Playbooks

Orbit WR Mid Screen

Shotgun·5WR Trio·11
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This play belongs to no NFL team or scheme playbook, so it may not appear in the in-game builder.

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 1 playbook

Franchise Offense MotioninoceanOffense

Breakdown

Orbit WR Mid Screen is a screen play out of the Shotgun 5WR Trio set designed to get a receiver the ball in space with blockers already flowing in front. The orbit motion man works to the middle of the field to sell run action or misdirection before settling into the screen, while the offensive line and adjacent receivers release upfield to set picks and lead blockers. This is primarily a zone beater against aggressive underneath zone drops and blitz packages, since it punishes linebackers and slot corners who bail into deep zones or crash the line of scrimmage. The primary read progression is the screen receiver first, then check to any hot routes if the screen is jumped or diagnosed pre-snap.

Defensive Reads

Check pre-snap safety depth, if both safeties sit deep in a two high shell it usually signals zone coverage underneath, which is exactly what this screen exploits Identify if the middle linebacker or nickel defender bites hard on the orbit motion, since that flow creates the running lane for the screen blockers Watch for a spy or lurk defender sitting in the shallow middle zone, an aware user defender can jump the screen route and blow it up for a loss Man coverage with press corners and no zone drop defenders tends to shut this down fast because there is no natural running lane for the receiver after the catch Look for delayed blitz packages where defenders show blitz then peel off into coverage, since that timing disrupts the blocking scheme and forces the QB to hold the ball too long

Usage Tips

Use the orbit motion pre-snap to bait linebackers into flowing with the fake, which opens the middle screen lane once they overcommit

Call this on early downs or third and short against defenses that show heavy blitz looks, since the blockers in front neutralize extra rushers

Watch for user defenders spying the screen, if you see a defender sitting still and reading the backfield instead of rushing, be ready to hold the ball and let blocks set up

Pair this with Mtn Jailbreak Screen and QB Draw in the same set to keep defenses honest, alternating between misdirection screens and quick draws punishes teams that key on run fits

Hot route the outside receivers into quick hitches or slants if the defense shows man coverage with no underneath help, giving you a fast dump off option away from the screen

Other Plays in 5WR Trio