Playbooks
Likely unavailable in the playbook builder
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
For All The Downs out of Shotgun Bunch is a route concept built around the tight bunch alignment to create natural rub picks against man coverage while stretching zone defenders with layered depth. The three bunch receivers work a combination of a shallow crosser, a deep out or corner, and a seam or wheel route, forcing linebackers and safeties to declare their assignment before the ball comes out. This is primarily a man beater thanks to the natural traffic at the line, but the layered depth also gives you answers against zone shells. The primary read starts with the underneath crosser working across the field, then progresses to the intermediate breaking route, and finally to the vertical or wheel route if a defender bites early and opens up a one-on-one downfield.
Defensive Reads
Watch the corner aligned over the bunch pre-snap, if he is playing tight man technique with no help over the top, the rub route concept will likely spring someone open quickly. Identify the linebacker depth at the snap, shallow linebackers who crash down on the crosser are vulnerable to the deeper breaking route or wheel coming behind them. Look for a user-controlled defender lurking in the shallow crossing lane, since good competitive players will spy that route and jump the throw, so be ready to progress to your second read instead of forcing it. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed hardest since the bunch traffic disrupts the initial jam and coverage recognition. Zone coverage with disciplined linebacker drops and a safety rotated over the top of the bunch can take away both the crosser and the vertical threat, forcing the quarterback into a tighter, quicker read.
Usage Tips
Check the pre-snap alignment of the defender over the bunch, if you see a single deep safety with the corner playing the bunch tight, expect man coverage and lean on the rub action to spring your crosser open immediately.
Against 2 high safety looks, work your progression patiently since the underneath crosser will likely be there against zone drops, but the vertical or wheel route can still hit versus a busted rotation.
Use hot routes to convert the outside bunch receiver to a quick out or slant if you diagnose a hard blitz look, giving your quarterback a fast answer against nano blitz pressure off the edge.
Pair this play with Bunch Verts or Bunch Sail in your play-calling sequence so defenses cannot sit on the underneath crosser, since both plays use the same bunch look but attack deeper zones or the sideline.
This play shines on second and long or third and medium since the layered route depths give the quarterback multiple answers depending on how the defense reacts after the snap.
