Playbooks

Whip Unders

Shotgun·Doubles·11

Whip Pass Play Dig Drag Crosser

Play diagram for Whip Unders from Shotgun Doubles in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetDoubles

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 1 playbook

Power Run OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Whip Unders lines up out of Shotgun Doubles with 11 personnel and shows a route concept built around a whip route and layered unders. The playside receiver runs a sharp whip route back toward the middle of the field while the outside receiver on that side clears vertically up the sideline, and on the backside the two receivers work a flat and a corner style route stacked underneath a deep out. This is primarily a zone beater that exploits the natural void created when the whip route snaps back against zone flow, and the primary read progression starts with the whip route working inside, then bounces outside to the flat conversion route if the underneath defender jumps the whip.

Defensive Reads

Read the depth of the underneath linebackers at the snap, since a shallow drop means they are sitting on the whip route and you should climb the progression to the flat or corner route on the backside. Watch for a robber or lurk defender sitting in the middle of the field, as this play struggles against Cover 3 sink or Cover 4 match concepts that keep a defender spying the intermediate crossers. Check the corner's alignment on the outside vertical release, because if he is playing off you can expect a soft zone shell that opens up the whip route working underneath him. Against man coverage look for the whip route to create natural rub separation off the vertical releasing receiver, but be wary of a linebacker blitz look since the whip route takes extra time to develop and the quarterback needs a clean pocket. If the defense shows two deep safeties with linebackers crashing downhill, expect a Cover 2 or Tampa 2 shell that funnels the whip route into a hard hitting underneath defender.

Usage Tips

Presnap identify whether the defense is showing zone or man, since the whip route only creates real separation against zone drops that flow with the quarterback's shoulders. If you see press man on the whip receiver, hot route him to a slant or quick out to avoid a jam that kills his release. Use this play on second and medium or third and short situations where the underneath zone defenders are more concerned with the sticks than the deep middle. Pair Whip Unders with Deep In or Y Cross earlier in a series so linebackers start cheating underneath, then hit the whip route when they overplay the short stuff. Motion the backside receiver before the snap to get a clean pre snap look at man versus zone coverage before committing to your first read.