Playbooks

Playbook

Shotgun Classic Offense

OtherOffense

3Formations

24Sets

379Plays

Overview

The Shotgun Classic Offense is a spread passing specialty playbook that commits almost completely to one alignment. Of its 379 plays, 367 (97%) come out of Shotgun across 21 sets. The rest is a 9 play Goal Line Offense package in a single set and 3 Hail Mary plays split across 2 sets. There is no under center formation at all, so every snap outside the short yardage and desperation packages puts your quarterback in the gun with a clear presnap read of the coverage shell. At 379 plays it is larger than 92% of the game's 26 offensive specialty playbooks, and nearly all of that volume is Shotgun variation.

The concept list shows how it attacks. Drag, Crosser, Slant, Hitch, Spot and Flat give you a full quick game and a full horizontal stretch. Post and a dedicated Cover 3 Beater tag handle vertical shots against single high safeties. Play Action, Motion and Block and Release concepts carry protection and misdirection over from traditional offenses into gun looks. Personnel runs from 11 personnel spread sets all the way to 21, 22, 12 and heavy 23 groupings, so you can check heavy boxes and light boxes without ever leaving the gun. Runs such as 0 1 Trap keep a ground threat alive from the same launch point as your passing game.

Pick the Shotgun Classic Offense over a balanced book if you want one presnap picture that repeats every down and a deep menu of route combos behind it. You give up the under center run game and play action from traditional depth. In return you get a large Shotgun library where personnel changes, not formation changes, disguise your intent. Opponents cannot key the play from your stance, and you always keep the extra time and vision the gun provides.

Scheme Fit

The Shotgun Classic Offense wants an accurate quarterback with quick release and high short and medium accuracy, shifty slot receivers who win on Slant, Drag and Crosser routes, and a running back who can protect and then catch the ball on Block and Release concepts. Because the book also features 21, 22 and 23 personnel in the gun, a fullback and two blocking tight ends with solid pass block and run block ratings let you run heavy personnel looks without giving up the Shotgun launch point. It suits a patient, read first player who likes to diagnose coverage before the snap and move the chains with timing throws rather than live on under center power runs.

Example Plays from this Playbook

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Strengths

With 367 of 379 plays (97%) in Shotgun across 21 sets, every snap shares the same quarterback depth, so defenders cannot tell run from pass or quick game from shot play by the alignment alone.
The range of personnel inside Shotgun, from 11 spread sets to 21, 22, 12 and 23 heavy groupings, lets you use formation subs to bait base or nickel packages and then audible into Slant, Drag or 0 1 Trap looks that punish the mismatch.
The quick game is deep: Slant, Hitch, Spot, Drag and Flat concepts give you reliable man beaters and zone beaters on almost every set, and hot routes on the single side receiver turn any look into a rhythm throw against the blitz.
The dedicated Cover 3 Beater and Post concepts, plus Crosser stretches, give you built in answers to the single high shells that most players default to against spread gun looks.
Motion and Block and Release concepts in Shotgun let you flip coverage leverage before the snap and keep an extra blocker in against nano blitz pressure before he releases into the flat as an outlet.

Weaknesses

There is no under center formation in the book, so the traditional play action and downhill run game are unavailable, and a defense that expects the gun on every snap can build its whole scheme around that one alignment.
The Goal Line Offense package holds only 9 plays in 1 set, which leaves few short yardage and red zone answers once an opponent has seen your FB Dive and power looks a few times.
The Hail Mary package is only 3 plays across 2 sets, so end of half and end of game desperation situations offer very little variety for users who can spot the call.
Shotgun runs start from depth and give the defense more time to diagnose them, so a disciplined user on a linebacker or safety can spy the mesh point and sit on trap and dive tracks.
The concept mix leans toward short and intermediate routes, so a defense that squeezes the Drag, Flat and Hitch windows with robber or match coverage forces you to win outside the quick game.

Usage Tips

Build your base audible package around Shotgun 11 personnel sets and carry one Slant or Hitch combo, one Drag or Crosser combo, one Cover 3 Beater and one 0 1 Trap run, so you can answer any shell on 1st and 10 without leaving the formation.

On 3rd and short or 4th and 1 between the 20s, sub into the Shotgun 22 or 23 personnel sets. Heavy personnel pulls the defense into base looks, then audible to a Flat or Spot throw if the box is stacked or run the trap if the defense stays light.

Inside the 5 yard line, go to the Goal Line Offense set and mix FB Dive with the package's play action looks. Because the set only has 9 plays, save it for true goal to go snaps so opponents do not learn it early.

On 2nd and long, pick Shotgun sets with Motion and Crosser concepts. Motion the slot to read man or zone before the snap, then throw the Crosser against zone or hot route the motion man to a slant against man.

Keep the Hail Mary sets, including Goal Post, strictly for the final snap of a half or game from beyond 40 yards. Because the menu is tiny, alternate between the 2 sets so your opponent sees a different alignment each time.