Playbooks
At a Glance
In 13 playbooks
Overview
Doubles Hip lines up in 11 personnel with two receivers split to each side and the tight end hipped off the tackle, giving you a compressed extra body attached to the formation instead of the flat 2x2 spacing you get from base Shotgun Doubles. That hip alignment is the whole point: the tight end starts inside leverage on a linebacker or safety, so vertical releases and crossers from that spot break clean while the outside receivers work isolated on the boundary. Defenses have to decide whether to count the hip tight end as a run fitter or a receiver, and that hesitation is what makes the run game and the play action off it so effective.
The play sheet reflects that dual identity. Inside Zone, Mtn WR Outside Zone, Read Option, and HB Draw all sell the tight end as an extra gap blocker, while Mtn PA Spinner, Mtn Spinner HB Inside, and PA Go Slot Cross flip the same look into deep shots and crossers with the linebackers already flowing downhill. Levels, Flood Drive, Redzone Scissors, and Switch WR Drag give you layered zone attacks that flood the intermediate window the hip tight end vacates on his release.
Where this set really separates itself is in the isolation game. With both slot bodies working the middle of the field, your best outside receiver (SLWR tag applies here) sees single high or true man looks with no help, so a hot routed fade or comeback is a coin flip you win most snaps. The 3DRB and Power HB tags mean you can run the same formation with a receiving back for Bench HB Angle and HB Slip Screen, then swap to a bruiser for Inside Zone without changing the picture the defense sees.
Strengths
- Levels and Redzone Scissors punish Cover 3 and Cover 4 by stacking two receivers in the same vertical window, forcing the curl/flat defender to pick one while the deeper route settles behind him.
- Flood Drive is a clean three level flood against zone, and hot routing the hip tight end on a drag turns it into a legitimate man beater with built in traffic.
- Bench HB Angle and HB Slip Screen give you two completely different answers to interior pressure out of the same look, so blitz heavy users get punished without you changing personnel.
- The Mtn PA Spinner and Mtn Spinner HB Inside pairing off Inside Zone and Read Option creates real run/pass conflict for user controlled linebackers, especially if you have been hammering the ground game.
- The isolated outside receiver in Doubles Hip almost never sees bracket coverage, making motion plus a hot routed fade or slant a reliable one on one shot against man.
Weaknesses
- The hip tight end is not a true extra lineman, so overload nano blitzes and A gap pressure from mug looks get home before Levels or PA Go Slot Cross has time to develop.
- Read Option and Inside Zone struggle against heavy 4-3 or 46 fronts with a user controlled defender crashing the mesh point, since there is no second blocker to the hip side.
- Because so many plays run through the middle of the field, a single user controlled safety in the deep hook can erase Switch WR Drag, Levels, and Flood Drive at the same time.
- HB Draw and HB Slip Screen are tendency reads once your opponent sees the alignment twice, and screens die instantly against edge pressure or spread out zone drops.
- No true 12 personnel weight here, so short yardage Inside Zone from Doubles Hip gets stoned by goal line and bear fronts.
Usage Tips
Read the safeties pre-snap: single high means go to Redzone Scissors or an isolated hot route on the boundary receiver, two high means Levels or Flood Drive into the vacated intermediate seam.
Establish Inside Zone and Read Option early so Mtn PA Spinner and Mtn Spinner HB Inside sell as run, then take the deep shot when the linebackers start jumping the mesh.
On third and medium, run Bench HB Angle and let the angle route work off the linebacker's leverage, then hot route the hip tight end to a flat if the defense is playing soft zone underneath.
Motion the slot across before the snap to identify man versus zone, and if a defender follows, PA Go Slot Cross gives you a crossing route with a natural rub built into the play art.
Keep HB Slip Screen and HB Draw in your back pocket for second and long against obvious blitz tells like mugged linebackers or a walked down safety, and block the tight end when you suspect a nano.
