Playbooks

Spacing

Pistol·Bunch·11
SpacingPass PlayCover 3 BeaterCover 4 BeaterFlatHitchSlantSwing
Play diagram for Spacing from Pistol Bunch in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationPistol

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Breakdown

Spacing out of Pistol Bunch spreads five underneath stems across the width of the field, sitting receivers down at different depths to stretch zone defenders horizontally. The bunch releases into a deep out from the outside receiver, a shallow drag from the middle bunch man, and a swing route out of the backfield that bends to the sideline, while the lone receiver at the top runs an out and the slot defender's man in red shows a hook/curl route sitting in the flat area underneath. There is no blocking scheme shown since this is a five man route concept designed as a Cover 3 and Cover 4 beater, with the primary read starting on the shallow drag/spacing sit route underneath before working outside to the deep out and swing based on the flat defender's leverage.

Defensive Reads

Identify two deep safeties pre-snap as a strong indicator of Cover 4, which invites the sit routes to settle in soft spots between the underneath zones. Watch the flat defender's initial jump after the snap, if he sinks under the deep out you take the sit route, if he sits on the sit route you throw the deep out or swing behind him. Beware of a single high safety rotating down into the box, which usually signals Cover 3 and puts extra pressure on the flat defender to cover both the swing and sit route. User controlled lurk defenders sitting in the shallow zone will bait the drag route, so double check the underneath defender before committing to the first read. Man coverage across the board, especially Cover 1 or Cover 0 with no help over the top, shuts this play down quickly since there are no natural picks or rubs built into the route spacing.

Usage Tips

Use pre-snap motion or a peek at the corners' depth to confirm you are getting Cover 3 or Cover 4 before the snap, since this concept struggles against man coverage without a hot route adjustment.

Progress read from inside out, starting with the shallow sit route in the honey hole zone, then climb to the deep out and finally the swing if the flat is jumped.

Hot route the middle sit route into a quick slant or drag against man coverage to give yourself a rhythm throw versus Cover 1 or Cover 2 Man.

Use this on third and short to medium situations since the sit routes create easy chain movers against zone drops.

Pair this play with Mesh or Curl Flat from the same set to keep the defense guessing between horizontal stretch concepts and natural pick action, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their zone drops.

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