Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
Bunch Open TE takes the standard Shotgun bunch alignment and flips the strength read by detaching the tight end to the open side, leaving a three man cluster to one side and an isolated X receiver plus the TE to the other. That split creates a rare pre-snap picture in 11 personnel: the defense has to declare bunch rules (banjo, lock, or press cloud) on the cluster while still accounting for a legitimate seam and flat threat from the tight end on the weak side. The RB stays in the backfield next to the QB, so you keep every screen, draw, and RPO conflict read live without sacrificing a blocker.
Strengths
- Heavy RPO menu (RPO Alert Bubble, RPO Zone Alert Bubble, Mtn RPO Read Snag, RPO Peek WR Screen) lets you punish light boxes and single high looks with a pre-snap numbers count instead of a post-snap read.
- Bunch spacing wrecks man coverage: Mtn Mesh Spot and Mtn Sprint Z Spot generate natural rubs off the cluster, and defenders in the game engine consistently trail through the traffic.
- Z Spot and Mtn Sprint Z Spot are elite Cover 3 and Cover 4 beaters, flooding the curl to flat window with three levels while the detached tight end holds the weak hook player.
- Isolated open side TE and X give you a clean one on one to attack: hot route the TE on a corner, fade, or slant based on the flat defender's alignment.
- Y Trail, Dig Return, and Flood all attack intermediate zone windows off the same alignment, so your run plays, screens, and deep concepts share identical pre-snap looks.
Weaknesses
- The RB is your only extra body in protection, so overload nano blitzes to the bunch side get free rushers before the deep routes clear.
- Cover 2 press and cloud flat coverage smothers the bubble side of the RPOs, which turns the alert into a low percentage throw or forces the give.
- A user-controlled defender sitting on the bunch side flat kills HB Slip Screen and RPO Peek WR Screen since the release is slow developing.
- Bunch releases are congested, so aggressive press man plus a blitz can jam all three receivers at the line and collapse the pocket before anyone separates.
- Only one true deep shot concept (Fake Screen Verticals), so opponents who bail into deep zone can sit on everything under 15 yards.
Usage Tips
Read the box before the snap on the RPO plays: five or fewer defenders in the box means give the run, six or more with a soft flat defender means throw the bubble.
Motion the point man of the bunch across the formation to diagnose man versus zone, then check to Mtn Mesh Spot against man or Z Spot against zone.
On third and medium, hot route the open side TE on a slant or hitch and read the weak hook defender first: the bunch side drags all the traffic and leaves that window clean.
Use HB Draw and HB Slip Screen off the same look after you have shown RPO twice, since defenders will start flowing wide to the cluster.
Save Fake Screen Verticals for after a successful screen drive, ideally against single high, and target the isolated X on the open side.
