Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 16 playbooks
Breakdown
Bunch Trail aligns three receivers tight to the formation with a fourth isolated to the backside, running from Shotgun Bunch Quads with 11 personnel. The backside X runs a deep comeback while the bunch releases into a deep crosser, a corner route climbing to the opposite sideline, and a trail man (the namesake route) sitting underneath running a shallow drag through the middle of the field. This is a man beater built around the trail concept creating natural rub picks off the bunch traffic, with the deep crosser and corner stretching zone defenders vertically as a secondary read. Primary progression starts with the trail route underneath against man coverage, then works to the deep crosser sitting behind linebackers, and finally the corner or comeback on the perimeter if the defense sits low.
Defensive Reads
Watch the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he sits shallow he can undercut the trail route before it develops. Identify single high versus two high safety shells pre-snap, since a single high safety leaves the deep crosser exposed with no help over the top. Key the flow of the underneath zone defenders after the snap, man coverage on the bunch receivers will get picked off by the natural traffic while zone defenders can slide and rob the trail route. Look for a user lurk defender sitting in the shallow middle zone, since this is the exact area the trail route wants to attack. Press corners on the backside X can shut down the comeback route if they get a clean jam, forcing the quarterback back into the bunch progression.
Usage Tips
Check the pre-snap alignment on the bunch side, if you see man coverage with press corners the trail route underneath will be wide open off the natural rub from the crosser and corner releases.
Use motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into showing blitz, since the trail concept exploits any hesitation from underneath defenders in man coverage.
Against zone shells, look immediately to the deep crosser sitting in the void behind the linebackers before the safety can rotate over the top.
Pair this play with Spot or Spacing from the same set to keep defenders honest on shorter routes, then hit Bunch Trail on second or third down when the defense starts jumping quick game concepts.
This play works best on third and medium to long distance since it takes a beat to develop, so give your quarterback a clean pocket by checking protection against pressure-heavy fronts.
