Playbooks
At a Glance
In 2 playbooks
Overview
Doubles Flex is the balanced 2x2 look inside Shotgun that trades a true tight formation for spacing. You get 11 personnel with the tight end flexed off the line into a slot or wing alignment, so instead of blocking down like he would in a Tight or Y-Off set, he becomes a route runner attacking the seam, the flat, or the intermediate middle. Both sides of the formation are stacked with a numbers advantage in the passing game, and the balanced split means the defense cannot cheat strength or leverage to one side without giving you an obvious pre-snap tell.
The value of the flexed alignment is matchup identification. When you spread the tight end out, the defense has to declare whether it walks a linebacker out into the slot, rolls a safety down, or plays a nickel corner over him. That answer tells you which side to attack before the snap. If a linebacker is on your tight end, Four Verticals, Z Spot, and Orbit PA Y Cross put him in trail position immediately. If the defense drops a safety into the slot, you have single high behind it and Corner Strike, PA Dagger, and Flanker Drive punish the vacated deep middle and intermediate windows.
The play list is unusually complete for one set, which is the real reason competitive players live here. RPO Zone Peek, RPO Peek Slant, and Orbit RPO Alert Swing give you conflict reads off the same run mesh. Inside Zone, Outside Zone, HB Mid Draw, and Read Option keep the run game honest from a look that reads pass. Then you layer Mtn Slip Screen, FL Screen, HB Slip Screen, and Mtn Drag H-Choice on top of it so blitz-heavy opponents get punished for over-committing. The 3DRB and Gadget tags mean you can run all of it with a receiving back and motion packages without ever showing personnel that gives away intent.
Strengths
- Elite RPO package with RPO Zone Peek, RPO Peek Slant, and Orbit RPO Alert Swing all off the same base run action, letting you attack the conflict defender pre-snap and post-snap from one look.
- Balanced 2x2 spacing means Slants, Drag Unders, and Curl Flats create natural high low reads against Cover 2 and Cover 3 without needing motion, and streaking the flat man on Curl Flats turns it into a Cover 4 hole shot.
- Flexing the tight end out forces a coverage declaration you can read pre-snap, so Four Verticals and Z Spot instantly become linebacker mismatch beaters when the defense refuses to bring a nickel over him.
- Deep shot menu is legitimate: Corner Strike, PA Dagger, PA FL Fly, and Orbit PA Y Cross all hold the safety with play action or motion before attacking the vacated deep third or deep middle.
- Screen game is loaded with Mtn Slip Screen, FL Screen, and HB Slip Screen, and the 3DRB tag means your receiving back is on the field so blitzers get punished immediately without a personnel substitution tell.
Weaknesses
- Balanced 2x2 alignment means no built-in extra protector, so five man protections get exposed by A gap and overload blitzes unless you slide the line or block the back manually.
- The flexed tight end is not helping in protection, which makes edge pressure and nano blitzes off the open side arrive fast on the deeper concepts like Four Verticals and PA Dagger.
- Heavy palms and Cover 2 Man users can sit on the flat and slot routes since so much of the concept list works underneath, and a user-controlled nickel jumping Slants or Drag Unders turns those reads into picks.
- Run game from a spread balanced look lacks a lead blocker, so Inside Zone and Outside Zone stall against loaded boxes and single high run commit fits.
- Opponents who chart tendencies will read the Orbit motion on Orbit PA HB Wheel, Orbit RPO Alert Swing, and Orbit PA Y Cross and rotate coverage to the motion side before the snap.
Usage Tips
Read the flexed tight end's defender first. Linebacker over him means take a vertical or seam concept from Four Verticals or Z Spot. Nickel or safety walked out means you have leverage for the run game or a screen back the other way.
Use the RPO trio as your down and distance stabilizer. RPO Zone Peek and RPO Peek Slant on second and medium let you hand off against a light box or throw the peek route the second the conflict linebacker steps up.
Build a base out of Slants, Curl Flats, and Drag Unders, then hot route the same concepts differently each drive so users cannot pattern read. Streaking one slot on Curl Flats converts it from a zone beater into a man beater.
Save Mtn Slip Screen, FL Screen, and HB Slip Screen for opponents who have shown edge pressure or nano looks. These are your punish calls, not your first down calls.
Set up your play action shots off the run game. Establish Inside Zone or HB Mid Draw early, then hit PA Dagger, Corner Strike, or PA FL Fly once the user starts crashing the box, and manually block the back if you suspect an A gap blitz.
