Playbooks
Playbook
Superstar QB Gunslinger
OtherOverview
The Superstar QB Gunslinger playbook is the largest of the game's 9 Superstar archetype books, with 228 plays spread across 6 formations and 19 sets. It is built around a quarterback who wants to push the ball. Shotgun accounts for 156 plays (68%) across 11 sets, so most snaps come from the gun with the QB already at depth to read coverage and let it rip. The concept list reflects that: drags, crossers, flats, posts, spots, hitches, slants and dedicated Cover 3 beaters give you layered route combos that attack every level of the field.
The remaining third of the book is support structure rather than filler. Singleback (27 plays, 12%) and Pistol (21 plays, 9%) supply play action and a run game to keep linebackers honest. I Form (12 plays) and Goal Line Offense (9 plays) handle short yardage with calls like FB Dive and Counter Y. Hail Mary covers end of half situations with calls like Goal Post. Six personnel groups, ranging from 10 personnel four wide to 23 personnel heavy, let you swing from empty style spread looks to jumbo packages without changing books.
Picking the Superstar QB Gunslinger over a smaller Superstar book gets you the deepest Shotgun menu in the archetype set, which means more ways to show the same coverage beater from different alignments. Its size and 11 Shotgun sets let you build a passing identity that is hard to scout, while still having enough under center and Pistol looks to punish defenses that sell out against the pass.
Scheme Fit
The Superstar QB Gunslinger playbook wants a quarterback with a strong arm and high short and medium accuracy who can fire into windows from the gun, backed by route running slot receivers who win on drags, crossers and slants and at least one receiving tight end or back for the flats. A pair of solid blocking tight ends and a capable fullback make the 12, 13, 21 and 23 packages viable for short yardage and play action. Pick it if you like to throw on most downs, enjoy reading coverage pre snap, and want the deepest Shotgun menu among Superstar books.
Example Plays from this Playbook
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Strengths
- Shotgun depth is unmatched in the Superstar category: 156 plays across 11 sets means you can run the same drag, crosser or spot concept from multiple alignments and keep opponents from keying on formation tendencies.
- Dedicated Cover 3 beaters paired with post, spot and flat concepts give you a built in answer to the most common base zone, and hot routes on the flat and hitch receivers let you convert those into man beaters at the line.
- Six personnel groups (10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 23) let you use formation subs to force mismatches, pulling heavy defensive packages onto the field with 13 or 23 and then attacking them with play action from Singleback or Pistol.
- Motion and Block and Release concepts help you diagnose man versus zone pre snap and slip extra targets into routes after chipping, which helps a gunslinger QB against pressure heavy opponents.
- At 228 plays it is the largest Superstar book, so your audible package can cover third and long, red zone, short yardage and two minute situations without repeating the same call.
Weaknesses
- With 68% of the book in Shotgun, opponents can expect pass on most snaps and sit in pass rush heavy nickel and dime looks without paying much of a price.
- The under center run game is thin: I Form has only 12 plays in a single set and Goal Line Offense has 9, so short yardage calls become predictable once an opponent sees FB Dive or Counter Y a couple of times.
- Pistol and Singleback combine for just 48 plays across 4 sets, which limits how much play action variety you can build to make heavy play action a real threat.
- The concept list leans quick and intermediate (hitch, slant, drag, flat, spot) with the post as the main deep shot, so defenses that cap the top with two deep safeties can force long drives and invite mistakes from a gunslinger style QB.
- Only 3 Hail Mary plays across 2 sets means your end of half desperation options are narrow.
Usage Tips
Build your core audible package around your two most used Shotgun sets: keep a Cover 3 beater, a drag or crosser concept, and a quick slant or hitch call ready for 1st and 10 and 2nd and medium.
On 3rd and 5 or longer stay in Shotgun and use motion to read the defense, then hot route the flat receiver to a slant or streak if you see man coverage, and lean on the Cover 3 beater when the safety rotates to the middle.
On 2nd and short, audible into Singleback or Pistol play action to punish defenses that crowd the box expecting a run, targeting the post or crosser behind the flowing linebackers.
Save I Form and Goal Line Offense for 3rd and 1, 4th and 1 and inside the 3 yard line, and mix a Block and Release pass with runs like FB Dive or Counter Y so the heavy personnel is not an automatic run tell.
Use formation subs in 12 or 13 personnel to bring bigger defensive packages onto the field, then check to a spread Shotgun look in 10 or 11 personnel next snap to exploit the slower defenders left in coverage.
Formations in this playbook
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