Playbooks

Stick

Shotgun·Bunch TE·11

Stick Stick Concept Pass Play

Play diagram for Stick from Shotgun Bunch TE in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetBunch TE

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 7 playbooks

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Breakdown

Stick out of Bunch TE in Shotgun packs three receivers to one side with a stacked bunch look and isolates the backside receiver on a deep corner route as the fourth pass option. From the bunch, one receiver runs a corner route to the flat sideline, another sits down on the classic stick route working the boundary, and the third climbs vertically up the seam as a middle read. The running back releases from the backfield on a curl into the flat underneath, giving the quarterback a five level progression from deep corner to the swing curl, making this a proven man and zone beater that stresses conflicted defenders in both coverage shells.

Defensive Reads

Watch the flat defender presnap since he has to choose between the corner route and the stick route, and Stick punishes any defender who bites on the flat too early. Check linebacker depth before the snap because shallow linebackers get run off by the seam runner, opening the stick route for an easy completion. Identify press man coverage on the isolated backside receiver since that corner route beats man if the cornerback does not get an early jam. Look for a lurking user controlled defender sitting in the stick window since that is the single biggest coverage bust that shuts this play down. Cover 3 with a hard flat defender and a disciplined underneath zone drop is the toughest shell to beat, so expect the seam and corner routes to be the answer against that look instead of the stick itself.

Usage Tips

Read the flat defender or hook defender first since the stick route sits right in his throwing lane and creates an easy conversion on third and short. Against man coverage look immediately to the backside corner route since it isolates one on one on the boundary with a natural pick from the bunch alignment. Against zone shells work the stick to seam read since the seam runner will either sit behind linebackers for a big gain or clear space for the stick sitting underneath. Hot route the running back into a wider curl or check him down as a swing if the offense faces a heavy blitz look presnap. Pair this play with Bunch Levels or Mtn Return Flood Stick in your call sheet to keep defenders guessing between quick game stick concepts and deeper crossing patterns out of the same bunch look.