with a handful of the routes together.

Chalkboard illustration of the Fly, Chair, In-cross, and Corner routes together