Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
HB Base out of Shotgun Bunch Y-Trips is a downhill dive run that hands the ball to the HB behind the interior line for a north-south read between the tackles. The offensive line down blocks to seal the point of attack while the bunch trips receivers to the left run vertical release routes to occupy the defense and clear out any potential run support from that side. This is a base run play, not a play-action or RPO, so the primary read is the HB identifying the natural crease created by the down blocks and pressing the hole before making one cut downhill.
Defensive Reads
Diagnose the box count and depth of the linebackers before the snap. A light box with linebackers at depth signals a favorable run situation for the offense. Watch for the bunch receivers releasing vertically off the ball. If defenders bite hard on run action and abandon those vertical stems, the offense may tag a play-action shot off this same look later in the series. As the defense, key the interior offensive linemen for down block angles. Linebackers should fill the natural cutback lane opposite the down blocks to prevent the HB from getting to the second level untouched. Bring an extra run defender into the box or blitz off the edge on early downs when facing 11 personnel out of this bunch set, since the lack of a lead blocker makes this dive vulnerable to fast linebacker flow. Watch the safety alignment. A single high safety who stays deep instead of rotating down leaves an extra gap for the HB to exploit, so defenses should rotate a safety into the box against this personnel and formation tendency.
Usage Tips
Use this on early downs in normal or run-heavy personnel situations to keep defenses honest and set up your play-action shots later in the drive.
Check the box count before the snap. If the defense has six or more in the box, consider audibling to a perimeter run or a quick pass instead of forcing this into a stacked front.
Pair this call with PA Post or PA Mills X-corner from the same Bunch Y-Trips set so the defense has to respect the run action before you take a shot downfield off similar formation looks.
User the HB directly after the snap to manually locate the widest crease, since the CPU blocking logic can be inconsistent on inside zone dive concepts.
Avoid calling this against defenses showing heavy blitz looks with linebackers crashing downhill pre-snap, since there is no RPO read attached to bail you out.
