Playbooks
At a Glance
In 12 playbooks
Overview
Empty Ace is Shotgun's five wide look built out of 12 personnel, which is what separates it from the standard empty sets that run 10 or 11 personnel. You get one back and two tight ends split across the formation, so the back is flexed out as a receiver and both tight ends are detached rather than attached to the line. The result is a spread alignment that still carries run-game personnel on the field, which forces the defense to decide between matching your body types with base or nickel and living with the mismatch.
The alignment gives you a trips side and a two receiver side with the tight ends distributed to create linebacker and safety coverage assignments in space. Against man, that means your tight end is on a linebacker in open grass with no traffic to lose him in. Against zone, the five eligible receivers stretch the underneath defenders horizontally and open up the seams and hooks that get vacated when the defense only rushes four. The 3DRB and SLWR tags tell you the back and slot receiver are the isolated pieces here, and if you have a receiving back split wide you can motion to confirm coverage and attack whichever defender travels with him.
Where Empty Ace earns its keep is the gadget package. Jet QB Zone, Jet QB Counter, Jet Touch Pass, Fake Jet Pass Power, PA Jet Sweep, and Jet QB Zone Wk all live in this set, which means you can run empty and still threaten the defense with quarterback runs and jet motion misdirection. QB Zone out of a five wide look with no true blockers puts a defender in conflict every snap. Pair that with All Go, U Cross, Flood, Post Wheel Shallow, and Curls HB Post and you have a set that plays fast, spreads the field, and punishes defenses that commit to stopping one thing.
Strengths
- Five eligible receivers force the defense to declare coverage pre snap, so man versus zone reads are obvious before the ball is snapped and you know immediately whether to work the isolated tight end or attack the vacated middle
- Jet motion plays including Jet QB Zone, Jet QB Counter, Jet Touch Pass, and PA Jet Sweep let you run out of empty, which puts the unblocked edge defender and the flow linebackers in conflict on every snap and freezes user defenders who are spying the quarterback
- U Cross, Post Wheel Shallow, and Curls HB Post are elite man beaters because the crossers and drags run clean through open space with no in line tight end creating traffic, and the tight end on a linebacker in space is a guaranteed win against Cover 1 and Cover 0
- Flood, Stick, and Curl Flats attack zone by flooding one side with three levels and stretching the flat defender horizontally, which is death against Cover 3 and any soft zone shell that sits back
- All Go with hot routed adjustments gives you an instant answer to blitz looks, and you can convert an outside go to a slant or drag to beat pressure in under two seconds without changing the play
Weaknesses
- No back in the backfield means zero pass protection help, so any five or six man pressure gets home fast and nano blitzes that overload one side will collapse the pocket before the route concepts develop
- Your quarterback is the only run threat available outside of jet motion, so if the opponent commits a user defender to spying the quarterback the entire gadget package loses most of its value
- Deep developing concepts like All Go, Post Wheel Shallow, and Flood need time you often do not have, and a user controlled safety sitting over the top can bait throws and pick off the seam and go routes
- Empty tells the defense you are almost certainly passing on obvious downs, so opponents will play press man with a robber or drop eight and force you to check down into a user linebacker sitting in the hook
- 12 personnel in empty means slower bodies on the perimeter if your tight ends lack speed, and a good opponent will match your tight ends with safeties or nickel corners rather than linebackers, erasing the mismatch you were hunting
Usage Tips
Motion the back or the slot across the formation before the snap to confirm man or zone, then go to U Cross or Curls HB Post against man and Flood or Curl Flats against zone
Use the jet package (Jet QB Zone, Jet QB Counter, Jet Touch Pass) on early downs and in short yardage when the defense has emptied the box to cover your five receivers, since the numbers advantage in the run game is real out of this look
Hot route your inside receivers to slants or drags when you read six or more in the box, since Empty Ace has no protection help and the quick game is your only blitz answer
Save Fake Jet Pass Power and PA Jet Sweep for after you have established the jet motion look, because the play action only sells once the defense has flowed with the motion two or three times
On third and medium run Stick and read the flat defender, and if the opponent is playing a user linebacker in the middle throw the outside stick route away from the user rather than forcing the ball inside
Check to All Go against Cover 0 or any all out blitz where the defense leaves no deep help, and target whichever receiver has the worst matchup on the outside
Plays (15)
All GoGo, Pass Play
Curl FlatsCurl, Pass Play, Flat- Curls HB Post
Fake Jet Pass PowerPlay Action, Motion, Pass Play
FloodFlood, Pass Play, Cover 3 Beater
Jet QB CounterCounter, Motion, Run Play +1
Jet QB ZoneDesigned Qb Run, Motion, Run Play
Jet QB Zone WkDesigned Qb Run, Motion, Run Play +2
Jet Touch PassMotion
PA Jet SweepSweep, Jet Sweep, Play Action +2
Post Wheel ShallowPost, Wheel, Shallow Cross +1- QB Zone
- Return Trail Go
StickStick, Stick Concept, Pass Play
U CrossCrosser, Pass Play
