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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Scat out of Shotgun 4WR Trips Strong is a five man route concept built to stretch the defense vertically and horizontally with three receivers releasing from the trips side. The backside X runs a swing/wheel combo from the boundary while the RB releases underneath into a curl, and the trips side stacks a deep out, a corner route, and a vertical seam to clear out the middle of the field. This is a man beater at its core, using the wheel and corner routes to pick on linebackers or safeties in man coverage, with the primary read starting on the backside wheel route against man match ups before working to the trips side seam and out combo if the coverage rotates to help over the top.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a cornerback playing outside shade on the backside X, that alignment signals man coverage and opens up the wheel route for a big play. If the strong safety rotates down pre-snap toward the trips side, expect zone coverage that will bracket the seam and out combo, so shift your first read to the backside wheel instead. Man match defenses with linebackers trying to cover the RB out of the backfield are vulnerable to the curl to wheel combo since most linebackers cannot stay in phase vertically. Watch for a user controlled defender sitting in a lurk position over the middle of the field, this indicates the defense is trying to jump the seam route and you should hold the ball for a beat longer. Cover 2 shells with safeties sitting deep over the top will shut down the corner route and seam combo, so check down to the flat route or RB curl instead of forcing the ball deep.
Usage Tips
Check the safety alignment before the snap, if you see a single high safety shaded to the trips side the backside wheel route is your first look against man coverage.
Use the flick up hot route on the RB curl if the defense shows a heavy blitz look, giving your quarterback a quick outlet against pressure.
Against zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, work the seam route on the trips side first since it will split the underneath zone defenders and attack the deep middle void.
Pair this play with Four Verticals and Slant Slot Fade in your play calling sequence to keep the defense guessing between vertical stretches and quick combo routes.
Best used on second or third down with medium to long yardage since the route concepts take time to develop and need the quarterback to hold the ball through his progression.
