Playbooks

Playbook

Shotgun Mix

Other

3Formations

35Sets

390Plays

Overview

Shotgun Mix is an offensive specialty playbook built almost entirely out of the gun. Of its 390 plays, 378 (97%) come from Shotgun across 32 separate sets, with only a 9 play Goal Line Offense set and 3 Hail Mary plays across 2 sets rounding it out. That concentration is the whole identity: you get one base alignment and a very wide menu of personnel and set variations inside it, which puts the book above the midpoint in size among the game's three specialty playbooks.

The variety comes from personnel rather than formation families. Shotgun Mix carries 10, 11, 12, 13, 20 and 23 personnel, so the same gun look can show four wide, heavy three tight end, or two back power with a fullback, as the FB Dive in the sample list shows. The concept list leans on quick and intermediate passing: Drag, Crosser, Flat, Slant, Hitch, Spot and Post routes, plus dedicated Cover 3 Beater looks, Block and Release tight end and back routes, Motion and Play Action. Plays like 22 Shallow Sail show the layered crossing and flat stretch design the book is built around.

Choose Shotgun Mix if you want to live in the gun every snap and force the defense to match personnel instead of formation. The quarterback's pre-snap view stays constant, your reads repeat across sets, and you can swing from spread to jumbo without ever going under center. The tradeoff is that almost everything outside Shotgun is a situational package, so this book rewards players who commit fully to a gun based passing attack.

Scheme Fit

Shotgun Mix wants an accurate, quick release quarterback who wins with short and intermediate throws, slot receivers and tight ends who separate on Drag, Crosser and Slant routes, and a fullback or physical back who can finish FB Dive and handle Block and Release duties. Depth at tight end and a sturdy offensive line matter because 12, 13 and 23 personnel ask for extra blockers in pass protection and short yardage. It fits the player who wants a gun based, rhythm passing attack and uses personnel changes, not formation changes, to create mismatches.

Example Plays from this Playbook

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Strengths

With 378 plays across 32 Shotgun sets, you can run the same concept from multiple personnel groupings, so an opponent reading formation alone cannot predict whether 10 personnel spread or 13 personnel heavy is coming.
Six personnel groups inside a single base alignment let you force defensive subs: flash 23 or 13 to pull heavy fronts onto the field, then counter with 10 or 11 and attack mismatches with Slant, Hitch and Spot concepts.
Dedicated Cover 3 Beater plays plus Flat, Sail and Post concepts give you a built in answer to the most common base zone, so you can audible straight into a beater once you see a single high safety rotate.
Drag and Crosser concepts like 22 Shallow Sail punish man coverage and blitz heavy defenses, since crossers naturally create separation against trail technique and give the quarterback a fast hot read.
Two back 20 and 23 personnel from the gun keep a real run threat alive (FB Dive) and add extra protection or Block and Release outlets, which makes Play Action from Shotgun more believable than in a pure spread book.

Weaknesses

With 97% of the book in Shotgun, you have no under center or pistol looks, so an opponent who scouts you can set up their defense against gun based run fits and passing depth with confidence every down.
Goal Line Offense is a single 9 play set, which leaves very little variety inside the 3 yard line; once an opponent sees your two or three favorite goal line calls, you have almost nothing to rotate.
The run game is limited by alignment: gun runs lack the downhill mesh and misdirection that under center books provide, so heavy boxes against 23 and 13 personnel can stall your short yardage plan.
The concept list is dominated by quick and intermediate routes, so beating two high shell defenses over the top relies on Post concepts and a handful of shots rather than a deep menu of vertical designs.
Only 3 Hail Mary plays across 2 sets means end of half and end of game desperation situations offer minimal disguise.

Usage Tips

Build your base audible package around your 11 personnel Shotgun sets: pair a Cover 3 Beater, a Drag or Shallow Sail concept, a quick Slant or Hitch and a gun run so you can check to the right answer against zone, man or blitz on first and second down.

On 3rd and short or 4th and 1, reach for the 23 or 20 personnel Shotgun sets and call FB Dive or a Block and Release play action, which keeps your gun reads while adding a lead blocker and extra protection.

On 3rd and medium to long, shift into 10 personnel Shotgun and hot route your slot to a Slant or Drag as the blitz beater while keeping Spot or Post concepts outside to attack the sticks.

Use Motion from 12 and 13 personnel Shotgun to reveal man versus zone pre snap: if a defender travels with the motion, check to a crosser; if the defense bumps, stay on your Flat and Hitch concepts.

Save the lone Goal Line Offense set for the 1 and 2 yard line only, mix in 13 personnel Shotgun Play Action inside the 10, and keep the Hail Mary sets, including Goal Post, strictly for final play situations.