Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Stick out of Shotgun Bunch TE stacks three receivers to the left with the bunch running two deep outs to the boundary and a short stick route sitting underneath, while the backside single receiver runs an outside release to the flat and the HB releases out of the backfield on a wheel-style route that curls up the sideline after clearing the flat. The QB has a hot route arrow on the inside bunch receiver pushing vertically off the line, giving a quick option against man leverage. This is a classic zone beater built to attack Cover 2 and Cover 3 flat defenders with the stick and flat combo, while the two outs stretch the boundary corner and the HB release adds a man beater wrinkle versus linebackers who carry him. Primary read starts with the flat defender: if he sits, throw the stick sitting underneath; if he widens for the flat, work the two outs behind him for a bigger chunk gain.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender's depth before the snap, if he is sitting at 5 yards he is reading stick, if he is walked out he is jumping the flat. Key the near safety over the bunch, a rotated safety down low signals Cover 3 or Cover 4 and tells you to expect the corner squeezing the outs. Identify man coverage by checking if a linebacker or nickel is aligned tight on the HB pre-snap, that matchup is the weak point of this defense against the wheel route. Post-snap, look for a lurking linebacker sitting in the middle hook zone, since he can undercut the stick route if the QB stares it down too long. This play struggles against Cover 2 Man or aggressive nano blitzes off the edge, since the quick flat and stick reads get muddied and the QB loses time to work the outs.
Usage Tips
Check the flat defender pre-snap to decide whether the stick or the outs will be open, since this play lives and dies on that leverage read.
Use the vertical hot route on the inside bunch receiver against off-man or press corners who bail late, it turns the concept into an instant explosive play.
Send the HB out on the wheel route against man coverage when a linebacker is matched up, since most defenders cannot carry that speed up the sideline.
Run this on second or third and short to medium, the stick and out combo consistently picks up 5 to 8 yards versus zone drops.
Pair this with Bunch Levels or Verts Y Delay from the same formation to keep defenses honest, since both plays start with the same bunch alignment but attack deeper zones.
