Playbooks

Curl Flat

Pistol·Trips·11

Curl Curl Flat Pass Play Cover 2 Beater Cover 3 Beater Corner Post Out

Play diagram for Curl Flat from Pistol Trips in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationPistol

SetTrips

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 3 playbooks

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Breakdown

Curl Flat out of Pistol Trips lines up three receivers to the trips side with the backside X running a deep out. The trips side stacks a curl route from the inline TE, a deep corner route from the slot, and a flat route from the outside WR, while the backside X breaks hard away from the formation on a deep out to stretch the field horizontally. This is a zone beater designed to attack Cover 2 and Cover 3 by working the flat to curl combination against the underneath defender, with the primary read progression starting at the flat route to hold the corner or linebacker, then working up to the curl sitting in the window behind him, and finally to the deep corner if the safety bites down.

Defensive Reads

Watch the flat defender at the snap. If he sinks with the flat route or widens too far, the curl sitting behind him becomes wide open in the soft spot of the zone. Read the deep safety alignment before the snap. Two high safeties confirm Cover 2, which this concept is built to attack with the flat holding the corner low and the curl working the window underneath. Track the corner route on the deep third. Against Cover 3, if the deep defender jumps the curl route, the corner route behind it becomes the home run answer over the top. Beware of user-controlled defenders sitting in the curl window or lurking underneath, since a smart user can rob the primary read and force the quarterback to hold the ball longer. Man coverage with no help over the top can shut this down quickly, since none of these routes are designed to separate from tight man leverage, so check for a hot route or motion adjustment if you see man alignment pre-snap.

Usage Tips

Pre-snap, identify whether the defense shows two deep safeties or a single high safety, since this concept is built specifically to attack Cover 2 and Cover 3 shells.

Key on the flat defender first. If the corner or overhang sits on the flat route, that opens the curl behind him for an easy completion in the soft spot of the zone.

Use the backside X deep out as a hot route answer against man coverage or blitz looks, since it clears out the boundary and gives you a quick outlet away from trips congestion.

On third and medium situations, this play is ideal because the curl route settles right around the sticks while the flat route provides a checkdown if the window is not there.

Pair this play with Stick or Inside Cross from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick zone-beating concepts and man-beating crossers, forcing linebackers to declare their run fits and zone drops before the snap.