Playbooks
At a Glance
In 1 playbook
Overview
Bunch Quads Open is one of the most extreme overload looks in the Shotgun formation. The 11 personnel package (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) is aligned with four eligible receivers stacked to one side of the field: a tight bunch cluster plus an extra receiver outside it. The backside is left completely open with no receiver split out. Standard Shotgun sets like Trips or Doubles spread the defense horizontally. This set instead forces the defense to declare its coverage rotation toward a four receiver side, while the running back sits in the backfield as a checkdown, swing option, or screen target. The TE aligned inside the bunch gives you a bigger body at the point of attack. The slot receivers create natural rubs and picks off the snap.
The core value of Bunch Quads Open is leverage and numbers. When the defense lines up with fewer defenders over the quads side than you have receivers, you have a numbers advantage for screens and quick game. When they rotate heavily to the overload, the open side becomes a wide lane for the running back on swing and screen concepts. The play list reflects this: Mtn Slot Mid Screen, Mtn Swing Screen, and HB Screen all use motion or backfield action to punish defenders who overcommit to the bunch. All Go and All Curl stress deep and intermediate zones with four vertical or settling threats from one side.
The Gadget, SLWR, and 3DRB tags point to how this set is meant to be played. Put your quickest slot receiver at the motion spots. Use a pass catching third down back who can win in space. Treat the set as a matchup hunting tool rather than a base formation. Motion is built into three of the six plays, so you can read man or zone before the snap. Then you can attack whichever defender gets isolated on your SLWR or your back on the open side.
Strengths
- The four receiver overload generates natural pick and rub action out of the bunch, making All Curl and Mtn Drag Under reliable man beaters against Cover 1 and Cover 0 looks
- Pre-snap motion on Mtn Slot Mid Screen, Mtn Drag Under, and Mtn Swing Screen reveals man or zone instantly: a defender trailing the motion confirms man, while defenders bumping over signal zone
- The open backside leaves a vacated flat and wide alley for the RB, so Mtn Swing Screen and HB Screen punish defenses that rotate safeties and linebackers toward the bunch
- All Go floods the deep zones with four verticals from one side, overloading Cover 3 and Cover 2 safeties so a seam or bench route breaks free
- All Curl gives quick, high percentage throws against soft zone and off coverage, and the SLWR tagged slot can settle into holes in Cover 4 or Tampa 2 underneath
Weaknesses
- The formation is a heavy passing and screen tell, and the play list has no true inside run, so opponents can sell out on pass rush and pre-snap screen reads
- Only one RB is available for protection, so a nano blitz or overload pressure from the open side can get home before deep concepts like All Go develop
- A user-controlled linebacker or safety hovering over the flat or the mid screen lane can blow up Mtn Slot Mid Screen, Mtn Swing Screen, and HB Screen with a single read
- Press man with a bump on the point receiver of the bunch disrupts timing and can jam routes into each other, killing the spacing of All Curl
- Defenses that shade Cover 2 or Cover 3 Match toward the quads side can bracket the overload while a single defender handles the backside RB, removing most of your easy answers
Usage Tips
Motion the slot receiver first on Mtn plays and read the defense: if a defender follows, throw the drag or mid screen against man; if the defense shifts over, attack the open side with the swing or HB Screen
Use Bunch Quads Open on 3rd and medium or 2nd and long when your 3DRB and SLWR tagged players are on the field, since the set is built for quick answers and yards after catch
Against heavy blitz looks, hot route the RB to a quick out or block and check to All Curl so the ball comes out before pressure arrives from the open side
Against Cover 2 or Cover 3 with a single high or split safety shell, audible to All Go and throw to the seam receiver who holds the flat defender, or the one who splits the safeties
Mix HB Screen and Mtn Swing Screen with All Go from the same look to punish users who cheat toward the screen lane, and avoid calling screens back to back against a user sitting in the flat
