Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Jet Touch Pass out of Pistol U Off Trips is a jet motion quick screen/touch pass built to get the ball out of the backfield instantly. The diagram shows the jet man motioning across the formation while the offensive line and TEs release to wall off the edge, with two receivers running short crossing/flat routes underneath to occupy defenders. The primary read is the jet motion man in stride, with the QB releasing the touch pass on rhythm before the jet man clears the box, making this a run-pass option style screen that attacks aggressive edge defenders and overpursuing linebackers.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flow of the linebackers at the snap, if they immediately crash toward the jet motion or bite on run action, the touch pass will hit for an easy gain in space. Key the edge defender or force player, aggressive edge crashers who abandon their zone leave the touch pass window wide open. Cover 3 and Cover 1 with man defenders trailing the motion man are the most vulnerable shells since the touch pass releases before the defender can close. To shut this down, defenses should assign a spy or scrape exchange defender to stay square on the jet motion instead of biting on run fits. Zone defenses that keep outside cornerbacks squatting on the flat and refuse to bite on the fake can force the ball into a covered underneath route, so watch for squatting corners as a sign the play is defended correctly.
Usage Tips
Snap the ball as the jet motion man crosses the formation to sell the run fake and freeze linebackers before releasing the touch pass. This play punishes defenses that key on backfield motion with linebacker flow or crash the edge on run action, so use it against aggressive base fronts and Cover 1 or Cover 3 looks with fast flowing linebackers. Pair it with Jet Lead Read Option and Read Option from the same set so defenders cannot sit on the jet action, forcing them to respect both the run and the touch pass every snap. Hot route the underneath crossers into shallow drags if you see man coverage sitting on the flat to create natural rub separation. Best used on early downs or short yardage to keep defenses honest and set up explosive run calls like HB Counter or HB Stretch later in the series.
