Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
4wr Pack Trips is Shotgun's empty-adjacent trips look built out of 10 personnel, meaning four receivers plus a back and zero tight ends. Unlike standard Shotgun Trips sets that lean on a TE to the closed side, everything here is receiver bodies, so the defense has to answer with nickel or dime or accept a linebacker matched on a slot. The bunched trips side compresses three receivers into a tight window while the backside X sits isolated on an island, which is the entire point of the set: you get a clean pre-snap read on whether the boundary corner is pressed with no help, and you get natural traffic and rub action on the strong side against man coverage.
The play list covers the full spread menu. Four Verticals stresses the deep middle against single high, Smash X-dig and Seam X-comeback attack Cover 2 and Cover 3 respectively, and Double Ins, Double Slants, and Curls give you fast-developing man beaters with the ball out before pressure lands. Stick Nod and Stick X-slant are your third down staples, letting you sit routes at the sticks while the nod version punishes a corner or flat defender who bites on the initial break. Drive X-post pairs a shallow crosser with a backside post, one of the cleanest high low combos in the game against man free.
Because this is tagged 3DRB and Gadget, the back in this set is a pass catching type rather than a bruiser, which shows up in Ohio HB Angle, HB Slip Screen, and Scat. The run game exists (Inside Zone, HB Base, HB Draw) but it functions as a tempo change and a way to punish light boxes, not as a base identity. PA WR In gives you a play action shot off the same run looks to hold linebackers before working the intermediate middle.
Strengths
- The bunched trips alignment creates natural rubs and traffic, so Double Slants and Drive X-post shred man coverage without needing any hot route work.
- Isolated backside X gives you a one on one read every snap, and Seam X-comeback or Smash X-dig lets you attack that corner based on whether he is pressed or bailing.
- Four Verticals out of 10 personnel forces the defense to cover four seams with a nickel or dime shell, which torches single high looks and any Cover 3 with a soft middle third.
- Stick Nod and Stick X-slant are elite third and medium answers, with routes that sit right at the sticks and a built in double move to punish jumpy user defenders.
- The 3DRB tag means the back can be hot routed to a flat, angle, or slot route to create a five receiver spread that stresses zone defenses horizontally.
Weaknesses
- Zero tight ends means five man protection on most concepts, so any well timed nano blitz or overload to the trips side gets home before Four Verticals or Stick Nod develops.
- Inside Zone, HB Base, and HB Draw are the only run answers, so short yardage and goal line situations force you out of the set entirely.
- Compressed trips receivers are vulnerable to press man with a bracket, and a user defender sitting over the bunch can jump the shallow layers of Drive X-post and Double Ins.
- Heavy Cover 2 with a user on the isolated X takes away your best pre-snap read and shrinks Smash X-dig into a low percentage throw.
- Predictable pass tendencies from 10 personnel let opponents commit to dime, so play action off PA WR In loses its bite once the defense stops respecting the run.
Usage Tips
Read the nickel or dime alignment pre-snap and count bodies over the bunch. If the defense overloads the trips side, throw the isolated X on Seam X-comeback or Smash X-dig immediately.
On third and five to eight, live in Stick Nod and Stick X-slant, then mix in Curls when the defense starts sitting flat routes at the sticks.
Against single high, Four Verticals is your shot play, but hot route the inside trips receiver to a drag or sit to give yourself a checkdown when the seams get bracketed.
Use HB Draw and Inside Zone against light boxes and vacated nickel looks to keep the defense honest, then run PA WR In off that same tempo.
Motion the point man of the bunch across the formation to diagnose man versus zone, and use HB Slip Screen or Ohio HB Angle when you identify aggressive interior blitz pressure.
