Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 13 playbooks
Breakdown
HB Slip Screen out of Shotgun Doubles Hip is a designed screen pass built to punish aggressive pass rushers and blitz-heavy defenses. Both outside receivers run vertical routes to clear out the corners and hold the deep coverage, while the slot receiver on the strong side runs a short curl to occupy underneath defenders. The offensive line slips their blocks and releases downfield to set up a wall for the running back, who leaks out to the flat as the primary and essentially only read on this play.
Defensive Reads
Watch for user-controlled defenders spying the backfield or sitting in a hook zone, since a disciplined spy will diagnose this screen almost immediately and blow up the timing. Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells with aggressive edge rushers are the most vulnerable to this concept because the outside vertical routes pull cornerbacks and safeties away from the flat. Nano blitzes and all-out pressure packages get exploited hard here since the extra rushers only speed up their own path away from the eventual screen lane. Look for linebackers who stay flat-footed at the snap instead of reading backfield action, these are the defenders most likely to sniff out the screen and jump the passing lane. If the defense shows Cover 2 or Tampa 2 with linebackers sinking into shallow zones, expect this play to get stuffed since those zone drops sit right in the screen's release lane.
Usage Tips
Call this play when you see pre-snap blitz indicators like linebackers creeping to the line or a defensive coordinator showing man pressure with off coverage on the outside receivers.
Let the play develop fully before throwing, the timing of the offensive line release is critical so do not panic and throw early even if it looks covered at the snap.
Use this as a change of pace after running Inside Zone or HB Draw a few times, since defenses that start selling out to stop the interior run game will get gashed by the screen once they crash downhill.
Avoid calling this against zone-heavy defenses that sit their linebackers underneath, since spy or zone drop defenders can read the screen and blow it up before the blockers get set.
Pair this with Levels or Flood Drive in the same drive to keep defenders honest, since those plays punish the same aggressive linebacker rushes that this screen is designed to bait.
