Playbooks

Whips Curls

Shotgun·5WR Trio·11
CurlWhipPass PlayZig
Play diagram for Whips Curls from Shotgun 5WR Trio in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 3 playbooks

Raiders OffenseOffenseShotgun Classic OffenseOffenseNFL Live Raiders OffenseOffense

Receiver routes

Depth-chart slots are shown as they line up in the base package for this set.

See this play with a team's players
PlayerSideRoute
TE1RightZig
SLWR2LeftZig
WR1LeftCurl
WR2RightCurl
SLWRRightCurl

Read progression

  1. SLWR2 left, Zig
  2. TE1 right, Zig
  3. SLWR right, Curl
  4. WR1 left, Curl
  5. WR2 right, Curl

Breakdown

Whips Curls comes out of the 5WR Trio Shotgun set and stresses the boundary with two distinct route concepts on each side. To the trio side, the inside slot runs a whip route that jab steps outside before snapping back inside for a quick throwing lane, while the outside receiver on that side runs a deep curl that settles down around 12 to 15 yards. On the two-receiver side, the outside WR runs a vertical curl straight up the numbers while the inside receiver runs a shallow whip cutting across the field. This is a zone beater at its core, using the whip routes to sit in the soft spots between underneath zone defenders and the curls to hold off the deep third or deep half defenders. The primary read progression starts with the near side whip route for a quick underneath conversion, then works to the curl breaking off the top of the route stem if the whip is covered.

Defensive Reads

Check the safety alignment presnap, since two deep safeties indicate Cover 2 or Cover 4 which allows the curls to sit in the soft spot beneath the deep defenders. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if they sink hard into their zone drops the whip routes will have room to break open in the shallow to intermediate area. Cover 3 with a sky safety rolling down can jump the whip route, so be ready to reset to the curl route as the secondary progression if the underneath defender is sitting on the whip breaks. Man coverage, especially Cover 1 or Cover 0, is more difficult for this concept since the whip routes lose their advantage of exploiting a defender's zone drop and rely on pure route separation instead. Watch for a user lurking underneath in the middle of the field, since a spy or rat defender can undercut the whip route's inside break and jump the throw before it develops.

Usage Tips

Use this play on second or third and medium situations where the whip route conversion sticks the chains against off man or zone drops.

Presnap, identify if the defense is showing zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, since the whip routes exploit the seams where underneath defenders bail into their drops.

If you see man coverage presnap, consider hot routing the whip receiver into a quicker option route or motion him to check the leverage of the defender before the snap.

Pair this play with Curl Flats or Stick from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick underneath throws and deeper curl breaks, since both share similar route depths but different spacing.

Against aggressive user blitzers, throw the whip route immediately off the snap since it is designed to beat pressure with a quick, decisive break versus a delayed vertical concept.

Other Plays in 5WR Trio