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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Curls out of Shotgun 4WR Trips Strong is a zone beater built around curl routes on both sides of the field. The backside X runs a curl at the sticks, the trips side has a corner route from the outside receiver stemming vertically before breaking back to the sideline, a curl from the inside slot, and the innermost trips receiver running an underneath curl or flat route to the boundary. The primary read starts with the deep corner route to see if it clears out a cornerback or safety, then works down to the two curls settling into soft spots against zone coverage, giving the quarterback layered depth to attack any zone shell from front side to backside.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and cornerback alignment on the trips side since curls exploit soft zone coverages like Cover 3 and Cover 2 where underneath defenders sit too shallow or too deep. Post-snap, watch for user-controlled defenders sitting in the passing lanes at the sticks, since a smart user lurking in the curl window can jump the route and create a turnover opportunity. This play struggles against tight man coverage with press corners since none of the routes have a built-in natural separation move at the line, so look for aggressive man alignment pre-snap as a signal to hot route or check to a different concept. Against zone blitzes, identify if linebackers are crashing off the edge presnap, since the quarterback needs a clean pocket to let the corner route and curls develop fully. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if they sink too deep into coverage the underneath curl from the inside trips receiver becomes an easy completion for extra yardage.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing a two-high or one-high shell since curls settle into the soft zones created between the underneath and deep defenders in zone coverage. Against Cover 3 or Cover 4, target the two curl routes sitting at the sticks since zone defenders will often widen or drop too deep, opening throwing lanes underneath. Use this on third and medium to third and long situations where the sticks depth on the curls matches the down and distance for an easy conversion. If you see man coverage pre-snap, hot route the trips inside receiver into a quick option or slant to beat man defenders instead of relying on the curl settling. Pair this play with Four Verticals or Seam X-Comeback from the same set to keep defenses honest, since both plays start with similar vertical stems before breaking, forcing linebackers and safeties to respect the deep threat before Curls comes back underneath.
