Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
Empty Base Flex takes the Shotgun formation and removes the back from the box entirely, flexing him out as a receiver to create a true five-wide look out of 11 personnel. Unlike traditional Shotgun sets that keep a running back in the backfield for protection help or a check release, this set forces the defense to declare its coverage intentions immediately. With no back to account for, the defense either walks a linebacker out to cover your third-down back in the slot or leaves a mismatch sitting there in space. That is the entire premise: your 3DRB tag receiver becomes a coverage stress test, and any linebacker or safety assigned to him is a target you attack on repeat.
The alignment spreads all five eligible receivers across the field with the flexed back typically to one side and the tight end working from a slot or flex position on the other. That horizontal stretch pulls defenders out of the box, which is exactly why the playbook loads this set with RPOs and QB run concepts. RPO Alert Draw Stick, RPO Q Stick Draw, RPO Q Draw Bubble, and QB Draw all punish a defense that overplays coverage, and because there is no back to block, the box count is naturally low. If the defense drops seven or eight, the draw and QB run game becomes live math. If they blitz, you have quick-hitting answers in Stick, All Hitch, and WR Screen.
The passing tree is deep and versatile for an empty set. You get vertical shots with Verticals, Mtn Switch Verts, Divide Slot Fade, and Deep Flood, intermediate zone attacks with Middle Hi Lo, Levels Switch, and Y Shallow Cross, and man beaters through Hoss Y Juke, Choice Stick Nod, Stick N Nod, and Shock WR Option. The Reload family (Reload PA Shake Bubble, Reload PA Flood, Reload HB Sweep, Reload HB Wheel, Reload Inside Zone) gives you motion-based looks that reset the defense pre-snap, which matters against users who like to disguise coverage late. The Gadget tag opens up trickery, and the SLWR tag means your slot receiver alignment is a genuine leverage advantage against man coverage.
Strengths
- Five-wide spacing forces the defense to declare coverage pre-snap, letting you read whether a linebacker is walked out over the flexed back and immediately attack that mismatch with Stick, Hoss Y Juke, or Shock WR Option.
- The RPO package (RPO Alert Draw Stick, RPO Q Stick Draw, RPO Q Draw Bubble) creates a true conflict read: if the box count drops to five or fewer defenders, hand it to the draw, and if the defense loads up, throw the stick or bubble on the alert side.
- Hoss Y Juke, Choice Stick Nod, and Stick N Nod are elite man beaters out of empty because there is no back to muddy the read, so your isolated slot with the SLWR tag wins on leverage and the juke or nod releases inside cleanly.
- Zone shells get shredded by Middle Hi Lo, Levels Switch, and Y Shallow Cross since empty pulls hook defenders wide and opens the middle of the field, and you can hot route the flexed back to a sit or drag to occupy the hole defender.
- Reload PA Shake Bubble, Reload PA Flood, and Reload HB Sweep use motion to reset the defensive picture, which forces users to reveal man coverage as defenders travel and gives you a free pre-snap tell on every snap.
Weaknesses
- Zero backfield help means any nano blitz or overload from the interior gets home instantly, and with five out you have no check release or chip to slide protection toward the pressure.
- Cover 2 Invert, Cover 6, and any two-high shell with a user in the deep middle limits your vertical concepts, so Verticals, Mtn Switch Verts, and Divide Slot Fade become low percentage shots against a competent user defender.
- The QB run game (QB Draw, RPO Q Stick Draw) exposes your quarterback to hits and fumbles, and against a spread-out defense with clean pursuit angles the draw gets tracked down for minimal gain.
- Screens like WR Screen and Jailbreak Slot Screen telegraph off empty because the defense already has numbers to the perimeter, and a user reading your receiver splits can jump the throw for a pick.
- Empty tips your hand on run tendency, so opponents will play soft coverage on early downs, sit on your quick game, and force you into third and long where their pass rush can pin ears back.
Usage Tips
Count the box before every snap. Five or fewer defenders in the box means the RPO draw reads are live, and six or more means take the alert throw or the stick concept underneath.
Use the Reload plays as your motion tool. Motion the flexed back across the formation and watch whether a defender travels with him to confirm man, then check to Hoss Y Juke or Choice Stick Nod if he does and Middle Hi Lo if he stays put.
On third and medium, run Stick or All Hitch and hot route the outside receiver on the blitz side to a slant so you always have a fast throw against pressure. Do not sit in five-step drops out of this set without a pressure answer.
Against single high man, isolate your SLWR tagged slot on Shock WR Option or Stick N Nod and manually read that matchup first. If a linebacker or safety is over him, that is your throw regardless of the play art.
Save QB Draw for when you have already established the empty passing game and you see the defense drop eight, and use it in the red zone from the ten and in where vertical spacing collapses the coverage but leaves a lane between the tackles.
