Playbooks
Overview
Saints Offense and its sibling cut NFL Live Saints Offense are functionally the same book: they share all 600 of this playbook's plays and differ by zero sets. There is no hidden formation in one that the other is missing, so pick whichever label you prefer and know you are getting an identical call sheet. The only reason to care about the distinction is cosmetic naming in the playbook select screen.
What you are actually getting is a 600 play offensive book that is larger than 54% of the game's 64 offensive team playbooks, and it is overwhelmingly a Shotgun operation. 429 of the 600 plays (72%) live in Shotgun across 25 different sets, which is an enormous spread of pass concepts, motions and reads out of one alignment family. Singleback adds 60 plays across 5 sets, I Form contributes 39 across 2 sets, and Pistol chips in 36 across 4 sets. Strong I (18 plays, 2 sets), Goal Line Offense (12 plays, 1 set), Hail Mary (3 plays) and Wildcat (3 plays) round out the tail.
The concept list backs up the spread: Play Action, Pass Play, Flat, Spot, Cover 3 Beater and Motion carry the Shotgun volume, while Power, Power Run, Counter, Toss and Dive give you a real downhill answer out of the heavier looks. Personnel ranges from 11 all the way to 23 and 22, meaning you can run Shotgun spread sets, sub into 13 for goal line and short yardage, and pull FB Dive out of I Form or Strong I when you need a yard. This supports a pass-first game plan that uses Shotgun formation variety as its primary disguise, with 26 Duo, Counter and Toss as the run game that keeps linebackers honest. The Wildcat inclusion is a genuine rarity: it only appears in 15 of the game's 236 playbooks, so opponents have almost no reps defending it.
Scheme Fit
This book wants an accurate quarterback who can work a full field progression from Shotgun, since 72% of your calls start there, and a little scramble ability helps on the Play Action rollouts and the Wildcat snaps. A receiving back who can be motioned out and hot routed is more valuable here than a pure power runner, though you do need at least one back with trucking and a fullback plus blocking tight ends to make FB Dive, Power Run and Goal Line Offense worth calling. Pick Saints Offense if you are a pass first play caller who prefers to win with Shotgun set variety, motion and route combo knowledge rather than with a deep under center run tree.
Example Plays from this Playbook
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Strengths
- Shotgun depth is the headline feature: 429 plays across 25 sets means you can stay in one alignment family all game and still change the picture every snap, rotating between sets rather than tipping tendency by leaving the huddle look
- Because so many Shotgun sets share personnel, your audible package can carry four or five different Shotgun sets at once, letting you flip from a Spot concept to a Cover 3 Beater to a Play Action shot without burning a timeout or showing formation change
- The Play Action and Motion concept coverage out of Shotgun pairs directly with the 26 Duo run game, so pre-snap motion plus a play action rollout sells the same backfield action you have been running all game
- Personnel range from 11 through 21, 12, 13, 22 and 23 gives you real formation subs: put your best blocking tight ends on the field for Goal Line Offense and Strong I, then sub back to 11 Shotgun without losing your audible tree
- Wildcat only exists in 15 of the game's 236 playbooks, so those three plays are a legitimate change up most opponents have never user defended and cannot pre-snap diagnose
Weaknesses
- 72% of the book living in Shotgun is a tell, and a read opponent will sit in coverage shells built to beat Shotgun spacing while never respecting the under center run threat
- Singleback is only 60 plays across 5 sets, which is thin for a book this size and limits your ability to run the stretch and wide zone looks that punish over aggressive edge users
- Pistol is just 36 plays across 4 sets, so you cannot lean on it as a true balanced alternative to Shotgun when you need to hide run and pass tendency behind the same alignment
- The heavy run packages are shallow: Strong I gets 18 plays across 2 sets and Goal Line Offense gets 12 across 1 set, so in short yardage your opponent can narrow your options down to FB Dive, Power and Counter and commit defenders accordingly
- Wildcat is only three plays and I Form only two sets, meaning the novelty formations run out of new material fast once an opponent sees them twice in a series
Usage Tips
Build your entire audible package out of Shotgun sets and nothing else on early downs, because with 25 Shotgun sets available you can find a set that carries a Flat concept, a Spot concept and a Cover 3 Beater without ever leaving the formation family
On second and medium, call 26 Duo out of Shotgun first, then come back to the Play Action tags off that same backfield look on the next drive when the second level starts crashing
Reserve Goal Line Offense and its 13 personnel for inside the three yard line only, and use FB Dive from I Form or Strong I on third and one instead so you are not forced into the one Goal Line set your opponent already recognizes
Keep Pistol as your third and medium package rather than a base alignment: 36 plays across 4 sets is enough to give you Counter and Power looks that read identically to the pass calls out of the same sets
Save the three Wildcat plays for a single high leverage snap per game, ideally short yardage or a two minute drive, since the formation appears in only 15 of the game's 236 playbooks and the surprise value is the entire point
Do not call Hail Mary outside of a genuine end of half or end of game situation; with only 3 plays across 2 sets there is nothing else there
Formations in this playbook
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