Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Bunch Trail is a five-man route concept out of Shotgun Empty Bunch Tight that stresses the field with two deep outs, a trail crosser, and an underneath check option. From the bunch alignment, the outside receiver runs a deep out breaking hard to the boundary while the middle bunch receiver climbs vertically before bending into a deep out of his own on the opposite side, creating a two-level stretch. The trail route (red) sits underneath, crossing the field low to give the QB a quick outlet against pressure or a blitz beater against man coverage. Since there are no backs in the backfield to check release, this is a pure five-out passing concept with the primary read starting on the trail crosser underneath before working out to the deep out breaking to the numbers.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high safeties since Cover 3 leaves the deep out vulnerable to the flat defender if he steps up too early. Watch the underneath linebackers and nickel defender at the snap because if they crash the trail route immediately, the deep out routes have a clean track to the boundary. Man coverage with no help over the top gets exposed by the bunch rub, so look for a defender to get picked or delayed at the release point. This concept struggles against a well timed zone blitz since the trail route runs directly into a vacated underneath zone that a blitzing linebacker can still cover on a delayed drop. Cover 2 with a hard flat defender can squeeze both the trail and the deep out, so if you see two deep safeties and aggressive corners at the snap, expect this route combo to be contested.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a shift to confirm whether the defense is playing man or zone before the snap since the bunch alignment often forces defenders to declare late.
Key the trail route first on early downs because it settles in the shallow zone and gives you a safe completion against both Cover 3 and Cover 1 if the underneath defenders bite on the vertical releases.
Against man coverage, trust the deep out breaking to the far numbers since bunch releases create natural rub traffic that delays trailing defenders.
Pair this play with Mesh Cross or Shallow Drags in the same set to keep defenders guessing between crossing traffic and the trail's flatter breaking routes.
Use this on third and medium situations where the sideline breaking routes can pick up the sticks quickly if the underneath trail gets taken away.
